M A E V E
- ✦ -
I
am running. But really, I'm pretending I'm flying.The full moon is above us, the light shining down and bathing everything in its ethereal light. I bask in it and it makes me feel more alive. Rory isn't normally up this late, but he flies nearly in line with me. His wings are my wings as we both soar forward. I can see many heads turning in the corner of my eye as we race the beach, kicking up sand and water as I go. I guess it might look strange for a girl and a hawk to be running together, but I don't care.
This is the first time in a while that I feel free. I don't really know how to explain it, but I just do. For once, the trauma of the island doesn't plague my thoughts and there are no embers sparking at my feet. I feel like who I was before all of this, who I feel I should be. The bonfires lining the beach seem to fly with me, although I still keep a safe distance. I don't feel that afraid though.
I am running and I close my eyes. I let the water spray my face and it cools my skin. I can hear Rory make a disgruntled sound as some of the water hits him too, but I just giggle at him.
I am running until something gets under my hoof and then I'm falling and sliding. I snap my eyes open just as something sharp slices through my heels with my awkward landing. Before anyone might notice my fall, I quickly get up, wincing from the pain in my legs.
Rory stops and hovers over me, looking at me with concern in his eyes. "I'm okay… I think," I mutter softly, feeling foolish. I can feel pain in my chest as the mark the island monster left stings a little too.
I notice the bonfires flickering differently now. I don't know how to explain it, but it's almost as if the flames are now pointing towards me, beckoning me closer. They appear softer and less menacing as usual too. I feel scared, but something tells me I should go forward anyway even if it's very slowly.
So I do and Rory watches from a nearby post. With each step, I expect to feel the heat of the fire wanting to singe my skin, but it doesn't. Instead, I start to feel the stinging in my chest ebb away. When I'm close enough to the fire that it should be hurting me, I look down and notice that mark on my chest is gone. I have to blink a few times to see that it's truly gone.
Without really understanding what's happening, I lift the leg I scraped up and watch as the scrapes disappear. The pain does too and I'm left with more questions than answers.
I'm thankful that it's Elena who's come to my side then, although now I guess I don't need any help after my fall. If it had been Momma, I'm not sure what I would've said.
"Elena… d-do you know what's happening to me?" I ask her, even if she doesn't have a clue.
she listens to wind secrets
and echoes of distant star songs
