WASTELAND
Written by A. Islam

━━━━━━━━━━━

A lot can happen in four seconds.

In four seconds, a child can shatter the silence──a soft, unexpected sound that cuts through the air, filling the room with a joy so pure it feels like it could break apart if you even look at it wrong. It's cruel, like the universe dangling something perfect just out of reach. You try to hold onto it, but it slips away, fleeting and fragile, like trying to catch water in your hands. In four seconds, two strangers lock eyes, their hearts stumbling over each other in a crowded room. A stolen kiss that's too soft, too brief, and over before it even begins. It's the kind of thing that leaves you wanting more, chasing something you're already scared to lose. In four seconds, hope can flicker to life in the darkness, only to fizzle out just as fast, leaving you grasping for something you were too fucking stupid to believe in.

In four seconds, a choice is made. Stupid. Rash. Irreversible. The kind of shit you can't take back, no matter how much you wish you could. Regret sets in before the dust even fucking settles. In four seconds, a fist can slam into the wall, the sharp sting of pain somehow not enough to drown out the venom in your words. Words you can't take back. Words that hang in the air like a noose, tightening with every breath, until the silence comes crashing down, suffocating you. And then, those same words replay in your head a million fucking times, a loop of regret you can't escape, wishing you'd choked them down instead of spitting them out.

In four seconds, the world can fucking fall apart. One minute, you're standing there thinking this was the life you always wanted, and the next, you're in the middle of a goddamn battlefield, trying to survive a wreckage you never saw coming. In four seconds, a scream can die in your throat, swallowed by the chaos that's ripping everything you thought you understood to shreds.

In four seconds, a heart can stop──just like that. Gone. No warning, no reason, no fucking fairness. One breath, one beat, and everything it held──everything you held──is ripped away like it never even mattered. In four seconds, dirt hits a casket, the sound so heavy it buries you too. You hear it over and over, even in the silence, even in your sleep. The goodbye you whisper──so fucking desperate, so useless──never goes away. It clings to you, a reminder of what's gone, of what you'll never hold again.

In four seconds, you can save someone──drag them back from the edge, stop them from making a choice they can't undo──but those same four seconds can steal them away forever. It's all gone before you can even fucking blink.

A lot can happen in four seconds.

SOUNDTRACK:   

❝ OH LOOK WHO IT IS... ❞

        i. WASTELAND | ROYAL & THE SERPENT
« I know it's my fault that I'm here all alone. »

ii. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO US | MAKO
« Don't make me go through this again / You're not real and I can't pretend. »

iii. TONGUES & TEETH | THE CRANE WIVES
« I know that you mean so well / But I am not a vessel for your good intent. »

iv. I CAN'T HEAR IT NOW | FREYA RIDINGS
« I just watched as the door closed for good. »

v. REVENGE | XXXTENTACION
« I don't wanna let it go, so in my grave I'll rot. »

vi. GOODBYE | RAMSEY
« I think it's time to say goodbye. »

vii. PTOLEMAEA | ETHEL CAIN
« There's nothing you can do / It's already been done. »

❝ THE BOY SAVIOR. ❞

viii. LOVERS | ANNA OF THE NORTH
« Reach out and show a little loving. »

ix. EST-CE QUE TU M'AIMES ? | GIMS
« Pour t'éviter de souffrir, je n'avais plus qu'à te dire je t'aime | To keep you from suffering, I just had to tell you I love you. »

x. THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE | GLASS ANIMALS
« That girl is gone, but I still try. »

xi. CHIHIRO | BILLIE EILISH
« But there's a part of me that recognizes you. »

xii. WORLDS COLLIDE | JVKE
« You're my powderkeg / And I'm your little fire. »

xiii. NO ONE NOTICED (EXTENDED VERSION) | THE MARÍAS
« Hold me, console me and then I'll leave without a trace. »

xiv. THE BEACH | THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
« I need you here with me but we're out in the open. »

── ⏳💣 ──

Taking matters into my own hands and finally writing the 60-minute Timebomb content that Netflix and Riot decided to cut──because, apparently, the world wasn't ready for that much chaos. It's my first time doing this, so buckle up and pray I don't blow anything up (metaphorically or literally)! 

DISCLAIMER: this work is entirely my own. I do not own the characters, world, or any content related to Arcane, which is the property of Riot Games and Netflix. This piece is inspired by a few scenes from the show, but all original content, dialogue, and ideas are my own. (Also, I want to make it clear that I don't own the images I use, but all the graphics I create, such as moodboards and banners, are my own original work.)

── ⏳💣 ──

START DATE: 4/12/24
END DATE: --

© anisha, all rights reserved.