Saturday

Morning arises on lapping waters.

I do not remember going to sleep.

I do not remember waking up.

In all honesty, I do not try to at all.

I am walking along the beach of the Island.

The Sun is rising and the gray clouds—however in abundance—are gradually splitting like minnows before a stone.

I walk through the shallow surf. My sandaled feet dip femininely in and stick to the muck for half a second before prying loose in all ease and glory.

And then I walk, rinse, and repeat….

With the roar of the world lapping up to my ears.

Freezing and melting me at the same time.

The ever present end of the universe that giggles across the precipice of our everydays.

I hum to it.

In a gentle, low-key voice.

Exhaling gently through my lips.

Lips that….

Do not stress over either frowning or smiling.

They simply exist.

As I exist.

Mellow, content, melancholy….

…..emotions are categories.

A restrictive barrier to simple thinking.

All my years I have stressed over stress.

And it has made a woman out of me, for better or for worth.

But am I more or less a perfect organism?

I come to a stop.

The open, poofy sleeves of a jacket flare in the wind.

I take a deep breath.

I kneel down in the breeze.

Squatting over the waves that taste my knees.

I dip a finger into the saline brine.

I swirl it around.

The tingly touch of time….

All my life.

I have lived as a Nobody.

Which……is all well and fine, considering my necessities……and my intentions.

But the one payoff………the one thing that has kept me from going insane all these years as the Nobody I have been………

Are these absurd Somebodies that I have lived with.

And perhaps they are what I need……and what I have always needed………to balance myself out.

My teammates………my friends………

Both joyous and punishing in existence………

They are the best meditation I could ever ask for.

My humming comes to a stop.

I take a deep breath.

I stick my entire hand into the surf and palm the wet sand underneath.

Azar knows………

Such unconscious help on their behalf……


Is all the support I would ever conceivably ask for……

And my lips slowly……..slowly curve—

A rumbling sound.

Light….but growing weightier.

Vibrating the air.

"………………?"

I turn around and glance up towards the Tower.

My blue strands drift in the wind.

My violet eyes narrow.

An orange and black craft is hovering down and landing on the ceiling of the Tower.

Jet exhaust and light fumes exhale from the craft…and dissipate.

After a pause……the five hatches of the familiar craft open up, and five violently familiar figures leap jubilantly out and onto the rooftop's surface.

"……………………………………………………………………………………"

……

……

SCHWISSH!

I walk through the elevator doors and into the Main Room.

And I squint—

"Boo-Ya! Right where I left it! I tell ya….leftover lasagna is always the best the longer you keep it leftover!"

"Ew, dude! That's—like—a WEEK!"

"Yeah? And? Not like you're itching to taste any of the meat anyways, little man!"

"Probably rotten up the wazoo….like your SENSE OF APPETITE IS!"

"Oh grow some muscles. Robin, you want a bite?"

"No thank you. I need to spend time on the Titan Computer and report out run-ins with Brother Blood. Maybe try and contact BumbleBee again and give her an updated schematic on the functionings of Steel City."

"Aren't you even gonna unpack and stuff first? We just got back, dawg!"

"Do what you want, Cyborg. You've earned some time off. I……have to do a little research first."

"Pffft…whatever you say, Robbie."

"Dudes, is it just me….or does the Tower always smell 'different' after spending such a long time away from home?"

"But Beast Boy, it is precisely the same collection of scents and fragrances that have always been associated with the interior of our large-scale domain!"

"Human noses aren't quite as on par with things like Tamaranian noses, Star."

"So? Turn into a dog or something and stop complaining!""I'm not complaining! Sheesh!"

"Hee hee hee!"

"And—is it just me, or has the Tower become……..a heck of a lot cleaner since last time we were here?"

"Yeah, man. I just noticed that. The kitchen is like SPOTLESS."

"Friends, did we not make a decent attempt to establish a working order of the place before departing for Steel City?"

"We're never that spot-on, Star. It's like a cleaning crew walked through here with a mountain of mops and rags. I swear to God…"

"Hoooo boy, if I find all my tunes have been alphabetized, I'm going to start taking n—"

"Oh! Hey there, cutie!"

It is Cyborg.

"Did our impromptu return wake you up from the dead?" Cyborg smiles. "Eh heheheheh."

"Hehehehehehe!" Beast Boy giggles. "Good one, Cy! Man, that never gets old!"

"…………….," I stare at them all. "………..did you…..call before arriving?"

"We did!" Robin grunts from the background, typing madly away at the computer console while Starfire opens the windows one at a time behind him. "But there was no answer. Honestly, I wasn't worried……"

"Yeah, we figured you were sleeping or something," Cyborg shrugs from behind the kitchen counter. "Which is cool. Or else you could have invited over a special guy-friend—"

"Or two," Beast Boy snickers.

"---which we would be too freaked out by to ever loathe you for it……………..Snkkkt…..Hahahahaha!"

"Hehehehehehe!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

I take a deep breath….close my eyes….and slowly hum forth a drone: "Grow……..Up……"

"Heheheheh….NEVER! Ha ha ha!"

"Say, Cy! Any tofu burritos in the fridge still?"

"Man, you took them all with us a week ago, remember?"

"Eh…..yeah, okay."

Cyborg resumes fishing through the refrigerator.

Beast Boy examines his stack of CDs.

Robin types away at the computer.

I stand at the front of the Main Room.

My hands hanging by my side.

I watch.

I gaze.

I stare at them all.

I make to turn around towards the elevator—

"R-Raven?"

I stop.

I turn.

"Hmmm….Starfire?"

She stands in front of me, dressed in a red sweater and gray jeans. She holds her far arm with a hand in a humble posture and looks at me with her head craned to the side. "It is……glorious to see you again, Raven…..," she says in a gentle voice. Perhaps afraid. Perhaps gauging me.

Or perhaps………

Perhaps all I can do is stare back.

Her lips curve slightly. She reveals something that was in her hanging hand's grasp. "Of the scant times we had to rest and relax in between tackling Brother Blood's minions, I managed once to acquire this from one of the novel-of-the-tea shops in downtown Steel City. It made me think of you…."

She hand it to me.

I take it gently in my pale grasp.

I raise an eyebrow.

It's a statuette. An obsidian bird. A raven….almost. It is made of a polished, reflective metal.

"Mmmmm………It's……..A bird."

"Hehe….yes," Starfire folds her hands together and smiles warmly. "It is made of smelted steel ore. It is the heart of the City."

"Imagine that….."

Her green eyes hang to the side. "I thought of you alone in the Tower….far across the Continent……without us…."

I glance up at her. My lips purse a little…

"I…..I-I know you must have thoroughly enjoyed your solitude, and that our absence was a great blessing to your meditation…."

I clench my jaw.

"…..but I wanted you to know that—as far away as I was from you—I still had all my dearest friends in my heart. And that includes you, Raven. So, I hope you enjoy something from the heart of Steel City. For it truly made me think of you."

"I………Uhm…….Th-Thanks, Star……..I don't know what to say….."

I blink.

I hold my breath.

For the world has suddenly turned warm.

Starfire is hugging me. Gently. "I missed you," she says gently. With a smile. "Hee hee….I will not pester you further. But it is wonderful to see and bee with you again, friend Raven."

Starfire lets go and makes to go to Robin's side.

But there's a problem…..

……………she can't move.

Her lips purse in a concerned breath.

"R-Raven?"

"……………" I am still holding onto her. The hug has not ended. My head gazes dead over her shoulder. My eyes are thin. I stay that was….I freeze the frame with my heartbeat against her. "……………"

"…………Raven?" She gulps. She places her hands on my shoulder and looks me in the face. "Is everything okay?"

"…………………………………."

"…………………….if……….if you need me…….I'll be in my room….."

Gently, I turn around.

I shuffle into the Elevator.

And as Starfire watches in silent awe….

I close the doors.

And ascend.

Hugging myself.

Turning the black bird over in my hands.

Descending.

Descending.

Returning……

The noise…………

They're making so much noise through the walls………

As my vision turns foggy, I close my eyes and tilt my head towards the heavens.

I can feel them………

I can feel them, Saturday……