One Song
A lighthouse in the dark.
One Song
To freeze the time, we had together.
To keep it from flickering away
One Song
To tell your story.
But I’m afraid I can’t hold on.
Without you beside me
Anymore
-Glory (Last Written Verse)
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The silence turned to scream, the screams into festivities as Ryan blinked slowly, his lips thinned, and his brow furrowed in concentration.
Ryan stumbled to his feet, wincing as he clutched his chest, instinctively clawing at his shirt as a wave of pain pierced through him. The pain was intense, tugging him forward but had started to dull until it dissipated into a painful memory.
Everything was so different, one moment he was lying on the cold concrete, wishing for death release and the next he found himself in some sort of cellar. He had awoken on a bed of marigold petals that emanated a soft golden light. As his eye adjusted, he spotted a set of worn stairs that snaked below him, coiling up into the heavens. Empty bookshelves filled with cobwebs and the buildup of dust from time past lined the slick walls.
He hesitated for a moment, carefully trying to pick apart his memory before he blacked out, but he drew a blank. The last thing he remembers was being on a train, streaking across the city horizon, and Bernado’s crazy grin.
The last part he suspected was just a hallucination, a dream he had before he woke up.
Ryan stumbled again just as a searing pain shot through his chest, forcing him to double over. Despite the fact the marigold had stopped glowing, something seemed to give off life in here, as if this strange contraption was not as dark and dreary as he had thought. The universe thought it was fucking funny, playing with him like this.
It was pathetic.
With effort, he caught his breath, using his hand against the worn walls to steady himself as the air began to vibrate forcing him to step back as a whirlwind of petals lifted off the ground.
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Shielding his eye away from the resplendent glare, Ryan just had a moment for his brain to process before it all disappeared. The petals crumbled away, fading with their golden glow but something appeared to take their place.
The spirit’s face was screwed up tight in a grimace, his finger knotted into the band strip of his jeans. He was wearing the same outfit he wore the day before he became ill, a hooded black leather jacket over a white tee, faded jeans, and a pair of off-white sneakers.
“Bernardo?” Ryan shouted, squinting in the radiance of his new form and unable to believe his own eyes. It has been nearly a year since he left him, and he remembers it as if it had happened yesterday. Thick tears streamed down his face, Bernado looked so young again as if God decided to give him one more chance.
Bernado smiled, flashing a pair of brilliant teeth. “Look at you,” he shouted, holding his arms out at his side. Everything about him conveyed youthful energy, he was no longer deathly pale and his ribs didn’t stick out against his skin.
It was the Bernado he knew before the virus took hold and took him away from him.
“Bernado, what are you doing here?” Ryan asked, his voice wavering as he closed the distance, hesitant and unsure of what to make of this strange and peculiar encounter.
He shuddered, his thoughts dwelling on the unimaginable because if Ryan was here then he must have been….
“You’re not dead,” he whispered with keen interest, taking my hand as he used to when we took the ferry across the harbor.
Ryan nodded. He smelt like the ocean from all those days working near the dock, it brought him back memories of waiting for him on the beach. It’s been ages since he had held his hand and honestly, every nerve in his body was screaming out to touch him, to make sure he was real.
Bernado laughed again, shaking his head with wild enthusiasm. “I knew you would be fine,” he said with fierce pride, scuffing up my short hair.
“Nooo, I’m not as strong as you, Bernado.” He drew in a breath, shaking as he fiddled with his hand as the pain of regret pierced through him.
“You have always been strong Ryan,” Bernodo whispered, leaning down to look him in the eye to let him know that he wasn’t kidding. “I want to show you something, can you smell it, Ryan? "From his fingertip, a golden thread sparked to life, shooting through the air and up the stairs to join with the raucous cacophony.
Ryan shook his head, confused but also intrigued as the sound of scream seemed to grow louder into he felt it in his soul. Suddenly, he could smell the thick scent of peanuts! Hot roasted circus peanut drizzled with caramel! It was a circus of new sounds and scents, the cheery aroma of wood saw, the intoxicating aroma of cotton candy, and the thunderous odor of wild animals, it was simply waiting for them.
And yet, despite the feeling of joy that surged inside of him at the notion of carnival game and food, the bitter feeling of remorse still stung him. After all, it was his fault that the last day they spent together, outside of the white prison they kept him in, was at a hospital. Since then, he refused to go despite the protest of those at the apartment, they were just a bitter reminder.
But not this one. It was welcoming to both of them. The other feelings and smells were stronger as he took Bernardo’s hand with confidence.
Bernado drew himself up, grimacing like a madman as his infamous red basketball cap magically appeared on his head, “Are you ready, my prince?”
He nodded slightly, matching the wide grin Bernado wore from ear and ear.
Following up the stairs and into the scream sounded both stupid and dumb but it was his best chance to figure out what the hell was going on. And Bernado was here with him so maybe things were not as bad as they seemed.