somnolescent

hour nine - elyshia takes salvator to the cemetery

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things." - Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

☾☆☽

there was maybe an inch of snow on the ground by the time salvator finished throwing eggs. the snow seemed to have accumulated fast. within the next hour, there would probably be three.

salvator was breathless by the time he finished. without worrying about the snow or getting his jeans wet and dirty, he strode over to where elyshia was leaning against a brick wall, and slid down beside her. he looked exhausted and probably not just because of the egging. his eyes, half-closed, had lost much of its bright sparkle, his mouth a dark purple from the cold, and his cheeks a numbing dark pink. he looked like a ghost. but even if he looked dead, elyshia still thought he was beautiful. like a precious gemstone that had lost its luster. it was still precious, just dimmed.

"are you alright?" asked elyshia in a hushed whisper, kneeling down beside him.

"fine," his voice was slightly muffled, due to his head being down on his knees. "just, need to take a breath."

"in the cold?" she pressed, worried for the boy. "are you sure?"

"yes," he answered. "i'll be fine, ely. don't worry. just give me a second." he seemed to be taking long, deep inhales and exhales. "in the meantime, think of another place to go for hour... nine, is it?"

elyshia nodded, but then realized he couldn't see her. "yes," she said aloud.

a silence fell upon them as elyshia racked her mind, thinking of where to go. there was nowhere left, really. if this was the summer, they could walk to the all-night causter oaks festival fair. if this was fall, they could go the corn maze all the way in the outskirts of town, where there was plenty of room for, well, a corn maze. if this were spring, even, she'd take him to see the rare cherry blossoms on the other side of causter oaks - the quieter, countrified side. although admittedly, the cherry blossoms would be hard to see at this time.

she was further reminded why she disliked winter immensely. winter also happened to be the season when the incident occured.

but there was one person who was there for her when no one else was. when everyone else hated her. someone who took her in and read stories for her whenever she couldn't fall asleep at night, when she was scared of the demons that would attack her mind when she became unconscious.

salvator was standing up again, leaning on the brick wall whilst eyeing her with a curious look. "have you decided? you probably have, seeing that look of nostalgia on your face."

elyshia nodded slowly. "yeah, i have. come on." she pushed herself off the brick wall using her shoulders and held out her hand.

he looked surprised, seeing her outstretched hand. but a split-second later, he took it with both hands -- one beneath, one at the top. "where are we going?"

"the cemetery."

☾☆☽

the cemetery was on the other side of town, quite a walk from the front of the apartment building to the rural, peaceful side. the walk there was quiet. their entwined hands, previously numb from the icy air, did the talking. both their hands generated enough heat so that neither felt it was necessary to communicate with each other.