Bloom

“Seconds… it’s enough to something happen… something good, something bad. In my case, something bad happened. I don’t want to talk about it but I need to. A part of me went away with him. And I need this part… I need him, because he is undoubtedly my best friend. There isn’t Synyster Gates without The Rev. There isn’t Brian without Jimmy. And here I am, alone, but I feel his presence, because he is present… in my heart… FOREVER!”

Brian felt a very big sadness about the death of his best friend Jimmy. He felt that life hasn’t sense anymore. He felt miss of will to continue living his dream... it's like A7X dream was gone with Jimmy. But he knew that this wasn’t what Jimmy wanted. So Brian needed something to help him to rise up and continue living their dream.

He was walking in the beach in the late afternoon, waiting to see the sunset, when he saw a girl playing guitar and singing. Something about that girl caught his attention. Maybe her voice, maybe her posture… Maybe just the image she was transmitting. He didn't know how to explain it. They were so far away and so near. He stood there, staring at her, hearing that sweet voice, listening to this wonderful melody.

“In the morning when I wake           

And the sun is coming through,        

Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness,          

And you fill my head with you.         

Shall I write it in a letter?     

Shall I try to get it down?      

Oh, you fill my head with pieces      

Of a song I can't get out.

Can I be close to you?                       

Can I be close to you?”

(Bloom by The Paper Kites)

He started to feel his heart beating so fast. Every single word that came out of this mysterious girl’s mouth paralyzed him completely. He was still there without reaction. As if all disappears up around him and he just had her.

She stopped singing and put the guitar by her side. She looked to the sea, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said:

“I can't give up. I wasn't born to give up. I’ll fight for a better day and in the end...”

“… You will win this battle!”

***Annie’s POV***

I changed my lifestyle, I changed my residence, and I changed my country. I always told my parents that I would live in the United States one day but they never believed in me. I was thinking to move here with 18 but I preferred to stay in Portugal and do a degree and then live an adventure into America.

I’m working in a school in Huntington Beach, in Orange County. I’m a languages teacher. I love my job! The kids are so sweet to me and they are so curious about the languages that I can speak... they want to know more and more and it became funny! But my dream always was music. Since my teen time I’ve always tried learn play guitar and piano. I never studied in a music school because I hadn't time for that so I decided to learn by myself. Now, I can play both but I need something more. I need inspiration. I need a guide line.

I have not had time to explore the city yet. I'm living with my best friend, Rita, who moved here with me. She is currently working. She is fashion design and is preparing to present their designs to a well-known fashion industry. I hope everything goes well! It's Friday, I was home alone, preparing lessons for Monday but I wasn't minimally concentrated. I looked around and I saw the guitar. I took it and I decided to go take a walk to the beach. It was already 5 pm and I would have the opportunity to see the sunset. I came to the beach and it was deserted. Great! I approached the sea ... how wonderful is the effect the sea has on me. It is so relaxing but at the same time so disturbing! It makes me think about everything and anything. I left all my life behind to move to here, people who I loved... my parents, my brother, and my friends. But I needed to do this. I lost a good friend of mine in an accident car. He was very important to me and to Rita. He helped us a lot in all our difficult moments in life. He was always there for us. And his lost was unbearable. We needed to get out of there. And here we are! I walked a little more and I sat in the sand. I looked at the sea again, closed my eyes for a moment longer. I picked up the guitar and I started playing one of my favorite songs: "Bloom" by "The Paper Kites". Singing in the beach makes me feel so quiet, makes me feel so light inside! I finished the song and I said to myself out loud:

“I can't give up. I wasn't born to give up. I’ll fight for a better day and in the end...” (And before I finish the sentence I was interrupted by a male voice that somehow seduced me).

“… You will win this battle!”

I looked to my right and saw the most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life. He had black spiky hair. He wore a white t-shirt and black pants. All their arms were tattooed. I looked deeply into his eyes and I saw that something was wrong with him but he showed me the most beautiful smile I've ever seen till now. I stared at him without saying a word. I was petrified before those sweet brown eyes that told me so much but yet so little.  That look that consumed me completely and whereby I lost myself there for a moment.

“Oh my Good God! Besides you have a beautiful voice, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my entire life!”

***Brian’s POV***

I have to change my life ... or my thoughts! Life goes on and I have to live it so that Jimmy feels proud of me. I don’t know how but I need time for that. I need something that helps me to do it. I have the guys but they have their lives and I can’t bother them always with the same subject. Yes, I only have the guys. I broke up with Michelle. She didn't know me, but she thought she knew me. When I most needed her, she just left me alone. She said that she did it because she thought I needed time to think. For God's sake! What else I needed was a hug, a kind word, of her affection. But with this kind of attitudes, she just showed me that our marriage was a mistake.

I was still on the beach, walking and thinking about everything that has happened this year.

Suddenly everything stopped around me. A few feet away from me was a girl slightly younger than I am, sitting in the sand, playing guitar and singing a song that once, during a night full of alcohol, Jimmy had shown me. (I’m not sure how but the music is the only thing I remember from that night). The time stopped! That girl has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. She plays guitar perfectly. And that song ... that song brought me so many memories of Jimmy. I stood there admiring whole that picture: the sea, the music, and her. When she stopped singing, something made me walk up to her.

While I approached, she uttered some words to herself and that's when I stopped her to finish her sentence.

“I can't give up. I wasn't born to give up. I’ll fight for a better day and in the end...”

“… You will win this battle!”

I don’t know how I managed say that but thankfully I did it. She looked at me deeply in my eyes without saying a word. With that way that she looked at me she managed to change my world. She has the most seductive look I've ever seen. In other way, she gave me all that I needed in this moment just looking at me as deeply as she did. I couldn't hide that stupid smile that we do when we fell in love. When we fell in love? What’s wrong with me?

“Oh my Good God! Besides you have a beautiful voice, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my entire life! - (I’m just still looking at her, smiling. But then I come back to the real world) - Ow, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… shit! I mean... Whatever! I'm Brian!"

“Wow I didn’t expect that! But thank you. By the way, I’m Annie!”