30-Day Writing Challenge: Day 9

Rolling on, today's picture comes from the beautiful gallery of Life of Pix, "hand-made with love by Leeroy Advertising Agency in Montreal & its network of photographers" (as they state on their home page).  Pictures are organized under 13 categories: 

1) Animals 
2) Beach 
3) Black & White 
4) City 
5) Construction 
6) Desk 
7) Food 
8) Industrial 
9) Nature 
10) Object 
11) People 
12) Sea 
13) Textures  


And the picture we're actually concerned with?  Alright, no more delaying, from the Beach category...

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"Are you alone?"

Christi started at the sound of the girl's voice.  "I guess I thought so until a second ago," she tries to answer with a nonchalant shrug, and flick of the jagged black hair that fringes her eyes and vision.  The nonchalance doesn't come easy, and it must show.  Well, she doesn't need this stranger to know that.

"Its such a chilly place." Christi hears the girl shiver, though she must find the cold more interior than exterior; Christi would describe the temperature as cool, but not cold.  Not except for the grayness which she too feels piercing her to the core.  Well, there were plenty of other things that had already done that.

"So why are you here?" Christi asks the girl, still not turning to look at her, and keeping her own face hidden in the shadows of her hoodie.  The plenty of things had been painful, but to have her plan to end them interrupted?  Could the world stop being spiteful for a minute? 

"I was going to ask you that."  The girl steps directly out in front of Christi, and stares up at her.  Christi uses all the self-control at her command not to gasp.  That curly black hair, those grey-green eyes...

"You look like- oh, never mind."

"Well, why are you here?" the stranger girl asks.

"I asked you, remember?"  Christi wonders how long it'll take for the girl to go away.

"I don't have a reason unless you do." 

Christi looks up suddenly.  "What?"

"My reason is bound with yours- so why are you here?"

"This is ridiculous-"

"It is." the strange girl agrees.

"What?"  Christi looks up again.

"It's ridiculous that you want to take something infinitely valuable, and throw it away.  There are some who could envy you for it."

"Envy?  Envy what?  My life?"  Christi snorts in disbelief.  "I don't think you know what we're talking about."  What kind of pain we're talking about, she thinks bitterly, her insides curling in response to the reminder.

"If we could envy you, there are few things we would be envious of, but your earthly life, the time of your choice, and your pain would be towards the top of that short list."

Christi stares at the girl again.  "Envy a human life?  Envy pain?"

"Pain has immeasurable meaning and worth- only your mere mortal eyes can't see it," the girl answers cryptically.  Christi wheels around, but she's gone.

Meaning.  Worth.  Pain?  That sounds like... something in the back of Christi's mind clicks.  She'd heard that somewhere... where?  She has to find it.  Rising, she walks quickly away from the dark water and the death by drowning she had planned for herself.

She doesn't see the strange girl flash a smile at her earthly charge, so narrowly saved.