Author: Sobia Helen
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Rating: U, PG
Distribution: Want. Take. Have. Just, ask first: AphroditeH@aol.com
Summary: Isabel thinks about Earth and Courtney.
Dedication: To Lia because she rocks.
Notes: This is the 4th stand-alone fic in the Element series. The
first 3 are Water and Air, both written by Minnie. And fire by
me.
The water at the reservoir is dark blue at nighttime, almost black. The
same color as the night sky. As I look ahead at the horizon, it's easy to
imagine that the sky and the Earth are one, the dark blue stretches on to
infinity. It's easy to imagine that Earth is connected to that other
home.
Would home be anything like Earth, I often wonder. Would it give us
unconditional acceptance like the Earth did to all creatures, even when they
didn't belong to it?
Is that how she viewed the Earth, I find myself wondering. Did she ever
think about home? The home that she probably remembered well.
As I sit there, musing, my right hand plays with the cool sand by my side.
Then the truth hits me, and I freeze, my hand resting on the sand. I pull
my hand away from the sand quickly, finding its touch less than perfect.
Unconditional acceptance. That was one thing Courtney did not get from
Earth. For fifty years she lived on Earth, feeding on the very thing that
protected her from Earth's hostility. And still, the Earth did not want
her in her true form.
I glance at the still water again. The moon's beautiful light reflected
on the surface of the water is the only thing that separates it from the sky.
The lake makes a perfect mirror for the heavens, and there are so many stars and
patterns on its fragile surface that it seems almost a sin to disturb the
silvery dark liquid. But that is exactly what I do, picking up sand and
throwing it in the lake.
After the delicate ripples in the water settle down, I spot the V constellation
reflected on the surface of the water. Which one of those stars was her
home?
A gentle wind unsettles the dust at my feet. The constellation disappears
from the water as the breeze upsets the tranquility of the water.
Dust. Isn't that all that she was reduced to in the end? Just dust.
My hand finds its way to the ground again and traces patterns on the sand,
before scooping it up. As understanding dawns, I let the sand slip through
my fingers.
Not just dust. She has become something that the Earth could hold within
itself lovingly, something that the Earth accepts in its truest form.
Unconditional acceptance.
She has become a part of the Earth. She has become the Earth. She
who gives life. She who gave me life by sacrificing her own.
"Courtney?" I call out, and my only reply is the faint echo of my own
voice. But I know that she is here.
"Thank you," I whisper softly.