An Impromptu Tribute to Kirby Morrow
Aug. 28, 1973 - Nov. 18, 2020
Earth. It held him close. Pressed like a blanket over his eyes. Covered them in comforting darkness. Banished any thought of panic. It wrapped him in its soothing presence, welcoming the one who had bonded with it so many years ago, and tucking him in as a mother tucks in her child.
Cole's warm, doe-like eyes fluttered open to brilliant sunshine, the sheet of earth having been pulled away. He blinked for a few moments before sitting up unhindered. He looked around at his surroundings.
Lilies - white as the sun overhead - stretched all around him as far as his eye could see. A breeze chased through their fragrant petals, guiding his gaze toward the horizon where marble pillars hovered in the air, white mountains floating against the azure sky even further beyond them.
He stood, and glanced at the pebbles and flecks of dirt that rose into the air around him at his movement. His eyes lifted once more across the sea of white lilies. Everything was perfectly still. Perfectly quiet. He set out walking, stirring up more suspended soil in his wake. He didn't know where he was or where he was headed. He contented himself to simply absorb the silence, to feel the cool air on his skin, the sun on his face, and the brush of flowers against his legs.
He walked a long time, gazing at the floating stone around him, and touching the snowy blooms on either side of him. At last he looked back the way he had come and saw the long trail he had parted through the field. When he turned to face ahead again, someone watched him.
She had raven black hair tied up on her head, and she was clothed in white, flowing silk. Her face was serene, her mouth quirked only slightly at the corners, but her eyes - dark like Cole's - were pools of happiness. Cole squinted, tip-toeing closer. When the space between them had lessened, his eyes flew wide.
"You're here?" he breathed.
The lilies parted for her as she strode toward him, her light, silken clothing waving around her graceful form. Golden earth rose around her as she walked. She halted inches away from him.
"Mom," Cole choked, unsure if he even made any sound at all.
She cupped his face and her eyes shone with pride. Tears spilled over Cole's cheeks and she wiped them away. Breath hitching, he threw himself into a hug, clinging to her dress with all his might.
I missed you, he wanted to say. He knew she could feel it, the way he felt her love in that moment outshining all the flowers surrounding them.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and turned him in the direction of the highest mountain. Its glistening white peak shone gold.
They waded through the lilies together.
I listened to 'I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger' while writing this. It inspired the words "I'm going home to see my mother."
Thank you, Kirby, for bringing this beautiful Ninja to life.