deja vu

–I am pulled out of black space. A vast field awaits outside the door, splashed in hues of gentle pink and lilac, the scent of citrus flourishing. It was your favorite color. Out in the open, the creature follows me, body doused in black ink and skin jagged. Like a shadow, its footsteps are silent in the rising sun. It speaks to me with its vacant obsidian eyes, and pushes me to move forward and away. Where are we supposed to go? The grass continues to tickle my bare feet, my companion—soundless space. The wind caresses my warm face, singing a lullaby that cusps raven strands into my ear, “It’s time for you to go home, little one.” But I have no other home other than the small, dark corner I kept myself in. When I peek behind the curtains, I almost stumble, as the heat of the orange sun sticks to our bodies. Liquid drips down and stains the soil, goo melting off of the creature’s blackened skin, as splotches of pastel replace the muddy color.

Are you merely a shadow? From afar, I can make out a strange shape—

“You’re almost there.”

The dancing daisies tell me in glee, swaying with the flow of the wind. So I reach out for my companion and push ahead, our fingers intertwined. At the edge of the field is a pair of swings, old and rusty. I sit alongside the murky creature, the rough metal on my fingertips easing my soul. It was our favorite spot. The longer we stayed in place, the more the heat became unbearable.

Black liquid fully melts away from their body, leaving behind a face with an affectionate smile, from childhood playgrounds long forgotten. The chains of the swings clink into place. deja vu— I once laughed here with you, till the early sun rose.

“Welcome home.” after a thousand years I hear your voice. The darkness melts into the present, as your words taste like earth in my throat. And as I surge forwards to hold you in my arms, you fade away from my very eyes, burning ever brighter, in the embers of our memories. 11