Zemblanity

• Caitlin Reynolds, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2015

You know that feeling when you feel complete with another person. There are no words to describe the feeling.
It all started when I was at work with my friends, Alex, Kyle, Alice and him. We had just finished work for the day and we were all enjoying the peaceful coolness in the Blue Room, which is quite literally a neon blue room. Playing games, laughing, telling stories, until Alex, Kyle and Alice all left, leaving him and I waiting for dad to take us home. See he only lived just around the corner, 17 minutes and 27 seconds away, or 8 minutes and 53 seconds if he was to run. 32 houses, 2 flats, 6 double storeys and 2 vacant blocks, one for sale, one sold. He politely insisted I keep him company; he was lonely on this day.

It was a warmish day, a day where you could wear a jacket, or not. I had chosen not to. There I was, on his bed, feeling slightly chilled, but comfortable. He had a massive room, enough to fit a double bed, a couch, a desk and a TV cabinet, with room to spare. His room was narrow and long, tiled and well sheltered from the harsh afternoon sun. His room was in a position where you could see all the colours in the sky change from a vibrant blue into a light orange throughout the hours.

Watching the sky change, we just sat there, playing music and barely talking. Over the sounds of soft music playing, I could hear his heartbeat rise as his chest did. I tried to place my breath with his, keeping in time. Lying down on his bed, next to him made me feel truly alive, just his whole being and existence made my life feel worthwhile for the first time. I can still feel the hairs on my arm stand up when he started to play with my hand, delicately tracing my fingers, writing perfect figure 8’s on my palm with his pointer finger.

As the sky changed from blue to orange, it felt like my whole life had suddenly felt real, it felt, like life. As cliché as it sounds, I felt like I was with the right person. I remember facing him while lying down next to him, my back warmed by the gentle sun and he was playing with my hands. I felt like both of knew that something had changed, but neither of us wanted to acknowledge it.

So as the sky changed from orange to black, we got closer, he wrapped me in his arms, holding me close to him. When the sky became pitch black, he suggested to me that I head home, and offered to walk me there. When we got out the front door of his house, he grabbed my hand and looked up at the stars and said, “It’s a nice night to be out”.

It’s never been like that again.
It never will be.