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Description
So, how long have you been around here? she asks me, letting her feet swing over the edge of the pier.

i stare into the water lapping at her feet. the way it leaps and twists and turns.

Awhile, i say, before adding,
Not that it's any of your business.

she laughs at this, shoving her hands to the ends of her knees and leaning towards the water with such enthusiasm, i fear she may fall and sink to the bottom. she finishes laughing and leans back on her palms. i can almost feel the wood underneath them, through my jeans, but i try not to think about it. this is when she looks at me, with her smile all big and her 'i'm trying to be as witty as you' look in her eyes, and she sways slightly while she says,

well, i think you've been here a lot longer than that.
then she looks back towards the sun, hovering just barely above the waters edge.
not that it's any of my business

i stand up, assuming she'll follow. i walk away, assuming she'll follow. Are you coming? I call this out over my shoulder, not bothering to turn around. this is when i hear a splash. it echoes into my eardrums, vibrating my very heart, and is it going to stop beating, because i am suddenly very anxious and very empty inside. my head turns faster than the rest of me, and this might hurt if i weren't so distracted by the missing girl at the end of this wooden deathtrap. i run to the end, and the water is swirling and twitching and turning and it has her now, but i don't see her there. i panic for a moment. fuck. fuck. what now? what NOW? do i let her be? do i just leave her there? i wonder this because i know she is invincible, and a simple swim isn't going to kill her, regardless of whether or not it would kill me. (It probably would). all of this, in under about five seconds. i rip off my shoes and jacket and dive in to the blue blackness that is this water.

i open my eyes.

first, the adjustment. the stinging pain that is water in my untrained eyes consumes me, but not as much as she does, so i blink several times. hoping to reveal sight. reveal her. i look up, down, left, right, everywhere. there is no girl to be found. i'm out of air now, and i gasp for breath when i reach the surface. i roll onto the wood that is the broken down pier. staring up into the pink blueish sky. i just lay there, breathing, for what feels like eternity. is she gone forever?

what are you doing? i hear this down the beach, and turn my head to see her there, safely-dry-at the waters edge about four hundred feet away. so i get up and run and when i get to her, she tells me i'm dumb and i shouldn't believe everything i see or hear or taste or smell, so i say, what else am i supposed to believe in?
she thinks about this for a minute.

how you feel.
That's your answer? i ask seriously, then say; No, that's stupid.
she laughs, again, pressing her hands into her own elbows and turning herself in half circles.

fine, stupid. how about me, then?
you?
me.

I guess I can do that, i say, and she shoves my shoulders playfully with both of her hands, putting just enough effort into it that i stumble backwards slightly, towards the water.

i thought you were afraid of water, anyways.
you thought i wouldn't come after you?
maybe. she says with a tiny smile.
i look down, thinking. then back up. then back down. then, my mouth opens and i smile back when i say,
Well, what else am I supposed to believe in?
Not that it's any of my business.

Description
So, how long have you been around here? she asks me, letting her feet swing over the edge of the pier.

i stare into the water lapping at her feet. the way it leaps and twists and turns.

Awhile, i say, before adding,
Not that it's any of your business.

she laughs at this, shoving her hands to the ends of her knees and leaning towards the water with such enthusiasm, i fear she may fall and sink to the bottom. she finishes laughing and leans back on her palms. i can almost feel the wood underneath them, through my jeans, but i try not to think about it. this is when she looks at me, with her smile all big and her 'i'm trying to be as witty as you' look in her eyes, and she sways slightly while she says,

well, i think you've been here a lot longer than that.
then she looks back towards the sun, hovering just barely above the waters edge.
not that it's any of my business

i stand up, assuming she'll follow. i walk away, assuming she'll follow. Are you coming? I call this out over my shoulder, not bothering to turn around. this is when i hear a splash. it echoes into my eardrums, vibrating my very heart, and is it going to stop beating, because i am suddenly very anxious and very empty inside. my head turns faster than the rest of me, and this might hurt if i weren't so distracted by the missing girl at the end of this wooden deathtrap. i run to the end, and the water is swirling and twitching and turning and it has her now, but i don't see her there. i panic for a moment. fuck. fuck. what now? what NOW? do i let her be? do i just leave her there? i wonder this because i know she is invincible, and a simple swim isn't going to kill her, regardless of whether or not it would kill me. (It probably would). all of this, in under about five seconds. i rip off my shoes and jacket and dive in to the blue blackness that is this water.

i open my eyes.

first, the adjustment. the stinging pain that is water in my untrained eyes consumes me, but not as much as she does, so i blink several times. hoping to reveal sight. reveal her. i look up, down, left, right, everywhere. there is no girl to be found. i'm out of air now, and i gasp for breath when i reach the surface. i roll onto the wood that is the broken down pier. staring up into the pink blueish sky. i just lay there, breathing, for what feels like eternity. is she gone forever?

what are you doing? i hear this down the beach, and turn my head to see her there, safely-dry-at the waters edge about four hundred feet away. so i get up and run and when i get to her, she tells me i'm dumb and i shouldn't believe everything i see or hear or taste or smell, so i say, what else am i supposed to believe in?
she thinks about this for a minute.

how you feel.
That's your answer? i ask seriously, then say; No, that's stupid.
she laughs, again, pressing her hands into her own elbows and turning herself in half circles.

fine, stupid. how about me, then?
you?
me.

I guess I can do that, i say, and she shoves my shoulders playfully with both of her hands, putting just enough effort into it that i stumble backwards slightly, towards the water.

i thought you were afraid of water, anyways.
you thought i wouldn't come after you?
maybe. she says with a tiny smile.
i look down, thinking. then back up. then back down. then, my mouth opens and i smile back when i say,
Well, what else am I supposed to believe in?
Not that it's any of my business.