I am also currently writing a book titled, 'Pandora's Islands' and this is a sneak peek into one of the scenes after eleven teens are trapped on a mysterious island and they meet an enigmatic inhabitant boy named Coal, whom the main character, Sarah, can't help but feel like she's met before.
When I suddenly awoke, it took several long moments to realise why. That was when I heard the music. Faint and wispy but unmistakably, music. Standing up, I listened to the beautiful notes being whistled out of what I imagined to be some kind of wooden flute. Closing my eyes, my ears pricked up as I figured out where exactly it could be coming from. When I opened my eyes, I took a ginger step forward, and then another, and then another, each step surging curiosity and wonder through my veins. Climbing over a fallen tree, I lifted myself over a rustling nest of stones and twigs. And then, as I pushed a cluster of giant rubber-like leaves out of the way, I could see a clearing in front of me. And there, as if he'd been waiting there, for me, all his life, was Coal. As soon as I saw his tasselled, jet black hair, his big moss green eyes, and his ragged clothes fashioned from leaves and twigs, I once again felt that wave of ache and longing.
"Coal," I whispered, frowning, trying to clear my head. "What- what are you doing out here?"
As if in answer, he smiled, and stretched out his hand- still covered in dirt and grime- and whispered, "Come, follow me."
Pausing briefly, I wondered where he might lead me but after another moment hesitation, I realised I didn't care. My body felt exhausted, as if tired of trying to tell me that I would follow him to the end of the earth just as long as I felt his hand in mine. So I climbed forward and took his hand; it felt rough and firm but it was like I had just grabbed hold of a live circuit- everything inside me was tingling, alight with fire. This single moment was my whole life, all the waiting, all the feelings of love and loss I'd never felt, but they'd been biting at the back of my neck the whole time, waiting to be discovered with him, with Coal. The whole time they'd been trying to lead me to an impossible place, to an impossible island, to an impossible boy, to an impossible love. Marvelling at his existence, he led me over to an old split tree, a warm glow emanating from inside the bough. I peered over and gasped in shock and wonder, "Fairies!" I exclaimed, a smile of amazement already on my face.
"Fairies," Coal confirmed behind me, his breath showering sparks over my ears.
Inside the stump was an orchestra dressed in suits of leaves, playing wooden violins and flutes. An audience in such forest finery, danced in the centre. Each of them couldn't have been taller than six inches, their delicate limbs twirling and leaping about the floor as graceful as birds in the sky. And each of them, their own pair of shining wings, glowing like a dim bulb. Then, the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, rose from the floor with her partner, dressed in a gorgeous flowing silver gown, her golden hair shimmering and floating about her back. And they began to dance, the most graceful and elegant of them all, their pointed ears and sharp features conveyed all the love their sparkling, emerald eyes whispered. The sad notes of the music began to merge and highlight all the feelings my body was twisting, making them seem so blindingly obvious, I felt almost mocked. Turning to face Coal, our noses were almost touching. A shy but cheeky smile steadily stretched across his face and he held his left hand up to me, fingers spread. The yearning for him in my stomach made my head spin and slight nausea threatened to become more as I felt the same smile invade my lips. Lifting my right hand, I entwined our fingers, sparking lives wires running right the way through my arm to my body, sending my heart pounding- echoing around my insides. He placed his hand on my waist as I placed mine on his neck, and we danced. We danced as the heart breaking notes of the violins enveloped our bodies together, as the symphonic notes of the flutes swam around us. Every shiver, every tingle, ever pang of hunger and wanting I had ever felt, erupted from my heart, cascading through my finger tips, swarming me and Coal. Each step pressed our bodies closer, I could almost feel the desire wafting off him almost as much as I could feel mine. And then I looked up, into his eyes- as if gazing into a heavy forest- and the world halted for a few minutes, everything around us became unimportant and thus, silenced. Right then, it was just me and him, nothing else mattered, not surviving, not fear, not hunger, not trying to get home, not even life itself. Because I had found him, I had found my soul's counter point. Forever we danced, again and again, twisting and twirling, leaping and whirling. Until eventually, we stopped dancing, and he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine- a moth's wing, but to me he could've just as easily lit a thousand fireworks on my lips. My fingers, almost irrevocably, weaved themselves into his messy, knotted hair and pulled him closer to me, closing my eyes as I kissed him. Our limbs entangled as we stumbled back onto the leafy undergrowth of the forest floor. Our lips moved together in ways I'd never experienced, they knit together as if designed for each other. I felt Coal's warm hand gripping my thigh, interlacing our legs further. This wasn't the lust I'd imagined, this was our puzzle pieces slotting together perfectly. This was love and it was exploding out of every tree, every leaf, showering us in a lava of excitement, of joy, of a lost being found. Love wasn't just happiness or just sadness, it was a jealously mixed with trust, it was grief and joy, it was every muscle aching until it couldn't tense at all. And it made every denial, every debate of love seem like an insignificant joke, disappearing into the warp of what was once my life. I felt Coal's palms sliding my filthy shirt over my head and in turn gently peeled away the leaves and vines laced over his muscled chest. And as we kissed and touched, every cell, every part of me was charged, electric. And I felt something deep inside me, caged within my soul, writhe and howl, and I knew it was smiling, the most evil smile, because it knew I was changing. It knew I was changing beyond control, and when I did, it would be released.
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