The sky had opened up in a torrent of rain, twinged just a bit with melancholy. People passing by commented on the woman standing in the middle of the square, but Ariel gave them no notice. For over an hour, she had just stood there, head thrown back and eyes closed, letting the rain wash over her as it disguised the wetness on her cheeks. The subtle fire that burned in her, usually a fierce burning light, barely managed to keep the rain at bay.
Her heart lay in shattered pieces littering the ground, haunting the shadows.
She had given up everything for him, the chance to save her brother, her sanity. And he had dumped her.
“I’m so sorry, Sky…” She lapses back to silence, retreating further into herself. His screams of pain had been dulled by distance; they were a but an ache now, both to her head and heart. A whisper amongst the screams, though, had finally broken through.
Sleep, and come to me.
She sighs again, and her fire burns just a bit brighter and hotter. She picks up her bag and slings it once again across her back, setting off at a brisk pace towards the hotel.
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“Enjoy your stay with us, Miss Parker!” The bell man says a bit too exuberantly as he closes the door. Ariel looks around at her room, her heart breaking just a bit more. It would be the pretty much the first time since she had come to
She drops her bag on one of the chairs, heading straight for the bed. The whisper had become nagging and insistent; her only hope was to surrender… And pray she didn’t remember the dream in the morning. She doesn’t even bother to strip as she pulls back the sheets and slips between them. Her hand hits the radio as she falls into an exhausted sleep…
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She stands in the midst of seemingly open space, dark and dank. Her eyes can find no distinguishable feature among the endless shades of grey. Soft crooning words reach her eyes, a hauntingly familiar tune wrapping itself around them.
Do you even know who you are?
A rising dream or a falling star?
Is life good to you, or is it bad?
Do you even know what you have?
She whips her head around, searching for the source of the words; she turns around and around, but finds nothing.
“Oh, Rora, you haven’t changed a bit!” A child’s voice chortles gleefully, and she spins around. A young boy of no more than ten is standing there, staring at her with deep pools of emerald eyes. “You’ve gotten taller, but you’re still a silly little kid.”
“Sky!” She hurries to him, but he motions her to stop. She hits her knees, regarding him closely, before spilling once again into her apologies. “Oh, Sky, I’m so sorry! I…I couldn’t save you both. And I choose them.”
“Silly Rora!” He laughs again, but the child-like aura he had fades away. “You made the choice with your heart, Rora. That makes it right.”
“But Sky-”
“But nothing. You made the right decision.” He regards her kindly, his gaze so familiar, but she can’t place it. It was certainly not the ten-year old she remembered. He was…more. “Blessed are those who walk the path of love, for they shall never falter. Remember that, Rora.
“The old man was right, too. The answers to your questions, even the ones you don’t know you have, lay within the flame. But do not fear, little Rora; the fire only purifies, it does not burn.”
She regards him quizzically, but nods anyways. He smiles benevolently at her, his gaze locked with hers. She gasps, clutching at her chest as a surge of undying love and devotion surge through her. He chuckles softly, and raises his gaze.
“Rora, there’s someone you need to meet. You will know her name, even if you don’t know her face. She will be your greatest ally and confidant, and the final catalyst for your change.”
“My…My change? What?” Sky chuckles softly, and shakes his head.
“The flame, Rora, the flame. It calls for you, even now; your true self can feel it, and interprets it as something your initiate self can understand.”
“You…”
“Yes, me. I’m trapped in there, Rora. One day, promise me, you’ll free us all.”
She nods resolutely, reaching out a tentative hand to brush his unruly blonde hair back from his face. He smiles softly at her.
“Thank you Sky… You saved me that day.”
“Hush, silly! I was doing what any big brother would… Just don’t get me killed again.” He chuckles softly, and presses a stone into her hand. She looks at it, and inhales sharply; the stone is shaped in a tribal style of a phoenix, the pinkish brown hue so reminiscent of…him. Sky smiles brightly at her, she smiles back, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“From the ashes of defeat, the Guardian rises again to walk the path.”
She blinks at him, unsure. He chuckles, and lays his hand on her forehead, as if in benediction.
“Believe in yourself, in your instincts, and you shall never falter. Never hate, Rora, for the path of love is your path; but I warn you, sister, it is the most difficult and loneliest of journeys. That’s what most people don’t get about true love.
“Your fire is bright, you are ready once more; your city calls for you, but will you answer?”
She looks up at him curiously, then murmurs, “My city… My city of heroes.”
He nods.
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Ariel murmurs sleepily as the dawn filters through the open window, flaring brilliantly across her face. She rubs at her eyes, then her temple, the dull throb of screaming still ripping through her senses. The radio still blares loudly; usually she would ignore it, but the words catch her attention:
“Do you even know who you are?
A borrowed dream or a superstar?
Is life good to you, or is it bad?
Do you even know what you have?”
Ariel just stares at the radio, completely dumbfounded. Suddenly, a piercing whisper cuts through her mind, and she screams.
I know who you are, Guardian.
The pain is gone as soon as abruptly as it comes, but she still sits there for several moments, trying to understand everything as parts of her dream filter through her consciousness.
She glances over at the bed…And stares at the opposite pillow in complete astonishment. There, on a delicate golden chain, lays the stone phoenix. She snatches at it quickly, wrapping her hand around it tightly as she stares at the red dawn.
She murmurs softly, “City…city of heroes.” But the screams rip through her with renewed vehemence, and in desperation, she grabs her Oz teleporter…
((To be continuted.))
((Lyrics © “Lonely Girl” by Pink ))
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