prologue

The insatiable yearning for your presence is now painful.

they say distance makes the heart grow fonder, but my heart just became numb. it's painful, yet i can not cry it all out. it's suffocating. i don't know why. one day, i just woke up with no sign of you. i was just left with dry heaps of fallen leaves of memories that slowly decays.

just like a lone tree in the middle of desert, slowly dying. i am so tired from trying to stand tall as the leaves of hope are shedding until nothing remains. i hid my loneliness so well within the deep scars made by sandstorms of life.

i am too tired that i can not even cry. it takes far more energy than i could summon. i tried so hard to cry, hoping to let it all out and water myself.

please, im begging you to come back and save me.

———————

"Did you know there's a bridge that sinks? Although it is proven that the bridge sinks due to the occurence of high tides, countless rumors still revolved aroved it. It's a human nature to make and think of something out of nothing, it's their past time. Rumors such as: It's a portal to another world, another dimension, a passageway towards parallel universe, etc."

reading the post on fwitter, grim chuckled. none of the rumors are true. how can he say so? he knows and he experienced it himself.

it was when his car broke down in The Passage du Gois. he waited for hours and hours for a car to pass by and somehow help him or let him hitch a ride. not a single soul came. by then he remembered that this bridge sinks during high tide, it's just that he didn't know what time it would occur. shit luck aint it?

it didn't take long for the event to happen. the bridge seemed to be swallowed by a mouth made of water

strange but it's interesting as the moonlit shined towards it...seems magical.

his car broke down just at the edge of the bridge so the water only reached above his ankles.

nanana...hmm...nana~

he heard a hum.

something inside him is urging him to walk and go in the middle. step by step, he walked without fear. that's when he heard a laugh.

"brave one aren't you?"

he froze. it was the first time he ever felt afraid and was never able to move.

"who's there?"

the man showed his face. he was wearing a forehead crown adorned by pearls. and is that... a tail?

"shocked? yes, we are true."

the man said with a grin. grim rubbed his eyes and slapped himself. the man watched him with an amusement in his eyes.

"mermaid?"

to make the long story short, grim was very curious. instead of being afraid, he befriended that mermaid. every night, they would meet up and exchange "informations", talk about random things and etc for a year. everytime they meet up, grim feels excited and cannot wait for the bridge to sink again.

one night, grim felt giddy and was about to tell him that he likes him. yet seeing the smile that didn't reach his eyes like before, he swallowed it back.

"and you know—"

"is there something wrong?" grim cut the man off.

the man's smile dropped, revealing what his emotion really is.

"looks like i wont be able to hide it anymore. i'm actually the crown prince. coming here for the first time was out of boredom. when we both agreed to meet each other every night, it somehow made me happy. talking to you lightens up my mood. it feels like... everything's gonna be alright when i'm with you. i love your company. it's very chaotic down there as everyone is trying to bring me down. my dad is currently sick and is one step away from death. i— why are you crying?"

grim never noticed his tears falling. deep inside, he knows. he knows that this is the last time they're gonna see each other.

"i like you"

grim uttered in between his sobs. the man chuckled as he wiped away the former's tears.

"hush now. i know what you're thinking."

the man grabbed grim. before he can shout, he was plunged underwater. he can't swim and with constant struggling, he's about to ran out or breath. an arm wrapped around his waist.

the man captured grim's wide open lips and passed a bean-sized pill. yet it didn't end there.

grim have his eyes wide open. he can breathe as he swallowed that pill. he realized that the man is kissing him. it was clumsy as if it was his first. smiling, he slowly guided him as he closed his eyes.

he can breathe yet he felt like he was drowning. he got his answers, his feelings is reciprocated.

with their forehead pressed against each other, the man whispered,

"i love you. wait for me, my love."

—

grim's chuckle as he read that post turned into choking sobs. tonight, the bridge will sink again.

"it's been years, my love. i have waited every night yet you didn't come. was it just an empty promise?"

just like how he met the man, step by step, he walked sober and without fear. with tears in his eyes he muttered,

"i can still remember the words you said. you'll come back right? you love me right?"

author's note:

hello! i am back from the grave lol.