Semester's End (Flash Fiction/Journaling)
Author's Note: As many of you know, I'm finishing my first semester of college on Wednesday, and I had this vision in my head that I wanted to pour out onto the page. Forgive me if it is a bit sloppy, but I hope you like it anyway. ;D
Semester's End
By Asche Keegan
I’m marching across sandy dunes that suck my feet into their depths. Only slow progress is made, but still I march, keeping my eyes on the tallest mountain in the range. I know Gregarious hides behind it, and I have finally learned his secret.
The mountains are only silhouettes against the empty sky, and though the lantern I hold does not come close to touching their looming masses, it allows me to at least see where I am walking. Further, if I hold it up behind me, I can see the long lines of footsteps trailing off into the dark. I stop and stare at those lines for a long moment, a reminder of how far I’ve come, despite the imprints being swept away by the harsh wind. I shiver, and I linger no longer, pushing forward.
Soon, even the wind dies, leaving an unearthly silence in its wake. My footsteps nearly drive me mad by themselves, but I laugh at the thought.
Who can be madder than I? I see mountains and dragons where others see buildings and birds.
Yet, as if summoned, a thunderous noise and roar echoes across the sands. Above the mountain climbs a dragon, larger than he has ever been before.
“Gregarious!” I shout. He shifts his body, and against the sky, his neck elongates, and a burst of blue-orange fire peels the dark apart.
I resist the urge to run, maintaining instead the same steady march that always drives me forward. He settles back, and though I know he is watching me, I refuse to allow my fear to dominate my actions.
On I walk, until I am about forty feet from the base of the mountain. Staring up the side, I can feel him calculating my actions even as I ponder scaling the rockface.
Finally he speaks, and the rocks tremble with his voice. “It is useless,” he hisses. “You can never make it up here.”
I shake my head. “I will reach it,” I say.
“At what cost?” he retorts.
I almost drop the lantern as the memories rush through me.
~ ~ ~
“What’s wrong?”
I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
“Well, I know how our friendship stands.”
“Part of me is a little Disappointed and frustrated That you would end things before they even had a chance to begin.”
~ ~ ~
“You lost your best friend, alienated your entire friend group at once, and broke another’s heart,” Gregarious says. His wings beat against the cliff again, and he leans further down across it until I can faintly make out his glimmering, golden eyes. “And what have you gained for it?”
I stand there, paralyzed in fear and trapped in the memories.
“Remember the pain you felt?” he asks. “Remember how you were so broken that your heart seized up constantly out of nowhere? Your blood pressure was high enough to cause a stroke.” He pauses, and I remember perfectly. “Remember how you were struggling in class? How you lost everyone who mattered to you in one fell blow?”
I shiver again, and suddenly the mountain taunts me with its height. The confidence I first felt dwindles away, and Gregarious chuckles.
“You’ve become everything you hate the most,” he says. “Backstabbing, disloyal…fake. Who were you to think you could challenge me? How are you any better?”
His words rush through me, and I nearly collapse beneath their weight. In the shadows, the Fische have returned, creeping towards me in my weakness. I swing my lantern towards them, and they recoil, but it is not enough to fully send them away.
“How are you any better?” he asks again. I stare up into his gleaming eyes, and a flicker of a memory races towards me. I leap upon it, and with it, all the others return.
~ ~ ~
“You’re essentially my little sister.”
“You remind me that there’s good in the world, that love exists, and that people aren’t so bad after all.”
“91221”
“91221.”
~ ~ ~
I tighten my grip on my lantern, pulling myself to my feet. “You forgot a few things,” I announce. Even the Fische recoil at the harshness of my voice, but I pay them no mind. “You forgot about the night I spent running down the middle of the road at 2am with slushies from 7-11. You forgot about the Bible study I joined and the amazing people in it. You forgot about all the friends I made, and you forgot the most important thing of all:
“Humans? We learn from our mistakes, and when we fall down, we get back up again.”
Gregarious says nothing, and as I stare into his eyes, I finally do not feel the hopelessness that has followed me all semester long. I feel hope, strength, and courage. “I will reach you,” I say.
I start walking again, and he roars. From the ground, it seems like half-laughter and half-anger. “You will try,” he says.
I step onto the rock face, yet mid-word it gives way beneath me, and I fall face-first into water. Shocked and gasping for breath, I scramble for the surface, pulling myself to an upright position. The desert has vanished.
I am back in the center of campus, and people are staring at me. I have fallen into the fountain, and where the mountain stood is only a tall building. I pull myself out, dripping wet in the cold, but still I’m smiling. He’ll be back, yes, but the year isn’t over yet.
2 comments
For some weird reason I just have the urge to-
ReplyDelete*stands and applauds*
*for a long time*
You're not just trying
You're winning.
<3 <3 <3 Thank you, that means a lot :)
Delete