A neck tense with heat. A face flushed with color - lips, drained of their own color.
Glassy eyes look down - past the raggedy shoes upon their nippy toes, beyond the concrete railing upon which these same raggedy shoes were firmly planted upon. A fog danced from the faded lips, expelled from fresh lungs - tendrils and curls of vapor dancing into the majority of vision.
A breeze danced by and cuffed it away from even the peripherals of the visage.
It was a sight to behold. The beauty of the cobalt below, crashing over itself - churning, sloshing with each passing second. Nothing would remain the same: the waves changed every waking moment, as did everything else.
The same breeze had exercised its energy to everything in the area. The figure standing upon the concrete standing shivered after a moment's silence.
There was little light, so early in the day. Bleak daylight that could not fight its way through the veil of thick, condescending clouds - that fought so very terribly to boost every aspect of life and give the flourishing plants the support they needed; the dark pathways the luminance they needed to ensure a safe delivery; the solidification of another day to ensure that time had not dared to stop.
The promise that it would never threaten to stop.
The closest external sound came from far off. The murky morning masked many, monotonous machines - maybe maneuvering madly-massive minds farther away from further turmoil. A car's engine was something sparse this early in the morning.
It was the last soul creeping in from the night or the first soul rising for the morning.
Whatever their intent, it only spurred for a quicker execution of the plan.
Irises never left a fixed point in the waters below. They were freezing, any mindful creature would know of this - the foam that leaped into the air, crashing from the pillars which supported the very attachment of the concrete railing those same grungy sneakers stood upon danced, giving what little grace could be offered to the uninviting, rigorous waterway.
There were no boats to search here. No creatures to pass through. No minds to imagine, to fathom such a feat. It was so high, so far up from the water, that it felt as though wings would sprout from any joint at any moment - all there was left to do was lean forward.
"Stop!"
An inkling had been the only thing leaving feet plastered to the concrete. Shifting uncomfortably, a sharp breath whistled into the fresh lungs. What was presumed to be one's last breath quickly turned into another.
A hood covered its round face. Cheekbones were sharp, eyes bugged slightly in bewilderment. They searched and frisked every visible surface - neck craned and waist slightly twisted to inspect the audacity of one who dared to challenge their courage - to challenge their judgment and decisions.
No one.
Eyes quickly reinspected the waters.
Nothing had changed, yet they had changed entirely: there were a new set of waves swerving in different angles at alternate velocities with unique altitudes and volumes - everything had changed of them, though nothing had changed about them.
They were still waves.
Another breath left, vapor curling away just as it had before. This time, the exhalation was shaky in time with the breath's disappearance.
"Wait!"
Goosebumps.
The sound of footsteps.
A quick whirl around left a bit of disorientation to waft about in the air, but revealed that there was, still, no soul in sight.
For some odd reason, the eyes felt compelled to look alongside them - to their right.
There was another individual, just like them - covered up and bundled up, with rags and tattered cloths about them. They were a bit out of arm's reach, very much so, yet the details of their appearance were vivid.
"Here!"
A figure came chasing after it. The heartbeat that hammered through its ribs, the breaths that robbed the sun's intensity of its flames that flared at its nerves - even the perseverance of its muscles as they ached from the eons of pursuit - intrigued the onlooker. While the two newcomers were being spectated, they did not seem to acknowledge their third, and original, presence.
"Don't! Please!"
The voice was booming. Winded, exasperated, exhausted, desperate, dejected, lost, pleading - completely fractured.
The fellow spectator-acrobat, between both the original visitor and the last of the newcomers, turned to face this person. Their faces were the few details that couldn't be made out. The furs lining their coats, their hoods, the snowy flurries that danced around them cascading and hurdling all the same - all of it appeared distinctly detailed.
Remarkably refined.
Their faces, however, were straight as a clean slate.
The whirring of a vehicle grew, swelled, and then mumbled as it danced by. It hushed itself more for each second it continued on, as if the excuse of there being snow piled upon the ground would excuse its passing through.
Vision snapped back out to the blurry vision of the horizon that could barely be made out.
Then to the waters below.
"Don't jump!"
The scene with the two strangers had transpired to a point where its apparent location was beyond the grungy sneakers and concrete standing, but at a midpoint between the water and the bridge.
"Okay! Okay! I'm here! Fall into me!"
Extended arms unfolded, as if to prepare a safety net for the unseen descent.
The observing eyes soon succumbed to the eyelids which protected them from what seemed to be the truth all around them.
"Whatever you do, just don't jump. Please!"
This time, the voice came from behind, which made the entire essence taut with surprise.
Whirling around, the same arms that had been extended down by the waterfront were extended directly in front, the face wet.
Not with snow or with perspiration, but by tears, evident by the reddened nose and eyes.
Without clue of what to say, the spine aligned itself rigidly.
The swelling of a heartbeat that had been dormant for so long swam through veins, through muscles that had been inactive for so long, past nerves which had been deadened for so long - through the ears which had only heard for so long.
They now began to listen.
"Just spin..."
The command ushered closed eyes without thought and obedience. The enticing thought of leaving it completely up to chance always enthralled the opportunity to explore.
"And trust that I'll catch you."
And gravity pulled.
The fall was much farther than expected, with the winds attacking its bare legs - but when the heartbeat had stopped thundering in rejuvenated eardrums and eyes had opened, the skies above appeared much clearer than before.
And then the water exploded all around you.
But, before your vision is completely obscured, you see something is wrapped around you.
Those same set of arms that promised to catch you.
And a smile crosses your lips.
Because you know you could never be alone, upon the top of the world or even as you sink to the depths of darkness.
You could never be alone.
<3 ~ Monty.
=]
Beautiful writing, as always <3
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