Antagonist saw a Catalyst one day.
Said to his Angel
"Look, your wings are beautiful
your halo's stunning really,
but, I've changed my mind (I think)."
And off he went.

Catalyst looked up to see Antagonist,
with Angel on his shirttails holding tight
and dragging her heels through the dirt.

Antagonist ignored it.
Angel looked around and saw a world of people down below
all looking up and smiling.
Angel let off her grip at once
and sang for all the people
and they soon forgot what they had seen.

She laughed, relieved
and flew away.

Antagonist got worried.
He looked at smiling Catalyst-
and then his wrinkled shirttails.
In a flash, it was done
and Catalyst was spilt like milk on cold linoleum.

He looked around
and through the glades and rivers
over tallest mountains
and into the deepest valleys.
In tiny cracks and crevices
and little holes from push pins stuck in the wall,
but Angel was a good hider.

She flew high high high in the sky.
The people below all used their breath
to keep her soaring, so long
as she sang a most beautiful tune
forever and ever and ever.

She often looked down on Antagonist
who had grown thin and brittle from searching so long.
Perhaps she wanted to reach down and show him the truth
but the breath of the people was all that kept her soaring
really, and so she never did.

Eons went by
and one day Antagonist bumped into Catalyst
quite by surprise.
She smiled
and he smiled
and they talked and they talked.

They grew closer and closer again
and Antagonist wanted to have her
but Catalyst did not so soon forget what spilt milk felt like
so she told him No.
But they talked.
And they talked.
And soon she began to trust the Antagonist.
Somehow, someday, they smiled and they hugged
and they were again united.

They talked about the Angel
whom everyone adored
and though they were together
he talked about his searching
past
and present.
It hurt the Catalyst to hear these words
but hurt her more to see him thin and brittle,
so she placed a hand on her hurt and smiled
and told him quite sincerely
she would help him anytime
in any way
whenever
and where ever.

Now Antagonist had a parter to help him
through the glades and rivers
over tall tall mountains
and into deep deep valleys.
Someone was there to help him look in crack and crevices
and even in the little holes
from push pins stuck in a wall
if he wanted.

He blinked.
And he looked at Catalyst again.
Blinkblink.
Had he just seen something?
She had no wings.
Not even a halo.
She couldn't fly
but she would walk him all those places...
Blinkblink,
and Catalyst was smiling
for so was Antagonist, at last
and he stopped being brittle
and stopped being thin,
and stopped wanting to search all those places anyway.

Catalyst was happy
yes,
but Catalyst was worried.
She so clearly remebered the feeling of split milk
(pale, watery, stretched too thin across linoleum)
and she feared he'd topple her over
all over again.
But she closed her eyes
and she squeezed his hand
and together they walked side by side.

The Angel
on her cloud of breath from the smiling people
saw this:
Antagonist and Catalyst
holding hands
and walking side by by side.
Blinkblink.
The music stopped.
One by one the smiling people became confused
and stopped their blowing
and walked away
and the Angel drifted down to Earth again.
She ran up to Antagonist and shouted
"Here I am! You found me!" but
Antagonist just smiled and said "I'm glad you've made it back."

The Angel felt weak and collapsed into Antagonist's arms.
He had to let go of the Catalyst's hand for a moment to hug her when she needed it
but she didn't mind since she knew he'd retake hers.
That's when they noticed that Angel did NOT have wings to fly with
nor did she have a halo of goldenwhite light.
She was human, despite what the people thought,
and she soared on their breaths and their smiles
while they soared on her song.

The Antagonist realized she had seen him all along,
searching.
Angel told him this and that she had often wanted to tell him she was there
but the breath of the people that held her up
wouldn't let her down
unless she stopped singing the song that they liked,
and the thought of not singing for once in her life...

Antagonist looked at the Girl.
The Girl, and the Catalyst watched the Antagonist.
He told her he loved her. That he always would, and that he was there as a friend for whenever
wherever.
Catalyst knew the feeling and smiled at memories of other people she had known and loved.
She also smiled for Antagonist's love,
which she knew she had.

The Girl smiled at his words,
but Antagonist knew that the Girl would have to learn many things on her own
about life down on Earth
and minus the breath of others.

So Antagonist took Catalyst's hand once again
and they smiled
as the Girl relearned how to smile by their example.

01/09/2004

Author's Note: Note: Names were doled out to the characters based on the view of the public eye, and may or may not reflect the views of the author, me. :)

Posted on 01/09/2004
Copyright © 2024 Trisha De Gracia