Rulers and Weights

An amber glow cast out above the heavens in a beautiful leap that fell to the horizon and swam out as far as the eye could see leaving a feeling of warmth that seemed to mount it self in the souls of the living and the remains of the dead and weary. Her face, eyes, expressions of astonishment and curiosity pointed out the magnificent moment in a type of investigative inspection. Dust swept playfully at her feet as the wind danced in mellow, swinging motion. The feeling was overwhelming. It was like a pulse in her veins. An expansion of energy that felt like it would lift and carry her away to anything she could imagine. Peace, serenity, the idea of life outside of the concept of possession, a life outside of the chains of everyday slavery that humanity brought on themselves the day they traded simplicity for binary code.

 

It rang with an ear piercing howl that anyone could have sworn would shatter a pane of glass.

"5AM already? F*****g hell..."

 

Rubbing the sleep from his mind and replacing the subconscious idealism of an empty canvas with the reality of blood and silver splattered walls and state borderlines hey ripped the crying machine from it's source throwing it across the room of his small apartment as he heard the wailing drain and fall in pitch in similarity to a dying robot. Throwing on his clothes and grabbing his keys he checked his phone on the way out smiling at the pleasant surprise who awoke to.

 

"You know no matter what she always manages to..."

 

Silence. More silent than the sidewalk, quieter than the dead engines of the morning and moving with more stealth than the shadows could dream of possessing.

 

"Your kidding me right?"

 

His skin was a golden brown tint in the reflection of the red sea that modulated above his eyes.

 

"What in the world is up with this sky? It's five in the morning for goodness sake... I guess the end really is near."

 

He snapped the key to the left. Slam. A small light illuminated his face as he replied to the message. A buckling sound. Snap the key forward. The engine came to life as he tossed the small machine onto the dash, throwing the old vehicle into reverse and setting out into the unfamiliar weather.

 

Later he couldn't help but notice he had the strangest feeling all day. By no means was it bad. It was a feeling of warmth and energy that wrapped itself around him and settled itself deep within, mirroring the effects of adrenaline.

 

"Dude..."

 

He looked up to see his friend and co worker standing next to him with a very observatory expression on his face.

 

"What, Chris?"

"Uhhhh, you have been glowing and smiling all day like an idiot man. Your usually... actually your ALWAYS grumpy because you have to wake up so early."

 

He noticed that his friend was right and just may be onto something.

 

"I don't know bro. I guess it's this weird a*s weather. Who knows maybe I slept well for the first time in years."

"Yeah, well I am going to lunch, man. You coming?"

"Lunch? Already?"

"Isaiah,  it's 10AM. Dude, you have been acting weird all day..."

 

He looked down at his watch in curiosity only to feel his face drop in astonishment. It felt as if it were 6:30AM not even two minutes ago. His eyes stayed fixed on his watch as he tried to deduce a logical reason for the shift in time.

 

"Isaiah???"

 

Back to reality.

 

"Oh, yeah, dude let's go. Subway sound good?"

 

"Yeah...." His friend gave him a peculiar look.

 

"Let's go."

 

 

The red ocean reflected in her smooth eyes as she gazed at the orange moon that still lingered in the sky. She restlessly moved her feet with her hands behind her head as she lay in the grass thinking.

Thinking of him.

She had been surprisingly energetic all day. She couldn't think of an explanation for it. The energy was just there. It just existed and as peculiar as it was she didn't mind for it brought her some of the most positive feelings ever. She flipped open her phone and decided to text him. After all he should be at lunch right about now right?

 

The keys in his pocket jingled happily with the movement of his phone. Finally something to break him away from his co worker who still had an odd expression on his face. He slid his finger across the screen to read the text.

 

                         "How are you liking this sky?"

 

He didn't know how to respond to it at the moment. His attention had been brought back to the weird atmosphere and the far to ironic occurrence of feeling energetic and pleasant all at once. He shifted his attention to Chris.

 

"Dude..."

"Yeah?"

"What do you think may be up with this weather?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it it has been cold for a while and it is mid summer. I don't know a cold front maybe?"

"Nah, Chris... I mean the sky."

 

Halt

 

Christopher stopped dead in his tracks. An expression of anxiety crossed the face of the twenty year old male. The wind gave his medium length hair a soft shake and tugged at the modern style business suit that covered his small frame.

 

"I  knew something was up man..."

 

Isaiah showed a sign of confusion.

 

"What the hell are you talking about bro?"

 

"Dude there is nothing WRONG! It is just like it was yesterday. A little chilly  with a slight wind and not a single cloud in all of the blue sky! Are you okay bro?!"

 

"Blue???"

 

His face fell back to the familiar felling of confusion.

 

"You!" Isaiah grasped the mans arm "What color is the sky?!"

"It's blue you f*****g a*****e what the hell are you doing?"

 

The man yanked away.

 

"Isaiah! What the hell are you doing?!"

 

Ignoring his friend he took off in a mild sprint as he looked back down at the screen Just to make sure.

 

                        "How are you liking this sky?"

 

"Please pick up, please pick up."

"Hey..."

"Rachel!"

"You've got Rachel. Sorry I can't come to the phone at the time but leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible! Have a good day!"

"D****t!"

 

He made his way back to the car. Something wasn't right and it definitely needed to be resolved. But as frustrating as the situation seemed he didn't feel mad. He still had this playful feeling.

Seatbelt. Snap the key forward. Gas.

 

Her phone gave off a familiar beep as the light illuminated from the front screen. She flipped it open to see a missed call. She gave the call back button a push and waited on an answer.

 

 

"Rachel!!!"

"Isaiah? Are you okay?!"

"Tell me, what color is the sky today?"

"It's red, maybe it's a weird eclipse or something. No need to freak out. I guess it is giving off good vibes because I woke up in a pretty good mood. I have been staring at the moon all day."

"Okay now go ask your mom what color the sky is..."

 

Silence followed by mumbling...

 

"Isaiah?"

"Yes?"

"What color do you see?"

"Red."

"Are you driving?"

"Yeah."

"Get out of the car."

 

Breaks, screech, snap the key back, door.

 

"Alright, I am out now do you know what's going on?"

"Look up at the moon and tell me what you feel"

 

As his eyes locked onto the lunar monument he felt it all melt. He felt it all die away. The road faded away, the car rusted to a red dust. And his keys fell from his finger tips.

 

"I can't explain it..."

"Neither can I... I have been laying outside staring at this thing all day and just now the feeling kind of multiplied."

"Your kidding me right?"

"No... Now that I think about it, Isaiah. It really feels like we are the only ones here. It's like I can feel you seeing this with me. Like the old saying."

"Yeah my dad told me stories about how if two people look into the moon at the same time...."

"There's a connection? Well, teddy, I guess fairy tales aren't so false after all are they?

 

A smile drew across his face as he broke out into a large smile. The wind bounced back and fourth in a jubilant response. He closed his eyes and imagined. Imagined everything he had ever dreamed of. He closed his eyes and drifted away dreaming of the one thing that made him feel whole.

 

"Isaiah?"

"This is amazing....."

 

It felt like an entirely different world where time had no rule.

 

"It is isn't it? I hope this never ends."

"It won't..."

"Hmmm?"

"...So long as you carry me with you and I do the same."

 

He spread his arms in an echoing laughter and fell backwards into the sea of emotion allowing it to swallow him and pull him beneath the waves and the icebergs.

 

"Sink with me and disappear..."

 

He could feel her smile in response as the blue sky slid above the blacktop pavement.

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