Atlas

Perhaps the two of them were fools or at least foolish. Maybe they were both clinging to an idea that made them feel safeguarded against the labyrinth that made up their lives—or at least Atlas’. The quiet had grown thick and demanding, an overbearing weight that pressed down upon his lungs and made it tougher to breathe. Instead of succumbing to the familiar feelings of regret, he found solace in the lush tangle of bramble as it forked its way toward the east and west. Ahead of them the sun-drenched Tallsun walk promised to lead them both away from their uncertainties and toward more rewarding climes…

The shady glades cast emerald chutes of abstract light along their backs, and that light flickered and waved, joyous, before tumbling adrift in their peaceful wake. The greenery was certainly beautiful in a constant and perpetual kind of way, but it did little to match the lambent asters forged by the patient hands of nightfall. The stars themselves shrouded everything else in shades of argent-silver and stood tall in their fortress to keep watch over all who slept quietly below. Even as Atlas contemplated the unending cocktail-blue of the sky, he couldn’t imagine a more perfect afternoon to be spending with Lena as his company…

But it was nothing like the night they’d shared in the flats or the opaline glow across the gentle water. He imagined then the soft tunes of Lena’s song and knew that it was the only key she’d ever need to access the heavens.

”But I wouldn’t be enough for them.”

Atlas shook his head vehemently, his eyes closing momentarily as he tried to recover the tune she’d sung. It had drawn him from his roving and caused him pause; she’d been painted in stars that night too. Instead of trying to soothe her worries, the man began to hum very lightly. It was certainly unworthy of appreciation by comparison, but similar enough to inspire memories of their first night together. The notes reverberated against the stifling summer heat before they fell away into the depths of the labyrinth, muffled. “That’s not what I thought when I first met you,” he stated without shame. Lena was the songstress and he was the time bender after all…

However, even time benders could do little to repair the scars raised up beneath the skin just along the seams of a soul. Her words had turned biting and sharp, bitter and unforgiving despite his patience and understanding. Would he leave Lena? It was hard to say and even more difficult to promise to stay by her side when the hands of time sought to change them both. Yet, it still stung— it still jolted him inwardly to bear her accusations and find truth in them. ““Who am I to predict the future? And who are you to believe it to be unfortunate?” he questioned. It was too hard for him to say the words, to lead her to think and to know that he wouldn’t be like everyone else. But Atlas desired change; he wanted to be different now. ““I don’t want to leave…”

Somehow he had forgotten what it meant to belong in his own body. Atlas couldn’t say that he deserved much at all, but he desired too much to simply lie back and watch the stars pass by. He wanted to teach Lena to be just as courageous and strong… She was the one who deserved things in life. Yet, she was always apologizing for her thoughts and her dreams, always wishing to appease and to appeal when she should be the one who was appeased and appealed to. “You’re right though. I don’t deserve that. I deserve much more…” he pressed more urgently. “See? You can make demands and see them met—so start making them.”

It was painful to watch her suffer through what Atlas considered to be her own personal vices, but he’d never met a more beautiful soul trapped within the confines of her own head. Maybe they were fools for depending on one another (complete strangers as they were) and seeking solace in one another’s company. Perhaps it didn’t truly matter who they were to one another, so much as what they represented for each other. Lena was the compassion Atlas needed to survive and he was the strength she would need to keep moving forward…

So why wasn’t it enough?