Sixty-Seven Years Ago
The End of a Leader
"Ramius and Ana, we now give you back to the greatness of nature, in all her wisdom and beauty and from which your physical bodies have been so generously provided, so that nature may once again be in perfect balance." The captain of the barge then ordered two oarsmen to help seat Ramius and Ana on the barge's edge, next to their stones, with their legs hanging down and nearly touching the water. The oarsmen then stood behind them, awaiting the command.
There was the ring of a loud bell from the deck, and the captain said, "Farewell to you," at which point, the oarsmen pushed Ramius and Ana from behind, and they plunged into the water together. There was a collective gasp across the entirety of Eden. Only those aboard could see that Ramius and Ana were still holding hands as they went below.
They sank quickly, confused and stunned by the frigidity of the water, which caused them to gasp involuntarily under the tightening force of their ribs. Ramius turned to face Ana, who had already drawn in water and would be at her end very quickly. As they touched the bottom, he held her to him as she struggled and flailed. Soon, she was motionless. Ramius looked at her and saw peace in her expression. His lungs were now pressuring him for air. He resisted. He wanted to look at her one last time. When he could resist no longer, he gave in and joined his bride, Ana, in her state of tranquility.
YOU ARE READING
Running Boys - Complete
Science FictionThis is the original form of the book. It weaves together books 1 and 2. I later separated them by time period to make each individual book a little shorter. But personally, I meant for the stories to be told in parallel. I think it adds a lot to th...
