his eyes are so much louder than the rest of him, an illusion of radiance in the night; like the moon to the sun, a mere reflection. pallid, though not at all devoid of colour; simply more intimate with the shadows at his behest, blossoming under his will, his chest steady with habits that he doesn’t need anymore, but bothers with nonetheless. the body itself is an illusion, tied to a revenant that slumbers where he cannot reach, though the distance is a blessing when the body tries to speak . . . an annoyance at best, and a hindrance when inconvenient, but ultimately the body maintained its distance, and so the darkness maintained its ignorance in turn. it wasn’t entirely resolute, but it knew for itself that outside of this . . . agreement, there simply was no other way, so david contented himself to the beach, a mere illusion of skin that still felt wrong. perhaps it was the moon itself, and the light still stung in his eyes. the moon felt too optimistic for the night, shifting his position from where he sat, the shadows writhing all around him with the intent to shield him from a never waning moon.
the stars, however, were far easier on his eyes. they almost seemed like an agreement, hand in hand with light and dark with the exception that they burned, and then died out, become one with the dark in the end. he felt close to them in that regard, being dragged further into the depths, away from this compromise that left his body in one place and his soul in another. he would give up eventually. he would have to.
all stars consigned themselves to darkness.
‘ i prefer it here, ’ david murmurs aloud, turned from the stars to the darkness in his palm. the darkness knew the master before him, though the soul did not, but it was the first time in a long time that david felt he could be anywhere close to honest. ultimately he was bound to this place, and the sanctuary it offered, and when the darkness chose to speak to him, it was easier to drift in the water alongside it.
even if, in the end, it meant drowning altogether.
all stars consigned themselves to darkness in the end.
‘ the sound of the waves . . . it’s never too late to visit the seaside, as i’m sure you’re well aware. ’ there’s a hint of a smile not entirely his own, but it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between them. the sea is comforting. the sea is always calling him home, closer to eternity . . . he flexes his hand in observation again, closing his fist around the darkness as it hums, inhabiting the illusion of his skin again.
‘ —how do you like it here . . . master aqua? ’
