Devotion [h.s]

274

Day 55 without Amelia

Harry Styles

It was a cloudy day, but it still felt warm. My bare feet were buried in the warm sand, a merciful feeling. I looked down at myself and saw I was in the same clothes I thought I was wearing, a half ripped open flannel shirt and my black track pants. I looked around at my surroundings and quickly took in that I was on a beach, an empty cloudy beach. The warm wind blew softly against my face while the sounds of the birds chirping and grey waters crashing against the shoreline were filling my ears. My hair blew lightly in different directions while I was lost about how I got here.

I realized my physical aches were gone. My head wasn't pounding, my legs didn't feel strained, and I wasn't nauseous anymore.

But yet I still felt...pain.

My body felt empty, and the pain was one that couldn't be seen to the human eye. It wasn't laced in my organs or circulating through my blood; it was in my soul.

But then I heard the sounds of laughter, a laugh coming from a little girl. It was more joyful then creepy, but somewhere in the distance. When I heard it over the tide I now realized I wasn't the only one here on this vacant beach.

I turned around and immediately my vision landed on people in the distance. They were too far for me to see who they were but close enough that I knew they were people. In instinct I walked closer to them, it was like I was meant to. Each figure was wearing white from head to toe, the distance making them just small blurs to my eyes.

The closer I got in the warm sand the more I started to distinguish what was happening. I still couldn't see who they were, but I could see more clearly of what they were doing.

There was a tall figure running around in the sand with a very small figure. The closer I got the more clearly I could hear the laughter coming from the small figure and see long hair flying in the pace they created with their runs. The tall figure was a man, and he was simply playing with a little girl.

Further from the shore was a woman sitting on a picnic blanket. She was in a beach hat and a nice white dress. I kept walking towards them as no one payed attention to me getting closer, like I was invisible. I walked closer and closer until I can see clearly to who everyone was and exactly what they were doing.

The woman sitting on the blanket was my Amelia. She sat there cross legged in all white, smiling at the other two people running around in the sand together.

I looked at the two again, and when I actually focused on them I realized the man was me. And by the smile of the girl and the piercing green eyes, I knew that was Briar.

I blinked a few times in confusion, realizing I was staring at my family— my happy family.

I stared at myself running around bare foot in the sand with Briar, she seemed to be around five years old. She looked just like Amelia, beautiful. My other self was dressed in white shorts and a white button up shirt that was only half done up. I was chasing Briar around in the sand with a smile on my face, the sounds of Briar laughing while running around.

I watched as my happy self caught Briar and threw her over his shoulder, spinning around as she squirmed and laughed. Her small bare feet kicking, while they dangled.

"Daddy!" She laughed.

I was so stunned at what I was looking at, it was the joyful future I wanted ever since Briar was born.