The Bottle

Noah sat down next to Ava trying to calm down and think of what to do next. He looked at Ava who still had her eyes wide open and was staring ahead of her. Noah let out a tear hoping she would notice his desperation for her to come back. He looked to the other side of the street to see the delusional man sitting there staring at him.

The homeless man got up and walked to the edge of the street. He looked to his sides to see if there was anything coming his way. Noah was confused as to why he was looking around since he was the first person he saw in this town. The man walked across the street with a bad posture and stood in front of Noah.

"I see she finally met Kali," the homeless man bluntly told.

Noah tilted his head to the side in confusion of what he was saying. The man remained silent. He looked over to his pocket and started searching for something. He slowly started to pull out an item. Noah frantically looked around seeing if there was anyone who could help him. Suddenly the man took out a small bottle containing a colourful mist and a scrunched-up piece of paper. He put them both in one hand and extended his hand to Noah. Noah cautiously looked at his hand and grabbed the items.

"If you wave this underneath her nose she should wake up," the man stated.

"Do you know what happened to her? What is this stuff anyway?"

He ignored his question and stayed silent as he observed Ava.

"Is this thing dangerous?" Noah questioned.

"Look, if you don't give this to her in time then she will remain like this forever," he explained.

Noah thought carefully about what he was going to do. He wanted Ava to wake up, but he didn't want to take the risk of her getting hurt.

"Fine," Noah agreed.

He looked at the man, who was longingly staring at Ava. Noah frowned as he did that, so he sat closer to Ava in case he tried to do something to her. As the homeless man took hold of Ava's hand, Noah pushed his arm away and glared at him as he put his arm around Ava.

"The clock is ticking," he said with a small smile on his face.

He turned around and walked back to his original place, across the street. He sat down and looked around. He and Noah locked eyes for a minute before the demented man turned around and looked far into the street. Noah turned around to see Ava still in the same position as before. He opened his hand and looked at the items in front of him. He shoved the piece of paper in his pocket and held the bottle in front of his face. Inside was a purple substance that could either help Ava or hurt her.

He opened the cork stopper and swiftly waved the small bottle underneath Ava's nose until it all ran out. When it was all finished, he threw the bottle away and waited for a while to see if Ava responded. A few minutes passed by and nothing happened.

Suddenly Ava started to gasp for air. Noah held her from her back trying to calm her down. Ava kept breathing faster and faster trying to take air in. Noah tried thinking what to do. Ava looked at him as she grabbed onto his arm trying to breathe properly. Noah went and sat in front of her and held her hands in his.

"Hey, Ava. Ava. It's me, Noah. You have to listen to me," Noah said.

He looked into Ava's eyes trying to get her attention. At that moment, her eyes started to go white. A sudden storm began, what began as some high winds and a smattering of rain has built into the worst storm in a generation. The wind didn't howl, it screamed as a warning sign. The rain didn't just fall, it was a downpour as heavy as Noah had ever seen. The trees did not just sway, they creaked and moaned as their fine limbs were ripped away and their autumnal leaves became not confetti, but ammunition in the gale. Noah worriedly looked at Ava. She started gasping for air harshly while tilting her head back. Noah looked back with anger trying to find the man. But to his surprise, he wasn't there. He was so angry. He looked around to check if there was anyone who could help him.

Ava started to float away from the ground, her arms, and legs motionless as if it was a dead body. Noah noticed Ava's hand slipping away so he quickly turned around to see her floating up to the sky. He looked at her eyes and her emerald green eyes were turning white. He grabbed on to Ava's arm trying to pull her back into his arms, but it felt like there was a force pulling her. Her arm slipped from his grasp and Ava was going higher and higher.

At that moment Ava dropped from the sky and all the storm stopped. It was just rain pouring down. Noah caught Ava before she fell to the ground. He looked around to check if anyone had seen what had just happened. He carried Ava to an alleyway and sat down, laying Ava on his lap.

Noah grabbed Ava's face as he caressed her cheek with his thumb. A small tear rolling down his face to meet her nose. He pulled her close to him and tightly hugged her. He could feel her slow heartbeat which meant she was alive, but she wasn't responding to anything.

"Ava, I need you. This can't be the end," he sniffled.

"Ava, you don't deserve any of this. You are so beautiful. You have the prettiest smile. You are so kind to everyone, and I love that. Your giggle could send me over any day. I could stare into your green eyes every day for hours. I didn't talk to you much all those years because I like you so much that I couldn't bring myself to talk to you. So, I would always talk to Annie just so that I could see you. I loved you since the day we met. And I will always love you. Please come back to me," Noah cried.

"This is all my fault. If I never gave you this stupid bottle, you would have been awake, and we would be on our way right now. You don't deserve any of this pain. You deserve all the happiness in the world, and I hope one day I can become your happiness one day. I was so naive... Ava, I need you."

He held Ava in his arms looking at her perfect face. Admiring all her features. He looked up and felt the rain burn his eyes as he yelled in anger and sadness.