It was well past midnight but the figure in bed could not sleep. She laid with her head on the pillow looking up at the ceiling fan above her. Even in the relative darkness of her bedroom she could see the blades spinning, giving off a cool breeze in the otherwise stifling heat of the night. The crickets in the trees outside of the window chirped happily, the sound of which would normally drop her into a peaceful sleep now seemed blaring against the otherwise quiet space of the bedroom.
With a sigh the figure pushed the blanket off her body and stood up. Quietly she made her way across the room to the door, being careful not to wake the other occupant of the room. She quickly made her exit and hastily made her way down the hall. Switching on the light in the kitchen, the woman quickly grabbed a cup and filled it with water. She stood at the sink while she drank the glass. When she was done, she put the cup on the counter and turned back to the hallway.
Turning off the light in the kitchen she started to make her way down the hallway but stopped. Though the light in the kitchen had been turned off, there was a blue glow that enveloped the entire room and part of the hallway. Turning back the figure made their way back into the kitchen to see what could possibly be making enough light to light her way down the otherwise dark hallway.
The light in the kitchen blinded her at first and she had to squint just to see in the room. After glancing around the bright room, she figured out that the light was not coming from within the kitchen but outside the house.
Carefully the figure made their way across the room to the door that lead into the backyard. Throwing open the door she huffed as she realized that the light had moved into the woods. Whatever it was, it was moving almost like it was trying to stay out of her reach.
Thinking that whatever it was would go away, the figure darted back into the house and closed the door. She quickly locked the door to make sure whatever it was would not be able to get into the house. By now the light shining into the kitchen had diminished to a slight glow that illuminated her path back to the hallway. The hallway was dark making it impossible to see as the figure walked back to their bedroom. Upon arrival they silently opened the door only to be greeted with the blinding light once again.
"Dee, what the hell is going on?" The other occupant of the room asked. It was a blond woman who was currently sitting up in bed glaring at the figure that had just walked into the room.
"I have no idea Kay," Dee, the figure, replied. Dee walked into the room as the blinding light seemed to engulf it.
"Make it stop," Kay said shielding her eyes with her arm to try to see through the light that still emanated from the single window of the room.
"How?" Dee asked in an annoyed voice. Suddenly the light receded. Both occupants of the room looked to the window to see that the light had moved outside into the yard and was slowly moving in the direction of the woods. It looked like a large ball of light about the size of a volley ball that emitted enough like to light a foot ball field on its own.
"I think it wants us to follow it," Dee said as they watched it recede a little further into the woods before stopping.
"Follow the light? That sounds like a stupid idea," Kay said with a snort.
"Well if we are seeing the light then doesn't that mean we are already dead?" Dee asked jokingly but Kay only frowned.
"Do you really want to follow it?" Kay asked ignoring her friend's stupid death joke.
Dee thought for a moment. If they followed the light they could figure out what was making it but at the same time it was past midnight and it probably would not be safe for two young woman to walk out into the woods to follow a blinding light that had somehow made it into their house. Then again, if it had already been in the house, were they safe from whatever else might be attached to that light?
"I think we should," Dee finally said. Nodding Kay jumped out of bed and followed her through the house to the kitchen where they could sneak out the back door. Kay paused at the back door and grabbed the bat that they kept next to the door in case of intruders. Dee looked back when she realized Kay wasn't next to her and snorted when she saw the weapon.
"Do you really think that will work against a magic ball of light?" Dee asked with her hands on her hips.
Kay shrugged as she caught up, "What? At least I have some way of defending myself. What if there are bad guys in those woods who want to kidnap us and sell us on the black market?"
Dee rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Kay was right. They were really stupid to be following the light, but it was almost like it was pulling her toward it. She wasn't sure she would be able to walk back into the house and ignore the pull at this point. She looked to Kay who seemed to be more afraid than anything but wouldn't let her best friend face some unknown entity alone. Dee thought it would be best not to voice her concerns about the magic pull she was feeling. She wasn't sure how Kay would react.
The light was still sitting just past the first few feet of trees almost as if it was waiting for them. 'Well,' Thought Dee, 'It kind of is waiting for us.'
Shaking off the thought of the inanimate light waiting for them to follow, Dee allowed it to guide them into the woods. She had not really been thinking when she left the warmth of her house and now, she was regretting only wearing the large tee-shirt and shorts that she normally wore to bed. A slight mist was starting to set in causing everything to look almost like a dream but the cold that it brought with it reminded Dee that it was in fact reality.
"Where do you think the light is going?" Kay suddenly asked. The light had started moving only a little after they entered the woods. It reminded her of a dog. It would move further into the woods at a relatively fast pace and then suddenly stop and wait for them as they were walking at a much slower pace. Neither girl had really thought about what to put on their feet and bother were sporting nothing more than flipflops as they tramped through the thorny underbrush and across the spongy dirt that coved the ground. Kay figured that by the time they found where the light wanted them to go, she would be caked in blood and dirt from the waist down.
Dee shrugged as she sidestepped a low hanging branch in front of her. Dee was leading and made sure to hold the branch back so that Kay would not get hit. "Wherever it is, I'm hoping they don't have any spiders. I feel like I'm covered in at least twenty right now."
"Ew," Kay commented as she shivered at the thought. It was dark and she was not ready to attempt to check if she had any uninvited hitchhikers.
The two of them made it a little further into the woods before they heard the sound of running water. After rounding the trunk of a surprisingly large tree they stop in awe. They had finally found the light source. Or at least that's what they thought.
In front of them was a glowing river. The water stretching in each direction glowed with the same blue light as the light that had come to their home. Kay stood at the trunk of the tree staring in amazement at the blue glow. It felt almost like it was alive with a life of its own. Dee on the other hand moved toward the water. She felt the energy of the water calling to her. It was as if it was asking her to touch it and become one with it. When Kay realized that her friend was not by her side anymore, she rushed after her.
"Dee, what are you doing? You don't know what the hell that is. It might be dangerous."
Dee shrugged, "I don't know why but I don't think it is dangerous."
"Still, you should get away from it," Kay said as Dee started to reach for the water. Kay quickly grabbed her hand as it was only a few inches from the top of the water.
"What the hell do you think you are doing? Are you mad!" Kay demanded as she tried to pull Dee away from the glowing river and back toward their house.
"Please stop," A feminine voice called from behind them. Both girls froze and turned to see who the voice belonged to. To their surprise a woman had appeared on the river. What really caught Dee by surprise was the fact that the woman was made of the glowing water.
"Who are you?" Kay demanded. She had yet to let go of Dee's hand and was now dragging her backward toward the woods so she could watch the water woman.
"Please don't go, I shall not harm either of you. My name is Yui and I am the Moon Goddess."
Dee could feel Kay's grip on her hand slacken with shock and she took the opportunity to gently pull her hand free. For some reason she knew that this woman, or rather Goddess, was telling the truth and that she was not here to harm them.
"Please, why did you want us to come here?" Dee asked the goddess.
Yui smiled at her, "Actually I only wanted you, but I can see you have a very good friend who would not let you go on your own.
"Me?" Dee asked while Kay squeaked," Her?"
Dee looked back at her friend who was now as pale as a ghost. Kay had a look of almost horror on her face as she looked at the Goddess.
The Goddess nodded, "Yes, where I am from there is a lot of unrest and I wish to ask for your help."
"But what can I do?" Dee asked, "I am a dancer and I run the dance company I work for. I don't have any magical power like you seem to and I don't have any skill sets that would allow me to help others. I don't even know how to do proper first aid."
Yui smiled at her, "You have more power than you know, you just have to unlock it." Yui reached her arm out and beaconed for Dee to approach her. Without thinking Dee walked the short distance until she was right in front of the Goddess. Yui reached forward and touched Dee's forehead.
At the contact, a flash of light lit up behind Dee's closed lids. She felt a pressure as if someone were pushing her head and then suddenly there was a pop. It was as if a pressure she had not known was there suddenly disappeared and she felt lighter than she ever had.
Blinking her eyes opened Dee looked around. She felt the pull of the water as if it were calling for her to join it. Yui smiled at her in approval.
"What the hell did you just do to her," Kay demanded. Dee jumped in surprise forgetting that Kay was still there.
Turning to her friend Dee gave her the biggest smile she could muster, "Look Kay, I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine, I feel amazing!"
Kay frowned at her and slowly approached her. When she was within an arm's length of Dee she reached out and snatched Dee's hand and quickly started to drag her away from the Goddess.
"Kay what are you doing?" Dee demanded with a frown as she struggled to get out of the death grip Kay had on her arm. Yui said nothing as she watched Kay drag Dee away from the river. Her job was done. Now all she had to do was wait for the next step.
"Taking you back to the house where it is safe. That creepy lady did something to you and I want to know what it was," Kay said not turning around. The woods were much darker now but she still held her bat so she was ready if that woman or goddess or whatever the hell she was tried to stop them again.
"Yeah she released something that was wrong with my head. I feel so much lighter now," Dee said with a happy sigh. She felt like she was floating on air.
"I think she drugged you," Kay stated as the house came into view. Dee pouted but she knew from experience that when Kay got like this, there was no pulling her out of her mood. She would have to wait for Kay to settle down and then they could talk about what had just occurred.
A few minutes later Dee was safely seated on her bed watching Kay pace back and forth through their room. Their light was off, but the light of the moon shone through the window and onto Dee as she watched her friend pace in the shadows. For some reason she felt calm and at peace when she was seated under those rays.
"Kay, talk to me," Dee gently said. Kay stopped pacing mid step and looked up at her friend.
Kay let out a sigh and walked over to sit next to her, "Please don't be mad at me." She pleaded.
Dee nodded, "You are my best friend. I could never be mad at you."
Kay snorted but continued, "I don't want you going outside after dark and I don't want you going back to that river ever again. Better yet, don't go into the woods anymore."
Dee immediately started glaring. She did not like being told what to do and she especially didn't like it when Kay tried to boss her around. They were equals at the dance company and almost every aspect of life. They lived in the same room and were together almost twenty-four hours a day.
"I understand you are afraid but Yui will not hurt me and there was something about that water." Dee paused in thought. "There was something about it that called to me. Its like the water was something I never knew was missing but now that I'm not near it I feel the hole. I feel the spot where it was supposed to be."
"That thing drugged you and was trying to get you to commit suicide in that river. That was no goddess and that was an extremely dangerous situation you got yourself into. You can't just trust every person, animal, or deity that you meet," Kay tried to reason with her friend.
"No, you are wrong," Dee said firmly with a shake of her head.
Kay sighed in exasperation, "Why can't you understand. There is something wrong here. That thing was trying to get you to go into the water. To leave all of this behind. To leave me behind."
The protest Dee had on the tip of her tongue disappeared instantly. Kay was afraid. She didn't want to be left behind. This was the only thing Dee had that Kay did not. They were best friends, practically sisters and Yui was trying to separate them. Dee put her arms around Kay and allowed her to sag against her chest.
"I'm sorry. I won't allow us to be separated. You are more apart of who I am than that glowing water or that supposed moon goddess. I won't allow them to separate us," Dee said.
Kay took in a shaky breath, "Thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry I stopped you from doing something you wanted to do."
Dee shook her head, "No, you are probably right. That water was glowing which means it was probably toxic and I don't know for sure what she was, but that figure might not have been a Moon Goddess. It could have been anyone and anything."
Kay nodded, "So now that you aren't going to go running into the woods after some glowing water, can we sleep now?"
Dee looked at the clock beside her bed. It read 3:23 am. She would have to get up in roughly three hours to start her training and get the dance studio really for the day. "Yeah, we should probably sleep," Dee said with a sigh and she collapsed back onto her bed. Kay followed her a second later and the two of them laid on the bed together in the silence. Within a few seconds Dee could hear her friend's soft snores from beside her and smiled. Sitting up she pulled Kay further up the bed so that her head was laying on one of the pillows and pulled the blanket up over her before settling beside her on the queen-sized bed. She watched her friend sleep for a few moments before the soft sound of her snores finally put Dee to sleep.
"I'm sorry I was unable to bring the girl here," Yui said to the figure standing before her. She was in the spirit world, the world she now belonged in when she gave up her life for the moon spirit.
"The figure in front of her nodded, "I figured as much. She has been raised to be strong, but she cares deeply for those she is close to. I think we may have to bring her friend with her."
Yui shook her head sadly, "Neither will come with me. I believe I have spooked them quiet badly."
"No matter, you have unlocked her abilities and she will now have to figure out how to use them or risk hurting the ones she loves," the figure replied.
Yui looked down sadly, "Yes, I was hoping to be able to bring her back to her home for her to learn how to use those powers. She will be a strong worrier and I am worried about what this time away from her people will do to her."
The figure smiled, "Do not worry my child. She will learn quickly what is the easiest and the hardest way to learn is. I think you will find her requesting your assistance shortly."
Yui gave him a sour look, "That is not the least bit comforting. You know water runs through pips in the walls of her home. Without the control necessary to keep her in check, I worry she may bring down the entire structure on herself and those she loves."
The figure chuckled, "I can see why that might be bad but unfortunately that can not be helped now. You can give her a path, but she must choose to follow that path or carve one of her own."
Yui nodded sadly, "Yes, you are right. I just hope she will learn quickly and not suffer. From what I saw of her personality she would much rather allow herself to be hurt than to allow any of those around her to suffer. I fear what that may lead to in the future."
"Do not worry, all will be revealed in time," The figure said with a knowing smile. The two spirits bowed to each other and parted ways.