Page 78 of A Silence So Divine

The muscles in my arms are on fire, but I keep pushing. Left arm, right arm, left, right.

“Please,” I beg through gritted teeth. I’m not sure who I’m pleading with. God, the universe, this forsaken fucking pond. Anything. “Please,please.”

Suddenly, movement stirs in the water, an inexplicable thrum. A wave rolls in from behind, urging me forward. The once stagnant pond rushes like a river, and I’m caught in the stream. Eating up the distance in the time I could snap my fingers, I’m able to reach where she slipped beneath the water. From above, I can’t make out her figure in the inky depths . So, I suck in as much oxygen as my lungs will allow, and I dive down.

My arms flail wildly, attempting to locate her without sight. Seconds pass by and I’m met with algae and floating debris. The air in my lungs dwindles, but if I surface, I’ll lose her. Each bubble that I release is another warning of how close I am to running out of time.

Like a mantra, I plead in my head. If there is anything out there,help me.

Something brushes my fingers. Kicking my legs behind me, I push closer until I’m able to get a grip. My hand closes around a slender wrist, and then I’m propelling myself up, up, up, toward the glittering moonlight.

I break the surface with a gasp, sputtering as I try to fill my lungs. With what’s left of my strength, I pull Eden’s body up alongside mine. As soon as she’s above water, her arms frantically swat against the water.

Whipping her head around, thick locks of hair cling to the sides of her face, wrapping around like a serpent. The usual rosycolor of her lips have gone an alarming shade of periwinkle, and her eyes are as big as the moon in the sky.

She’s confused. Panicked.

It wasn’t intentional. Thank Christ.

“You’re alright,” I coax, speaking as softly as my rapid breaths allow. The water has stilled once more, Oddly enough, it feels… warmer. A breeze rolls through, and the sound of singing insects fills the spaces left by silence. All at once, the world comes back to life.

A dark head whips back toward me, the droplets on the tips of her hair flecking into my face.

“Come on,” I urge, reaching my hand out. “Quickly.”

She blinks a few times, as if determining whether or not I’m real. Coming to her senses, she grapples for my hand. The journey out here has depleted my stamina, and I move like a newborn foal. It takes twice as long to reach the shore as it did to leave it, but once we’re on the edge, I crumble.

On my hands and knees, my back bows in an attempt to expedite the air filling my lungs. Eyes screwed shut, I can faintly hear water drops splatting the mud beside me. The need for warmth begins to outweigh my need for air, so I push myself into a kneeling position and squint into the dark.

Eden sits before me, mirroring my kneeled position. What I can see of her knees are scraped and bloody, bare. She’s wearing a white dress I’ve never seen before. It hardly fits.

We’re face to face, and her lips are turned down as she studies me. We’re so close, I hear her chattering teeth, but she’s entirely fixated on me. Stealing a selfish moment, I lean forward until I can rest my forehead against her shoulder. We don’t embrace, our hands flat against the Earth, but relief washes over me. All the doom slips into the tides.

I pull back, and silver meets green. She looks devastated, but not for herself. Algae clings to her forearm asshe brings her hand up, signing,“Sorry.”Her motions are on a loop, fist circling furiously against her chest.“Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry-”

I enclose her fist with my own, forcing her to a stop. I want to tell her it’s okay, but my facial muscles are tight, the cold rendering them useless.

With numb feet, it takes me a moment to stand.

“Fire,”I sign on stiff fingers.

I lead her to the house, the flash of white in my peripheral ensuring me that she’s here, and she didn’t slip from my grasp.

Content, the night hums. Everything is as it was, like nothing happened at all.

The scent of lavender soap and heat envelop me, and I’m too drained to do anything but savor it. I might as well be boneless, for the way I melt into the couch. Eden sits beside me, both of our feet propped up on the coffee table, warming them with the fireplace. We’re each wearing two pairs of socks and wrapped in the king size comforter from my room. Fortunately, she was able to bathe herself this time around, but that didn’t stop me from waiting outside the door.

Conversation has been mostly non-existent—limited to brief signs and pointed gazes. Now that we’ve settled, I know that we need to discuss it, but it’s a very delicate line to walk. She responds better to a caring and compassionate approach; that’s where Creed usually comes in. I’m used to being blunt and borderline rude.

Angling towards her, our shoulders brush beneath the blanket. She shivers and steals a glance in my direction.

I can do this.

Applying my emotional training wheels, I start off simple. “Are you feeling better?”

Eden dips her chin, flicking her eyes back towards the dancing flames. The way the golden fire clashes with silver is mesmerizing. I physically shake my head to clear the thoughts, focusing instead on the beauty mark beneath her lips.

It’s equally as distracting.