“Come on, Li, please,” Noah begged, his tone full of the tears that had yet to fall. I shook my head slightly, a sob at my lips.
“Noah, we can’t,” I whispered. My voice trembled slightly, making clear the despair, fear and misery I had been carrying. “Running won’t help; it’ll just make it worse. Trust me, Noah, no one wants out of here more than I do. But after all the work we’ve put in–”
I was interrupted by a tear down my cheek as he grasped my hand in his and stared into my teary eyes.
“After all the time we’ve spent together,” he added, and a sob slipped from my lips. Noah released my hand, reaching up to wipe the tears from my cheeks. I leaned into his hand, his gentle touch relieving my pain. A blanket in the cold, but still not warm enough to stop the downpour of snow. But with the pain the icy wind caused, it felt more like hail. Noah wrapped me up in his arms, repeating;
“After all the time we’ve spent together, we can’t give up now, Li.”
“Exactly. We can’t give up on this world; not yet,” I interceded, my shaky voice betraying the arms I’d crossed over my chest.
“That’s not what I meant, Liberty, and you know it,” Noah sighed, his voice filled with a sinking sort of devastation. Less sad and more scared. But this was unlike any fear he’d ever experienced before. It was deep. Dark. A black hole. And it sunk deeper with every passing second. The hole, no longer filled with dirt, was just empty black nothingness, matching how Noah felt. Devastated. Empty. Alone. And the only thing that would change that feeling would be for me to agree to something I was currently fighting very hard against.
The hole sunk deeper as the reality of that sunk in, and the glow of the sun dulled. Shoving farther and farther underground, away from the shimmering light. The echo of darkness bounded through the space we were in, but it dimmed as I wrapped an arm around Noah. We sank into each other, our love for one another obvious.
“Stay?” Noah begged again, his voice cracking. “Please, Li, stay with me.” I whispered back to him,
“I can’t,” and I added in reminder, “we can’t.”
“You’re all I have, Li,” he mumbled. “I can’t lose you.”
“I love you, Noah,” I murmured truthfully. “More than anything. But I can’t leave.”
“You’re all I have,” he repeated desperately, the words barely more than a whisper.
“Then I guess, if you do leave, we’ll both have nothing.” And the last of the moon slipped away, leaving us both entangled in the darkness. And, with the moon now gone, our last chance of love vanished with the last of the light. 46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7PLzXpRw8
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Houra passed, but I remained in my bed, my teary eyes trained on the ceiling. I couldn’t stop thinking about Noah. I hadn’t, since we had started seeing each other. Our love hadn't wavered once, even with the harsh rules our world forced us to follow. Staring out the window, I bolted upright.
“Stay?” I whispered, my eyes glued to the moon, a shimmering light in a sea of darkness. I closed my eyes and listened, hoping to finally receive a response. I shook my head longingly, sitting up. I reached into my pillowcase, pulling out an old and weathered journal, and a pencil barely longer than my finger. I placed the notebook on the windowsill, leaning my head against the window as I wrote;
Moon, will you stay?
No, not today.
I’ll be here while you’re sleeping,
But I’ll be gone by morning light.
The sun will take my place,
But I’ll be back for you tonight.
The poem rang through my head, and I closed my eyes and imagined the moon would finally agree. That Noah would.
With that thought in my mind, I finally drifted off to sleep.
*.*
“Li. Li.” The voice was quiet; almost silent. A whisper in the darkness. I started when I felt a tickle at the base of my neck. “Li,” the voice repeated in a whisper, and I felt something brush against my cheek. I swatted it away and there was a laugh. Quiet, but definitely there. I opened my eyes groggily, surprised to see a swoop of blonde hair paired with a gorgeous set of deep blue eyes.
“Noah?” I gasped, bolting upright. I winced as my head hit against the windowsill I had fallen asleep on. Noah laughed again and reached for me through the open window. He put a hand behind my head and pulled me forward until I was half sure I would fall. Then he stepped closer and kissed me deeply.
My worries vanished.
There were no rules; no restrictions.
No mother crying; no father yelling.
It was just me and Noah.
As it should be.
He pulled away to admire me, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He eyed me with adoration, and then pulled me close again. He kissed me playfully, making his way off my lips and on to my cheek; my neck.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARBGkSo69U
“I love you, Li,” he promised when his lips latched onto mine again. “With all that I am, I love you.”
I could have stayed there forever. Noah slipped away and smiled, reaching for my hand. I grasped his tightly and pulled it to my face. I kissed it as my mother called up the stairs,46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTGbyvlpq1
“T, it’s time for work!”
“I have to go,” Noah sighed. “I’ll be back soon.” And I know he’ll keep that promise, no matter how dangerous it may be. Because there are almost no sure things in this world; everything is a guess. But if there is one thing I know is true, it is that I love Noah. He pulled me close and kissed me one last time before he turned and ran. And then I lay there, alone once more, drowning in my love for him as he ran away.
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