Chapter Nineteen
I was floating like a feather, cascading down from the sky into a pool of diamond light. Warm air hugged the Earth, comforting its craters, mountains, and vast lands, blanketing the world with protection, saving whatever was left from evil. An evil that had ripped through every inch and surface of remaining peace that now rested in the hands of someone who took refuge in the clouds—time looped in endless circles, waiting for the circuit to break. To break free from the leather cuffs and the fire suffocating the lands. Until there was nothing left but smoke and ash.
My body rose from the debris, followed by buds of flowers growing with me. They began to bloom, from red tulips, daisies, and lilacs to morning glories of vibrant shades of reds, yellows, and oranges. The sky above was the bluest I’d ever seen; no cloud disrupted its beauty. The heat from the sun’s rays warmed my skin as I walked barefoot through the soft, green grass. Each blade tickled my toes and kept my balance steady. I wore a white sundress; it clung to my skin protectively like a suit of armor. My hair fell in loose curls on my back, a delicate breeze escaping a few strands from behind my ear, dancing in the wind. I continued to walk through the open field, with no real destination but to wallow in the senses of what was around me.
Closing my eyes to feel the warmth on my eyelids, I trekked in silence, breathing in the scents of freshly cut grass and newly bloomed flowers. The air never smelled so clean and calming. I was afraid to open my eyes to find all of it gone. For just a few moments of bliss without the chaotic life waiting for me whenever this place decided to kick me out.
I wandered ahead with my eyes closed for a long time, using my other senses to bask in the peaceful sounds and floral smells. Paradise. That was precisely what the place reminded me of.
An endless trip of eternal bliss, sun, beautiful flowers, and the bluest sky. Then my feet began to touch the pavement, a surprise that had me open my eyes to a giant white oak looming over where I stood. The leaves barely made a sound from the timid wind. A white bench made from a birch tree was perfectly stationed just underneath, on which sat a woman so otherworldly, any model would envy her looks. Her skin glowed in the sunlight, almost luminescent. Her hair, a brilliant shade of red, tumbled down and around her shoulders. She wore a similar white dress and a pair of light brown sandals as she rested casually on the bench.
At first, I didn’t think she was aware of my presence, as she continued to look ahead as I approached, but a smile slowly crept upon her full lips, indicating she very well knew.
“Remi, please come sit,” she instructed kindly. Her voice sounded like a thousand angels singing in a choir at Sunday service. A sound I hadn’t heard since my grams brought me as a little girl. It took my breath away.
I followed her instructions silently, afraid to shatter the moment with my average voice. Her hands rested on her knees as we stared straight ahead, watching the flowers sway in the breeze. The absence of fear resonated deep within my bones while sharing a bench with this stranger.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she finally said.
I peered slightly to my left, watching her intently, and said, “You have?”
She nodded once, the smile never faltering. “Yes, my child. Your path had been chosen before your birth. Regardless of how far you strayed, I ensured certain obstacles put you back.”
“I don’t understand. Am I dead?” If it were true, I wished Grams had greeted me at the pearly gates.
“Not dead, but reborn.” Her smile never faltered.
Looking around once more, I noticed a marble structure in the distance.
“Remi?”
“It’s just… I thought I would see my grams here.”
“I’m sorry, my child. She is not allowed to be here.”
A strange wave of emotion came over me, prickling my skin with tiny goosebumps. If Grams were exiled from whatever this place was, could it mean she ended up in… hell?
She touched my cheek, her palm feeling the finest silk as she looked into my eyes. “I’ve shown you the beginning.”
Her unexpected change in subject brought more questions than answers. “I’m sorry… I don’t understand.”
It was the first time since arriving at the beautifully carved bench that she truly looked at me, wearing the brightest smile. Lush green eyes swirled in the sunlight, her complexion flawless, like her presence. Freckles kissed her nose and cheeks. She was the epitome of holy, a rare purity that became somewhat blinding, but her hair, the color of fire, was familiar to me, yet I could not recall why.
“Let me show you,” she said.
“Wait—”
A bright light obscured my vision, and I felt like I was being pulled through a vortex, spinning uncontrollably until my mind suddenly became clear in a memory that wasn’t my own but one I’d had many times before.
Once again, a beautiful redheaded female approached the two-story building made of gray stone with wide wooden doors. Snow fell sporadically, coating the ground and dead trees. Her hand was about to reach the handle when that familiar voice called out to her.
“You made it.”
But I couldn’t see him; I was too busy staring at her. My breath hitched in my throat as she turned, her hair moving across her back, and the same lush green eyes pierced through me.
Realization hit as I returned to the beautiful meadow, her hand still pressed against my cheek. Her smile was warm like the sun, but her eyes seemed sad, as if she, too, were watching the same memory she showed me.
“It’s you,” I breathed.
Her hand finally left my face. “Yes, it’s me.”
I shook my head, disbelief coating my tongue. “This can’t be real. None of this can be real.” The woman I often saw when I dreamed sat mere inches from me on the bench, the essence of beauty.
“It is very real, Remi. It was real the first time you saw that Magidoz demon outside that night.”
An intense wave of shock rocked my body. The gruesome memory of the sludge-like beast in the alleyway, claws scraping against the brick walls, stalking in a stance that only made sense to a lion about to kill its prey. Her knowing something I never spoke of to anyone…
I inhaled a shaky breath, tears threatening to escape. “I don’t want this. Please. I can’t.” The floodgates opened wide as tears escaped my eyes, and my chest tightened with fear. I never told anyone about the creature, and her knowing what I saw made everything all too real.
“What we fear often makes us stronger,” she said softly.
I wiped my eyes aggressively, taking deep breaths to calm my emotions. “What I fear shouldn’t exist.”
“They exist because one could not simply let the world be.” She rose from the bench, extending a hand to me. “Come, we must go now.”
I hesitated, looking at her open hand. “What if I don’t want this anymore?”
She shocked me by lifting my chin, her bright green eyes fierce with emotion. “You have the strength of thousands of Scarlets within you. Harness their power and embrace yours.”
Wide-eyed and unsure, nonetheless, I clutched her hand as she led me further into the meadow. Cobblestone pathways jutted in different directions, but she kept us on the path in the middle, the forest thickening the further we explored. Light started to fade, the temperature decreased, and my arms were raised with goosebumps. Colors were less vibrant, fading into grays and blacks; even the sky’s blue lost its intensity, and an uneasy feeling formed in my gut.
“Where are you taking me?” I questioned. The once beautiful meadow I arrived at did not compare to the gloomy, almost death-like atmosphere now.
“Autumndare Lake. The Blessing isn’t complete,” she clarified.
All at once, the tree’s leaves fell from the now-dead branches, coating the cobblestone path in blood red. Soon, the way widened into an oval-shaped lake, the water lapping against jutted rocks along the shoreline. The path ended with a set of stone stairs, where we stopped, her hand still clasped with mine.
A cold breeze sent loose strands of my hair dancing in the wind. I wanted to run the other way, but my body was cemented in place. “How is it not completed?”
I never got my answer, as the water lapped aggressively against the rocky shoreline, spilling on the dead grass, spraying my feet. The wind picked up, nipping at my cheeks, making the dead leaves fly around, creating an almost mini tornado. A once peaceful oasis veered in the opposite direction, representing the very pits of the underworld.
“The final purification is in Autumndare Lake.” She let go of my hand then, waiting for me to enter the water.
But I hesitated, not on board with the plan. “And if I say no?”
Her hand squeezed my shoulder, just enough to indicate she understood my fear, but instead of comforting words, she guided me herself into the ice-cold water.
The water lapped on my thighs, and my breath hitched from the freezing temperature, goosebumps coating my skin. We walked until it touched just below my breasts, my teeth chattering.
She turned away from me abruptly then, gazing off into the distance, and said, “She who wields, the rest shall follow.”
Puzzled, I watched her attention come back to me. I had no time to respond, as the water began to swirl around my body, pulling me into the current.
Without warning, she put two fingers in the middle of my forehead. “Remember when you need to, not when you have to.”
My vision started to become hazy. “Wait! Please!”
“Remember when you need to.”
Blackness began to creep in, clouding every sense, the water coming in bigger waves, submerging my head. When I broke the surface, I gulped a lungful of air, shouting, “Stop! Please!”
She barely moved an inch, the waves avoiding her altogether. “Not when you have to.”
I got sucked under, my air supply cut off, the memory of her stone face engraved inside my head. I tried to swim to the surface, my arms thrashing along with my legs, but the water was too strong no matter how hard I fought against it. All at once, my strength withered, the last of my oxygen dissipated, and I started to sink, water entering my mouth. The outer edges of my vision turned black, closing in, ready to face the unknown, or most likely death, but before I succumbed to the comfort of nothingness, beyond the veil of haze, a soft, golden glow illuminated before me.
I sank deeper, my hand outstretched, as my eyelids closed with the final memory of the golden glow coming from my fingertips.