Whirlwind

A Short Story

Whirlwind

It’s unfathomable how easily something can creep up on you. How something so meager, has the potential to crash into your life, and in a fleeting moment, tear you from your current reality, flipping your world upside down. This whirlwind that crashed into your life has now made what you once believed only possible in fiction, a reality. This whirlwind, for me, was Wes.

Saturday, August 30th, 1998

It all began mid-autumn. Flowers were wilting, the blooming green of leaves now fading to differing shades of brown, red, and yellow. The earth’s surface, coated with a thin film of leaves, masking the blades of swaying grass beneath. I had been on my way to work, running later than usual, when it happened.  A stray paper slipped from the opening of my bag and had been swiftly swept up into the autumn breeze, dancing freely without a care. In a frenzy, I turned sharply on my heels, ready to chase after the fleeting sheet, when I’d crashed headfirst into a solid wall.  The solid wall that now towered before my figure and extended a hand down to me. That solid wall I’d later learn was Wes. As I accepted his hand, I looked up into his eyes and I knew. I just knew.

 

Friday, December 30th, 1998

Autumn had quickly passed, blankets of cold, frosty snow now masking the array of colors that had been present merely days before. My cheeks tingled from cold as I brushed the snow from my lap and glanced briefly at my watch. The hour hand was stretching towards the ten, the minute hand just ticks away from following. He was late, again. A loud yell drew me away from my thoughts and as I turned towards the sound, a soft smile touched my lips. Wes. Walking towards him, we met halfway, a bubbling laugh escaping me as he crushed me against him in a hug, mumbling words of apology. A gasp escaped my lips as my hat flew from head, quickly getting swept up in the wind. Meeting his gaze, giggles once again rose in me as I caught the twinkle in his eye before we began chasing after the hat, hand-in-hand.

Friday, June 30th, 1999

The fresh ocean breeze laced itself with my hair, salty sprays of water lightly feathering my face as laughter escaped my lips. Wes sat beside me, hand held firmly on the steering wheel, a slight curl on his right lip. Reaching a hand out the window, my fingers streamed through the cool breeze as a carefree cry stumbled from my mouth. As the car came to a stop, I turned towards Wes, reaching out my hand, gently touching his. Confusion seemed to knit his brow as he stared at me with a questioning look. “Wes,” I’d asked, “Its you and me forever, right?” His smile had broadened as he opened up his door and within seconds had opened mine and swept me up into his arms. Now my face was the one contorting with confusion, repeatedly asking him where he was taken me. He refused to reply, but it was not long before I realized as we drew nearer to the sea. Screams of protest and cries of laughter came from us both, quickly getting swept up, up, and away into the wind.

 

Friday, August 30th, 1999

A hand rose to my mouth as I stifled a sob threatening to escape my throat, the eerie positive staring back at me, seeming to mock me, as I knelt on my bathroom floor. Unknowledgeable of what to do, I reached dumbly for my phone, dialing the first person that had come to mind: Wes. Hours seemed to have passed by before he picked up and when he did, there was a moment’s pause before I began to speak. “I was confused and lost,” I’d told him, “I had no clue what to do. I hadn’t known who to call, but all signs seemed to point towards you.”  A deafening silence had flooded the phone, then nothing. Nothing, save for the dial tone. He’d hung up. Seemingly out of nowhere, a gentle breeze seemed to blow against me, wrapping itself around my body. It was then, and only then, that the floodgates let loose.

  

Nine-thirty a.m.. It’s unfathomable how – to this day – I remember the exact time my life had ended. How easily I can pinpoint the exact moment it felt as though the earth had vanished from beneath my feet. This whirlwind that had barreled unannounced into my life, so easily I had allowed it to sweep me off my feet. This whirlwind that, within a year had rendered me broken – this whirlwind called love.

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Wow its been forever since I've uploaded on here. This is just a little something I whipped up off of a prompt I received. If you guys wouldn't mind just dropping a comment below or even voting, that'd be much appreciated! Thank you so much!

Look for more work in the future ^-~