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Lying under the stars, grass itching the bare skin of my arms, I breathed in a deep sigh. “I could stay here forever.”
I turned my head to the side, meeting Dakota’s shining eyes in the darkness. She, of course, was holding my hand. “We have curfew soon.”
I rolled back away from her. “I know that.”
“C’mon,” she said, standing and dusting herself off. “We should get out of here before we get caught.”
I sighed again but threw my hands up for her to take and help me off the ground.
As we walked back, it was time to part ways and go to our separate dwellings. “Goodnight and goodbye, Dakota,” I said, hating the feeling of leaving her even though I saw her pretty much every day.
“This goodbye will end,” Dakota promised.
“As soon as we say our next ‘hello’,” I felt myself beam as I finished our saying.
Wind now swept our hair forwards, tangling it and blinding us, as we stood at the edge of the precipice. I took a small step backwards but halted when I felt part of the ledge crumbling away.
The Guard had hunted us down and surrounded us, using the cliff and their maps to their advantage. We had no such advantage—only our wits and our desire for freedom.
“You can’t expect us to live like that anymore!” Dakota yelled over the wind, trying in vain to push the black hair out of her face. I grabbed her hand. To steady her? Myself? It didn’t matter.
“We can’t! Not now that we know what life should be like.” I finished the thought.
The Guard officers only advanced, still pointing their swords and axes at us.
I turned to Dakota. “Is this our last goodbye?”
All traces of fear had left her features. She was gazing at me with tranquillity in her eyes. “I think so.”
“This one won’t ever end.” We were in our own little world now—the Guard, the rules…they didn’t exist in this moment.
She squeezed my hand. “Don’t say that. This goodbye will end. I know it.”
Dakota’s eyebrows jumped up, urging me to finish the promise. My voice broke as I did. “As soon as we say our next hello.”
We smiled at each other, my sad one reflected in her expression. We didn’t need to talk about it. We both stepped backwards, the wind hugging us on our way down.