Peace Was Hung Around Her Neck

The driver looked away for just a second. In an abandoned field, a blurry figure stood alone. The time? He wouldn’t know, nor would he care, for that moment was in it's perfect serenity. His eyes couldn’t be ripped off it. As he approached it, the figure's design came into focus. Then he knew. It was a girl. Age unknown; for her skin seemed to only be an external mask, but he saw her. He saw all of her: her heart, her soul, it was all on display. He was meant to see her. Her eyes were closed as she faced the sun. The sun's rays planted tiny peach coloured kisses along her face. The moments became decades, decades he could never wish to be returned. He was the only car in sight for miles. The abandoned field lay flat. He could drive off the end of the world. At that moment, the descending sun drizzled its last bit of warmth onto everything in sight. He focused on her lips as they began to dance. Was she singing, or speaking to the very depths of humanity? His car was almost at a halt, wishing nothing more than to hear the words uttering out of a mouth like no other. Little did he know he was holding his breath. He took a slight glance away from her lips onto the top of her visible collar bone. There lay a necklace, a necklace of peace. Nothing could be as real as her. He watched her throat move as she swallowed. He knew all of life’s secrets. His own secrets, his sorrow, seemed as though it would never compare to what he felt in that moment, to her. For the first time in five years, he let himself smile. It almost caused him a tinge of pain to do something so unnatural, so forlorn. His cheeks were stretching to new lengths. A blur of red came across and took his breath away. His attention was drawn from the girl with no face. As he watched the car drive away through his rear view mirror, it started to rain. The rain pinned him down, forcing him to see the graying sky where his soul once belonged. He turned his neck around, feeling as though he was betraying himself for ever focusing on anything but her. It was blank where she once stood. Doubt came flooding in. Had he fallen asleep? As his heart rate increased, one could almost see it through his shirt. With each breath, his heart quickened.. then came to a complete halt. She sat beside him, in the passenger seat. Her eyes, filled with a swamp of bluish green. Her smile, small and timid. Her very being couldn’t hold him back now, it was too late. He felt the need to speak. It made him physically sick as his mind raced for the right words to utter. “I remember”, he spoke in a faint whisper. His voice cracked. His heart was like a bomb ricocheting in his ears. The rain stopped.