Writingcamp + Afterlife

Week 4: How to overcome the writer's block / Afterlife

"Oh no, the slides again!", moaned Helen, looking at the agitated face of Gregory. Of all the attractions of Norvele's "Water Park", most famous fun park of the Europe, Gregory picked those silly water slides. Again. What's the fun, to slide down those awkward, slippery chutes, only to drop upside-down into a shallow basin, risking to hit one's head against it marble floor?

Phew. No way.

"No problem, darling, I'll do that alone" murmured Gregory, sending her a slight kiss. Helen faked being offended, but smiled finally, unable to withstand Gregory's childish charm. When he was obsessed with any game or attraction, he was actually becoming a child. Perhaps, his most beautiful face.

"Go on, and please take care!" Helen bid him farewell and was off, going towards the place they rented, to enjoy a sunbath. Gregory trotted up the artificial hill - the quickest way to reach the slide's top - and Helen, smiling at him, put her sunglasses on and allowed the sunshine to caress her. Be it her will, they would spend all the  day here, on the soft mat, beneath the sun.

...Gregory waited in the queue; he hated the queues, especially those where he was the last one. Finally, the slide was all empty and available - ready, steady, go!

He launched himself, embracing his knees, to speed up his flight. The speed grew quickly, and the thrill of flying at tremendous speed swept over him, bringing that ultimate pleasure of becoming a bird, a meteor, a lightning...

A few moments of weightlessness, and he dived, momentarily turning, ready to stand on his feet and walk out of the water. And at this awkward moment his foot slipped, and he submerged again, and he only had a few gulps of air remaining, just for a few seconds. There was a weak but steady current at this part of the basin, and it steadily pushed him away from the floor, to deeper part, rotating him further.

At this moment he panicked, trying to struggle the current - all in vain, there was no reliable support beneath the feet, and all those people around were just staring, smiling, attending to their thoughts - while Gregory understood he will drown in a few moments. An extremely silly and foolish kind of death. He tried to save few remaining seconds, doing everything to prevent inhaling the water - and darkness began to fall from above, and liquid fire poured into his lungs, and not a single soul around was paying any attention to that...

He realized he was standing, his head safely above the water, and coughing, coughing furiously. And again, no one paid attention. Gregory was seeing the previous moments of darkness again and again, and that fiery liquid in lungs, that all-encompassing darkness, and no one, absolutely no one to help...

He shambled out of the water, seeing no one, hearing no one - just enjoying his being alive. Until this moment, he couldn't imagine he could be so craving to live!

...Helen was laying under the sun, seeing and hearing nothing, as if dreaming. Gregory stopped, gazing at her, unable to express any possible thought. He just wanted Helen to see him alive... only that.

But she didn't pay attention, as the rest of the world.