Rose’s cheeks were the embodiment of her name: pinkish, graceful, plumb as fresh strawberries. I trembled at the mere thought of approaching her. I mean, what would I even say?
“Just tell her you’re yummy for her cunny,” Jason said. “If her panties soil afterwards, you’ll know she’s down.”
“Gross. No way I’m saying that. I’d rather die.”
“Hilarious,” he said, rolling his eyes.
Jason was crude and boorish, to be sure, but the two of us went way back. Before the conflict, and the ensuing holocaust. For all his coarseness, his candor was as reliable as black coffee at morning’s first light. Heavy on bitterness, light on sugar.
Meanwhile, Rose’s lavender colored sweater enveloped her like flowers on a lush field. When she glanced in our direction, her eyes flashed across my own, resembling two lilacs come to life.
“Did you see that? She looked this way.”
Jason shrugged. “Only one way to know for sure.”
“Maury told me her grandma was a clairvoyant,” I said. “If that’s true, then…”
“Why’re you such a pussy? Just go over there already!”
“What if she doesn’t see me? Girls like that seldom do.”
“No one will ever see you if you keep brooding about in the shadows. Take the first step already. The rest will follow.”
“But what if…”
“Dude, if you don’t go over there, I will!”
I hoped he was jesting. “R-really?”
Jason nodded, his eyes two gibbous mini moons. It was his most effective threat when motivating me.
“I don’t think you want that,” he said, shaking his head with a slanted lip.
"No, I guess not.”
He gave me a gentle shove, his fingertips protruding through my back as a soft glove through a cloud of swaying mist. Hesitating, I meandered about, strolling towards the table where Rose sat with her two girlfriends. I moved unscrupulously, like a death row inmate towards the final execution.
What should I say? Hello? No, lame.
How you doin’? Ugh, lamer still.
I saw you from over there and thought I’d… No, no. No!
A few feet from her voluptuous eyes, not far from where her lips pouted like a pair of twizzlers, I stopped and stood, unwillingly impersonating a statue who thoroughly soiled himself. This was no man’s land: too late to turn back, yet impossible to advance further.
If she could only see me, hear me, sense me, it would be enough to inject me with the confidence I lacked. But even if she did, how would I know?
A gentle breeze blew through me, and consequently ruffled her fluffy brown hair. Rose looked up, and as she did, I took a step forward.
After all, you only live once.
Lived, I mean. Lived.
Then, I saw it. Lilacs and lavenders flashed before me, flowers and blossoms spread across the luscious grassland.
“Hey,” I said. “You’re not gonna believe this, but purple is my favorite color.” Rose looked up, mumbled something to her friend. I stretched my arm, and grazed her exposed hand, my fingertips skimming her flesh as a soft paintbrush on a fresh canvas.
Awkward? Maybe. Creepy? Perhaps. But I had to make my presence known, hence the desperate measures.
Rose glanced around, her eyes searching for the imperceptible in the surrounding fog. She stared at where I stood, gazing past me, but also at me.
I think.
Yes, pretty sure.
The monumental first step was behind me. But before I could take the next, a sudden flash rose from the distant horizon, swallowing the land and the sky. The blinding light soon consumed all, and obliterated everything in its path.
They were at it again.
It took less than a minute for Rose and her friends to disintegrate in the ensuing breeze. Their bodies instantly turned to ashes, like miniscule brittle leaves, drifting and scattering on the surrounding wasteland. Rose’s essence, at long last, appeared. She blinked for the first time, meeting my eyes from several meters away. She was apprehensive and confused, which was understandable.
I refrained from speaking, until she regained her senses, realized her predicament, and ultimately, smiled. Then, I walked over to her with a newfound confidence. She'd need somebody to show her the ropes.
“You’re not gonna believe this…” I began.
She smiled, causing my essence to soar. It felt better than having a beating heart ever did.