The whirlpool

In the midst of the angry chanting and raining arrows, there remained a quality of stillness. The air had stopped moving, and the sun paused its ascent in the sky to watch. Dave's entire world was compressed into a heartbeat. He was stunned—was this a dream? Whatever he had desired, whatever he had believed to be right, it wasn't worth Ann's life. And that truth made his heart feel like it was about to burst.

Ann's midnight eyes shone with quiet serenity as she gazed upon their faces. He dived into the pool of memories and saw a gentle soul, whose love found expression when no one was looking: a cupcake on his desk on his birthday, a mysterious scarf that found its way into his bag on a blustery winter day, and a cheerful note on a bad day.

Dave was unrooted, wandering from country to country. Life events had left him bewildered and dizzy, but her presence was enough to dull the aloneness. Though she was small, barely reaching his shoulder, her heart was vast enough to accommodate them all. A wild howl escaped his mouth, and in a surge of desperation, he pushed Jack aside to catch her. The world turned upside down as the boat plunged into the embrace of the sea.

She was slowly descending into the darkening expanse of the abyss, her beautiful hair swirling around like an ethereal halo, catching the faint glimmers of light from the sky above. It made her appear otherworldly, like a fallen angel in the throes of a tragic descent. The cursed fruit floated tantalizingly close, as if the universe itself had conspired to force him to make a choice between his deepest desire or his heart.

He inched closer, his lungs burning, mirrored by the awful pain in his heart. The edges of his vision blurred as he teetered on the precipice of unconsciousness. The menacing undercurrent seeped away his strength as well as his hope with each passing second. Finally, he gathered her lifeless form in his embrace. Her cold skin chilled him to his bones. In a moment of unbearable love, he cupped her face and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, resigned to whatever fate had decided for them.

As tiny bubbles escaped from her lungs, his eyes widened in surprise—there was still hope. He thought he had lost her forever. A relentless determination surged within him, the very essence of his love transforming into strength. With one kick after another, he propelled them toward the surface. He only became aware they had cut through the surface when he heard Ann's torturous little gasps.

She was drowning from within. The metallic liquid had filled her mouth and entire chest in slow, agonizing moments. The tiny muscle in her chest beat slower, struggling to maintain its rhythm. Light began to fade and sound grew distant. Death was close and it had promised to end her suffering. 

Dave's face was contorted in agony, tears mingling with the seawater, and his voice charged with despair. She saw the fear in his eyes, the depths of his love, and the anguish of helplessness. But all she could focus on were the fine lines at the corners of his eyes as she traced his features for one last time. It made her lips tremble and lifted slightly. Her teacher's handsomeness was not immune to gravity, the sun, and time after all.

"Ann! Stay with me!" He repeated endlessly, though he knew deep down that no amount of pleading or cursing could alter the course of destiny.

"Please, please. Oh God! Please." His trembling hand pressed against her chest, as if he could staunch the bleeding with sheer willpower.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He shook her, trying to jolt her back to awareness, to anchor her to this world.

She had never seen this side of him, and that knowledge made her heart constrict. A single tear fell from her eye, ran down the curve of her cheek, and was swallowed by the sea. She tried to speak, but she could no longer form words.

So she held on to life and stayed for as long as she could.

For Dave.

Suddenly, a blinding light burst forth beneath the surface. The sea transformed into a maelstrom of turmoil, churning and roaring with insatiable hunger. The swirling dark waters stretched endlessly, drawing everything toward its heart. It felt as though a thousand unseen hands reached out from the depths, clawing at their bodies, tugging them downward into the abyss. Jack and Toji desperately clung to their overturned boat, their frantic cries swallowed by the deafening roar.

As seconds stretched into minutes, the arms that had held her with unyielding resolve began to tremble. Beads of sweat trickled down onto her cheeks, and the chest against which she had rested her head heaved in ragged, laborious gasps.

"He has a better chance without me."

The painful truth pulsed like a relentless ache and bloomed into a selfless resolve. With every ounce of her being, she summoned the last reserves of her strength to tenderly wipe away the tears streaming down his face—a silent farewell that required no spoken words. Then she pushed him away.

As she descended into the unfathomable depths of the endless blue, Ann wished with all her heart that she could have one last chance to speak those unspoken words, to assure Dave that it was alright, that she held no blame for any of it. But the darkness closed in, and there was nothing more she could do.