-1Sex
Sunset for one is simply a sunrise for another. So often, we forget that there's more to life than what is on the surface.
He slowly opened his eyes and shifted them around in their sockets, trying to scope out his surroundings to make sure that things were safe before he made the effort to move.
I sure as hell don't want to invoke an attack when I'm not even sure that I can move.
His eyes registered no form of life, all that surrounded him were walls made of stone and a checkered floor that lie coldly beneath him.
What is going?
He slowly sat up and looked around, his senses tingling with both fear and adrenaline.
Jet would probably tell me I' m being a wimp. Oh well, not like I care what he says anyway.
The floor below him glimmered tranquilly with an eerie moon colored glow. He looked up and saw nothing but stars and the moon, which was unnaturally close.
Wait a minute, that's not our moon; Filgaia has two moons, not one. What is going on here?
"The moon is pretty this night." said a small, lilting, feminine voice behind him. He was about to stand up and turn around to face the voice when a small, pale, hand grasped his right shoulder and held him down with little force.
"Who are you?" inquired Gallows, his fear not yet surfacing above the cool tinge of curiosity he felt.
"I am a star not yet born into the sky, a fetus not yet given a womb to grow in. In other words, I am an unborn, just as you are right now." she concluded, removing her hand from his shoulder and putting it lightly on his head. He blinked but decided not to move from his sitting position.
I don't want to make her mad. I doubt she's a threat but... it's better safe than sorry.
"But... I've already been born... I was there, in Filgaia, and I was... ali-"
"Alive?" interrupted the young woman. Gallows was shocked into silence and listened as she continued. "You were alive in body, not in spirit. Your worldly soul did not quite connect to the flow of the "spirit stream" that exists in a world parallel to this one. In the other world, as your soul travels down this "stream" of spirit, you acquire the knowledge of each soul you pass; however, because your soul didn't fully connect to the "stream" you wander around aimlessly, empty, and ultimately looking for a love that you can never find."
"I.. is that why I..?" stuttered Gallows, rather unsure what to make of this new bit of information.
Is she serious? Am I really understanding this right? Who is she? Should I turn around to face her?
"You do understand what I am saying, right?" came her soft voice from behind him. He closed his eyes, a sign that he was thinking and trying to understand all which she had spoken.
"Okay. My body lives on Filgaia but my soul did not attach properly to the steam of spirits, in so saying, I feel empty because I'm not getting everything that my soul is acquiring from the said "stream"." He opened his eyes and refrained from looking up. "Am I right?"
There was another small chuckled and he heard her footsteps waft slowly toward his left side.
"That's right, I'm happy that you understand. "
"I'm happy I understand too, I've always been accused of being somewhat of a dullard..." mused the young Baskar, a smile of both amusement and bitterness tingeing his face.
"Well, you will no longer be a dullard after tonight. First, I want to ask you a question and I want you to answer it honestly. Do you truly love what you flirt with or do you think with your nether regions and disregard what your heart and mind say?"
Gallows honestly didn't know how to answer that question. True, he had felt something for the women he flirted with but he seriously doubted that it was true love.
More than likely, he mused with a certain degree of regret and self-loathing, it was me being horny and not seeing with a clear head. Oh, you've been a stupid one you have, Gallows.
"No, what I felt was not true love... I hate to say it, but I'm somewhat of a womanizer." he replied quietly, not knowing what else to say.
What else is there to say? Every day that passes is lonely, I feel as if no one will care if I die. My "friends" say that they care, but the way they act sometimes...
He shook his head quickly back and forth and closed his eyes.
"Well, one could hardly blame you for wanting someone to hold on to. You're only human, you know?" soothed the young woman's voice a ways off to his left.
"That's just it, I don't want to feel lonely but at the same time I don't want a love that'll last just one night and then..." Oh, I'm sorry; this was just a one night thing." I want a love that will last forever... But, all the women around me either find me disgusting, dull, or something else that has no words to describe it." he said, his voice low and melancholy.
"Well, you're not disgusting, dull, or anything like that. You're just disconnected, but, tonight, all of that will change. However, you must have the courage to step forward and start the journey. Are you ready?" asked the young woman, now flanking his left side. Gallows could no longer fight the urge to look at his companion and glanced to his left. His breath caught in his throat as soon as his eyes fell upon the black void of her eyes sockets. She had no eyes, lips, nor nose, but instead had dark indentions where they were supposed to be. He pale hands were china like and reflected the pale moonlight dully. Her body structure was small and waif-like and somewhere, deep in his mind, Gallows questioned her age.
" You're afraid of me, aren't you Gallows?" spoke her saddened voice beneath the faceless mask. Gallows smiled warmly and pushed his surprise away with a warm, compassionate, hand.
"Of course I'm not, if anything, I was a bit surprised." He confessed, resting his hand on the young woman's pale, blond, locks.
The only form of color she has... such pretty hair.
"I realize that I look a bit odd, which is why I..." she bowed her head and streaks of dull golden hair flowed over her face. Gallows rubbed the top of her head and then knelt down in front of her, prompting her to raise her head and look up at him emptily.
She has no eyes and yet... she emanates her feelings so well. It's as if we're connected somehow.
"Hey, I think you look just fine, I mean, you're an unborn, just as I am, so of course we have no real form yet. Besides, you're a sweet heart, so, that automatically makes you a-okay in my book."
The young woman chuckled to this and moved away from his hand, bowing her head a bit as she did so.
"Congratulations, Mr. Caradine, you passed the first part of this test." With that, she vanished, leaving only a necklace and a hair bow behind.
If you wish to continue, pick up the two items I left and follow the path that will open to you.
came her voice from the stars. Gallows looked up to the star-studded heavens for a moment or two and then looked back down at the two items the young lady had left.
Well, it looks as if I have no other choice in that matter.
He picked up the two items and waited for something to happen. Fortunately, his wait was curtailed by a ray of light shimmering from the necklace, which lay tranquilly next to the ribbon in his still outstretched hand. The light bounded up toward the glimmering night sky and alighted on the shoulders of the crescent moon. He took in a deep breath and started to walk toward the silver clad path, his knees trembling beneath what now felt like a ton of lead opposed to his body.
I shouldn't feel nervous...
He placed his foot gingerly on the path to test its stability. He nodded in approval when he discovered that his foot didn't fall through and touch the parched earth.
Here we go...
He trounced up the path as quickly as his jelly like legs would allow, his heart no longer beating out of fear but out of exhilaration and wonder. The moon seemed to be literally a stone's throw away, and he began to wonder what lie ahead for him.
Once I get up there, I will find out.
His feet touched the glittering surface of the moon and he padded across it slowly, looking back one last time at the path that had brought him up here.
It's still there, that's good...
"So you made it, I see." mused the young lady's voice from his far left. His eyes followed the invisible trail to her voice and raised a surprised eyebrow when he noticed she was sitting contently on the back of a huge, silver, dragon. The dragon looked down at him in both a weary, and perhaps, curious fashion. Gallows swallowed hard and looked up at the dragon, his eyebrows now furrowing in confusion.
"Do not fear Lunioras, he means you no harm." chided the young lady calmly. Gallows nodded to this and took a couple more steps forward, hoping that ole' Lunioras had a meal before meeting him.
"You left your ribbon behind so I figured I should return it to you." responded the young Baskar, holding the ribbon up so the waif could see it.
"That's sweet of you, but I'd rather you hold on to it and tell me what you see." mused the woman from atop the dragon. Gallows blinked to this but did as he was told. Squinting a bit, he discovered that the ribbon was laden with old Baskarian runes.
"Hmm, it says here that time is not eternal but part of an eternal cycle. What lies beyond time is not what we think. Eternity used to be a loop, a circle, a ring of light. However, he that guarded the loop fell asleep and dreamed of a world that mirrored his domain. Soon, he found himself roused by the sound of screams and terror. With sleep quickly fleeting on terrified feet, he arose and looked down on creation, only to find two worlds interlocked in a confused matrimony, opposed to one, perfectly balanced one. "What have I done?" he mourned, watching as one of his creations stabbed its counterpart in the back. It was then, order and chaos were formed. Two sides, same coin, an egg that split at its conception and then formed its own consciousness." Gallows finished the last sentence with a hint of confusion.
"But what does this have to do with me, ma'am?"
The young lady laughed to this and held out her hand the ribbon lifted itself up with silky wings, flew up to her outstretched hand, turning into a silver dove on contact and looking down at Gallows with fiery, red, eyes.
"Firstly, you need not call me "ma'am" or young lady, or whatever else you're thinking to call me. My name is Luasecia but you may call me Lu." she giggled, realizing that her name may be a bit hard to pronounce. Gallows acknowledged this bit of information with a tilt of his head in her direction.
"Alright, now that I know your name I'll start using it. So, Luasecia, what's the meaning behind what's written on the ribbon?" Lu shrugged to this and shooed the bird from her hand by giving it a light push up with her small hand.
"You've just discovered why there is evil in your world. Gallows, as the ribbon said, there are two sides to everything. Two sides to a story, two sides to a sword, two sides to gender, and almost anything else you can think of with importance. Your problem is that you don't connect to the stream, hence you're left out of the proverbial "loop" of things. Think of the stream as a mirror and think of the two planets as its reflection and its source. See, once you get connected to the silver stream you will start seeing things different, this much I can assure you."
"I see.." responded Gallows, watching as the young unborn leaned her chin against the top of Lunioras' silver head and stroked its shelled guard.
"I assume you want to know how to be connected to the stream again?" inquired she, looking down at him with a blank curiosity.
"Yes, that would be nice." he said quietly, looking now down at his feet.
The young woman leaned off to Lunioras' and ran her finger against the fabric of the night sky, severing it as a sword would cloth. The young Baskar watched in awe as existence shed its skin and unfurled into a landscape of silver fog draped across rolling green hills, with a stream of glimmering silver cutting non-obtrusively through the middle.
"This is L'eun Mt'ral, the passage of knowledge and the apex of creation, we all come from this stream and we will all, ultimately, return to it. You shall return to it, but not as a corpse but rather a soul reborn into its original purpose. You were not intended to live your life in the dark, without knowledge that you are indeed, worth more than just the earth you stand on. Go forth now, Gnshinurca, claim what is rightfully yours and open your eyes to a new reality, a better reality." spoke Luasecia, waving her hand grandly toward the silver stream, her expressionless face somehow radiating pure joy.
Come to us, remove the obtrusive fear from your feet and come forth. Beckoned the stream, glittering as a rainbow ray of light spilt the clouds and speckled the stream with pin pricks of multi-color light. Gallows took in a deep breath and willed his feet to move from their invisible, fear weaved, bonds. One foot forward, it's not hard; stay focused, don't freak out.
The bonds of fear snapped and his legs regained their freedom, allowing him to move toward the stream uninhibited.
We will lead you there, come forth, do not fear.
He stopped at the brook's edge and lowered himself down into a kneel, dropping his hand cautiously into the tepid, sparkling, water.
The water lapped over his hand like a whispering tongue, each lap as gentle as the one before it.
You search for a reflection that is not there, a prayer not yet answered.
It took him a moment to realize that he, indeed, has no reflection.
Am I even here? Is that why I'm not casting a reflection?
You're not casting a reflection because you're not yet born into this stream. Close your eyes and accept our wisdom.
Gallows nodded to this and closed his eyes slowly, taking in a deep breath as he did so.
The effects were almost immediate; before his closed eyes, a landscape gilded with the glow of the moon built itself up from the ground and spread out like a ghost's materializing shadow. So taken with this beauty, he forgot to breath and slumped to the ground, exhaling forcefully in the process.
"This is...?" he whispered through shock dulled lips.
"Come forward, stand up, don't be afraid." spoke the stars as the formed above his head.
"Don't look back for that is the past, come here and join us." laughed the darkened hills as they finished forming.
"O-okay." nodded Gallows as rose to his feet and slowly toddled down the mysteriously lighten path.
"You're forming your thoughts, now, do not be afraid." came a calm voice from the heavens. The young priest stopped his unknown pilgrimage and looked up to the sky.
"So, this landscape is my thoughts being unfurled?" inquired he to the heavens. The answer was in the form of the sky shifting to a bright gold and then back to darkness.
The sky just nodded...
"Okay, so do I just walked forward?" Once again the sky "nodded" and he started to walk per the sky's request.
"What you're about to see will answer everything." and as the last vestige of silvery voice slipped from the unknown's tongue, the world around him sunk into itself and then was gone.
"It all began with nothing so shall it return to nothing.. Gone is your inferior mind, from this day forward you are a new man."
"But... the world.. it's gone! I can't reform the world anew; I'm not a god!" he exclaimed, shivering and wrapping his arms across his chest.
"You're not? Then how come we submit to you? Enforce your will upon us and we shall comply. The world is more malleable and amorphous than you think." demanded the voice as it quivered in the darkness.
"I see, then, form me the past. " and as he spoke these words, the past unfurled before him as a speck of light amongst the sheet of void.
"Your past, present, and future are for you to write; we only make what you say. Remember this, Gnshinurca and reclaim lost time with this knowledge. You're the maker of the this world known as consciousness, never forget this."
Then, in a flash of light, Gallows stood in the middle of all of his memories and realized then that he had, indeed ,changed.