Inseparable

Inseparable

There once was a boy and girl who lived next door to each other. They spent all their time together pretending and laughing and dancing. All summer long, they would run through their tiny town, leaving a trail of mischief and recklessness behind them. The boy and the girl were inseparable, unstoppable, the dream team, partners in crime, practically siblings, explorers, romantics, dreamers, darers, doers. They were pure hope, never scared or disillusioned but constantly smiling and helping and appreciating. The boy and the girl were king and queen of the town, rulers of the country, leaders of the world, game makers of the universe. They were misfits with ripped jeans and bare feet, ready to dominate and inspire and educate and love and be loved. As long as they had each other, nothing and no one could hurt them or stop them or ruin them.

But then the boy and the girl grew up, as boys and girls always do, and their days of mischief and recklessness became a thing of the past, something easily forgotten and rarely remembered. Growing up brought new people and goals and responsibilities, and there wasn't any time for pretending and laughing and dancing. The boy and the girl were hopeless, burned-out, the lost ones, grown-ups, practically retired, cowards, quitters, fakers, haters, seducers. They were pure regret, never brave or optimistic but constantly scheming and wanting and trying. The boy and the girl were strangers from the same town, separate citizens of the country, individual observers of the world, different pieces of the universe. They were conformists with broken dreams and wrinkles, ready to sabotage and get ahead and judge and hate and be hated. They didn't have each other, so anyone and anything hurt them and stopped them and ruined them.

*****

Fun fact: this is the only piece of writing I've ever read aloud to an audience. It was terrifying (and mandatory :P) but I think it turned out okay. 

Also, I'm not sure what to classify this piece as. I've been calling it prose poetry, but maybe that's inaccurate. Is it flash fiction? I have no idea!