The Sapphire Pass: All-Father

Catch and release

James woke up early, it was only 6am and he paced his room. He had no work to tend to and he didn't want to wake Ophelia, yet. She would likely already be awake but he didn't want to seem desperate for her attention.

His Mom always taught him that he couldn't appear too needy around people, because it would make them avoid you. The more confident he appeared the more people would be attracted to that aura, and gravitate toward him. He needed to seem confident and in everyday life it was real, but now was it all just a farce? He slammed his hand against the wall in frustration and flopped back on to his bed, he tried to close his eyes and think about nothing. Just an hour more would do.

-

Ophelia's eyes fluttered open, the birds were beginning to sing and she could see the first faint rays of sunlight begin to reach the empty building of the once sprawling metropolis. The faint outlines of ruins suggested that once upon a time people had built and thrived here, but no longer. She wondered how so many people could co-exist in such a small place.

She wondered if James would be awake, she was rather bored and there wasn't much to do, but she decided he would call her when he was ready, so she decided to go for a run and then take a shower, after that maybe she could read one of the books he'd lent her until he was awake and ready to stop over. She also had about an hour until food was sent up even though her stomach was protesting loudly.

Her run last night had been a marathon more than a quick jog, and she got back to her apartment quite late. She didn't want to eat right before she slept because she'd heard that it can cause your sleep to be restless and she wanted to get enough sleep. It might be cold when she finally returned, but cold food was better than bricks, so off she went.

She ran through the early morning, breathing in the cold refreshing air of Spring as the sun began to rise over the city. She'd never taken the time to look around at what it actually looked like and her pace began to slow until she was walking and taking her time to look at all the fascinating sights that went untouched by human hands. Nature has started to reclaim much of the landscape and it created something beautiful and unique.

She didn't even realize how dangerous it could be when she walked through an open door into a building covered in vines, and surrounded by trees that had sprung their way through cracks in the pavement. She wanted to see what it was like. The peeked into the old building walking up a flight of stairs that were crumbling in places. She was in her training gear so if the floor suddenly gave way- she would be alright.

She came to what looked like a wide corridor, lined with doors. Some were still intact and other were falling off their hinges or gone altogether. She walked into one and looked around. It was unremarkable, much like her own. There was a kitchen, a living area, sleep rooms and a bathroom.

She found electronic boxes in a few of the rooms but had no idea what they were used for. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and soot. There were books on shelves and family portraits hung faded on the walls. Is this how people used to live?

She walked into a room that once had pink walls and had long ago turned orange with the passing of time, and picked up a small book from a table. The book had old handwriting in it, current events and dates. It was a notebook of some sort. She flipped through it throwing up dust and making her sneeze, but it revealed a small strip of photos. A girl and a boy smiled brightly at her before they turned and pressed their lips against one another. They looked happy.

Was this how people used to express their affection?

She wondered what it was called and why anyone would do it. Germs spread pathogens and disease, why would anyone invite that willingly. She read through a few pages of the books. Someone named Kelly was having a hard time with her bff who stole Andrew, her bf from her, and that wasn't okay. She was 'absolutely never talking to her again.' Also her parents were lame.