bliss was not a word riley knew then, while he was held under cold currents. he squrimed against the unseen force, squalling as cold water rippled by his spine, sunk through his coat, and rested on his bare and exposed belly.
he fought against the sensation as it shifted past his skin unpleasantly, seeping into his nose and eyes. he knew not to breathe, but his body knew the repugnance of water where it did not belong: in choking fits, bubbles streamed from the little curve of his small nostrils, parted from between tiny milk white incisors bared but silent.
this unfamiliar sensation was nothing like what he preferred. it was nothing like laurel's soothing flank, nor the comfort of his siblings tucked up one by one resting against his content and full belly. no, the only companion riley had then were the wordless and insensate stones pressed against his back, indifferent to the crime committed on their riverbed.
when it seemed he could fight no longer, his body stilled with gentle kicks until it seemed the river was at play between his limbs. it was then he was hauled from his watery crucible and threw callously against the bank. the shock of the cold, of the water, of the harsh thud of his body against earth, it all sunk into his chattering bones, which clicked and whirled with infantile terror as choking coughs burned up his throat.
he would not remember this day. he would never know how gently the sun slanted through the reeds, catching the rounded edge of a tear on his aunt's cheek in a golden halo. he would never know how close he had come to scarcely living, and as he labored against his aunt's hold, riley set up a high wail that sent birds fluttering wildly from the summer reeds and into the incandescent blue beyond.
he fought against the sensation as it shifted past his skin unpleasantly, seeping into his nose and eyes. he knew not to breathe, but his body knew the repugnance of water where it did not belong: in choking fits, bubbles streamed from the little curve of his small nostrils, parted from between tiny milk white incisors bared but silent.
this unfamiliar sensation was nothing like what he preferred. it was nothing like laurel's soothing flank, nor the comfort of his siblings tucked up one by one resting against his content and full belly. no, the only companion riley had then were the wordless and insensate stones pressed against his back, indifferent to the crime committed on their riverbed.
when it seemed he could fight no longer, his body stilled with gentle kicks until it seemed the river was at play between his limbs. it was then he was hauled from his watery crucible and threw callously against the bank. the shock of the cold, of the water, of the harsh thud of his body against earth, it all sunk into his chattering bones, which clicked and whirled with infantile terror as choking coughs burned up his throat.
he would not remember this day. he would never know how gently the sun slanted through the reeds, catching the rounded edge of a tear on his aunt's cheek in a golden halo. he would never know how close he had come to scarcely living, and as he labored against his aunt's hold, riley set up a high wail that sent birds fluttering wildly from the summer reeds and into the incandescent blue beyond.
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Messages In This Thread
i refuse then like i do now to let anybody tie me down - by Indra - June 17, 2019, 07:00 PM
RE: i refuse then like i do now to let anybody tie me down - by Charles - June 18, 2019, 12:21 PM
RE: i refuse then like i do now to let anybody tie me down - by Riley - June 28, 2019, 01:39 PM