Deceived

The sky roared with sodden rain, crying huge teardrops of cold water. The ground was flooded with the immense amount of icy, chilling rainwater. It covered the houses and rushed past the roads rapidly. It smothered the windows and dripped like blood onto the damp ground. Draped across some cars were thick, grey bits of hail that resembled lifeless entities smothered all over the last living beauty of the world.   

Storms brewed on the emotionless horizon, promising nothing but winds to level even the mightiest of trees. Torrential rain poured down in icy sheets like needles upon my face. The wind didn’t howl, it screamed. The rain was not falling, it was driven, hard, merciless, torrential. The trees didn’t sway, they creaked, bent and moaned as their fine limbs were ripped away and their autumnal leaves become not confetti, but ammunition in the gale.  

My frozen eyes stared blankly at the last leaves detaching themselves from the skeletal trees. One by one, they rustled onto the ground, falling, and decaying, disappearing forever.  

Just like my own family.  

We have fallen apart, drifted away, sailed on different boats, drove on different cars – we were all different. Everyone, that is, except Maddie. Maddie is still here, and as she promised me all those years ago - “Lucy, I would never leave you, I promise. And you know, I would never break a promise.”  

My body trembled as I recalled that moment, that moment of distress, like the world beginning to crumble. She lied. She broke her promise. 

And left me.  

The emptiness in my soul matched the spiritless sky and the featureless waterscape around me. It was a clear day, but a damp, yellow fog hung over the hills and twisted the trees into monstrous shapes. The horizon seemed to be stitched with a line of silver. All phosphorescence the invisible daylight produced was blocked by the dark thoughts in my mind.   

 A trout arced into the air, its body glistening, performing the ballet of the river. With a plunking sound, he darted back to the shadowed depths, his catch already safe in his spotted stomach. The sky roared with sodden rain, crying huge teardrops of cold water. The ground was flooded with the immense amount of icy, chilling rainwater. It covered the ground and rushed past my shoulders rapidly. It smothered my skin and dripped like blood onto the splintered wood. Draped across some hills were thick, grey bits of hail that resembled lifeless entities suffocated all over the last living beauty of the world.   

 Vodka ran down my throat as sip after sip made me feel worse. I placed the bottle down, my head shaking, pins and needles prickling painfully in my ankle. All my thoughts were blocked by the odour taking over my senses. My heart started beating rapidly, firing gunshots around my body instead of oxygen.   

 My half-reverie was brutally interrupted by the slash of grim, frigid water on my bony face. The strength of the icy water bit me and drowned me in its trap. The water infected my insides, producing a toxic taste inside my mouth - a mixture of alcohol and salt. My senses stopped working as the agonizing feeling of drowning hit my mind like a bullet. I am floundering in a sea of divine-blue quicklime and there’s no escape!   

My hands slipped over a mooring post, begging for life. I scratched the side of the splintered wood, wrestling against the pressure of the glacial water. My restless arms struggled against the lapping, slashing, blistering waves. Each current grew stronger and stronger and stronger. My fingernails dug into the wood, slowly pulling my body up towards safety.   

 I found myself shaking with terror and dread, too scared to even think about drinking, but grateful to be breathing, to be alive...  

No response, as usual. I Let out a sigh and pondered about what to do. Why isn’t she talking to me? My heart dropped to my stomach as I wondered about all the possibilities. Has the connection between us been broken by what I did to her? But...what did I do to her? I must call myself a bad person – a bad friend too – for not remembering.     

 The ice on the window spread to cover the entire sheet of cheap glass with cold fumes. My vision was blurred by the avalanche of snowflakes stopping me from seeing whatever was outside...   

 All sense of hope was teared by the sheer sense of panic inside me.  

As I walked through the gritted, grey roads, my hands shivered in response to the brutal weather, the strength of the mighty air tightening its grip onto my eyes. 

The heat of the building immediately smacks me in the face as icy chills dissipate into the atmosphere. Maddie sat by the windowsill, barely taking notice of me as I settled in into the room and sat beside her. 

My heart raced across my chest, burning my insides with its force.  

Unsteadily, I rolled out of my bed, my body still paralyzed from the events of what happened yesterday. It was like I was being ignored – no one seemed to even notice me, not even Maddie. Baffled, I ached my head to know what was wrong. It was not common for people to disregard me...    

 I shook my head in response, in disbelief as I replayed the memories in my head.     

The sky roared with sodden rain, crying huge teardrops of cold water. The ground was flooded with the immense amount of icy, chilling rainwater. It covered the houses and rushed past the roads rapidly. It smothered the windows and dripped like blood onto the damp ground. Draped across some cars were thick, grey bits of hail that resembled lifeless entities smothered all over the last living beauty of the world.  

I walked around the school building after having finished her after-school club. It was silent, with no students bustling around the creaky halls. Each classroom smelt like paper, spreading to the hallway, filling it with a book-smelling sensation. I loved books.     

 Until...that day. That day when the least of what she cared about would be books, but something greater – something the world depended on for survival.     

 Without knowing about this, I ambled on towards what would later cause her dead – the grim, black unknown...    

 The sky roared with sodden rain, crying huge teardrops of cold water. The ground was flooded with the immense amount of icy, chilling rainwater. It covered the houses and rushed past the roads rapidly. It smothered the windows and dripped like blood onto the damp ground. Draped across some cars were thick, grey bits of hail that resembled lifeless entities smothered all over the last living beauty of the world. 

As I walked through the gritted, grey roads, my hands shivered in response to the brutal weather, the strength of the mighty air tightening its grip onto my eyes. Do I really want to go to school today?      

 “Hello? Maddie?”    

 No response, as usual. I Let out a sigh and pondered about what to do. Why isn’t she talking to me? My heart dropped to my stomach as I wondered about all the possibilities. Has the connection between us been broken by what I did to her? But...what did I do to her? I must call myself a bad person – a bad friend too – for not remembering.     

 The ice on the window spread to cover the entire sheet of cheap glass with cold fumes. My vision was blurred by the avalanche of snowflakes stopping me from seeing whatever was outside...   

 All sense of hope was teared by the sheer sense of panic inside me.  

I opened the gate to find the vast area eerily quiet. Silence – well apart from the heavy rain. I crossed the grounds to the entrance where the sounds of life emerged. The heavy bustling of the multitude of children leaked through the open doors. I entered only to be slapped in the face by the warm heat of the school.   

 I walked into my form room, taking a seat by the window. A thin coat of condensation lined the windows which I wiped immediately. The power of the storm could be sensed, even from the safety inside. This storm was considered one of the worst to hit Britain in a long time. Warnings were sent across the country ensuring everyone was prepared. This was only the beginning though. The worst was yet to come...  

The emptiness in my soul matched the spiritless sky and the featureless waterscape around me. It was a clear day, but a damp, yellow fog hung over the hills and twisted the trees into monstrous shapes. The horizon seemed to be stitched with a line of silver. All phosphorescence the invisible daylight produced was blocked by the dark thoughts in my mind.   

 A trout arced into the air, its body glistening, performing the ballet of the river. With a plunking sound, he darted back to the shadowed depths, his catch already safe in his spotted stomach. The sky roared with sodden rain, crying huge teardrops of cold water. The ground was flooded with the immense amount of icy, chilling rainwater. It covered the ground and rushed past my shoulders rapidly. It smothered my skin and dripped like blood onto the splintered wood. Draped across some hills were thick, grey bits of hail that resembled lifeless entities suffocated all over the last living beauty of the world.   

 Vodka ran down my throat as sip after sip made me feel worse. I placed the bottle down, my head shaking, pins and needles prickling painfully in my ankle. All my thoughts were blocked by the odour taking over my senses. My heart started beating rapidly, firing gunshots around my body instead of oxygen.   

My half-reverie was brutally interrupted by the slash of grim, frigid water on my bony face. The strength of the icy water bit me and drowned me in its trap. The water infected my insides, producing a toxic taste inside my mouth - a mixture of alcohol and salt. My senses stopped working as the agonizing feeling of drowning hit my mind like a bullet. I am floundering in a sea of divine-blue quicklime and there’s no escape!   

 My hands slipped over a mooring post, begging for life. I scratched the side of the splintered wood, wrestling against the pressure of the glacial water. My restless arms struggled against the lapping, slashing, blistering waves. Each current grew stronger and stronger and stronger. My fingernails dug into the wood, slowly pulling my body up towards safety.   

 I found myself shaking with terror and dread, too scared to even think about drinking, but grateful to be breathing, to be alive...    

You are about to be revealed something far more dangerous than what you would’ve thought of.  

If we could only see more closely, each raindrop is a kaleidoscope. As I walk, I wonder how time will stop, suspend this watery gift, and peek through each one. Perhaps it would be fun to sit inside the raindrops and take a gravity-driven trip to the planet, as I imagine I feel my inner self laughing a little bit at the insane daydream and a little bit at my own stupidity. On the cars, on every leaf, and washing my outstretched fingers, I see rain beads. They're going to pull together soon, shape puddles, open a whole new avenue of rain. Maybe enjoying a rainy day too much isn't usual, but who cares about normal anyway? I'm positive that "normal" is a thing made up.  

My life took a risky U-turn when I heard Maddie was leaving. But now I realize that even family isn’t forever. Nothing lasts forever.  

Nothing.