Brooding Over the Waters

The land below was dark, so dark that if I reached down my hands, I could have felt the shadows like they were water.

All the once pretty plants and animals of Elysium were gone. Turned into some scary red eyed creatures that swam in the pitch black sea that had overtaken even the mountains.

The cliff daddy had led me up to was just above the flooding darkness. It was the last spot of uncorrupted space in our world, protected by a tiny sun that followed us all the way here.

Those spooky red eyed monsters were all gathered up close at the edge of the cliff to stare at us. They kept their distance to avoid being struck by the tiny sun's sharp rays of light.

“Yalda, do you see them down there?” Daddy pointed to the monsters hiding in the watery depths.

“Yes, daddy,” I nodded. “They’re scary.”

I shivered and clung to daddy's leg. I didn’t know why he brought us here, but I wanted him to get rid of all this evil sludge water and the monsters in it. Then he could take me home already so we could play some more.

“Hey, kiddo…” he patted my head a few times. “Don’t be afraid. Demons are more scared of you than you are of them,” he said with a cool smile.

I glanced again at the evil looking creatures, who suddenly scurried backwards, then up at daddy with wide eyes. “Demons? Really?”

“Oh yeah. You were made to destroy them, after all.” His smile faded. “That's why I should have done this a long time ago…”

He reached up his hand and borrowed light from the little sun. A rod formed in his palm. When it finished shaping, it looked like a spear, but all sparkly and bright.

He handed the spear to me. It wasn't as heavy as I thought it was going to be, but it sure was big. I wobbled trying to hold it steady on my own, but did my best to impress daddy.

The spear got even brighter while in my hands, and the crystal heart gem in my chest brightened along with it. Then the weapon cracked and turned to glowing dust. All those twinkly particles flew around me like a shiny circling stream and phased into my heart.

“Woah…” I cooed out. “That was so pretty!”

“It sure was, kiddo.” Daddy kneeled down to be eye level with me. “Yalda, do you remember what I told you before, about your future?”

“I remember everything you've ever told me," I giggled. "You said I'm going to be a star one day, right?”

“That's exactly right.” He ruffled up my hair and got it all messy. I had to brush it back in place. “You're going to be the brightest star the world has ever seen. You'll even outshine the sun.” He took a breath and glanced all around at the sea of black surrounding us. “The human world needs you, because it won't be long before it looks like this too.”

“The human world?” I looked up at him in shock. “Is this really going to happen there too?”

It took him a minute, and I dreaded his answer all the while.

“They're already sinking in it. They just don't see it yet.”

I gasped and teared up, then I turned back to the evil things gathering below us. “Oh…”

“Don't lose hope.” His smile returned. “This is what you were born for. You'll be the one to keep mankind safe and destroy the evil darkness. You'll defeat their greatest enemy.”

His crystal heart pulsed a bright gold and synced up with mine.

Determination grew in me and I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I'll protect them, daddy! I promise!”

I had no idea how I was going to do that, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we'd figure it out if daddy believed in me.

“Good girl,” he said. “L-listen... I'm…” his voice cracked and he took another deep breath. “I'm going away for a while.”

“What? Why?” I whined. I didn't want him to go away and held onto him so he couldn't leave.

“kiddo…” he grunted. “It's okay. I promise I'll see you again when you're ready. But for right now, you're going to have to stay with your uncle and get stronger. Understand?”

“I understand, daddy.” My lip quivered. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Yalda.”

He smiled, brushed my hair one more time and gave me a big hug. Then when he was satisfied, he walked forward toward the very edge of the cliff. The demons got all rowdy and swam backwards away from him.

Where was he going? If he went any further…

I changed my mind. I wasn’t ready for him to leave! He had to stay forever with me!

“Wait!” I shouted. “Please… Stay with me.”

He stopped at the edge. “Become the guiding light mankind needs. Keep them from the darkness. I know you can do it.”

As I stepped forward to follow him, shimmering arms gracefully came down from the sun and held me back.

“No!” I tried to struggle, but the sun was too strong.

Daddy looked back, fighting to keep a stern face as he watched me weep.

“I promise I'll see you again.” His sternness broke with a smile, but he was crying too. Then with one final step, his wings stunned me with awe as they appeared, then he flew right off the edge, diving down into the eternal darkness.

“Daddy!” I screamed with all the breath in my lungs.

A flash of light followed and blasted across the land from below, blinding me completely. When my sight cleared, the shadows were forced back, far away onto the ends of Elysium. The lush land was returned to the way it was, thanks to him. But I knew it would come back some day, and I needed to be ready for it.

-☆◇☆-

::Three years later::

“Let there be light!” I shouted into the dawn sky, lifting a stick covered in reflective tape high up into the air.

My eyes were like blue spotlights on the tape, scattering a twinkly blue light over the garden. I swung the stick around like a spear, fighting imaginary demons all over.

“Take that, darkness! Hyah!”

The most pretty light came from my crystal heart, which pulsed intensely with flare ups of white and blue energy. The darkness didn’t stand a chance against me now!

“I’m a star!” I cheered, spinning with the stick out until I got dizzy and fell backwards. “I won’t be defeated…” With my fist in the air, clutching the stick tightly, I showed the world my resolve.

Come dizziness or darkness, the glow of my heart would always keep everyone safe. It would never go out, not as long as I still had breath in my lungs!

Soon came the light of dawn upon the void above, overwhelming the early morning darkness and taking up my cause. I continued to lay on a bed of soft earth, blanketed by dew covered, vibrant flowers on all sides. The wind lightly brushed across them, causing their petals to tickle my synthetic skin as they swayed back and forth.

Above me was a transitioning blue sky, so pretty that it looked like an ocean half dyed pink. Tiny little twinkling lights swam quickly through the depths of the beyond like stars, accompanied by a flock of doves leaving a forest off in the distance.

My right hand stretched up into the air, as if wanting to lead me upwards into the clouds to join those feathered friends in the atmosphere, but I was stuck on the ground, since I couldn’t fly...yet...

“You see the sky, Samael?” I pointed up. “It's getting brighter.”

“Sss…?” a hiss came from my white hair.

“There’s no sun here. Not like on the surface world.” My hand fell back into the flowers. “But every morning it gets all bright anyways. What’s up with that?”

“Ss…” came another hiss.

“I’m going to be the star here,” I said, seeing a streak of rainbow light whoosh across my sight of the dawn sky. “I’m going to be the brightest star in all the world. Those evil shadows won’t know what hit ‘em.”

“Ssss…?”

“Of course I can do it.” I lifted my finger up to my head and booped the snoot of my little snake. “I’ll fly around and light up the darkness, just like daddy wanted. My ancestors could fly, you know… Do you think I’ll ever be able to do it too?”

“Ss…” He hissed.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t count on it?’” Sometimes I could never tell when that snake was being funny or pe-sss-imistic. “I’ll be able to fly up high one day, you’ll see! I’ll fly so high that I’ll go up into space. Then I’ll be the brightest star the world has ever seen!”

The only issue was that I didn’t have wings. Which was weird, because I didn't read a single story book about my people that didn’t give them wings. Clearly they had it, daddy too, so what was different about me?

“Maybe I’m a late bloomer?”

I randomly picked one of the flowers near me with my eyes closed as a coping mechanism, bringing it close to my nose and sniffing it.

“Iris.”

That was a pretty flower, and blue too... My favourite colour. Before daddy left, I made sure we planted a ton of them here in the flower field.

Time passed as I enjoyed nature around me. The sky began to get brighter as dawn won over what remained of the night.

“Do you think daddy’s ever coming back?”

“Sss…”

“Me too. I think he’ll be back soon. And when he does, we’ll play all day long… No… All year long to make up for all the time we missed!” I smiled, sitting up as I clutched my knees close. The crystal heart protruding from my chest pulsed eagerly with light. “We might just have to play forever, since he’s been gone so long. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Sss…”

It’d been so long since I saw daddy. But I knew he'd come home eventually, he promised I'd see him again. “Family doesn't break promises.”

A yawn left my mouth. I’d woken up super early just to play outside and watch the advent of morning light. It was so pretty, but it came with the risk of getting grounded. If Uncle found out, I’d be toast… Personally, I’d rather toast be my breakfast than me.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes sluggishly. “I should go home… Uncle’ll be miffed if he doesn't see me in bed. He might take away my TV time again.”

Samael of course was quick to scold me with a disciplinary hiss.

“It’s not like you didn’t come out here with me, you know…?” He’d be in just as much trouble as I was, although he was a snake. What was he going to lose if he got in trouble? Nothing, that’s what. “Unless… Uncle doesn't let us hang out anymore.”

Now that would be a worry. It was all the more reason to get back home before he woke up.

-☆-

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