Page 83 of Splitting Secrets
I’m right here!I want to scream.
“Until the world burns, right?” she cries out.
That stirs something inside me.
And even then, I mentally finish.
But the world feels like it’s on fire and she’s no longer in it.
Wait. She’s right here, isn’t she?
Recognition hits me like a boulder in my chest.
Poppy.MyPoppy. She’s finally come.
“Poppy,” I cry again, shocked that there’s sound behind my words this time.
“I’m with you,” she responds, her voice feeling closer now. My entire world explodes in pinks and purples and yellows that chase away the drab gray and black. It all passes by in clouds, until her face appears through one of them.
“Hi.” She smiles. A real smile. APoppysmile. One that lifts her cheeks and squints her eyes and shows a little too much gums.
“Poppy,” I repeat her name in a sigh.
“I thought you were gone,” she gasps.
“I’m so lost without you.” The admission rushes out in one long string. “I can’t do this. I can’t live my life knowing I’ll never see you again.”
Her smile falters. “You see me now.”
I look around doubtfully. “I don’t even know what this is. I need you,Poppy. I need you out there, alive.”
She begins to shake her head, and tears well in my eyes. Dark blue and indigo creep into the clouds of colors—my sadness chasing away her joy.
“This is your safe space. It’s where you feel the most protected.” She reaches between us and grabs onto my hands. “But you can’t stay here much longer, Sonny. You have to get back.”
“No, I don’t want to,” I whine pathetically. “I want to stay with you.”
“I’ll see you there. I’ll visit,” she promises.
A tear glides down my cheek. I’m sure she’s right. We’ll find a way to see each other again. I don’t want to go back, though.
“They need you.Heneeds you,” Poppy insists, filling my mind’s eye with the faces of the people who are waiting for me out there.
But I needher.I’ve never done this without her. These past few weeks have been nothing but misery and suffering. I have nothing to look forward to out there.
Something shifts, and I’m jostled out of her grip. Poppy’s eyes go wide in panic as she extends her arms out to catch me, but I’m just out of her reach.
I’m being pulled from her.
No, no, no. I’m not done. I’ll never be done. I’ll never have enough time.
What if she doesn’t find me again?
That’s why I want to stay here.
I need time with her. Please, just a few more moments. I’ll give anything.
I open my mouth in a scream that once again has no sound as Poppy’s image grows smaller and smaller. Her colors are chased away by darkness until it’s once again covering me completely.
