Querencia

Locks of raven hair whip with the wind as the girl’s thin frame cascades like the torrential rainstorm that currently embraces the small town, gravity weighing her down, delivering her closer, and closer, and closer to the concrete driveway below.

"We're leaving again tomorrow."

"What? Already?"

"It's part of our job, Bridgette. You know that."

"Y-yeah...I guess so. How long will you be gone this time?"

"I don't know. A few weeks, at most. Just try not to do anything stupid while we're not here."

"Okay..."

Thunder roars and rolls in the near distance; loud, powerful, commanded only by the streaks of lightning that light up the dreary atmosphere in a rhythmic motion. It creates an earthy lullaby so those who still stir can be put to rest and enter the chambers of slumber.

"Bridgette, I'm concerned. Your grades have been dropping recently. Is everything okay at home?"

Colors are all she can see. Blurry faces of people she knows, people she loves, if only in her imagination. Luscious trees and woodland creatures and flowers of all different hues, scattered about like sprinkles on a birthday cake. The joyous laughter of friends fills her ears, acting as the anchor that keeps her suspended in that peaceful state, disallowing her to slip back into the daunting pages of reality. The reality that has caused her countless teary-eyed nights, burdened her with the self-centered problems of others, and provided a seemingly endless supply of unbearable, flaming pain.

She hates it. She hates it so much.

"So will you do this for me? Please?"

"Okay."

Glossy green irises stare up into the sorrowful sky as time slows down, gifting her the chance to enjoy all of the cherished memories, even if they were never really made. But it doesn’t matter, not to her.

“Take my hand,” he had said, balancing himself on her window seal, eyes sincere; voice pleading. “I’ll make sure you never have to feel this way again.”

"Hey, why don't we hang out this Friday? Go to the park or the skating rink or something?"

"Oh, I can't. I have plans."

"But you say that every time..."

"Look, my life doesn't revolve around you, okay!? God, you're acting like a baby."

"I'm sorry..."

Her curiosity didn’t wane, but rather, it flourished. She knew he would never bring her to danger. He would never lead her astray. He was her best friend. Her love. Her heart.

"I feel like you're avoiding me."

"What? No, you're just being irrational. I'm your friend, remember? I'd never 'avoid' you."

"...Okay."

Still, she hesitated, standing idle a mere few feet away. The words that slipped from her mouth were soft, hesitant. Scared. “What if you’re wrong?”

He offered no immediate verbal response.

“What if…what if I’m hurt there, too? What if I can actually get away? What if..." Her voice quivers. "What if you leave me?”

“Bridgette…” 

She met his gaze, a salty droplet of water tumbling down her cheek. 

"Not this time."

"Are you serious?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I...have things to do and..."

"Wow. And you call yourself a 'friend'."

“I love you, unconditionally, okay? You’re so special to me, you light up my life so much. My fondness for you only gets truer, it only grows stronger, the more that I see you.” He sighed heavily, extending his arm. “I would never lie to you. Ever.”

Before she could comprehend it, she was reaching out, grasping his hand with her own, letting him pull her closer. “You…promise? For real?”

The reassuring grin he adorned was all of the convincing she needed. “For real, I promise. Fly with me tonight, and I’ll never let you go.”

"Dad...?"

"It...it isn't what it looks like."

"But..."

"Just go to your room, this doesn't concern you."

The heart is a marvelous, tender thing. If broken once, it may not ever be mended. It may take a miracle to do so.

"I heard you in the locker room earlier. What you were saying... Do you really think all those things about me? Have you really just been forcing yourself into my life so you can...use me?"

"Uhh...no! Of course not."

"But that's what you said—"

"Get your hearing checked, Bridgette. You're clearly being delusional."

Sometimes, the cruel workings of the world force us to make up our own happy endings. For many, the idea is ridiculous and to others, impossible. Yet there are a great number of achievements we can reach if we get desperate enough.

Which is why she took that leap, overcome with trust and desire. Another chance, an opportunity to get the contentment in life that she’s always yearned for, right there. Ready and willing for someone that needs it, someone that will greedily accept it without any extra thoughts regarding the potential consequences.

"How...how could you do that, Anne? I told you that it was a secret!"

"Don't you know that secrets aren't really supposed to be kept?"

"That...that isn't true."

"Yes, it is. Don't tell me you actually think otherwise."

"Um, I..."

"You seem reluctant to believe me."

"That's because you humiliated me!"

"No, I didn't. Stop talking like some kind of nutjob."

"I don't..."

"We're friends, and friends trust each other. Right?"

"...Okay."

She doesn’t feel the impact of the ground’s surface, nor the distinct crackling of bones as they shatter. Her mind is already gone, soaring through the stars with the man that vowed never to leave her side, nearing that beautiful place of dreams. Her true home, where she was always meant to be.

"I can't do this anymore."

"Ugh, you're such a selfish coward! I hate you!"

"That's okay."

The corners of her lips tilt upward, eyes glazing over with the reflection of the silvery moon that peers through its stormy prison. Itching to escape and release its hauntingly beautiful glow at full force. Somewhere beyond the clouds, a faint rainbow fades into existence. A symbol of hope, and love; a promise that things will get better.

One final exhale, and at last, her chains break. At very last, she’s been freed.