(no subject)
There are days on this island, days like today, when the world seems utterly perfect. Like nothing I could ever have hoped to experience in Pico Mundo and as much as I miss home now and then, I understand that a little homesickness is perhaps a necessary price to pay for days that briefly dip into perfection. With Stormy's body warm beside mine and the ice cream cool in the bowls in front of us, I can't think of anything more right than sitting under this tree with the most beautiful girl in the world.
The weather is exactly right and, while Stormy couldn't exactly say she misses the hot, dry winds of Pico Mundo, maybe she misses twilight on the bell-tower with the boy she's been destined for her entire life. Maybe, a little.
"Do you ever think about it, Oddie?" she says, leaning back against him, warm and comfortable and sleepy, and loved.
"Think about home?" I ask, because while I may have a great many talents, reading Stormy's mind when I can't see her eyes has never been one of them. She's always been smarter and more eloquent than I can ever hope to be. "Sometimes I do."
"That too."
Stormy shifts so that her head is more firmly against Odd's shoulder, her fingers threaded with his at her waist, her hair ink black against his white t-shirt.
"What I wonder sometimes, Oddie, is...if that was boot-camp, and this is service...what do you think Paradise is going to be like?"
Sometimes I feel as though I'm already in Paradise. That this beautiful island without ghosts and without bodachs and with the girl I love is exactly where I'm going to spend eternity, but I know Stormy doesn't believe that it works that way.
"I don't know," I answer honestly after a moment, feeling sleepy and content. My cheek rests against the top of Stormy's head, her hair soft against my skin and I close my eyes. There's nowhere in the world I feel better or safer than I do right here. "Maybe it's easier to make ice cream," I joke softly, my mouth curving into a small smile.
"Easier to find a perfect vanilla," sighs Stormy. Sometimes, she thinks that that's all she's longing for...she has Odd, she has their home, and their friends. All she's searching for is the perfect flavour. It's not a bad sort of life. On a whim, Stormy twists to catch Odd's mouth with an awkward kiss.
First was bootcamp, then came service and, if you were very lucky, you got your final reward.
We're lucky. I truly believe we're lucky and Stormy tastes like the perfect vanilla against my lips, although she'll argue it isn't quite there yet. This is all I've ever needed, all I've ever wanted. Terrible Chester may be a pest, but he's a pest I'll gladly take on if it means I get to have a normal life with the girl I love. With my eyes still closed, I fight a yawn as we part and I curl closer to Stormy, then closer still. It's warm in the late afternoon, but I'm never too warm when I'm close to her. For as long as I've known her, I've slept better with my girl at my side and I can feel myself drifting, even as I smile and touch her hair gently with one hand.
This is all the paradise I've ever needed.
The weather is exactly right and, while Stormy couldn't exactly say she misses the hot, dry winds of Pico Mundo, maybe she misses twilight on the bell-tower with the boy she's been destined for her entire life. Maybe, a little.
"Do you ever think about it, Oddie?" she says, leaning back against him, warm and comfortable and sleepy, and loved.
"Think about home?" I ask, because while I may have a great many talents, reading Stormy's mind when I can't see her eyes has never been one of them. She's always been smarter and more eloquent than I can ever hope to be. "Sometimes I do."
"That too."
Stormy shifts so that her head is more firmly against Odd's shoulder, her fingers threaded with his at her waist, her hair ink black against his white t-shirt.
"What I wonder sometimes, Oddie, is...if that was boot-camp, and this is service...what do you think Paradise is going to be like?"
Sometimes I feel as though I'm already in Paradise. That this beautiful island without ghosts and without bodachs and with the girl I love is exactly where I'm going to spend eternity, but I know Stormy doesn't believe that it works that way.
"I don't know," I answer honestly after a moment, feeling sleepy and content. My cheek rests against the top of Stormy's head, her hair soft against my skin and I close my eyes. There's nowhere in the world I feel better or safer than I do right here. "Maybe it's easier to make ice cream," I joke softly, my mouth curving into a small smile.
"Easier to find a perfect vanilla," sighs Stormy. Sometimes, she thinks that that's all she's longing for...she has Odd, she has their home, and their friends. All she's searching for is the perfect flavour. It's not a bad sort of life. On a whim, Stormy twists to catch Odd's mouth with an awkward kiss.
First was bootcamp, then came service and, if you were very lucky, you got your final reward.
We're lucky. I truly believe we're lucky and Stormy tastes like the perfect vanilla against my lips, although she'll argue it isn't quite there yet. This is all I've ever needed, all I've ever wanted. Terrible Chester may be a pest, but he's a pest I'll gladly take on if it means I get to have a normal life with the girl I love. With my eyes still closed, I fight a yawn as we part and I curl closer to Stormy, then closer still. It's warm in the late afternoon, but I'm never too warm when I'm close to her. For as long as I've known her, I've slept better with my girl at my side and I can feel myself drifting, even as I smile and touch her hair gently with one hand.
This is all the paradise I've ever needed.