Friday 3 February 2012

Thirteen

"Oh, dammit, this is a disaster," curses Elisabet as she hurries down the narrow path.
The sky above her is a swirl of dark grey and dirty yellow, and a strong wind is tearing at her hair and clothes, almost stealing the breath away from her lips. Her shoes are not meant for walking in the rain, or for the pebbly terrain she is trying to cover fast right now, like no shoes available to her are nowadays. People are not meant to tread outside defined areas, and most of them don't. Except for Elisabet.

Just as lightning sweeps across the sky, pouring out a flood of light over the landscape for a second or two, she is able to discern, at a short distance, another human shape, moving in the same direction as her. The young woman starts to run, almost blind in the after-lightning darkness. The path leads down a small hill and Elisabet gains more momentum than she can control. A heavy stone, lying conveniently in her path, breaks her run and sends her flying into a soft obstacle with an umph.
Another shot of lightning illuminates the scene: two bodies, entangled with arms and legs, lie writhing in the dirt. Their pained grunts are drowned out by a roll of thunder. John, who is the only other human to take walks in these parts, has just freed himself from Elisabet when the first big raindrop hits him squarely between the eyes.
He curses audibly, gets up and lifts Elisabet to her feet. "Come on, we need to get back into town."
Hand in hand they race down the remainder of the hill path, using the now frequent bursts of lighting to orient themselves. Occasional raindrops leave wet marks on their clothes and skin.
Just as the rain feels the need to rush and starts pouring in earnest, they reached the outskirts of town. Together, they break through the gate, skidding on the clean, smooth floor with their dirty shoes. Even though they are out of breath they start to laugh maliciously, staring up at the hostile sky through the transparent dome that shields the community from the outside world.
When they finally let go of each other's hands and go their separate ways, both Elisabet and John experience it as a loss of something dear.

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