I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

Beneath the crown of Sony’s collarbones, etched onto the meeting
place of her heart and lungs, a pair of wings spread above words of
promise.
time will cease disease will fester death will die
Neo’s jaw slacks, his eyes gone soft.
“It’s for you,” Sony says. “It was the first thing you ever wrote in our
Hit List.” She meets Neo’s gaze. In it, every single gasp, fit of snorty
laughter, and tear shed that Sony gave Neo’s stories lives. “You
always said you wanted just a little piece of you to be immortal.”
Neo’s hands shake around his stories. His babies that have been
torn, taken for granted, mistreated, thrown like corpses in his face–
he remembers them all. Because his sea is thick with suffering and
we are who he chose to row with.
Neo drops his story into C’s arms, stifling a sob. He covers his mouth
with a bony hand and, without hesitation, he hugs Sony.
“Silly crybaby,” she whispers, embracing Neo as he cries on her
shoulder.
Sony reaches into his (or really her) sweatshirt pocket, removing a
crinkled piece of torn paper. “I promised I’d get you happy tears,
remember?” she says.
“I’ve been telling you from the beginning that you’re a pillar. Did you
think I was just teasing?”
“You’re a stupid idiot,” Neo blubbers, his tears soaking her shirt.
Sony hugs him back, pressing kisses to his head.
“I love you too, Baby.”
—