Halo And Horns

Chapter 02: Sloth

Sunlight poured through the gaps between the leaves. The water shimmered, making the ripples twinkle like diamonds. She was spinning in front of him, hands spread out, face turned up, glimmering in the rays of light. She danced in the sunlight by the lake. Her red hair shone crimson. She looked as good as the day they'd met.

"Come on, Nick!" she said as she stopped spinning and reached out to pull him onto his feet. She held his hands and started swaying, her eyes blue and glimmering and her smile brighter than the full moon. For him, she was all that mattered and for her he was all that mattered. She swayed, dancing and urging him to follow her.

"No! You know I can't dance!" He heard his voice say. He felt himself happy as he had said it. Not something he was used to feeling.

The girl leaned in closer and placed her arms one on each of his shoulders and looked up at him. She was beautiful. He couldn't help but stare at her big blue eyes and flawless skin, the full lips presented into a smile. He held her lightly by the waist and she stood on the tips of her toes and closed her eyes, pressing her lips against his as he did the same; he closed his eyes and everything went dark. He felt her warm, soft lips against his. He felt her hands on his shoulders and the shape of her body under his hands.

Then there was nothing.

He opened his eyes and there was nothing. Nothing but blackness. He was standing alone in a vast emptiness, a darkness. No matter where he looked, all he saw was blackness, stretching out for eons. He felt his heart start pounding in his chest. It kept pounding harder and harder and he swore could hear it. He was sure if there was anyone else with him, they could've heard it as well. It started aching and he dropped to his knees, grabbing at his chest, clawing at the fabric of his shirt, sweating and panting. He shut his eyes and opened his mouth then, screamed as loud as he could but there was no sound. Then the ache subsided and he heard cheerful chatter from in front of him and felt something below him.

He opened his eyes and realized; what he felt was the seat of a car and he was sitting now in the backseat, staring at a lively couple talking to each other in the front seats. The man was driving and the woman was smiling and giggling, talking to him. The man turned around and said, "Nick, did you enjoy the movie?" He felt himself nod happily before a burst of light blinded him, so he shut his eyes again. There was a loud crash. Again, the aching pain came back. It kept growing and growing until he felt hot and heard the crackling of a large fire and smelled smoke.

He swallowed hard and slowly opened his eyes, already sure of what he was about to see; A house was burning. A great blaze of fire just roaring towards the sky. He recognized the large house very well. It was where he had lived. Where he watched his mother cry. Where he got ready for school and where he used to cry alone at. And it was burning, raining ash down like flakes of snow around the whole neighborhood. He was sweating and his heart continued to pound.

Then he woke up. His heart still pounded and his shirt was soaked with sweat. He was out of breath as he sat up. He pulled his knees up to his chest, placed his elbow on top of them and dug his fingers into his already disheveled hair, pulling at it, trying to calm down but his heart kept pounding and it felt as if it was about to break his ribs and escape from his body. He leaned to his side and reached out to the drawer of his bedside table then pulled it open. He took out a long necklace with what looked like a sapphire gem at its head. He breathed out a great sigh and placed it against his chest. The coldness of the blue gem pierced through the fabric of his shirt, mixing with his sweat, making it feel colder. The pounding slowed down until it stopped completely. He sat there, panting for a while then placed a kiss on the gem and put it back into his drawer before getting out of bed.