Today was the day where they would both finally escape. He knew it. For years, they had put up with this abuse. His mother was a monster who enjoyed beating him whenever he made a mistake, while she, the girl, whom he had met here for the first time so many years ago, had put up with her father’s violence when drunk—which was often.
He remembered that promise, only when it was too late.
Today was the day where, a little bit more than ten years ago, they had looked at each other for the first time. She had been escaping her father through the forest while he had been escaping his pain though the beauty of the river. They had not spoken that day. They had no time. But they had seen each other’s pains. That was more than enough. They met the next day, and the next day, and the next day.
And the next day.
Today was the day where they had decided to go to the old bridge they had met years ago. It was time to leave. It was time to escape! He was sitting on the concrete wall, looking in the water. He lifted up his gaze from the water to focus on the forest. He saw dandelions, which had just turned to white. He saw two owls in a branch, awake despite the fact the sun would still be out for a few hours. He saw a forest full of life. It was beautiful, really. He had never looked at this forest this way. He had always thought of it as a nightmare he could never escape from. He waited patiently for her, looking at the spectacle that was nature.
When she would see the beautiful dandelions, she would certainly blow on them.
Today was the day where they would never come back. Today, they would meet and today, they would never leave each other again. They would both live on their own, on the other side of that bridge, somewhere far away from here. Neither his mom, nor her father would be able to find her. They would never have to come back here. They would find everything they needed in each other. They would never need to leave like they needed to now.
A few miles from across the bridge, there stood an abandoned factory,
Today was the day where he was starting to have doubts. He had never worried about his plan. It had been something they had talked about for ten years, but yesterday he could not sleep. It was weird. They had both been so excited, but now that he was alone, he could not help but doubt himself. What if something even worse waited for them on the other side of that bridge? What if they became like their parents? He would never let that happen, but what if?
You had promised.
Today was the day where she was late for the first time.Where was she? Did she have doubts? Did her father do something to her? Why was she not there? She should be there already. He was beginning to worry. Usually, she was at the bridge more than an hour in advance. Usually she would have been waiting for him in anticipation for their new reunion, as if they had not done the same thing the day before. This was not normal, where was she? He was beginning to worry. A raven flew by.
You said we would never suffer again.
Today was the day where he thought again of the day where he made them both promise to never repeat their parents actions. He told her that if he ever got drunk like her father was or if she ever got violent like his mother was, they would both have to kill themselves. If they ever did something like that, the last thing they would ever lay their eyes upon would be the river, as they plummet off of the same bridge they met each other at everyday.
You’re just like your mother.
Today was the day where she took the most time to arrive at their usual reunion, but finally, she came. She was badly bruised, more than usual. When he finally saw her, carrying her things, he ejected himself from his seat and ran to her without saying a single word. He ran to her and clinged to her. Never would they have to let go of each other. He ran with such speed, and she had such balance, that they both fell to the floor. That did not matter though. Soon they would be out of this place, but he was not thinking of that anymore. He was only waiting for that reunion, as if that had not happened the day before.
Seeds of dandelions flew in the sky, to go far away from here.
Today was the day where they embraced each other with such force for the first time. Without really caring about what was going on around them, or the fact that their baggage was all over the place, they kissed. He kissed her with such passion and she responded with such envy. They could not help but kiss each other. They embraced each other’s bodies and almost seemed to only be one. They rolled in the grass and accidentally disturbed dandelions, letting their white seeds fly into the air.
She was ten years old when her mother died.
Today was the day where they saw their homes for the last time. Same thing for the bridge where they usually met. Finally, they were gone and out of this world they both hated.
Until that fateful night, ten years from now.
