Taayler Gray

Excerpt: The Unborns

Excerpt: The Unborns by Taayler Gray It often escapes me, the purpose of it all, as I’m lost in wonder and fondness of her. The stillness I’ve mastered alongside dancing leaves has sharpened over the days, as has the wind. She’s habitual, leaving none to the imagination. Moving only my eyes as I watch, the rest of me observes my surroundings. Tightening my grip around the branch, I swing to the ground and start towards her door. “It is time,” I whispered to myself. My steps, indistinguishable from the passing motors, lead me along. I stood immovable. Flashes of imagery of her gazing at the nothingness that was laid in front of us. Curiously, though, I didn’t ask what she saw. I reached for the nob, but hearing her footsteps moving closer to the door, I knocked instead. She opened it. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she gave a gentle smile and asked how she could help me. If only she knew, I thought. For a moment, my eyes felt deceitful, but they dilated as I captured her in my memory forever. A permanence she was unaware of. I reached my hand out and she met it before I could cross the border of her home. “I’m Eryn,” I responded. I had imagined this moment for decades. Leaving me questioning, what is time and how has she not moved with it?