Experimental pt.6/Upon the grief stricken skies.

   Daniel can feel the heat pressing up against his skin ever so slightly as though being lightly kissed. An the sands of the beach slowly make there way across his towel like the armies of the Roman empire slowly cascading onto the fields of battle. Susan lays beside, prompted up by her chair that raises her backside up to a 45° angle. The sun falls upon all the bodies that currently reside over the sandy beaches of the lake, making them glisten like jewels being irradiated by the sun. As odd as it might seem for Daniel an Susan to be out together, he can't help but be comforted by that fact, is it just the fact that she is a rebound, or something else that he cannot currently fathom, like looking down upon the ocean depths, never sure what resides underneath. An even though he looks over his previous memories of certain events, he can't seem to figure out why exactly he is so comforted by the fact that she is here, beside him. Maybe it is just the idea of being so effortlessly tossed to the side by Jules, like an empty container that is in dire need for contents, so is interchanged at any given whim. So than why is it that Daniel cannot seem to get rid of a nagging feeling of being manipulated by her, as though some master plan on her part was put into action, turning out the fact that they are now together. But than if that would prove true, wouldn't it also be correct in the fact that he, himself, is also manipulating. Wouldn't the comfort he feels when she is around, be governed by that same idea. It seems as though Daniel is using her as a safety blanket, in a sense, to get around his feelings of loss, an rejection towards Jules. So if they are both using each other, is either of them truly wrong in that fact, is it wrong for a virus to attach itself to a host, or is it natures way of doing things, or is it just another one of Man's reluctance to blame himself. Daniel, being more prone to the latter, sees it as a type of mutual understanding, like the honeybee an the flower, both using each other in there own right, but both getting equal advantage over the other.
   When Daniel was just a child, his mom used to tell him the same story each night, before he went to bed. It told of a certain honeybee, that happily went around pollinating the flowers, with no regard of anyone else's well being. Eventually the flowers grew tired of his disregard, an turned their backs. One morning, when the colony went out for its daily routines, they found the field all but empty, the flowers have fled, for different pastures. But when the flowers struck down their roots, they didn't realize that they had planted their own doom. For without the honeybees, their demise was all but eminent.  So the bee's, being all but lost, sent out a troop, the very bee that put this all in motion, in a way to rectify his misdeeds. Eventually he came to a clearing, far out into the forest, past their usual stomping grounds. At first sight he thought he must be mistaken, an figured the need to keep searching. Until a lonely voice echoed out from the silence, a voice grasping for it's final words.
  "Dylan? Dylan is that you?"
"Dayla?" He echoes out." Where are you?"
"I am down here, just below you. What are you doing here, why have you come?"
  "I have come to bring you back, but mostly, to apologize."
"There is no need to apologize Dylan, I was crass, didn't think things through. As I.. We! have realized that we need you, we need each other."
"What do you mean, what happened here?"
"Didn't your fellow companions tell you? We are lost without you, a fact that remained unseen till it was too late."
  No.. they have told me nothing of this, I volunteered on the very basis that this is my own doing."
"You may have put it into motion Dylan, but this wasn't just your own doing."
   As Dylan flew off, he could see the field descend off into in a cover of trees. The clearing itself was quite beautiful, tall green grass, gently swaying to the tune of the wind, while being surrounded by the tall oaks like the fine hairs of a balding man, all while being juxtaposed against the wilting flowers that pepper the grass, as though a bloody war has just come to an end in the most ironic of scenery's. As he got back, he found the colony in turmoil, friends fighting friends, while the queen hid out of action in fear of an uprising. But eventually, an with the most choicest of words, he got them all back into reality, an a plan of action. But as they all made it back to the field, Dylan found that it was too late. With all the altercations back at the hive, the time they so desperately needed, had been thrown away. But as Dylan eventually found out, all was not lost, as in the rubble, a seedling, a vision for the future of both factions. As in Dayla's final breath, she gave life.
   As the sun went down, the people cleared out. There were no more echoing voices of crying children, or the muted sounds of water splashing off in the distance, just the sounds of the seagulls, coupled with the oncoming tides gently rolling onto empty beaches. Susan, still wet from swimming upon the shallow waters, stands before him while the dripping waters make there way down every inch of her body, while the sun glints off her skin like a Greek goddess descending from mount Olympus. Off on the horizon, the sky turns to a burnt out faded orange, washing over the skyline until seemingly emptying out into the ocean. As Daniel looks onwards, he can't help but wonder about the full force of his actions, of what he has already done, an what he now wants to do. How different would things have been if he had chosen Susan on that fateful day, if he would have went against his better judgement. What path would his life have taken. But looking back on your pasts supposed mistakes has always been a vision of 20/20, an a most dangerous turn at that. Daniel has always been one that found it quite hard to vacate certain ideas, or situational hazards if you will, it was only fairly recently that he learned to let things go. But there was no big life changing event that brought upon this realization, no life altering event that made him see things for what they are, instead of what he wants them to be. It was a slow moving process, like a spilled can of molasses slowly making its way down the sides of a kitchen counter, or a snail racing through the tall grass. He just realized that everything that has encountered him in his young life, may make dents, but hasn't yet stopped him from moving on. He may get scratches, both mentally an physically speaking, but life has moved on. Daniel worried about these things so much, that he couldn't ever see himself getting passed it, but each an every time, it has gone by without much worry. The mind has a way of making certain circumstances worse than they actually become. So when Susan showed up in his life, he didn't worry, or even think too much about it. Especially considering that he just broke up with Jules. The past that has intertwined between the two of them has made him a little weary about considering Susan for such lofty endeavors, but Daniel quickly realized that if Jules is no longer in the picture, than he doesn't have to worry about what her thoughts are anymore. Its strange how certain ideas stick with you longer than the actual source material, even though Jules is gone, Daniel still holds on to certain thought processes he had when they were together, like a phantom limb you still feel after its been cut off.
  "So are you all ready?"
"Yeah." Daniel answers." Its getting late, we should probably head back."
"Okay just let me get dressed first, an we will be on our way." Susan has a way of getting dressed, that makes it appear as if in the midst of seduction, she does it slow, an meticulous, carefully slipping each arm through, allowing the material to hug her every curve as if by some magnetic force, finally running her hands down each side of her body smoothing out all the would be wrinkles. Its the kind of scene that gives Daniel the chills, as though Susan knows exactly what she is up too, an what eventual reaction she will get out of it.
"You know I was thinking, that maybe we don't need to end the day just yet."
"Well what did you have in mind."
"Oh! Nothing much.. just thought maybe we could end this day over at my house, maybe a late night movie is in order, or you know.. whatever."
  "Yeah that sounds good." Daniel tells her, trying not to let his unexpected excitement spill out." Do you want to get something to chew on or anything?"
"No." She pauses." I am not really all too hungry, but you know." She stutters." You can do whatever makes you happy."
"Well that's good to know." He chuckles. I am not too hungry anyhow."
    On the west side of town, there are these new developmental housing projects being built, that rises up onto the side of the mountain, looking over the downtown core. Behind the rows of houses lies what used to be a small farm, that is now all fenced off for the fact that so many people have broken into the few abandoned houses that sit behind the main lot. Its a place that barely consists of a town, only having four or five main buildings including what appears to be a school house, or a hospital. Living a couple streets down from this, she has a prime spot to see both the city, an the abandoned houses that seem to almost rise up out of her back lawn. Daniel, riding in the passenger seat, can see all the lights down in the valley, like the sprinkling of sand upon a linoleum floor after a day at the beach. The house is tall, an skinny, with what appears to be a white trim running throughout. But Daniel is finding it increasingly hard to see, with the only source of light being the small spotlight that hovers over the garage door, an the few lights upon the neighbors windows.
  "Sorry about the lights, they haven't exactly gotten all the street lamps running quite yet, which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me."
"You would think that that would be one of the first things on the list."
"Well this whole thing has been going on for far too long now, something about rezoning or permits, I am not really all too sure."
  As you first walk in, the house opens up to a small foray with the main focus being the tall staircase that juts out of the ground as if by natural forces. A short hallway to the left, in which leads down into the kitchen, that in turn circles back again into the living room you see to the left of the foray. Susan's bedroom is located upstairs, above the kitchen, she has this big, curved, back window that faces the farm out back, that is now barely visible through the darkness. Below that is a small bench that is fashioned with a vast array of different colored silk pillows, an long Lacy curtains that droop down upon them like the cascading waters of a waterfall. Daniel settles himself upon the edge of the bed, as if unsure as to where exactly to sit, as Susan changes in the bathroom located beside the closet on the far wall. After about five minutes, the door creaks open, an out walks Susan wearing a green night dress, with tall white thigh high stockings. Fidgeting on the bed, Daniel can feel his excitement rise as she slowly makes her way over, eventually sitting herself on the bed beside him, as though setting down a set of fine China.
  "So than." She whispers." About that
movie."
"Well." Daniel says awkwardly." I.. I think the television is downstairs."
"Yeah." She murmurs." But all the action is up here."
  When Daniel awakes the next morning, the heat of the sun pushes down on him through the open blinds of the back window. While Susan sprawls out beside him wrapped up in the blankets like a cocoon.
  "Hey!" She says sleepily." Do you think you could grab that please." Susan asks, upon hearing the reverberating sounds of the door echo unto the walls. As Daniel makes his way downstairs, the low thud of each knock becomes ever clearer, as though the sounds of hollowed footsteps creaking continually closer, as if belonging to some unknown entity.
  Upon opening the door, Daniel is briefly blinded by the morning sun pouring in through the light grazing skies, but as his sight quickly comes back he finds a figure standing there, that suddenly fades off an focuses into Jules, an with his mouth agape, he manages a mumbled verse." Jules.. what are.. what are you doing here?"
"Daniel!" She calls out in grief." What in the hell is going on?"