Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.
She awakes with the sun.
She had dreamt of the moon and the stars.
There is a piece of her that delighted in the free fall between sleep and wakefulness. She had told her father last night, that she did not want him to visit her dreams anymore, that any nightmares she was having, she needed to learn to handle on her own. She told him she was growing up. Her mother had leaned against her father in that moment in the way that she always did, a silent comfort for him as his daughter tried desperately not to hurt him, but wonders if she did all the same.
The three of them, her family, they explore the day, her mother tells her a story about Legado the great, but she was not paying attention. She was watching as a bumble bee floated close to a flower before deciding to land, she was wondering what made him choose that one. Her father talks about constellations that would appear tonight, and Elli only nods her head, watching as blades of grass bend against the wind and pop up and down as the rain starts to fall.
They go inside, her father does tricks, her waters the flowers in her father’s house, teases him how he managed to raise a daughter, but was unable to keep alive the succulent she had brought him from Soletrra. Elli paints in a corner, raindrops falling on ocean waves. She paints a white raven that flies over it. And suddenly it all feels too real, the feathers too clear, its eyes too piercing, the color too bright against the gloomy backdrop. “I am going to my room,” she says and leaves. The retirement is nothing strange, for Elli, they knew, was a strange child.
She doesn't know how long has passed when:
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Elliana suddenly straightens up. Her parents had gone together to watch the sunset. Who could be tapping at the window? She shifts her weight and takes steady steps to the taping. It is not yet dark, and when she looks outside it, she can see that he is no ghost—at least she thinks.
She opens it.
She smiles.
“You’re the boy I’ve seen at my window,” she says to him, clear and sweet. Her eyes are dancing, sunlight against blue skies. Elli leans against the side of the window, admiring him, Jack jumps up to join him, staring down at the boy, for once with a look of warmth in his eyes, as if he knew the boy. “Glad I’ve finally gotten to meet you.” She blinks a few times, tosses a pebble back at him. “I’m Elli.”
She had dreamt of the moon and the stars.
There is a piece of her that delighted in the free fall between sleep and wakefulness. She had told her father last night, that she did not want him to visit her dreams anymore, that any nightmares she was having, she needed to learn to handle on her own. She told him she was growing up. Her mother had leaned against her father in that moment in the way that she always did, a silent comfort for him as his daughter tried desperately not to hurt him, but wonders if she did all the same.
The three of them, her family, they explore the day, her mother tells her a story about Legado the great, but she was not paying attention. She was watching as a bumble bee floated close to a flower before deciding to land, she was wondering what made him choose that one. Her father talks about constellations that would appear tonight, and Elli only nods her head, watching as blades of grass bend against the wind and pop up and down as the rain starts to fall.
They go inside, her father does tricks, her waters the flowers in her father’s house, teases him how he managed to raise a daughter, but was unable to keep alive the succulent she had brought him from Soletrra. Elli paints in a corner, raindrops falling on ocean waves. She paints a white raven that flies over it. And suddenly it all feels too real, the feathers too clear, its eyes too piercing, the color too bright against the gloomy backdrop. “I am going to my room,” she says and leaves. The retirement is nothing strange, for Elli, they knew, was a strange child.
She doesn't know how long has passed when:
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Elliana suddenly straightens up. Her parents had gone together to watch the sunset. Who could be tapping at the window? She shifts her weight and takes steady steps to the taping. It is not yet dark, and when she looks outside it, she can see that he is no ghost—at least she thinks.
She opens it.
She smiles.
“You’re the boy I’ve seen at my window,” she says to him, clear and sweet. Her eyes are dancing, sunlight against blue skies. Elli leans against the side of the window, admiring him, Jack jumps up to join him, staring down at the boy, for once with a look of warmth in his eyes, as if he knew the boy. “Glad I’ve finally gotten to meet you.” She blinks a few times, tosses a pebble back at him. “I’m Elli.”
