Take my Breath Away

Anden

The Sun and the Moon
In an endless game of hide and seek

Anden and his sister rarely fought. In all honesty before now, he could only recall one other time when they argued. Sir. Fluffster, a plush squirrel one of the guests left at their inn when they were kids. For weeks they fought over who would get to sleep it. It drove their parents mad watching their twins give each other the silent treatment. The feud came to an end when Sir. Fluffster was brutally murdered by a traveler's pet dog. Looking back that's probably when his fear of dogs came to fruition.

He thought that Eloise would be happy for him. It was his first kiss after all - but as close as they were, she didn't take it quite as well. Instead he was tracking her muddy footprints through the Evergreen Forest. For Anden this was a place of tranquility. His hideaway from their everyday life. Ever since he could walk he explored the branching paths of the forest, but for Eloise it was a labyrinth. The Moon had already begun it's ascent into the sky, taking its place on the throne from the Sun. It wouldn't be long before even Anden would have trouble navigating through the thick forest.

It's the shimmer that caught his eye.  Did Eloise drop something? As his fingertips brushed against the glimmer his world flashed to white.

---

When he awake his breath was taken away. For years his parents joked that he was the moon, but from their small tavern at the edge of the Evergreen Forest, the stars were felt so far away, and rarely could he see them through the treetops. Everywhere he looked though he could see the stars, hundreds if not thousands of stars shining down on him.

And just like that he came to the realization. For the first time in his life he couldn't see the Evergreen Forest. The fresh fragrance of the trees wasn't in the air. This was someplace different. Someplace new. A million questions filled his mind. One question pushed its way to the top of his mind though.

"Eloise!" Anden shouted like he had never shouted before.

Eloise! The name of his twin echoed across the world.

"Eloise." Anden fell to his knees, "Where are you?" He whispered, knowing it wouldn't change anything. Wherever he was, whatever Hell he had been brought to, Eloise was long gone.

He stayed on his knees for what felt like an hour before he came to his second conclusion. It wasn't the skyline and the stars that took his breath away. He no longer had to breath. With a hand over his heart Anden confirmed his hypothesis. He was dead - and this was his personal Hell.

The Sun and the Moon
In an endless game of hide and seek