Fifty Days

by Brittney Kristina

His presence rattles my bones, the white of his skin brought forth by that eerie, soft illumination. His blue eyes find mine and he looks at me. I find myself shivering from the intensity of those eyes, and I turn my head away from him.

Awesome quote.

His eyes meet mine, and I see worlds of heartbreak settled deep within them. A cold chill runs through my bones, and I shudder. Goosebumps sprout along my arms, and my breath becomes white in the air. “Who am I?” I gasp, squinting my eyes against the sudden chill of the room. Ace

I am trapped in the cold, starving and alone and tied up in chains. So many questions buzz inside me, threatening to claw their way out through my eyes. And yet, Ace is happy. He acts as though everything is okay, as though I am not suffering.

feel her within me. Growing, flourishing about my innocent skin. Using my body as a home, replacing my blood with her own. I feel her gnaw on my bones and suck on my veins, whispering soft words into my ears. Warm breath tingles the skin of my spine.

The sun is hidden behind the clouds and the world is blanketed by a quiet slumber. “Will

Sometimes, I wonder if we ever, truly live. If we are always trapped

in one place with no way to escape, with rules forcing us to behave a certain way as we stroll along a specific path, which obtains no exact destination.

My heart pounds, and I can’t seem to fight off the feelings I currently endure. Feelings that consist of a strange warmth and a sudden need for someone to hold onto. A

Ace is distant today. But, he checks up on me nonetheless—he peers at me from across the room, his eyes lifting up over that red book, which I notice he reads quite often. When I meet his soft gaze, his irises lock me out, fluttering away as though he hadn’t just been looking at me, as though his hands weren’t just crawling inside. I sit curled up on the leather sofa, reading a novel beneath the gentle sun rays, which bleed in from a nearby window.

I stare out into the darkness, my eyes reaching great distances beyond the nearest window. I look at the moon, and I look at the stars, trailing the constellations with my eyes. My body curls tighter, my hands trembling, my lips curling into a bitter frown. My fingers and toes are numb—no, everything is numb. I do not have control anymore, I cannot do anything to stop her… so I lie there, and I feel her wrath flourish within me. I’ve learned to embrace it.

I have held my breath this entire time, listening to the sound of the crisp, fallen leaves crunch beneath my sneakers. The sensation sends vibrations down my spine, and a feeling of hope ignites my pulse. Ace

A bird grazes the world with the tips of her wings. She dips down toward the earth, then soars back up into the air, flying right over our heads. Youth, hope… it all just curls into the palms of my hands and lies there, pleading for me to take it home.

I scream out to him, still unsure of what I just witnessed. And as I scream out to him, I feel myself being dragged under, delicate fingers clasping my ankles and pulling me to the very, very bottom of the lake.

I didn’t want him to leave. I don’t want this day to end like this. I clench my fists, fighting back the tears, which threaten to fall. Did I do something wrong? I glance back over my shoulder, staring at Ace’s hallway, which is dark and eerie. I must have said something terrible, for why else would he just leave me?

Every few moments, I hear Ace scream. Every few moments, I scream. But of course, we don’t use our voices to scream; we scream inside, the wrath of our loneliness powerful within us. We want each other; for whatever reason, being together keeps us sane. He is the only person I have, and I am the only person he has. We are all that we have.

When I close my eyes long enough, I feel him. My cheek is pressed against his chest, and his heartbeat thumps beneath my ear. His breath is warm on my forehead, and his fingers are running through my hair.

Such a serious man; such a goofy man. When he wears these grins, he completely transforms into a different human; he is more inviting, more comforting. But when his face drains of color and his blue eyes darken, he is still somewhat romantically intimidating.

Afterwards, we find ourselves standing in front of a window, our eyes peering beyond the glass and into the entrance of another universe, which is coated in a thick layer of jumbled words and useless gists. Pointless moments and wasted tears. Buried treasures dusted in a fine layer of rust.

And we stare, absorbed by the endless possibilities and never-ending doors, waiting so very patiently for them to be unlocked and thrown open with pride.

I reach my hands out toward the night sky, my fingertips grazing the subtle crystals which lay tucked within the dark. Although the stars lie buried beneath the night’s smoke, they somehow beam brighter than ever before. No matter how forcefully the sky presses them back into their slumber, they continue to twirl about the darkness. I

We lie there, listening to the thunderstorm in the darkness. Occasionally, a flash of light will ignite and spread throughout the room, and we can see each other. But then, it turns to black and a great roar of thunder rattles the house. My body shivers against the sudden cold of the room, and Ace’s arm, which is wrapped around my frail body, slides me closer to him. I close my eyes gently, trying to forget about the dream, trying to forget about the journal, and the blood, and the goo, and the woman, and everything. I try to forget, and somehow, I try so hard, I try myself to sleep.

We fall onto the grass, kissing, kissing, kissing. And we lie there for a long time, our lips becoming butter, the heat between us carefully faltering and turning to the gentle light of a candle against a dark room. I

My soul is now lost among the stars. I venture further into the dark sky, gliding past planets and suns and sliding across Milky Ways. Purple, white, and orange lights glitter throughout the universe, decorating the black world. I look down to see black, and I look above my head to see black. And soon, I realize I am lost.