86 DAYS

Red.

The painter had a mind of his own, splashing his brush against the canvas of the empyrean above, radiating it with bright shades of an incarnadine hue. It looked pleasing, to stare at the mesmerizing welkin, soft and sweet within the confusion of chroma flushed all over. The Sun was soon to settle down behind the brown hills, appearing to be a small sphere of blazing orange from afar. The clouds bathed in the twilight glow, soaring above in a gentle manner at ease.

The evening breeze made the grasses dance, nodding their tops and softly brushing against my ankles as I sat amidst their verdant presence. Several wildflowers of white and yellow topped the meadow, accompanied with flowers of other colors as well, making it seem so picturesque. They glistened under the shine of orange and yellow, stretching across the vast expanse. It was a sight to behold, so soothing to the eyes bearing the burdens of life, to a mind preparing to face the horrors incoming, to a soul strangling with the twists of events and a haunted consequence.

"Hwa?"

I jolted in surprise, as I turned my head to face the person beside me. Hongjoong sat with his knees pulled to his chest, his feet joined together and the big box of stones settled near his feet. He had a stone within the cup of his left hand, halfway covered in white, as he held a brush in his right, it's edge smeared with the same color. He stared in my direction, looking at me in slight confusion mingled with tinges of concern, a twisted concoction of emotions that I couldn't decipher well. His gaze held several of them swirling within the orbs of his eyes generously splashed with the last streaks of the dying sunlight, and those were perhaps the only two that I could possibly realise.

"Yeah?" I responded, my voice reduced to a whisper. It was easy for him to catch the response, since we sat so close together.

"Nothing much," Hongjoong was quick to respond, "You looked lost, slightly absentminded. It seemed as if I had just encountered a storm brewing within your head and that made me a little concerned," I watched him sweep the color loaded bristles of his brush against the grey exterior of the stone, soon coating it with white. It felt so satisfactory.

"I'm good," I answered after a little pause, my eyes travelling above to the approaching dusk, the sky now shimmering in violet and blue, with slight touches of red and orange yet to be erased. The moon was vaguely visible, and the stars were slowly coming in appearance.

Night was about to settle in soon.

"Mn, I hope so," Hongjoong continued to paint his stone, and when it was fully covered in white, he put it down upon the lid of the box to let it dry with the other painted ones. His fingertips and his palms were now covered in an array of numerous colors, mostly dried, except the patches of white which were yet to dry. He didn't seem to care.

I watched him sigh while viewing the collection placed beside him and then, without any further say, he pushed the box slightly away from his feet, stretched his legs forward and collapsed upon the grasses. His hands rested on either side of his body beside his abdomen and his eyes were closed, a small smile of contentment curling up his lips. He remained in this position for a while, not speaking, when minutes later, he opened his eyes and our gazes met.

He looked at me in slight wonder, blinking and then, he raised his right hand and pointed to the space beside his head with his thumb, his smile growing.

"C'mon, lie down," he said, looking at me with a bit of vivid hope shining within his eyes. I stared back at him, the stone in my hand yet to be painted in green. I did not have the heart to deny this request, small and simple, and hence, I put the stone and the brush down and laid beside him upon the grass, my arms and my legs feeling free and my body being enveloped in a sweet pleasure of peace amidst the cradle of nature itself.

I saw the sky above me, now darkening, the stars visible in a faraway twinkle, gracing the nocturnal canvas, astral bespangled, heavenly luminous lamps of the night offering a blanket of diamonds. A view so foreign to me before I had met this stranger of a possibility of nineteen winters, and yet, in the present hours that I was breathing in, the sweet splendor of the starry night had become my heart's desire, my favorite. And there was no trace of falsehood laced within this personal declarement.

"Hwa," I heard the boy call, as I was currently drowning within the vastness of the stretch above, "Do you like star gazing?"

I turned towards him, now looking at his side profile, the sharpness of his features so clear, the prominence making him seem ten times more handsome.

"I do," I admitted, "But I've never done this before."

I felt Hongjoong slightly shift beside me, and then came his response, "Oh, I see. Well, but presently, you'll be doing this quite often, unless you raise any specific objection."

"Never," I nodded in an immediate negation, "I'll never disagree to this, Joong. I love it."

"What about your parents?" came the next question, the choice of words immediately settling a swirl of discomfort within my chest and yet, I couldn't blame him, "Don't they care about you sneaking out of the house at hours like this?"

I paused for a moment, thinking it through. And then I realized, it wouldn't be much harm for him to know, would it?

"I have no parents," I uttered in a low whisper, my voice giving way, and my eyes blankly staring at the now inky void above, "Lost them when I was a child."

The stillness that followed seemed too long for me, but it was, barely a few minutes.

"So, you live all alone?"

"Yes," I breathed out.

"What do you like to do the most at your leisure?" came the next question, quickly diverting from the heaviness the previous one had created.

I had no response ready. Honestly, did I ever indulge in anything as such? I pondered for long, trying to fish out a suitable answer amidst all that presently crammed my head.

"Not much," I chose to say, "I had a small aspiration of becoming a barista someday. But presently, I'm not into anything at all."

"Don't you want to be a barista anymore?" Hongjoong questioned.

"No."

"Oh."

He didn't say anything further.

The breeze was now getting colder, the grasses tickling the sides of my ears and the bare skin of my wrists and ankles. I could hear the boy beside me breath, short inhales and exhales entering and exiting his nostrils, in a rhythm. I closed my eyes and found myself focusing on his breaths, my own heart throbbing in a pace with an urge to match his, the two contrasting sounds eager to mingle and submerge into one.

"Hwa," I heard him call again. But this time, he knew, he already had my attention. And hence, he didn't wait for any verbal affirmation.

"What would be the last thing that you would do if someone told you that you would be dying tomorrow?" he asked it all at a stretch, without a stoppage, and then his question followed a deep breath that he took in.

Once again, I fell into a deep thought. Did I have one?

"Perhaps," I slowly said, "I would come back here to gaze at the night sky or maybe, indulge in the stone skipping sessions with you."

I heard a short laugh, more like a giggle, mirthful and merry. I smiled at that, the giggle alone making my lips curl up without any intention.

"Me too," he brought forth his statement, agreeing with mine. My smile widened.

And that's how our conversation rolled forward, with topics of no specific importance, or bearing any graveness within. Light chats to waste time on. We talked until the winds became quite unbearable, cutting through our skin like a plethora of knives originated from ice and making our teeth chatter. We stood up, collecting our materials and made our way back to the vehicle. And like the other day, after placing it all within the trunk, Hongjoong disappeared into the driver's seat and I slipped into the one beside him. The engine rumbled and the car moved.

We didn't talk much on the way back, soft music emitting from the radio of his car, and soon we reached our destination, the vehicle now stopping at the spot.

"See you tomorrow, then," the pure elation wrapping Hongjoong's voice gave my heart a horrible squeeze. I faced him.

"I won't be back before a week's time, Joong," I replied a tad sadly, "And probably, I'll be back for a day, and then gone for another ten days."

"Oh, you're quite a busybody I see," he sighed and I could see him pout. Even within the darkness of the space, I could see his lower lip sticking out slightly and at that instant, I just knew how adorable he looked.

"Then I'll wait for you," the joy in his voice was back, "I'll think of something better to indulge in on that one day, okay?"

I nodded.

And as I stepped out of the car, waved him a goodbye, and walked down the bridge, I couldn't help but think.

It seemed so easy, didn't it?

As if, it was all meant to happen. And I was craving for more, for all of it, more and more.

Was he an angel, sent from the gods above to make my last days a bit easy? To make it painless? Or perhaps, to make me feel pathetic about not living my days before and beg to let me breath now? To make me not want to leave-

A sudden wave of deep pain hit my chest, the pit of my stomach churning simultaneously.

The realisation was too strong.

I felt like...

...I didn't want to die anymore.

I suddenly wanted to live.

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Thoughts?

(I'm extremely sorry if this was not what you all had expected. I promise to make the following chapters better<3)