The girl lays still, attempting to fall asleep. She wants to drift off. She feels tired physically. But it's as if her entire body is wide awake. When she realizes its hopeless, she stands up, eyes still closed.
An intense heat surrounds her suddenly. Her eyes fling open, her mind fully alert. She looks around.There are thousands of people in short denim and colourful outfits. Sunglasses of all kinds occupied most faces. Some even sported large hats and headpieces with a variety of feathers emerging from the top. Everything is bright. People joke and laugh under a yellow sky. She looks down; the grass is brown and she got no shoes on. A lot of others are barefooted, and the rest move in sandals or flip-flops. Flowers sit in groups all over the ground and their are some stray dandelions. There is a mixture of a salty and sweet type scent lingering in the air if you inhale deeply enough, and there is music blasting from every direction.
The majority of them are exchanging red cups. The girl, unfamiliar with her surroundings, searches for an exit. She sure didn't want what ever was in them. She takes one step forward and feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns to face a boy, carrying two red cups, holding one out to her. His smile is subtle. Not ear to ear, but you can tell that he's really happy. When she realizes that his teeth are whiter than his shirt, she deems him questionable. She doesn't trust him. At least she doesn't think she does.
Here you go. He extends his arm a bit further, and the girl hesitates before finally accepting the cup. They start walking, and the boy starts talking.
THE BOY: You know Nyla, this is such a beautiful place.
Who is Nyla? The girl wonders as he takes a sip of his.
THE BOY: The lights, the clothes, the music, -everything. Everyone seems so happy. It's like a utopia or something. It really is amazing.
The girl, still confused, couldn't help but nod in agreement. He casually slips his arm around her as they progress through the mass of people. She is alarmed, and her first instinct is to pull away. But something comes over her. There is a sense of warmth. Not like the heat of that day, but internally. Like an sudden intense feeling of serenity . She feels really safe with him. She doesn't want to leave. She lays her head on his shoulder and she is not happy, just not afraid anymore.
THE BOY: It feels like a dream. But I think that's how we know it's not real. It can't last. All of this, it's not meant to. It will end and these feelings of happiness will eventually die out like a flame. No form of happiness is forever.
The girl mumbles a response as she examines the red cup. There's hardly anything in it.
THE GIRL: Yeah, I guess so.
Just then a song comes on that changes the mood of the entire population. Heads turn to center stage. Conversations drop mid sentence and hang in the air. The crowd begins move like one spirit. People are dancing and holding hands. Laughing as if surprised by the song choice. Hugging. It's obviously not a fast song, but not really slow either. One of those moderate tempo love songs that only get played once at parties to create one of those, "moments".
The boy leans in close to the girl and he rocks her steadily. Here she was standing comfortably with her head in the chest of a complete stranger. Why wasn't she running away or trying to find the cops?
It's a sweet song. "Tuesday afternoon, ain't got shvt to do, but fall in love with you. " The last hook comes in. Girl peeks out from the boys arms and peers over his shoulders. People are kissing.
The boy stares down at her, intently. He gently lifts the girl's chin up with his finger, and plants a tender kiss on her cheek. Then he smiles and waits, as if he expects her to kiss him back. But the girl does nothing. She feels nothing. He pulls away looks in a different direction.
When he looks back the happiness is gone. He appears to be very hurt. He stares are her intently, one arm rubbing the back of his neck.
THE BOY: Nyla,
Silence
THE BOY:
......this can't last forever
The boy gives one last glance and turns around. He walks off, and it doesn't look like he's going to come back. Suddenly the girl feels really sad. She shrieks out for his return.
THE GIRL: Hey, wait up!
He continues to walk forward.
THE GIRL: Seriously! Come back!
She tries to chase after him but it feels as though she's moving so slowly.
THE GIRL: DON'T GO! PLEASE!!!
..... I'm sorry!
The hook is ringing in the air.
"Love me better, kiss me back, listen more... "
She continues calling out, but it's no use. He probably can't even hear her now. It's getting colder.
The girl is trying to find him in the mass of bodies. A breeze hits the air. There are fewer and fewer people the further she moves, so it should be easy to keep up, but her feet move like stones. The grass is turning yellow and the sun finds refuge behind the clouds. The flowers welt up quickly.
It's freezing and small flakes start raining down. People are disappearing left and right, but the girl is unaware, she is following the boy. The wind starts tossing around the millions of white spots. At this point the girl is on her knees, crawling. Tears are streaming down her face.
THE GIRL: Please..... don't leave.
The boy disappears into the blizzard. His shadow soon follows. The girl is bawling . It is a mess, everything is frozen, snow blows all around, and she finds that she is drowning in her tears. She feels her self sinking and jolts upward.
The girl is sitting in a bed, covered in sweat. The time is 1:12 am. She is breathing heavily, and her chest hurts.
