lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 1:20:44 GMT -5
A smirk appeared on Taidan's face. "I say we try and concur you fear!" He took a small step back. "Let me be your distraction. Focus on me, and I'll make sure to keep you save from all the sea monsters." He took another step back, so he had to stretch his arm out so he couldn't break connection with Tango's hand. "You can do it!" he told her at an attempt to encourage her.
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 1:26:07 GMT -5
"I-I don't think I can," she said, but she took a step closer to him to keep the connection between their hands easier. Tango looked down at the dark water with wide eyes, her toes feeling the muddy sand tentatively. She was already to the point where she couldn't see the bottom, but it wasn't the deep, still only at about her knees. She took another step closer to Taidan, biting her lip as the water level rose another few inches.
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 1:38:35 GMT -5
Taidan snapped his fingers in front of Tango's face, then grabbed her other hand. "OK, so I'm going to tell you a story. Once upon a time there was two boys and a mom and a dad. They were a happy, well-off family in a big town. They thought everything was going perfect, but then they started to wonder about their oldest son. No matter how many times they tried to communicate with him, or get his attention through words, they just couldn't. He had yet to start to talk and was already two years old. The happy family took the son to the doctor, only to discover that he was deaf." As Taidan spoke, he slowly moved backward, causing him to pull Tango with him.
"The happy family started to become less happy as they painfully taught the first son sign language and other things that'd help his condition for years, giving him all the attention, they completely forgot about the second son. He'd walk around the house, speaking in Chinese one day, then French the next. Mind you, this boy was only a couple months over three at the time. One day when he was only five, he walked outside to get the mail and ended up having a perfect conversation in Russian with their neighbors. The parents had yet to notice." Taidan paused, wondering if he should give the story he was making up, which really wasn't made up at all, a happy twist. He glanced down to realize that they were up to their chest in water now.
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 1:48:37 GMT -5
She listened to his story carefully, keeping her eyes locked on his as they moved further into the water. She could feel it around her. She could feel the murky blackness closing in on her, but she forced herself to focus only on him. However, when Taidan paused and looked down, so did Tango, and that was when the panic set in. She looked down at the water, her mind imagining up all sorts of horrible things that could be lurking just below the surface. Her breathing became more rapid, as did her heartbeat. "I need to go back," she said, "I need to go back!" She started to walk towards the shore but something caught her foot and she tripped, falling forward into the dark water. She barely had time to take a breath before she want under, but once the water closed over her head she lost all the air anyway. It came out of her mouth in a rush of bubbles as she flailed about, trying to get her feet under her. When Tango finally resurfaced she clung to the first sold thing she saw, Taidan. She clung close to him, arms wrapped around his neck and wouldn't let go if a meteor fell out of the sky right then and there.
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 2:00:41 GMT -5
Taidan moved so he could pull her out of the water, but she grabbed him first and was able to hand her arms around his neck. He put one hand under her knees and wrapped in around her legs, and the other pulled her torso to him. Trudging back to the shore slowly, making sure not to trip over any weeds and cause them both to drown, he stopped in the sand my her shoes and white board. Kneeling down, he carefully laid her down in the sand and firmly grabbed her hand so she could speak to him. "Are you OK? I'm so sorry I made you do that."
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 2:06:17 GMT -5
"I'm okay," she said, but she knew she didn't sound like she meant it. She hugged her knees with the arm that wasn't being used to hold Taidan's hand. She just said there for a few long minutes, trying to get her breathing and heartrate to slow to a reasonably speed. When she had finally accomplished this Tango looked back out at the lake, both glad that she was safe and upset that she hadn't been able to overcome her fear.
"Your story," she said softly, "How does it end?" She had already figured out that the story was about him and his brother growing up, but she was curious how he would finish it.
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 17:21:30 GMT -5
Tai shifted so he was sitting next to her, their intertwined hands hanging limply in the sand. "That depends," Tai muttered glancing up at Tango, then back at the ground. "Do you want the real story, or the happy ending?"
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 20:23:18 GMT -5
Tango considered this for a moment. Judging by the question she guessed that the real story didn't have such a happy ending. It was most people's instinct to say that they wanted the truth, but it was also instinct to actually want a happy ending. Tango on the other hand, really wanted to know. She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to know what it was that was making Tai sad so that she could comfort him or obliterate it or something. "The real story," she said, squeezing his hand, "That is, if you don't mind telling me."
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 20:51:43 GMT -5
Tai’s hand gripped Tango’s tighter. He had been hoping for happy ending. "Surprisingly enough, the first child was the only one that ever noticed his brother's unusual ability to speak in other languages. The older boy had noticed the way strangers looked at the little kid, who'd hop along side his parents, talking in Italian and Norwegian and Portuguese. He asked his brother with sign language one day, and the boy told him that he knew more words than normal people. Despite the fact that they were complete opposites, they bonded over words. The little brother would always attempt to explain how words sounded, and how the languages sounded different, and the older brother would imagine. They became great friends.
"The first son was 14 and the younger one was 11. There was no school that day and the parents had work. Trusting that their deaf son could take care of himself, and if he needed anything, they're other son could help. It was almost like they only had the younger son there was because someone needed to be around to help their favorite. After much convincing, the younger boy persuaded the other into a game of catch out in the street. There was no one out because they were all at work. So the younger boy wasn't worried for his brother at all when he went to go retrieve the ball which rolled under the neighbor's car.
"It wasn't the best neighborhood in town. Some teenagers, who also had the day off, had gotten drunk at noon. They were driving the car, fighting drunkenly over who go to control the wheel, and didn't see my brother. By the time I heard-the younger boy heard the car from where he was, he didn't have time. He yelled to his brother, who was kicking stones in boredom, but of course the brother couldn't hear. And before he could go get to him, since he was still half way under the neighbor's car, he was dead in the middle of the road." Tai paused to take in a long, shaky breath.
"And the worst part? He was called a murder for what he had done. He was told he sinned so bad and that God would never forgive him. He wasn't even allowed at the funeral."
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 21:04:55 GMT -5
"But it wasn't his fault! The stupid teenagers were the murderers! If they hadn't been drunk no one would've gotten hurt. The little boy only wanted to play catch. That's not a sin," Tango protested. She could feel tears welling in her eyes at the sad story, but they didn't spill over. the saddest part was that it wasn't just a story. It was real. It had happened. It had happened to Taidan. She looked down at the sand by her feet, pondering silently. "And you know what else?" she continued after a long pause, "God forgives all sins, no matter how great."
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 21:16:42 GMT -5
"You should have just accepted the happy ending," Taidan finally said. He didn't want to get into this argument with her just yet. He just met her, and he didn't want to lose his only friend - that actually knew about this, that is - about arguing over sins and faults. He put on his biggest smile he could muster. "Good thing it's only a story." The lie sounded fairly believable, thanks to years of practice. It was almost like if he said it over and over again, it would be true. Most would call that denial, but he called that 'wishful thinking.'
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 21:27:44 GMT -5
She stared at him for a long moment, wondering what she should say. She wasn't sorry she'd taken the truth over the happy ending, and she knew that it wasn't 'only a story.' Tango was really a very perceptive person. She could pick up when people where hiding things or hurting, and she knew that he was doing both. Taidan didn't want to talk about what happened to his brother, so he was acting like it hadn't happened, but what person in their right mind would make up a story like that? "Yeah..." she said softly, then added as a way of changing the subject, "I'm sorry I flipped out on you back there in the lake."
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 21:33:01 GMT -5
"It's no problem," Taidan said with relief that she didn't comment on his last statement. "It was my fault for dragging you in there in the first place." He paused, not sure where to go from here. It was like the conversation died, but being an excellent conversationalist, Tai refused to let that happen. "You know, Tango, I just realized that I know almost nothing about you. Want to play 20 questions or something? You can go first."
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Post by purple on Aug 14, 2010 21:45:21 GMT -5
"Oh, I-I guess, but I'm not that interesting, really," she said, the blush returning, though with not nearly as much force as before. Tango glanced at him before looking out at the lake, trying to think of something to ask. What did she want to know about him? Everything. What was she brave enough to ask? Almost nothing. Just start with the basics, she told herself. "Where are you from?" she asked. It was a lame question and not something she cared so much about, but she had to start somewhere, and this seemed like the safest place.
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lari
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Post by lari on Aug 14, 2010 21:50:54 GMT -5
"Atlanta, Georgia," he replied, then paused to think of a question. Thinking better of most of the things he wanted to ask, he decided to start out with something simple. "If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be and why?" OK, so not exactly simple, but not as potentially embarrassing as the other questions would be for her. Or him.
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