The Otherside of a World Without
Sasha could feel her heart breaking, the shards grating against each other, roaring like the swells far, far below. She knew their time had come to an end. As much as she had tried to pretend away the future, she knew it was creeping towards her, ready to take her like a reaper in the night. Her fingers twitched in his hand. She knew if she didn’t stand up and walk away right now, she may never find the strength to… but she had promised him one last day together. So until the night fell, she was still his. For a few more moments, she could feign ignorance for what lay ahead.
Though she faced the water, Sasha could feel his gaze like broken moonlight, drifting across her face, solemn as the shades of blue that swallowed the soft corals of the sky like a snake. She marked the transition of day to night by the hues cresting the waves, still shining softly in a bath of gold. She knew the evening above must’ve been a wonder to behold, but she wasn’t ready to face the heavens yet, she was still too busy cursing them.
With every moment that passed, she could feel the time waning. There was no more flipping the hourglass. Sasha wished she had it in her heart to tell him all the words they promised never to say out loud. To tell him that she’d miss him. But that wasn’t who she was, even if the painful thump in her chest told her otherwise. She buried that part of her a long time ago. With every day that passed leading up to this moment, she pushed her feelings down and tried to make peace with it. Her skin now itched with anticipation and dread as the water began to take on a dusky purple hue. Brushing her fingers softly against his, she pulled away, her fingers receding with the daylight. But she wouldn’t go… not yet. She knew she’d be okay, just as she’d always been, even as a small part of her throbbed with the dull ache of another goodbye. She told herself she would just wait until she could see the North Star. Without Alex, she needed something to guide her as she left this life behind and marched towards her new one.
With the rise of the moon, came the rise of the swells, and the steadying of her heartbeat. She knew what she had to do. She wiped her eyes in a calculated, swift motion---just as she had always done--- then took a deep breath and a parting glance at the space where the horizon met the water. At last, she rose up and strode towards her next life, the North Star a shining beacon above her.