I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

“Just throw me off the roof.”
“Don’t tempt me, I have good aim.”
Neo’s lips curl. He hides them in Sony’s neck as the two prance
around with no skill or pattern. Caught by their snickering and lack of
rhythm, C rises to shaky ankles. He outwaits his blurry vision and
poor hearing, taking Hee with him to join the dancers.
We used to think the roof was a radical rebellion. This is where there
aren’t any mirrors. It’s chilly, and the ground is coarse. The sky is
always gray, and the only color is us. This is our swimming pool, the
deepest part where those who dwell above the surface cannot see.
C takes Sony into his arms, hugging her tight, swaying side to side.
Neo scratches Hee’s head as he moves with the music.
The roof was never a place to steal but a place to elude time entirely.
Here, I watch my friends dance and drink to their hearts’ content,
whatever hearts they may have. I race up the stairs with Sony and
listen to old songs with C
and read Neo’s stories and forget for a long while.
Sony lays back down when the sky grows dark. Neo clings to one
side of her, C to the other. She chuckles and calls them monkeys.
They talk about the everywhere they’re going to see, the everything
they’re going to steal. They fall asleep fast despite the nipping
weather, a thin layer of clouds concealing the stars as soon after
time strikes midnight and tomorrow turns to today.
I savor the moment.
Hikari shifts below her blanket, a little yellow hill. She groans when
she stretches, but her movements are cautious of those around her. I
can’t help the tug at my lips when she wakes. Her eyes are halflidded,
a bit of spittle on her chin.