Breathe The Novel Novels & Stories

Every breath. How cruel.

You're in the book. I forgot how to breathe. Just for a second, I forgot. Forgot breathing. Forgot thinking. Forgot feeling. I forgot everything – everything but those words. When the breath finally came, sucking on the air like I couldn't get it into my lungs fast enough, my body juddered with the impact. ' M-me? '

About the choice to keep breathing even when the heart wants to stop. About the house that stays open. About the tide that comes in. Goes out. Comes in again. Always. She wrote until dawn. Then she closed the notebook. Set it on the table beside the cold coffee mug. Walked to the bedroom. Climbed into the bed that still smelled faintly of him. Closed her eyes. Breathed once. Twice. Smiled. And let the next wave come.

Brianna asked absentmindedly. She did not look anywhere else than the worried face of the man right in front of her. Brianna smiled faintly. Then she closed her eyes, leaning her head on the backrest of her seat. She inhaled deeply, and as she exhaled the air, she breathed all out. Another deep inhale followed. Then her breath outs became a blow of air as if she was trying to release whatever difficulties were inside her heart. “Anna…?”

Really breathe. THE END.

“It’s so hot, and this is an outdoor party. She’s suffering from heatstroke, yet she lies on the ground and continues to pretend. A cold drink will fix her right up!” Suddenly, I felt like I was about to die. My heart pounded violently, and my shoulders started shaking. I gasped for air, but nothing reached my lungs. My throat let out harsh, ragged breaths. The guests saw that something was wrong with me and stepped back in fear. “She… she’s not actually dying, is she?” Ethan’s eyes widened. His whole body trembled as he froze in place.

Love can hit you when you least expect it. It could be a soft easy wind that caresses you and gets stronger over time till it absorbs into your body and heart. Other times it can hit you like a gale-force wind and take every breath you will ever have, and breathe life into the person who took it in the first place. Laken stole my breath. She was my gale-force wind, and I will gladly give her every breath I have just to keep her safe, alive, and mine. If I have to live without her then I don’t want my breath. I don’t want anything but her. I will go to hell and back to get her from the grips of death.

I whispered finally, “I don’t… I don’t know what to do with that.” “Then don’t do anything yet,” he said softly, “Just... breathe.” And somehow, I did. I sank into the armchair, pressing the phone to my ear. I closed my eyes and just… breathed. In and out. Slow, uneven, shaky breaths that started to settle. On the other end, I could almost hear him doing the same and, I let myself just be. Two people, breathing, without saying a word, and somehow it was enough.

The clock ticked somewhere in the walls, an underground metronome counting down to obligations and expectations. I had practiced breathing slow. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale again. Breathe like someone asleep. Do not give them the small ticket that will allow them to tear the library from me. Do not cough. Do not laugh too loud. Do not let your sentences betray you.