Carter Haskins

Cold Water (1994)

September 19th, 2022

Rebellion and desire. The pure adrenaline of youth expressed through images so vibrant and expressive you begin to create a new history, one that could have been but never materialized. A boy is in love with a girl, their love as messy and sprawling as a makeshift bonfire. In a record shop, they join hands and run together. It’s winter. She is sent away. Later, she is waiting for him outside of a party. They are together again. A pipe is passed around a group, each person approaching their high with a different demeanor. It’s getting dark, too dark to see. It’s raining. Not enough to warrant a reaction, but drops of water fall from the sky through the broken roof and dampen their sweaters. The rotting wood is wet, and so is the grass. The base of a bonfire, pure white, sits behind a boy dancing in a field. He will never forget this feeling. The boy and the girl are dancing. Together. Is there anything other than this? The party ends. It’s raining a little harder now. That long black cloud is coming down. Is there a future without you in it? Where are we going? He hesitates. She turns away. It was a mistake. She understands. They walk together down a path, deeper into the woods.