Finish the Tale. Story #69

Every sunset that June seemed to pause, as if waiting for them to notice.

Only they never did. Maya would keep looking down at her phone where her life consisted of people she did not even know, and Leo kept struggling to pen down a melody that would never feel quite like himself.

Both had decided to go to the coastal cottage to find themselves, yet all they could find there was the growing silence between them.

And then, at the very end of the month, they lost power. With no other choice than to get outside, Leo and Maya sat down on the porch and watched in amazement as their skies burned in the most vibrant purple, leaving marks on their cheeks. They both turned away from what consumed their days and stared at each other for once – Leo put his notebook down and Maya looked up from the endless scrolling of her phone.

"I've never seen anything as breathtaking as that," she admitted.

"Every night we've been here, this has happened," Leo murmured.

He took Maya's hand in his own and they both sat down on the stairs, looking at the dying fire before them. Saltwater and wind were in the air, and although they did nothing about fixing what was broken between them, they at least stopped running away from it. All they could do in those final minutes of light was watch it fade into blackness, while holding hands.