Frozen
by Martine

For Meg Cummings, time as she knew it seemed to freeze the moment she stepped on the sandy beach at sunset. She wasn’t sure what had led her to this spot at this particular time, only that her mind had been taken over by something bigger than her rationale; her heart was the only thing she was hearing.

At first, she didn’t see him; the man with the incredibly soulful eyes. All she saw was the sun climbing down from its place in the sky, to rest its tired body. She smiled at her child-like way of personalising the sun; she had always done it from the time she could speak, to forever. And even now when her heart was breaking, she felt her old optimistic spirit return in fits and starts, albeit fleetingly at the moment.

She closed her eyes for a second, the vanishing sun too violent in its demise, and when she opened them, she saw him, looking at her, his eyes squinting as if he was trying to get used to the fading darkness. But Ben Evans wasn’t smiling; the expression on his face was strained. He looked as though he needed time alone, so she turned to go. But she was frozen, she couldn’t move even if she had wanted to.

In that instant, her destiny met his. The one inexplicably entwined with the other, their hearts and souls meeting as if by magic. He could feel it too; his heart started to beat so fast he thought it was about explode, but he knew this was silly. Hearts didn’t explode, they couldn’t even break, although he thought his had broken when his wife had died, and again, when Dorothy from Kansas had told him that she had called off her wedding for him. He wasn’t deserving of her love, of anyone’s. Part of him wanted her to come to him. He needed someone to be with again, to spend forever with him, to make his sad eyes smile once more. It had been so long...

She studied him carefully, every frown she saw, and every sigh she heard; every tear she felt. She thought it was just the magic of the night, but it was as though her heart was feeling every single emotion he was going through. Rejection, isolation, loneliness - yes, she had experienced all of this.

Suddenly, the world grew much smaller. He was the only person she saw. He came closer to her. She put her arms around his neck; it was as though all reason was gone from her mind. A sudden burst of electricity went through her entire body, and she knew he felt the magic too. He needed comforting and she was the comforter, and yet despite this need he was the one to push her away.

“I’m sorry.” Her face went pale at the realisation of what she had done. He was a complete stranger, after all.

“No, I’m sorry.” He lifted his face up and she saw him, for what he was. It was as though he was drawn into her soul. “I’m not used to being touched.”

She knew he was speaking the truth. “You look so lost, if you don’t mind me saying.”

”I am lost.” He saw she knew how to listen, to hear what was going on beyond mere words. “I sometimes feel this world is not made for men like me.”

“Men like you?” She questioned him, softly.

“I feel things very deeply.” He gave a gentle laugh, he couldn’t believe he was talking like this. He couldn’t believe that she was real. “Circumstances in my life separated me from most of my real friends.... You don’t want to hear any of this. You came to watch the sunset. I’ll go.”

“Don’t go.” She reached out for him.

“I can’t move anyway.” He sighed. “I think there’s a little sunset magic going on here.”

“This is a strange town.” She smiled. “Maybe we’re two lost souls destined to help each other.”

“You need help?” He sounded surprised. He thought she was so together.

“Doesn’t everyone?” She asked a question, more to her own heart than his. “I am lost too, miles away from home. That’s why I recognised your need.”

“Then you are real.” He was relieved, she was a real person and he was not seeing apparitions.

“As real as you are.” She said, and she gave a laugh. “I know what you’re thinking, that this seems like one of those mystical lands, unheard of, except in myths and legends.”

He couldn’t reply; he had been thinking the exact same thing. “Can you read my thoughts?”

She knew she had said too much, crossed the acceptable boundary line, but she felt inclined to be honest with him. “I can see your soul.” She brushed her hair away from her eyes. “Does that scare you?”

“No.” He shook his head. “It excites me though; I have been alone too long....”

And in an instant she knew. “Hello SB.”

He smiled. “Dorothy, you came...”

“I’ll always come for you.”

His heart unfrozen, he took her by the hand and led her into his house, never to feel the cold again....

 

THE END

 

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