Point

She gripped his fingers tighter and closed her eyes shut. She could feel the forceful wind beating into her backside, each gust growing more and more powerful with each second. Her eyes started to water, and she could feel the wind rip her tears off her porcelain face, like they were mere droplets joining the current of a much larger river.

“Don’t let go. Please don’t let go.” She said. She struggled to maintain her grip on his hands, but with each thunder crackle and lightning strike, she could feel him slipping further and further away from her.

“We have to.” He said. He’d never wanted to see her like this, which was why he had tried to delay the fall for as long as possible. He felt his own eyes well up with sad tears, and he couldn’t help but feel a rush of every single emotion as he looked at her crying with her eyes closed.

“No, don’t. Don’t, please don’t. You promised me you wouldn’t. You promised me.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t know-“

“You promised me!” As soon as she let out her wild scream, a booming blaze of thunder rattled behind them, ushering them to take the plunge. She was full on sobbing now, and as she stared at the dark abyss below their feet, her soft heart filled with fear and dread.

He could feel how frightened she was, and he wanted to punch himself in the face for not being there to comfort her when she was most afraid. She was right, he had promised her. He promised to never leave her alone, to never hurt her, to never leave her when she was down, and here they were- cold, alone, confused, and bewildered, standing on the tip of a colossal tower that overshadowed a seemingly never-ending black void. The wind whirled around them like a tornado, and it was getting increasingly difficult to hang on to each other. Particles of dust and debris revolved around them like a spotlight, and for the first time in a while, she opened her eyes to finally process the surroundings in the environment. She gazed upon the harrowing tunnels and suffocating smoke, only to land her eyes on his face. His stare was as soft as ever, and for a moment, even if the chaos around them echoed like a cavern, there was silence. There was serenity. There was peace in his eyes.

He softly rubbed the skin of her hand with the tip of his thumb. His grip was loosening, and he knew that there was no way both of them would be able to last more than a few minutes. All of a sudden, every single memory of them together rapidly flashed in his brain- every tiny thing with her, from the way she stroked his back when they watched the sunset on that empty beach in October, or the way he watched her turn a doorknob like she was opening a safe, or noticing how she would always tuck her hair behind her ears when she was painting in her studio, only to have it fall in front of her face a few seconds later. One night, when he had suddenly woken up to a small squirrel scratching at their bedroom window, he turned to look at her in the dark, still sleeping soundly with the comforter wrapped snugly up to her neck, and he knew in that exact moment that he was going to marry her.

All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and comfort her in any and every way he knew how. But as the madness and pandemonium closed in around them, the only thing he could do was press his fingers deeper into her palms. She was right, he had promised to never let her go. And here they were, with no other choice.

“I’m sorry.” He uttered over the mayhem.

His words pierced through her body and heart like an arrow. She could feel how much love was packed in his voice, and she decided to take the first step and loosen her grip just ever so slightly.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

She didn’t say anything but detached just a little bit more. His head filled with alarm bells, but one more look at her and her shining face, and he knew it was time to let go.

“Promise me you’ll find me?” She asked, her eyes welling up with tears. It was a gamble, asking him to promise something once again. But as the crackling chasm grew louder and more demanding, she trusted him. It was first time she had ever trusted anything or anyone.

“I promise.” He replied.

“Pinky?” She whispered.

His body was bubbling up in anguish, fear, confusion, and uncertainty, but his heart was engulfed in so much intensity and warmth that can only be described as unfiltered and unconditional love.

“Pinky.” He said.

And down they fell.