He pulls me close and with the click of a button something explodes as his lips touch mine. We run wild through the streets and our memories show up right before they collide into us. The excitement is too much to bear, so I pull him behind an abandoned car and lift my skirt. With him behind, I peek through the window and watch the hanging of Alse. As her feet twitch the people surrounding her nod and finger hushed mouths. Then he bites me and I see worm holes and the life cycle of a rose. When it reaches it’s full bloom I meet my great grandmother and as it turns brown she floats away mouthing words I don’t understand. As it returns to the earth I feel his fingers grasp me tighter for the great release. The sky isn’t heavenly and when I look down at our feet they’re in a puddle of oil, maybe from the car, or maybe seeping up out of the earth. Who knows. There’s me then there’s us. There’s I and him and we and as we tumble through the crowded streets waiting for that break, when it comes we don’t take it. Not today, not right now because death is nipping at our heels. One day turns to months and then to years and soon enough those around us turn to dust and we are nothing but decayed flesh without an ounce to live for.

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