Iron Quill - Under the Water - Reunion

[Kadeton]

Mariko drifted, staring up through the dark water. Tendrils of her hair floated across her vision, slowly curling and waving in the gentle river current, but she felt too tired to brush them away. The pale light from above, which she’d watched for hours, was getting weaker. The sun must be setting, she guessed. Jenny will be worried about me.

The thought sent a thump through her chest, and with it came a flood of memories - the curve of Jenny’s smile, the deep caramel of her eyes by candlelight, the soft chimes of her laughter, the smell of her hair, the gentle touch of her delicate musician’s hands. In her mind, she watched Jenny’s fingers dance over the body of her flute, her whole body swaying in time, totally absorbed by the music.

They had argued, she remembered with sudden, painful clarity. She couldn’t remember why, and it hardly mattered, now. She had been angry, hurtful. She thought of Jenny’s eyes filled with sadness, and her soft voice cracking as she spoke. “Get out.”

She’d wandered the city’s streets, half-blinded by tears, with no sense of destination or purpose. She recalled a bar, throwing back slugs of cheap liquor and fending off the drunken advances of lecherous men with increasing violence until she’d been thrown out on the cobbles.

Mariko supposed it had been some of those same men who attacked her. The memory was mercifully fading, now - her ordeal was little more than a blur of rough hands, savage blows, and pain. She couldn’t recollect their faces, but she could still see the knife they’d waved in front of her eyes as they forced her to kneel. She remembered how they’d gloated at her fear, the warmth of her blood running over her chest when they cut her throat, and the shock as her body hit the water. She was so cold.

Someone must suffer for this. The thought blazed in her mind, searing away the visions. In the dark water, Mariko’s lifeless body twitched and rose toward the surface.

She emerged from the river without a ripple, and drifted along the docks, silent except for the sound of water dripping on the boards. A fisherman, too engrossed in cleaning his catch, peered up at her and let out a soundless scream. One of them? she pondered, but the anger surged through her. It doesn’t matter.

The man was transfixed as she bore down on him, reaching out as if in supplication. She gathered up her sorrow like a weapon - he would share her torment. His eyes rolled back as water dripped from her fingers, mingling with his tears.

The sweet, pure sound of a flute cut through the night air. The single piercing note held for an eternal moment, then became a trill, flowing into a haunting, mournful melody. She cast about, searching for its source, leaving the fisherman and her vengeance abandoned.

Jenny stood at the end of the pier, facing out over the river. Mariko tried to call out to her, to plead for forgiveness, but water poured from her mouth instead of words. The music spoke of loss and deep, hopeless sadness. It wrenched at her heart, drawing her irresistibly on. I’m here, she tried desperately to convey, Jenny, I’m coming.

The music faltered as she drew close. Mid-breath, Jenny coughed violently, the flute producing a strangled, burbling half-note. Water trickled from the end of the flute, and Jenny swayed unsteadily.

Instinctively, Mariko reached out to Jenny, her arms circling the musician’s waist and holding her close. The relief at seeing her beloved, touching her again, almost swept Mariko away. Jenny convulsed, her legs buckling, and together they sank to the deck.

Jenny turned in Mariko’s embrace, and those deep brown eyes met hers. Water was bubbling up from inside Jenny’s chest, and there was pain in her expression, but her eyes were full of joy. A trembling, delicate hand reached up to caress Mariko’s face.

As she held her lover close and the world began to fade, Mariko stopped feeling cold. She was forgiven. Everything would be alright.

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Just a short entry this time - 700 words.

Ingredients used: Theme, Character, Line, Item.

Comments welcome!

[admiralvorkraft]

Really lovely work as usual. Way to craft an effective story using only a limited toolkit.

 

It's absolutely the kind of heartrending irony that I had in mind when I submitted the line "Everything would be alright." Far more effective than my own entry