brink of the endless night
At the very last second -- just when her resolve was about to dissipate -- she jumped.
All the hues of the black night seemed to swirl about her as she fell. Her eyes, though closed, can see the star-flecked darkness as her body sped by. She was free falling to the next good place. And to herself, she kept saying over and over again, "Anywhere --- anywhere but here." On her lips, it was a prayer of salvation.
She fell for what seemed like eternity until she realized there was supposed to be a hold somewhere. A catch in time that she must reach out to so she can exit oblivion. Her hands pried the empty space in front of her, furiously searching for a latch, a thread or a rip in the fabric of the night which can stop her fall. An opening to the next world. A much hoped for escape.
She realized though that the more she flails, the harder it was to move. She stopped moving then, and forced herself to pretend she was jst floating on a dark ocean. Her searching hands went from erratic fumbling to gentle probing. Her body -- it was swimming. And her hands -- they were caressing the space as if touching a longed-for lover.
And there it was. A small hole in the inky wall that surrounds her. Enough for her littlest finger to poke through. And doing so, her fall has come to an end.
All she had to do was to open her eyes and she was there.
At the brink of the endless night. Facing the crevice filled with a million parallel dimensions. Behind her, there was a forest. Each tree had branches heavy with fruit. All ripe for her picking and choosing. The rule was you choose one. And you bite into it. That is your Dream you taste in your mouth. It becomes your life for the limited time you spend at the land of the never after. Reaching out, she plucked from a gnarled limb a silvery fruit. Its skin was swirling and alternating dark and bright. She bit into it and she was gone again for the second time.
In the world she entered, there was no light. She stumbled around as her eyes tried to search a source of illumination. It took her some time to see a faint glow from somewhere ahead of her. She took one careful step after the other. She could feel the grass crush against her bare feet. While she traversed the path, the light became dim and it started to pulse. Fading one moment and returning the next. She walked close enough to see the lake and the source of the eerie light. Her breath caught on her throat as she understood what she was seeing.
In the world she entered, the Moon was Drowning.
Mother! Sister! O Ancient One!
Near the deep part of the lake, a woman floated sans clothes. Her hair was caught amongst the rushes, and and on her waist there was a heavy chain. The Moon was trying to rise, but is pulled in deeper everytime. The pale face turned towards her and she saw the Moon's ethereal eyes pleading. Without words, the Moon screamed for help.
"Save her." said a man's voice.
She turned around to face a stranger. A shock of violet seized her as his gaze bored through her. He was tall and he was diminutive and he was white and he was dark all at the same time. "Save her, loved one." On his back, his wings unfurled. Feathered perfection, as black as his hair.
Behind him, a murder of crows rose to the skies. They crowed and they shrieked, "Now! Now!""
"The moon must rise tonight." He spoke again. " Save her, Ava."
"Now! Now! Now!"
She, Ava, tried to obey. She waded into the lake, determined to reach the drowning Moon. About her, the waters turned murkier. It began to boil. From beneath, things were rising.
"Too late." a toad croaked out. "Too late."
Suddenly, there were scores of them. All singing the same song without ceasing. "Too late. You're late." And beneath Ava, dark creatures continued to emerge from the lake.
"You must help me!" Ava cried out to the man.
Even from afar, she saw the pain in the man's eyes. "You must call me to your aid, dearest. You must call me by my name. I am powerless to help if you do not."
Ava sobbed and tried to swallow her frustration. "But I do not know your name! I do not know who you are!"
The man's face filled with grief. "But you do, my Dawning. Your heart must know."
She shook her head. Tears ran down her cheeks freely now. "I do not." She watched as the monsters from the deep approached her to block her way to the Moon. They were grotesque, each and everyone of them.
"The Moon must rise. There must be light in the darkness. Or the Gray Ones, the evil kind, will reign free. You kno what to do. You must find a way to save the Her." The man said. "If only you can remember my name, Ava. I can help you. It is I who have traded my freedom of flight to be near you. I who you have taught to speak and to touch and to live. I who was barred to you for all eternity when you chose Mortality. Know me."
The creatures were so near her now. From them, Ava felt their intent to drown her just as the Moon was. They were going to bring her down there with them. She struggled to think. The man said she knows what to do. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the field of stars in the other worlds. All her kin. In that quiet place, once again, she searched for a hand hold.
Her palms began to burn. They itched and stung. Her skin felt as if it wanted to break free. There was -- a flicker iside her. After a while it became a mounting fire that threatened to burn her inside out. Her head felt as if it will burst with pain. When she opened her eyes, she screamed. And with her voice, the sun rose from her palms and the world exploded into light.
The creatures balked.
The Moon, her light ever a reflection of the sun, soaked in the rays. It was her rejuvenator. She glowed a brighter silver. The rushes that caught her hair burnt with a silent fire that turned them white then turned them to dust. The chains about her waist glowed blue as if frozen and then broke. Redeemed, the Moon rose from the lake. She faced Ava and smiled with silent gratitude. Then she rose higher until Her light covered the world. The creatures sank down into the lake once again, frightened and beaten. The lake turned solid under the moonlight, forever sealing the monsters deep within.
And yet Ava was not saved. She was still half immersed into the hardened lake. She can still feel slippery tentacles pulling at her feet. The monsters want her to stay down there with them. The Moon was free, but now, the Star was not.
She was exhausted now. The sun she called forth expended her will and her energy. She needs help. She needs him.
As if to hear her, the Moon blew her a bauble. An jewel-orb that glowed and glided towards her then embedded itself straight into her chest. She felt the light seeping into her very center. Her soul was expanding. The walls inside her cracked until it finally gave way. Then she knew.
"Oh, Seth. To me, love. To me." her voice, tired as she was, came only as a whisper. Her eyes closed and she felt herself sinking. But she heard the unfurling of wings and she felt strong hands about her not a second later. It was only when she felt solid ground on her feet, did she dare move. She opened her eyes, and she saw him.
"Seth?"
A smile flickered on his lips. "I am here." he answered. His hands did not fall away from her. They both did not want to move.
And it was then, at that world parallel to our own -- that land at the end of the endless night -- Ava was saved.
All the hues of the black night seemed to swirl about her as she fell. Her eyes, though closed, can see the star-flecked darkness as her body sped by. She was free falling to the next good place. And to herself, she kept saying over and over again, "Anywhere --- anywhere but here." On her lips, it was a prayer of salvation.
She fell for what seemed like eternity until she realized there was supposed to be a hold somewhere. A catch in time that she must reach out to so she can exit oblivion. Her hands pried the empty space in front of her, furiously searching for a latch, a thread or a rip in the fabric of the night which can stop her fall. An opening to the next world. A much hoped for escape.
She realized though that the more she flails, the harder it was to move. She stopped moving then, and forced herself to pretend she was jst floating on a dark ocean. Her searching hands went from erratic fumbling to gentle probing. Her body -- it was swimming. And her hands -- they were caressing the space as if touching a longed-for lover.
And there it was. A small hole in the inky wall that surrounds her. Enough for her littlest finger to poke through. And doing so, her fall has come to an end.
All she had to do was to open her eyes and she was there.
At the brink of the endless night. Facing the crevice filled with a million parallel dimensions. Behind her, there was a forest. Each tree had branches heavy with fruit. All ripe for her picking and choosing. The rule was you choose one. And you bite into it. That is your Dream you taste in your mouth. It becomes your life for the limited time you spend at the land of the never after. Reaching out, she plucked from a gnarled limb a silvery fruit. Its skin was swirling and alternating dark and bright. She bit into it and she was gone again for the second time.
In the world she entered, there was no light. She stumbled around as her eyes tried to search a source of illumination. It took her some time to see a faint glow from somewhere ahead of her. She took one careful step after the other. She could feel the grass crush against her bare feet. While she traversed the path, the light became dim and it started to pulse. Fading one moment and returning the next. She walked close enough to see the lake and the source of the eerie light. Her breath caught on her throat as she understood what she was seeing.
In the world she entered, the Moon was Drowning.
Mother! Sister! O Ancient One!
Near the deep part of the lake, a woman floated sans clothes. Her hair was caught amongst the rushes, and and on her waist there was a heavy chain. The Moon was trying to rise, but is pulled in deeper everytime. The pale face turned towards her and she saw the Moon's ethereal eyes pleading. Without words, the Moon screamed for help.
"Save her." said a man's voice.
She turned around to face a stranger. A shock of violet seized her as his gaze bored through her. He was tall and he was diminutive and he was white and he was dark all at the same time. "Save her, loved one." On his back, his wings unfurled. Feathered perfection, as black as his hair.
Behind him, a murder of crows rose to the skies. They crowed and they shrieked, "Now! Now!""
"The moon must rise tonight." He spoke again. " Save her, Ava."
"Now! Now! Now!"
She, Ava, tried to obey. She waded into the lake, determined to reach the drowning Moon. About her, the waters turned murkier. It began to boil. From beneath, things were rising.
"Too late." a toad croaked out. "Too late."
Suddenly, there were scores of them. All singing the same song without ceasing. "Too late. You're late." And beneath Ava, dark creatures continued to emerge from the lake.
"You must help me!" Ava cried out to the man.
Even from afar, she saw the pain in the man's eyes. "You must call me to your aid, dearest. You must call me by my name. I am powerless to help if you do not."
Ava sobbed and tried to swallow her frustration. "But I do not know your name! I do not know who you are!"
The man's face filled with grief. "But you do, my Dawning. Your heart must know."
She shook her head. Tears ran down her cheeks freely now. "I do not." She watched as the monsters from the deep approached her to block her way to the Moon. They were grotesque, each and everyone of them.
"The Moon must rise. There must be light in the darkness. Or the Gray Ones, the evil kind, will reign free. You kno what to do. You must find a way to save the Her." The man said. "If only you can remember my name, Ava. I can help you. It is I who have traded my freedom of flight to be near you. I who you have taught to speak and to touch and to live. I who was barred to you for all eternity when you chose Mortality. Know me."
The creatures were so near her now. From them, Ava felt their intent to drown her just as the Moon was. They were going to bring her down there with them. She struggled to think. The man said she knows what to do. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the field of stars in the other worlds. All her kin. In that quiet place, once again, she searched for a hand hold.
Her palms began to burn. They itched and stung. Her skin felt as if it wanted to break free. There was -- a flicker iside her. After a while it became a mounting fire that threatened to burn her inside out. Her head felt as if it will burst with pain. When she opened her eyes, she screamed. And with her voice, the sun rose from her palms and the world exploded into light.
The creatures balked.
The Moon, her light ever a reflection of the sun, soaked in the rays. It was her rejuvenator. She glowed a brighter silver. The rushes that caught her hair burnt with a silent fire that turned them white then turned them to dust. The chains about her waist glowed blue as if frozen and then broke. Redeemed, the Moon rose from the lake. She faced Ava and smiled with silent gratitude. Then she rose higher until Her light covered the world. The creatures sank down into the lake once again, frightened and beaten. The lake turned solid under the moonlight, forever sealing the monsters deep within.
And yet Ava was not saved. She was still half immersed into the hardened lake. She can still feel slippery tentacles pulling at her feet. The monsters want her to stay down there with them. The Moon was free, but now, the Star was not.
She was exhausted now. The sun she called forth expended her will and her energy. She needs help. She needs him.
As if to hear her, the Moon blew her a bauble. An jewel-orb that glowed and glided towards her then embedded itself straight into her chest. She felt the light seeping into her very center. Her soul was expanding. The walls inside her cracked until it finally gave way. Then she knew.
"Oh, Seth. To me, love. To me." her voice, tired as she was, came only as a whisper. Her eyes closed and she felt herself sinking. But she heard the unfurling of wings and she felt strong hands about her not a second later. It was only when she felt solid ground on her feet, did she dare move. She opened her eyes, and she saw him.
"Seth?"
A smile flickered on his lips. "I am here." he answered. His hands did not fall away from her. They both did not want to move.
And it was then, at that world parallel to our own -- that land at the end of the endless night -- Ava was saved.
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