The first breath was instinctual. A gulp of air, filling her lungs for the first time in twelve years. A few seconds of consciousness. Her fingers tingled with felling. Cold air filled her mouth, her throat, her lungs. She could hear. The cacophony, whispers to well adjusted ears, overwhelmed her. Her eyes fluttered open. The lights, the colors, the noise, the feeling. The air whooshed from her lungs. And then she passed out.
"…Aura.." She vaguely recognized her name. Aura. Her eyelids fluttered. Someone squeezed her hand. Her eyelids fluttered again, and her brain made the connected that they wanted to open. Her eyes open, and were immediately assaulted by light. Her lungs ached, and she breathed, her muscles finally remembering the sweet sensation. And then she couldn't breath.
She sucked for air, but it wasn't there. Something was covering her mouth. A hand rested on her shoulder. She twisted her head to the side, escaping the pressure on her lips. She gulped in air. She opened her eyes for a few seconds, still barely able to withstand the light. She say a sharp profile.
"Hey, Aura" A familiar voice said cheekily. She only had a few memories. Most were sitting in the dark basement closet, with nothing accept a portscreen and a cat. She was occasionally allowed into the main basement room, where there was light and noise and people. The memories were hazy, but very strong. They were all she`s had to dream about the past twelve years.
"Jax" she said quietly, uttering her first words in years.
"Yeah" he squeezed her hand again, and she tried to open her eyes again. The light still burned.
"Hey, turn out the lights will you?" Jax said to someone she couldn't see. The light behind her eyelids went away, and her eyes relaxed. And then slowly opened. It was nearly pitch black, but not quite. She could see Jax`s profile. More severe then the hazy memories. But then, it had been twelve years. They weren`t four anymore. It took a second for her brain to do the simple calculation. If it had really been twelve years…..that meant she was sixteen. Sixteen years old. She`s missed a quarter of her life.
He squeezed her hand, and this time she squeezed back.
I am in to much denial about The Lunar Chronicles being over. I guess this is the result. Do you think its worth continuing? A bit of backstory: Aura is a shell who was hidden by her parents until she was four, when she was found. She was kept unconscious, and now, after the events of Winter, she`s been woken up.