𝖘𝖎𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌

[nexttogold]

Wouldn't it be lonely?

Those words kept repeating inside her head, and for a brief moment, she was silent. Loneliness was the only thing she had to keep her company. She accepted it a long time ago, but at the same time, Theia didn't like dwelling on the reality that she truly was all alone in this world. "Hmm. I guess you could say I'm used to being alone. I wouldn't say I prefer it," she shook her head as she finally sat down on the sand. She didn't know what came over her, but she wanted to tell him about her life so far. It was almost like she was catching up with an old friend.

She turned her attention to the ocean as she continued to speak, "My entire family died on a cruise ship when I was seventeen. I was what everyone called 'the lucky one' because I could've died that day but because I chose swim training for the Olympics over the family trip, I was the one who lived. I quit swimming right after that-- didn't even get to compete at the Olympics-- I thought I was done with everything that has anything to do with water, but turns out, my calling was the water. You can take the girl out of the waters, but you can't take the waters out of the girl." She laughed at the last words she spoke. It sounded cheesy, but it was true. The waters always had their way of pulling her back in, almost like she was made to exist there.

"What about you? Do you live by yourself too?" She asked, trying to divert the conversation because she felt like she was boring him to death with the sob story of her life. She couldn't help herself. She never felt the need or desire to talk about her life until now, and she couldn't explain why. All she knew was it felt nice to finally talk to someone, even if that someone was a stranger. "Well, you're not wrong about that. Something about the ocean makes you reminisce for some reason," she sighed heavily, quickly glancing at him from the corners of her eyes. She saw the way he looked out at sea and she couldn't help but wonder if he ever lost someone to the waters too.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind," she couldn't help but smile at his warning. "If you're not busy, and if you don't mind, take this as my invitation for you to be my lookout-- but only if you're not busy and if you don't mind."

She doesn't get that a lot. Warnings. People often just assume that because Theia has a Ph.D. in Marine Biology, all kinds of certifications in diving, and is an Olympic-trained swimmer, she doesn't need warnings. She should know what to do, and she does; however, people do forget that the waters have taken away everyone she ever loved. And something nobody else knows? Somewhere deep inside her, she knows that one day, it will take her too.

[radicntcinema]

there were moments when iseul forgot how all-encompassing pain must be for humans, their mortality--or that of those around them--constantly hanging over them, reminding them they had limited time to live out their life. it would be silly for him to offer comforting words that would feel untrue, but it would also not be good if he simply dismissed the fact that she had shared about her life, how it had pained her at some point, and how she had invited him to be a part of it. a lookout, maybe, but still a part of it.

he wouldn't call her lucky, not after hearing her story, but he would call her a survivor. there might be things he could learn from her. but even without anything, he found that her mere presence would be enough. he could spend time with her just for the sake of it. he would... make every moment count.

"i live by myself, in an old castle made of gold," he said truthfully, but only because he knew it would not be easy for a human to believe. he chuckled, turning to her to see her reaction. "every morning, i talk to no one but my garden of roses."

maybe this is where humans could teach demons like him a lesson. maybe he could live for more than himself, though not dying, he could treat life a little more... precious. "if that is what you need, i can spare some time to be a lookout," he replied, accepting his new role. one he was determined to take seriously.

[nexttogold]

Before Altheia could say anything, her jaw was already on the floor. “A castle made of gold, and a garden of roses?,” she blinked rapidly, staring at him in complete awe. “Are you talking like... literally, or is this figuratively?” She couldn't help but ask. Altheia hasn't lived for far too long, but nobody has caught her attention as well as him; it could be the way he carried himself, the way he talked, or maybe it was something different. He was different, mysterious-- or maybe just guarded, and yet he seemed honest.

“Either way, I would like to see your house-- castle,” she corrected herself, “and garden. I love flowers, and I have never seen a golden house in my entire life.” She beamed, unable to hide her excitement. She just hoped she wasn't creeping him out or something. Way to make an impression on the second person you've met on the island, Theia. Clearing her throat, she decided to overshare a bit in an attempt to water down her eagerness. “I've seen the Taj Mahal on a school trip before and it was majestic,” she sighed. “Have you been there-- uhh,” she bit down on her lip before looking at him awkwardly, "Sorry. What's your name, by the way? Here I am yapping and forgetting the basics of communication. I promise I'm not normally like this,” she reasoned out chuckling, hoping he doesn't dislike her for the awkward interaction.

Theia couldn't believe her ears when he agreed to her proposal. “Great, I will see you tomorrow at 8 AM, if you're available?” She asked, hoping he was. “Food and drinks will be provided,” she added. “I will need your dietary restrictions to be sure, but yes. It's the least I could do.” She'd pay him in cash if she could afford to but for now, that was the most she could offer.

[maureen2musings]

pc.koublis

[ashstfu]

my five year plan? sit in the sun as long as possible. take millions of pictures of sunset. smile more :) hold doors open for people. take a selfie with a penguin. read 237362808 books watch 33563737 movies. be brave & be strong. befriend the neighborhood kids and tell them stories. dont worry about falling in love. FOLLOW JOY.

[wavemotions]

[fromdarzaitoleeza]

"I will love you if I never see you again, and I will love you if I see you everyday"

"... I will love you as we find ourselves farther and farther from one another, where once we were so close... I will love you until your face is fogged by distant memory. I will love you no matter where you go and who you see, I will love you if you don't marry me. I will love you if you marry someone else and I will love you if you never marry at all, and spend your years wishing you had married me after all. That is how I will love you even as the world goes on its wicked way."

-Lemony Snicket

[fromdarzaitoleeza]

I will love you as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves innocence and as justice loves to sit and watch everything go wrong.

-Lemony snicket

[apolonisaphrodisia]

[radicntcinema]

"i cannot speak on its safety, but at the very least, wouldn't it be lonely?" he's one to ask about loneliness, when his only companion is violetta, his pet spider. "or do you prefer the solitude?"

iseul found that the more the conversation was going, the more at ease he felt, as if he was falling into habits forgotten temporarily, but still embedded in his muscle memory. why, indeed, did he venture to the beach? iseul fell silent in contemplation. how could be put into words the feeling that drew him here, the unrest that seemed to linger with him when he was at home, only easing up when he sat down by the beach? "i suppose everyone needs these moments to... look back." and sit with his guilt. and, if chance would allow it, see someone who looked just like someone he once knew.

he almost chuckled when she said she didn't want to bore him with the details. if there was one thing iseul had, it was time. but he knew it was one of the things humans said to try to be polite.

he thought being a marine biologist would make sense if she was indeed who he was growing to suspect, but that still left the one thing iseul was trying to ignore.

that she was human.

"well, these seas are not exactly calm and forgiving. you'd do well to remember to be safe out there," he warned, eyes looking out at sea again.

the silence stretched on, his one-way conversation with the waves turning into one of real fear. you wouldn't come back just to show me how painful it would be to see you die again, would you, silver?

[nexttogold]

Wouldn't it be lonely?

Those words kept repeating inside her head, and for a brief moment, she was silent. Loneliness was the only thing she had to keep her company. She accepted it a long time ago, but at the same time, Theia didn't like dwelling on the reality that she truly was all alone in this world. "Hmm. I guess you could say I'm used to being alone. I wouldn't say I prefer it," she shook her head as she finally sat down on the sand. She didn't know what came over her, but she wanted to tell him about her life so far. It was almost like she was catching up with an old friend.

She turned her attention to the ocean as she continued to speak, "My entire family died on a cruise ship when I was seventeen. I was what everyone called 'the lucky one' because I could've died that day but because I chose swim training for the Olympics over the family trip, I was the one who lived. I quit swimming right after that-- didn't even get to compete at the Olympics-- I thought I was done with everything that has anything to do with water, but turns out, my calling was the water. You can take the girl out of the waters, but you can't take the waters out of the girl." She laughed at the last words she spoke. It sounded cheesy, but it was true. The waters always had their way of pulling her back in, almost like she was made to exist there.

"What about you? Do you live by yourself too?" She asked, trying to divert the conversation because she felt like she was boring him to death with the sob story of her life. She couldn't help herself. She never felt the need or desire to talk about her life until now, and she couldn't explain why. All she knew was it felt nice to finally talk to someone, even if that someone was a stranger. "Well, you're not wrong about that. Something about the ocean makes you reminisce for some reason," she sighed heavily, quickly glancing at him from the corners of her eyes. She saw the way he looked out at sea and she couldn't help but wonder if he ever lost someone to the waters too.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind," she couldn't help but smile at his warning. "If you're not busy, and if you don't mind, take this as my invitation for you to be my lookout-- but only if you're not busy and if you don't mind."

She doesn't get that a lot. Warnings. People often just assume that because Theia has a Ph.D. in Marine Biology, all kinds of certifications in diving, and is an Olympic-trained swimmer, she doesn't need warnings. She should know what to do, and she does; however, people do forget that the waters have taken away everyone she ever loved. And something nobody else knows? Somewhere deep inside her, she knows that one day, it will take her too.

[chandelyer-deactivated20241003]

Selenichast Opal collection: necklace and ring

[namtan]

NANCY DREW 4.03 | The Danger of the Hopeful Sigil

[paramoregf]

whatever i literally dont care 😎 <- cares so much that it feels like my organs are tearing themselves apart in my chest

[metamorphesque]

— Vladimir Nabokov, Letters to Véra

[radicntcinema]

"you were not interrupting anything," he said simply, eyes scanning past her to the sea. the waves have calmed down, but if he listened carefully, he could still hear them rising and falling, making their own rhythm.

hearing that it was her first day on the island made iseul train his eyes back on her. he was looking without looking, because he didn't think he could fully take in her presence. not in this situation, no. the curiosity that bubbled inside him was tempered by suspicion, his eyes narrowing into slits when she talked about where she lived. "a jewelry shop? interesting."

iseul knew mortals believed far too much in coincidences. call it fate, call it serendipity, but could this be... cruelty? is she... pretending? "i have been to many places," he replied, taking a risk in focusing on her face, looking for any sign of recollection. surely, she would not be taking revenge on him this way. "what made you leave new york?"

[nexttogold]

"Now that I think about it, maybe living in an old jewelry shop doesn't sound... safe," she spoke without thinking. Her mind has its way of traveling to places it shouldn't; it just so happens Theia was a risk-taker. Leaping in, head first, was her response to every situation that made her anxious. Maybe it wasn't the best approach, but it always led to experiences she will never forget.

"And I assume you don't live nearby. What brought you to the beach?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could. For a brief moment, the clouds that covered the moon disappeared, and the moonlight was brighter than ever; she could finally see the details of his face. It was at that very moment that she felt an unexplainable pain in her chest. The only word she could think of that was close enough to describe the feeling was longingness. But where was that coming from? Why would she long for a stranger? Did she know him? Did he know her? She could hear her heart beating so loudly, it was almost as if someone took it out of her body and she wondered if he could hear it too.

"Oh, you're a traveler then?" She took a deep breath to relieve herself of the heaviness, rubbing her hands together before crossing her arms. "It's... a bit of a long story actually and I don't want to bore you with the details," Theia responded with a forced chuckle, looking down at her feet. "I'm a Marine Biologist. I moved here to learn more about the marine life in this part of the world. It's actually surprising to me how there's not a single study ever done about this place."

[kosmogrl]

[latibule-e-deactivated20231012]

— Paul Guest, from “1987.”

[70shorrorsnack]

im full of love but im full of rage but im full of love

[hits-differently]

Visit Original Link

[radicntcinema]

take ice-cold showers and multiply it a hundredfold. that's what it felt when she turned around and smiled at him.

iseul did not realize he had stood up in the blink of an eye, but what else does one do when someone they had been mourning just a minute ago shows up before them, as if answering his prayer for them to come back? iseul's brain was drawing up a blank in response, but clearly he was not supposed to just remain seated.

he couldn't help but stare, first in disbelief, then in distrust, then plain curiosity, and then--there was that pain again. why, he asked himself, if she's back, why does it still hurt?

he remembered he was supposed to speak.

that would be the polite thing to do instead of just staring, and so he willed himself to compose words. "i would not call us neighbors," he said, his hand making vague motions that, in his own interpretation, meant living in the nearest mountain was still too far for the human definition of 'neighbor'.

"and you are not trespassing. at least--" the second sentence was easier, as if he remembered how to string words together, but he needed to take a step back when she stepped forward. it was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do, but he didn't know how that would go. clearing his throat, he continued, "if you were trespassing then so was i. where do you come from, altheia song?"

[nexttogold]

"Oh," she chuckled nervously when he mentioned they weren't neighbors. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything then."

She couldn't tell why she was feeling and acting the way she was at that moment. She wasn't normally this... anxious when meeting people. She was a natural at making conversations and building friendships, but something about him made her stomach turn.

"Good to know I'm not breaking the law on my first day here," she laughed. "It would've been bad to hear from the Mayor tomorrow, telling me I should leave." She noticed the way he stepped back when she walked towards him. She took that as her sign to stop. The wind changed all of a sudden, and Theia had to tuck some of her hair behind her ear to keep them off her face.

The whole interaction was uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. It was almost like seeing someone you haven't seen in a very long time again and you just don't know how to act around them anymore.

"Like... where I live here or?" She asked, realizing later on how stupid her question was. Of course, he probably meant where she was from before coming here. He didn't have to know the argument she was having with herself though so she decided to overshare. "You see that small house there?" She turned to point at the one-story building near the beach. "That's where I live. I'm told it used to be a jewelry shop. I couldn't tell though because it was pretty empty when I moved." She explained, "But originally, I'm from New York City. How about you?"