Phantasmagoria

10-Keru

The sun is pasted on the stretch of lousy clouds so that the wind whistles just fine. I humour myself by choosing a wardrobe that screams punk and The Beatles, one of my favourites. I twirl my now bright orange hair and stare at the twinkle of the sun's reflection on the lake, like tiny diamonds blown by the wind.

"When you said you died here, did you, really?" He is tall and lean, and his voice is like of someone who had never hit a fly. I smirk.

"I told you, the lake swallowed me. It wasn't my fault I was that appetizing." I eye him playfully, but he merely shrugged. He remains quiet. I stare at him for a long time but he doesn't move nor speak.

"Have you ever wondered why the lake is blue and not orange?" I ask, gazing forward.

"It's not blue."

"Yeah right it's clear, okay smarty pants. But have you ever wondered why? I mean, it would be cool if it were orange. "

"You mean like a dirty urine?" He snorts. I roll my eyes.

"I mean, why are things the way they are?" I spin sideways so that I am facing him. "Why can't the sky be red or the stars be rectangles or our skin be green? Do you think there's a world out there where things are not what they are supposed to be?"

He looks at me. "Maybe. Maybe there are." He breaks his gaze.

"Do you think they wonder about it too? If their stars are rectangles, do they wonder if there's a world out there where it is not?"
His eyes are far but I could tell that he's listening.

"It's crazy isn't it?" I sigh and hug my knees. "This life is merely a flicker in the eternal cosmos, not even a trillionth of the perpetual timeline and yet this. All this seems to matter so much. Even if I travel the world and set foot on every space, I can't believe that there is more to it than I could ever imagine."

He smiles. "Why did you kiss me?" He asks. Typical of a guy. You introduce your soul and all he cares about is a kiss.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know each other?"

"So? Did you parents know you when you were born? Did they know all about your thoughts? Your future ideals? Do you even know who you are? You are a stranger to yourself as I am a stranger to you. Try again."

He chuckles silently but he doesn't look back. "You're not supposed to kiss me."

"Am I supposed to not kiss you then?"

"It's against-"

"Against what? The norm? The system? Your beliefs? Besides, you liked it anyway." He smiles silently, like how one would when he sees his mother after a long while.

"And you're dead." He exclaimed in nonchalance.

"Am I?" I mock him. "Do you want to find out?" I lean closer to him, my eyes fixated on his lips. I feel her heartbeat with my palm as I place it on his chest. I look at his eyes and smiled. This time, he leans in and brushes his lips against mine.