MOMENTS / THROUGH THE
DARK
Harry set the lantern down and looked at his boots.
“Those Goddamn Brown
Boots”.
He could still hear Louis’ voice. The name had stuck. He’d
no idea how the entire fandom had learned the term because it’d been uttered in
a private moment between the two of them in the dressing room of the AMAs
moments after winning Artist of the Year. They’d also won awards for Favorite Band and
Favorite Album, but Artist of the Year was the one that caused Louis to make a
heated detour after accepting.
“Harold, shed those
goddamn brown boots you insist on wearing and peel those skinny jeans off your
ass before I rip them off myself.”
Stolen moments.
All their intimate moments were stolen except for the few,
precious weeks a year when the entire band was given time off and they could go
home, to the house they secretly shared.
It was supposed to be one of those stolen moments.
Twenty-four blissful hours between concert appearances, alone together on
Aogashima, a tiny island, formed by volcanoes in the Phillapine Sea, only
reachable by helicopter or boat. The pictures Louis had shown him were lush and
green, an oasis in an otherwise chaotic life that was never their own. Only the
helicopter pilot had known their true destination, not their manager or even
the other boys in the band who thought they were just laying over for an extra
day in Tokyo.
Louis had flown ahead first – their contract forbidding them
to travel together for insurance reasons. That was a year ago. Before the phone
call that changed Harry’s life forever.
Before the eruption.
Harry surveyed the stark landscape and the ash that now whitened
Those Goddamn Brown Boots. Somewhere, mixed with what was left of Aogashima,
were the ashes of his one and only true love. He dropped to his knees, dragging
his fingers through the white powder, trying to grasp it in his hands to no
avail. His tears caused poofs of dust to rise in retaliation of being
disturbed. There was nothing left of the island. Nothing… yet, to Harry, everything was here. In this dust lay
his entire life, his future, his dreams and he wished he could combust and
become one with the ash, but how could he burn when he was full of tears? He choked
on airborne particles as sobs wracked his body.
A firm touch on his shoulder caused him to jump. He’d
allowed them to come along only because they’d promised to stay on the boat and
give him time alone first. He turned to shout at them but their ravaged faces
reflected his pain and he understood. They’d loved Louis, too. Not the same way
he did, but with the same intensity.
He placed his hand over Niall’s and hung his head. One of
them, he thought it was Liam, started singing, “Ohhh, I will… carry you over…
fire and water….” He felt two more hands on his back. “When the night is coming
down on you, we will find a way… through the dark.”
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Sorry fellow Flashers – had to do it.
You all started talking about whether it was sand or snow and I saw ash.
Then I saw the black skinny jeans and ‘Those Goddamn Brown Boots’ – and it was canon - I truly had
no choice - especially with all the stuff going down in 1D-world this week when we fans are having to face the possibility of losing one member of the band. Will they find a way... ?
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3/29/15: Update - Not that anyone will EVER believe me, but I wrote this the same day the picture was posted, which was Monday 3/23/15. BEFORE Zayn left. BEFORE Liam sang Through The Dark and cried. Nothing was going on with 1D the day I wrote this! I swear! Helena can vouch for me.
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Oh, and Aogashima is a real place! It’s formed by a double volcano (a volcano
within a volcano). Only 200 people inhabit the island and most of them live on
the north end outside the caldera (which is at about 1:00 in the picture). The
volcano is still considered active though it hasn’t erupted since 1785. Check
it out: Aogashima
Bonus extra: For your listening pleasure, here are the two songs that
inspired the title ;o)
Click here to read the other Flashers’ ‘takes’ on the 'lantern' picture.
LOL, I almost love the disclaimer more than the story - although I adore the story. I still can't believe you went there, but the resulting story has all the feels.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Can't believe I went there either - especially in hindsight!
Delete*lip quivers* Aww.
ReplyDeleteThe story totally took me by surprise and I have to admit, I did not expect to get teary over a 1D fic ;)
Beautifully written.
Thanks, Brigham. :D
DeleteHa, I'm with Brigham on this one. I was totally ready to roll my eyes and snicker quietly at your obsession and then bam, I was tearing up. Great story, well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Poor Louis. :(
DeleteDammit Jaycee! You went there?!?!? Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI did!! LOL! I totes went there!
DeleteWell shoot, you got me there as well.
ReplyDeleteYay!!!
DeleteConsider my heart strings tugged!
ReplyDeleteHaha! I'm just now seeing this comment, so hopefully you've recovered completely by now. ;o)
Delete