is water wet ?? storm & will
Jun 29, 2022 15:49:29 GMT -5
Post by fox on Jun 29, 2022 15:49:29 GMT -5
W I L L E M
► ► ►
In the late evening, he goes to swim in the training center, sitting on the ledge, making ripples with his fingers. The chlorine smells sickly, and after a week of it, his throat is raw from the taste. And there were pools in District Four too, like perfect rectangular gems, in academy gymnasiums, in the colossal structures of the Olympic Park.
But everything belonged to the ocean first there – the ancient mother, with the waves in her hair, who had liked him since he had learned to walk on her shore. She'd let him float to the gentle rocking of the tide, sun and salt knotted into his curls, the depths of the seas like melted jade.
He dives under the surface, sinking towards the bottom, and sits there, hands touching the cool tiles.
It still feels the same though, the water like a cradle.
And he likes it because he could scream and nobody would hear him, sound and breath bubbling to the surface.
But he doesn't.
When he resurfaces, he sees someone at the edge of the pool's deep end, balanced on one foot, the other dipping into the water. Blinking away the water from his eyes, memory goes to the pool party, and his pulse picks up a beat.
There was a cry like the sounding of a war, a splash, and a kid drowning somewhere between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, cabanas and cocktails, poppy music and plastic deco.
First thought –
Oh, he remembers Storm Adroxis.
Second thought –
How would he explain him with a dead body to the gamemakers.
And before he can stop himself, he says "No – don't drown again."
But everything belonged to the ocean first there – the ancient mother, with the waves in her hair, who had liked him since he had learned to walk on her shore. She'd let him float to the gentle rocking of the tide, sun and salt knotted into his curls, the depths of the seas like melted jade.
He dives under the surface, sinking towards the bottom, and sits there, hands touching the cool tiles.
It still feels the same though, the water like a cradle.
And he likes it because he could scream and nobody would hear him, sound and breath bubbling to the surface.
But he doesn't.
When he resurfaces, he sees someone at the edge of the pool's deep end, balanced on one foot, the other dipping into the water. Blinking away the water from his eyes, memory goes to the pool party, and his pulse picks up a beat.
There was a cry like the sounding of a war, a splash, and a kid drowning somewhere between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, cabanas and cocktails, poppy music and plastic deco.
First thought –
Oh, he remembers Storm Adroxis.
Second thought –
How would he explain him with a dead body to the gamemakers.
And before he can stop himself, he says "No – don't drown again."
