Anchors have held me down all along

“The sky! I see it. It’s pretty.”

“Like you, my dear,” he replied.

He had a way with words. He always knew the things to say to her, at all the right times, to make her lips turn upwards.

“Baby, let’s go over there.” He was pointing to a barely visible path, past the trees.

“Okay,” said Sally.

The couple walked, hand in hand, towards the path. Once there, they were greeted with a large clearing surrounded by trees, and a small lake in its center which mirrored the moon and stars in the bright sky.

“How did you find this place? It’s beautiful. Are we even allowed to be here?”

“Yes.” Gi paused, “and even if we weren’t, it wouldn’t stop me anyway. But I needed you to see it today.”

“What do you mean? What’s the urgency?”

“I’m leaving you tonight. There’s something I have to do. I may or may not return from where I’m going.”

“Tell me this is a game,” Sally pleaded.

“This isn’t a game.”

Sally started to cry. “No, please don’t do this. There has to be another way.”

Gi shook his head. He looked away before Sally could see his tears.

“Bye, my darling. If I return, I’ll never leave again.”

“You might never return if you leave.”

“That’s a choice I don’t have.”

“Why did you take me out tonight? Why didn’t you just go, quietly. Silently.”

Gi remained quiet. He couldn’t explain what he did, what he wanted to do. He turned from her and walked away, head bowed in guilt.

“Gi! Come back!” Sally yelled.

Gi didn’t give her a second glance. He knew if he saw her crying he’d risk abandoning his task.

Sally fell to her knees. She had no idea this was coming. It was all so sudden. Where was he going? Why did he go? She had no answers, only tears.

***

Gi found himself in the middle of another clearing, miles from the one he left Sally at. Despite the silence around him, he could still hear her cries in his mind. Please don’t go. I’m so sorry. Come back.

He made his way to a hole he had previously dug for himself, pushed away the sticks and leaves covering it and climbed in. He sat down and started covering his legs with the loose soil from the sides of the pit. Soon, he was waist deep in dirt. He leaned back and started covering his body as well. Eventually, Gi was just a face and two arms protruding from the ground.

***

The clear night turned dark and ominous. Its stillness and tranquil was replaced with rumbling thunder and flashing lightning. Rain started to pour. For the first time in months, there was water falling from the clouds.

“Was this the doing of Gi?” Sally asked herself. She would never know.


Writing Prompt from Reddit: Write a story with 1 paragraph for each letter of the alphabet. Each paragraph must not use its corresponding letter at all.

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