Theseus and Ariadne

As I sat there with a haze engulfing my vision, I tried to focus on something...anything, but my eyes would dart to and fro losing focus. Once I grew tired of this literally nauseating game a tired sigh escaped me and I let my vision wander. Almost instinctively my eyes lingered towards the opening of her shirt where a bit of her bosom's cleavage poked from behind. Once she realized what my gaze was fixed on she let out a slight scoff while quickly leaning back and standing upright from her crouched position before me. Hmph, she snapped at me and turned to face another direction, exposing her neck; a deep pink blush on her cheek claimed her soft fair skin. “Are you ok?” she asked while still looking away from me. “Yeah,” I said, still a bit fatigued and hazy while trying to lift myself from the bench, but all the strength I could muster in my legs and arms only made me stumble clownishly and fall back onto the bench. I sighed softly and looked down at my pale hands as I clasped them, my left hand had some fresh blood trailing along the back of it. My fingers interlaced so tightly with each other that a slight numbness overcame them.

She shifted in her spot and kicked some of the pebbles that lay idle between us. Suddenly I could feel the heat of her peering eyes slowly scanning me from head to toe; I could tell she was now staring at me. In a desperate attempt to break the awkward silence that suffocated me I blurted out “I’m going to die soon,” half-jokingly; a forced chuckle ensued as if routine for any conversation ice-breaker. She quickly reached down for my chin and tilted my face up towards hers.

I expected her to chuckle awkwardly…or ask if it was true—I don’t know what I really was expecting but When I looked up at her face I saw something like no other just like the love at first sight depiction from a shojō manga. Her head and face--perfectly rounded--eclipsed the passionate rays of sunlight. The sun’s corona delicately danced along the fine trimmed edges of her hair and ears, it glamorously swayed around her immaculate sharp jawline and chin.

“Don’t say such a pitiful thing like that….especially to a stranger.” Her warm hands and piercing gaze made my cheeks flush red, but before I could say anything she asked “Shouldn’t we call the EMT?” I shook my head in response as she let go of my chin and returned to her heroic stance. “This happens to me when I usually commit to very strenuous things,” I said softly. “Oh…?” she looked at me with a hint of inquisition and pity. “But all you did was come talk to me.” I looked up at her petite yet overwhelmingly beautiful body. “I guess that’s what caused this much stress,” I rubbed the side of my temple that had been bleeding and chuckled awkwardly.

“Hmmm is that so?... Hey…what’s your name?” She asked while fanning herself with the book she had been reading. I scratched the top of my lip with my teeth for a moment then replied “It’s...Theo Argond, short for the hero Theseus.” “Oh? Mine is Ariana Servanta.” I looked up to meet her gaze and stared at her for a moment with wide eyes. “That’s an interesting name, it’s almost like the godd..” but before I could finish my sentence she was nodding “yeah, like the Greek goddess Ariadne, like almost all moms she probably named me that with the hopes of me having a ‘greater purpose’ or something like that.” Before I knew it tears started to well up in my eyes “y-yeah heh I think my mom was hoping for the same with my name as well but I think she overlooked a certain part in that heroic tale.” I gave a tight-lipped grin. Her face exalted an expression of confusion and deep pity as she looked unto mine. “You’re about to cry again?” she said teasingly while clearing her throat and reaching into her pockets for her kerchief but realizing that it now rested upon my lap. “See, we just had a full-ish conversation and you didn’t collapse did you?” she asks. “Hmm, if you don’t count the physical breakdown it took to get to this point...then yeah,” I respond in a playfully sarcastic tone while grabbing the kerchief resting on my lap and wiping the tears. She giggles softly in response and sits beside me allowing for us to converse for a few more minutes about our new shared love of Greek mythology.

Sometime later I regained my composure and strength to stand meanwhile Ariana had resumed reading her book but this time beside me. I cleared my throat as I stood up, feeling an aching pain emerging and rattling my spine causing me to yelp in pain and hunch over while reaching for my lower back like an elderly man. Once Ariana took notice of my dilemma she quickly reached out to help me but I refused the help and said I was fine. “It’s nothing really, just got up too quick, heh but I’ve been meaning to ask...do you mind giving me your phone number?” I said with a nervous grin on my face and cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. “Sure, you’ve intrigued me and haven’t asked me about,” she paused before continuing, “anyways, you seem like an intriguing oddball so sure,” she said blatantly as she reached for her pocket and pulled out her phone.

She clicked her screen a few times then faced her phone towards me revealing a cute photo of herself and her contact information below it. I quickly reached for my phone and tried jotting down her number in my contacts list. I fiddled with my phone for a few as she started to giggle realizing my incoherence with technology, oh and of course the holding of my lower back pose didn't do any justice. “You’re just like an old man...here,” She took my phone from my hands and quickly jotted down her phone number as well as a nickname “Ari,” it wrote out. “Th-thanks,” I said softly as she closed her book once again and arose from her seat “Mhm...let’s meet up sometime. I have to head out now but it was nice meeting you, Theo.” I smiled softly, feeling fuzzy inside as I heard my name escape her lips. My eyes followed as she began to slowly walk in the direction where the tangy-orange sun began to fall into its earthly cradle. “Y-YEAH OF COURSE, AND ANYTIME!” I screamed shakily watching as she escaped my peripheral vision. Her slender body clad in a short yellow sundress, the hem of the dress lingering just above her knees. Progressively her slender yet enveloping aura dissipated into the ambiance of the background.

I watched as she swerved out of the park and turned onto a continuing block. “Hmm” I rubbed my head softly as I groaned happily but also in excruciating pain at everything that had just happened. I couldn’t unsee her image as I closed my eyes, I could hear the ring of her name in my ears and the sweet fragrance of her perfume which still lingered in the immediate vicinity. “Ahhh. She’s real...agh, and she’s totally exhausted all my social batteries in one sitting” I said as I headed for the nearest exit of the park and rang up my mom. “Can you pick me up, there was a situation….ok” *click*.