Gray Hour: The Cursed Coin

She felt the tremendous pain breathing in and out of her body. The freezing wind seemed to create a barrier around her, playing with her hair, enjoying seeing her suffer confusingly from unknown sources. Her lungs ached as she took a deep inhale, and her eyes found it difficult to identify anything in front of her.

Only after she had blinked a few times did she recognize the concrete underneath her feet, the railings that surrounded the area and below that, the sea of lights behind and around both of her and him. It would have been a beautiful sight if not for the tragedy that was about to occur.

Breathing got easier for Diana and her brain started to function. Her delicate face gradually got paler as her consciousness and judgment returned to her, and when she comprehended what type of situation she was in, drops of water — almost appearing like crystals — adorned her elegant eyes.

In useless efforts, Diana tried moving one of her arms, seemingly wanting to turn and look at the simple timepiece that she didn't remember ever wearing. When the heaviness of her limbs and the increasing despair that grew inside her won, she gave up on that notion.

A clear sound in her heart told her to give up. After all, she knew fully what was going to happen in the next five minutes that led to midnight.

"Babe." She felt a hand on my face. "Are you okay? Are you scared? Don't worry, it will be fast, it will be all over before you think about it." His voice made chills run through her body. She shook her head as he pushed her backward, almost tripping on a random rock.

"Please no, Elliot," Diana begged, her voice was shaking, so was her body. "Let's not do this." She knew the answer; she knew his next response, too. A series of memories rushed into her head, but she had no time to acknowledge them.

The scene was different, so were their clothes, and the place was much more peaceful than any she could remember on the top of her head. Maybe it was because of the melancholy that encircled the atmosphere, but Diana felt her heart clench.

In front of her, stood the person who made her heart beat fast once upon a time. A person who stood greater than the world and was a king amongst his peers. Now, instead of confidence, his eyes emitted confusion and bewilderment as he stopped pushing her. His gaze bore into her and couldn't look away, seemingly hypnotized. "What are you talking about?"

Hope sprouted inside her, despite reminding herself not to. It was clearly silly, dumb and foolish, but maybe…

"We can go to another country. We can pack our stuff and go away. Never see anyone anymore. There is no need for this, hmm?" This time, She was the one holding onto him, clenching his thin white shirt between her fingers. "They won't catch us. They will never be able to,"

His eyes slowly closed and opened again, fluttering silently almost startling her. There was no light there, no reaction, nothing. It was as if he had already given up on everything, and no words could reach him.

But she had to at least try. Try once again. "Didn't we say, it was us against the world?" she gave him the most convincing smile she could pull off in this situation, which probably wasn't much.

Diana knew and memorized what was about to come, but that didn't mean it didn't crush her heart every time. "They will take you away from me. They will kill us and throw us away. They took everything away from me, but I won't let them take you," He said chillingly, removing her hands off him and pushing her backward with more strength this time.

She tried fighting, even if her arms were held tightly by his, but she couldn't. She tried choking up few words, but his eyes said it all. This was useless.

It was clear to her ears the sound that came from inside. A sound of her heart slowly breaking, shattering silently and screaming in a hushed noise that was lost amongst the cold breeze and forgotten memories.

No one would ever be able to hear it, and no one seemed to want to. But, to her, it was almost deafening and it only increased as they reached the edge of the railing.

Sweat rolled down her clear skin, and she felt weightless and heavy at the same time as panic started to rush in. Her throat contained silent wails and gasps of breath.

"Come on now, they will be coming here soon." He 'helped' her up the edge and they were both standing side by side this time, the city extending right in front of them and the small lights, that came from each apartment, looked like stars to Diana. His hand was gripping hers roughly and this time her tears fell. "Don't cry, we will be together," He said with a smile.

His gray eyes that she always loved didn't seem so kind anymore, didn't look as vibrant as she remembered. Maybe it was because of the lack of light or maybe because of hopelessness, but his eyes were so dark almost touching black. It all made her feel suffocated, and there was nothing she could do about it. She wanted to tell him that it will be alright and that they are together, but she knew nothing would reach him.

He drove both of them into a corner.

Diana was never ready for the jump, but at that moment, she could feel everything go by slowly, elongating this grim moment. She heard her heartbeat and his and the world's mixing together and creating a sophisticated symphony that she never heard before.

It was surreal and scary. She didn't know if her head was full of thoughts or if it was blank, but the heaviness in her head only got worse.

Her body hung in the wind, almost weightless and as free as a wounded bird could ever be.

She wanted to look at Eli one last time to see his face, but when she turned her head in the midst of this all, her eyes caught the sight of her watch.

It was five past twelve.