Like Light and Dark (by Miriam and Erich) – 5

“I see”, Crystalline bowed her head. “So I will just have to accept my fate, then?”

“Accept the path which is in front of you. And remember…” Catrina came closer, so close that Crystalline could feel warm breath tingle her ear, and whispered: “Fate is not written in stone until you pick up the chisle. Rather, it is written in sand unless you take it into your own hand.”

take it into your own hand… into your own hand… your own hand… own hand… Catrina’s voice echoed through time and space, slowly fading out while the landscape collapsed into itself and Crystalline was swallowed by rainbow and polar lights that made her vision blur.

She woke up with a loud gasp, feeling completely out of mind. Confused like hell, she rubbed her eyes and caught a breath- what was THAT?! Crystalline tried to hold on to her dream scene, tried to make sense of it. Why did it feel soo real? As if she had just jumped back here into her room from another, very REAL, reality? However, the more she attempted to remember the details, the less she could grasp them. They were flowing through her fingers like water, fluid, blurry, unreachable.

What made it even worse, was that she had also lost her memory of the last days. There was… nothing. Only a feeling of restlessness, anxiousness. And excitement. Weird.

Okay, focus, focus. She decided to be fully present here and now. In her room. In the palace. A comfortable and familiar space. Her hands slightly touched the silky mattress below her and ran up her satin night gown until they reached her blonde head, where she pulled her own hair in despair. Pain instantly shot into her scalp- yes. She was alive. No doubt about that!

Crystalline also realized that she was no longer a small child. She was a grown, elvish woman! Another proof that she was not dreaming anymore. She pursed her rosy lips and let out a loud “Phew!”, only to shout: “Wait… why can’t I see anything! Why is it so dark in here? Where am I, really?”

Calm down, Crystalline. It came to her that the curtains must have been shut completely, even though she preferred to absorb a bit of starlight and moon light every night. It usually soothed her and let her fall asleep more peacefully. Cautiously, she found her way through the dark room towards the window facing her bed. When she finally grabbed the curtain, she pulled it swiftly to the side, only to be blinded by the ferocious sun of a summer afternoon. It felt so surreal to stand here, facing the sun, as an adult, when she had just spent the night as a little girl, freezing in a faraway dreamscape. The elf’s fingers were still cold and a bit numb.