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Chapter 1
Falling but it’s not love
Anyone can fall in love, even the immortals. Is something I’ve learned before many others, as for luck was on my side. The feeling of the clouds in your heart as you soar into the depths of the sea, that's the best I can explain this feeling, maybe one day I can explain it more. More could be something greater as the future awaits my heart's discoveries, explaining the reason my heart almost stops when they walk in the room or how I feel like melting when they embrace me. I do agree though love is a strange thing, I used to believe I wasn’t meant for it that it was a waste of my time, oh how they proved me wrong with such words. One day we’ll look back at this and laugh until tomorrow’s sun arrives but for now I suppose a story is needed, you might need to sit down. For my story of love was an adventure of its own.
“Maybe this was a bad idea”. The sea, a never ending blue that contrasted against the blue sky that tightly held the clouds of cotton only letting go for the wind to fly away with them. I wish I could fly away and be free like a bird, oh to not be held in a cage I called home but maybe this will let me glide across the endless sea and let my troubles subside. “Oh stop it! Can’t a woman give herself a pep talk?” My words of courage felt more like a goodbye to myself as I stared back at this ugly mutt of a being. It’s horns, almost of steel pointing right at me. The eyes of pure darkness let me see the reflection of my dreadful state, body of a human but a head of fur, and don’t get me started on the beings outfit, it's barely covering anything, just a raggedy old cloth.
Its breath faded within the air as the gold around the nose jingled with it. “And, like what did I do to you again?” my question being answered with the once placed down axe being slowly pointed at me, just like the horns. “Just the unlucky victim of you blowing off steam, huh” I don’t even know if it understands me, maybe this was just a way of comfort who knows. “Alright alright i’ll be off” stumbling towards me almost as if deciding to shed my blood would be better for its tantrum.
Taking my presumed last deep breaths I slowly step closer to the edge once again peering down at the ocean, maybe I should have learned to swim? Maybe I should have eaten breakfast, the best meal of the day. Oh well and that's that. Rocking back and forth on my heels my knuckles turn white from squeezing my thumbs to hard, “I change my mind, I don’t want to die” turning around only to be faced with the cold metal of the Baquix’s weapon and nothing was behind me, making the world spin.
It was cold, like a hug from death. Though death would be much kinder. Salt filled my senses as it was all I could taste, a taste of pain. It was cold, holding no comfort. I could see the sun glowing above, enticing me to swim for it, only if I could reach it. The cold was replaced by pain, it hurt like I swallowed a pit of fire without a second thought, the light began to fade and all I saw was the welcoming feeling of the darkness.
My throat hurts, I can’t stop heaving, I don’t know where I am and there are so many unfamiliar faces I can't. I need to go home, someone help anyone I don’t know where I am. “You alright there Ma’am?” No I beg of you, please be a mind reader, please be a mind reader “well I suppose not since, you know..” Not a mind reader but a human with the head of a bird, I don’t know what bird but definitely a funky looking bird maybe I do want a mind reader. How is there a human bird? Asking the wrong person bud, but the pain of the unknown and his ability to not finish sentences felt like a stab wound. “You’re dead” that's impossible, death comes for all at some point in life but I don’t think my time is up yet. That’s a lie I swear on it, “Don’t suppose you got any coins on you?” a coin of gold I suppose he thinks, such a valuable thing for being so small I suppose a life is the same in a sense, “um..no” In fact I still lived with my mom, pathetic at 19.
“Good! This isn’t any of that greek stuff” now
colour me confused, either this man is insane or well.. I got nothing “Greek?” I just want home, away from this man who only fogs my mind with Death, “Sorry alternate universe, top secrets so shhh” gesturing to keep quiet with his mouth and pointer finger, quite the odd man if I do say so myself especially with that top hat. “If i’m dead then who does that make you?” clearly It looked like I offended him, maybe I’m not the best with first impressions, “Amir, God of time? ring any bells?” Definitely hallucinating why would he be here of all places, “I’m just covering for Malik” I finally take a look around me only to realize he is covering for one of the two ferryman, I am indeed on a boat floating across a river that looks like a starless void, oh how I would love to jump in. “You’re covering for him?” odd thing, it’s not like Gods can get sick, or die, right? “It’s his anniversary” peculiar never knew Gods cared about such little things, the more you know. “Weird dream… weird dream” still not convinced of the wonders of this realm, it’s all just a hallucination I know it. “So if I'm really dead, where is this all mighty Saros?”
“Oh you’ll meet him, everyone does” A busy man he sounded like, maybe the answer to the my question, the one i’ve been seeking for this whole time, “Well, this is our stop” jerking forward the feeling of gravity left my entire existence leaving me to a nose bleed, or a face plant as you would call it, “Before you yell at me Aelan, I don’t know how to control the boat” I wasn’t focused on the fact the pigeon couldn’t use a boat, but the fact he knew my name “I didn’t tell you..” I was standing on the dock we perched on, with the boat nowhere in sight except the small lantern in the distance “my name…” my name of a flower, a delicate being, exactly how I feel right now, Like a single touch will break me and I hate it. I was alone with nothing but the dark void and this broken dock. “I guess the only way is forward” and away I went. It felt like an eternity of walking along the cracking dock with the constant worry of falling into the never ending darkness ,for its years of existence maintenance was for sure lacking. The ground beneath me drastically changed from the spongy rotten wood to the soft texture of sand, being the missing stars to the void that surrounded this place.
The sound of chattering filled my senses as the surrounding area was full of many people alike, around 30 to 50. Children running up and down the shore stopping every now and again to make sandcastles or dig for some non-existent treasure, adults holding conversations with one another and most in words I could never understand. I need the map through this maze of walking, and that map was the certain someone catching my eye, a woman dressed in white robes stood with a group of others, throwing her dark curls back in the wonders of laughter, and I mean she gives those vibes of being the smart kid, so I can definitely trust her. Gaining the courage to approach the lady was a huge issue and I mean huge, they were having fun! I can’t ruin that. “Um Miss” giggling as she looked down at me made me almost die again, she was tall and I mean towering over people tall, we don’t talk about how I didn’t notice earlier “I have no clue where I’m going”, another giggle erupted from throat laughing at my obliviousness “Dear There’s a sign” and what do you know a sign was perched above the entrance of a dirt path, surrounded by wheat tall enough for hide and seek, a game where I can hide forever in my thoughts with no worries of the next day.
“My apologies” spinning on my heel as a attempt to stop the endless thoughts trying to guilt trip me into asking an unwanted question for an unwanted answer, but I suppose It’s best to give in or I wouldn’t be able to sleep that night, “If I’m supposed to go this wayyyy” She stopped in her tracks to acknowledge my words, as if making sure getting to my destination was her priority above all else, “Then why are you all here?” I asked the forbidden question, you never ask a person why they came “Honey, the souls whose time weren’t up yet stay here until it is” now that’s just silly ,denying someone the privilege of getting whatever is down that path because they're not supposed to be dead? wow just rude, “Now run along now, time doesn’t stop for nobody” Oh I’ve met him, definitely seems like he would just for the fun of it to be honest, maybe he has before and the whole timeline is ruined, who knows what I do know is, this path won’t walk itself. The feeling of being chased down in this wheat field felt very high, and I hated every moment of it.
Maybe an invention for faster transportation was needed because my legs decided to give up, and Now I’m here forcing myself to walk, “STUPID BRIDGE AND STUPID FIELD” Screaming until my lungs burst won’t help, and neither will screaming for help, as I’m definitely hours away from the shore and any person for that matter. I just want to go home and lay on my bed until I pass out counting multiple sheep and looking at constellations hoping for a better tomorrow, a tomorrow that didn’t come for me and never will in a billion and more years. My vision better not have been messing with me cause I definitely see a building up ahead like a temple of sorts, a temple I call dibs on.
I like to think I left those suckers in the dust, even if no one was with me at any point I still raced for the door and when I told you I caused a scene, I lied. I just ran into a door, how embarrassing is that? Honestly who put that door there, pfft not me. Wiping away the trail of blood running from my nose like a river, I knocked ever so loudly to make sure I was heard, If my body slam wasn’t enough. “You’ll have to wait a bit” as fast as the person opened the door it was closed once again, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts. I can’t imagine what’s behind this door but what I do know is that the comfort of the recreation of the night sky I was so used to above really made me wonder, If i’ll see such a thing again, but deep down I knew that answer.