decibels (nanowrimo 2014)

silence

Silence isn't deafening. It's the soft beating of a moth's wings or the light pitter patter of rain against your window. It does not scold. It does not run. Silence is love sent from above.

At least for Lily that was the case - except for dinners at her house, in which case the opposite could be said -. As she opened the front door, she tucked her board under her arm. Only to find herself face-to-face with her fuming mother.

"Shit," she mouthed, and slammed the door shut again, screeching off on her board and down the street. She could still hear her mother calling her a good-for-nothing daughter in Mandarin, but she just threw her arms out; letting the wind whistle through her shirt and laughed.

Plugging in her headphones, she cruised through the city, speeding past the groupies on the boardwalk. Lily didn't give a damn what other people thought of her, especially that night. She was a feather, flying light and free.

Staring ahead at the night sky, Lily headed towards the old amusement park down by the bay that had closed down since a year ago. She stopped caring about the time she decided their opinions didn't matter. Her mother was constantly telling her to lose weight, although she knew for a fact that she didn't need to. Yet she kept insisting on cooking high-carb dinners for her.

Her father was telling her to not bring a boy home. Her cousins were pressuring her to get a boyfriend. And her grandma didn't want her to get involved with a Japanese boy. Which is precisely why she was going to do everything she wasn't supposed to.

It started in the summer of her sixteenth year. Lily and her friends went to a bar that opened up downtown. She knocked back a couple of Cosmopolitans and had sex for the first time, again and again. She got her cartilage piercing the next day. And the following day, her belly button piercing. Her favourite part was when she got a rose tattoo along the length of her arm.

Her mother nearly had a fainting spell when she saw it, but all she said later was,"I'm going to pretend I never saw that " and for a week, kept mumbling "Looks like a gang leader" underneath her breath.

Lily scaled the deserted Ferris Wheel; grabbing each rung and hoisting herself up. She was exhilarated, she was metaphorically on top of the world. She felt like whooping, so she did exactly that. And she did so heartily, until she heard another voice join in.

"The hell are you?" She raised an eyebrow at the tiny speck that was the brown haired Japanese boy down below.

"Xeno," He spread his arms apart by means of demonstration. "Your saviour."

"Right," She snorted, rolling her eyes. "And I'm Jesus."

Lily couldn't see it just then, but she could feel his smile winking out at her. Brighter than even a star.

"Literally," He confirmed, his grin wider than his face. "Is there a name to match that lovely face of yours?"

"There is." When she made no move to further elaborate, Xeno let out a resolute sigh.

"Oh what is a boy to do to get a girl's name? Don't you leave me hanging now." He put a hand to his heart in mock agony.

"Just Lily," She climbed up a little higher and dropped into a pink cart.

"I resent that," Xeno shouted, clambering up the first few rungs. The metal clinked one after another in the still air. "You're Lily Jesus."

"No, really." She couldn't help saying with a cheeky grin. "Lily is my family name and I'm Jesus. But I'm just Lily."

"Well, Just Lily, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Xeno saluted her, plopping down next to her in the pink cart.

"Do you always trespass into private property?"

"It's not trespassing if it no longer belongs to anyone." She said. And for awhile, neither of them said anything. They sat in a companionable silence and listened to the rush of the waves, receding on and off shore.

"Are you here for a reason?" Lily leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes, letting the cart sway back and forth beneath her.

"Does there always have to be?" His voice carried with it soft trails of wind and the whisper of sweet nothings. Lily opened one eye to regard him. She saw a boy who was deep within his own despair. And yet even though he sat right across from her, he was light years away.

And at that time, she left that question unanswered. Because the answer would always and irrevocably, be yes.

She looked at him a little bit more, and then brushed off her pants and stood up. "I'll be back in a few." Lily descended, taking two at a time. She went to the concession stand where she knew had the shave ice. Chucking the empty containers out of the way, she squeezed the red colouring over the ice.

In the distance, she could make out an overhead light scoping the area. "Fuck this," Lily swore under her breath, dumping the two cones. She whipped around and sprinted towards the Ferris Wheel. "You're going to have to jump," She shouted to Xeno.

"Are you shitting me?" Xeno shouted, popping his head out from his cart.

"Yeah, obviously," Lily said sarcastically. "Because it would bring me so much pleasure."

"Your sarcasm is much appreciated," He said drily, descending the structure with agile feet.

"That's my boy," she cooed encouragingly. The watchmen were gaining on them at an alarming pace. "Hurry the fuck up!"

"Can it, Jesus," Xeno groaned. And suddenly, he found himself tumbling head over heels - and most probably resulting in his face planted against the ground. - It seemed, however, that he had at least a touch of luck because he landed half against Lily's shoulder and half sprawled on the concrete.

"Come on," she said, hoisting him up by the waist. He flopped around a bit against her before he brushed off his knees, and righted himself.

"Right," he said, his voice husky. Xeno cleared his throat and coughed a few times, spitting twice on the ground.

Red sand rises in the air as one massive cloud as they pitch forward and promptly dash over a hole in the wire fence. The sky turns a majestic violet as they become one with the crowd milling around until the shops closed. The day is over. But for Lily, it has just begun.

✨✨✨

Xeno had no idea where his feet were taking him. They moved entirely of their own accord. All he knew was that he was going somewhere. And somewhere was better than being right there in the moment.

Take me down.

To Alabama.

Silence was dead to him. All his life, he'd only ever known noise as a few decibels louder than he could stand. And he loved it.