A flash of pure light. A scream in the dark. A wild rushing. Silence. A baby's wail.
I fell to the ground with a hard thud. Instinctively, I rolled to my side to protect the baby. I didn't know where I was or how I got there, though I could feel grass on my face and when I looked up, I saw the green tops of the trees, barely visible against the night sky. I appeared to be in a meadow of some sort. The baby's cry gathered my attention and I tore my eyes away from my surroundings to see to the child. I moved to see what was wrong and when I reached out for the baby, I saw the blood. With horror, I looked upon myself and screamed. My hands were completely stained red and it was slowly seeping through my clothes to my skin.
Before I could process anything, the baby's cry demanded my attention. I crawled the last few steps to her, but when I saw her, I couldn't help myself. I ran, leaving the baby alone, to seek the shelter of the trees. I don't know where I ran, but it was only until I heard water did my senses kick in. I rushed towards it and jumped in without a second thought. The water quickly began to give me chills, something I registered as wrong at the back of my mind, seeing as it was summer in Sorcha. When the cold became unbearable, I retreated from the water and began to wander through the trees. Eventually, I somehow managed to find my way back to the clearing where the baby girl was still crying. I went over to her and sat next to her, fearing to pick her up because of my wet clothes. After what seemed an eternity, she stopped crying and fell asleep. It was at this moment I looked straight up at the starry night. When I saw a sky both familiar and alien, I began to cry.
This was not Sorcha's sky. This was Earth's sky. I was in Earth, my birthplace, when I wanted to be in Sorcha, my home. I wept and wept and wept some more. Finally the tears dried and I began to think, and to remember. As my memories returned, I wanted to push them back; so far back I would never have to see such images again. Everything on Sorcha had gone wrong. I was not supposed to be here, not alone and not covered in blood. Once again I began to cry. I knew whose blood it had been. I knew who the child was. I knew why I was on Earth, and I knew what I had to do. I picked up the baby and began to walk. I will set this straight. Sorcha will be saved and you will not have died in vain. The baby began to stir and I looked down at her. And as she opened her eyes, the sun rose.