“Out of the question,” replied Leonara firmly, shaking her head and ignoring Mia’s current thoughts, focused so clearly on her anger at her mother “these things cannot wait..”
“Well if I don’t sleep, I die and then nothing you’re saying matters anyway” replied Mia brutishly, crabby now that she had thought of her mother’s smiling lying face in the tower.
The Angel regarded the child before her, recognized a hint of the fire that burned in it’s mother. She nodded.
“Very well. You can sleep. But since sleep is such a waste of our valuable time,” she emphasized the words to show her disapproval at Mia’s weakness, and although Mia caught it, she was too tired to care “may I at least have permission to speak to your dreams?”
“Speak to my dreams?” Mia raised one eyebrow quizzically at Leonara.
“Yes, we have ways. I can tell you much of what you need to know while you sleep. When you awake and your body is rested, you will already know much of what you need to. It will just be like when you have a regular dream, only what you see will be a Truth. The Truth of how all of this began, so long ago.”
“Just when I thought it couldn’t get any weirder. Fine. Goodnight.” Mia crawled under the duvet, throwing one pillow over her head and reaching out blindly for the cord to switch off her bedside lamp, hoping that this would be the last she saw of the ‘Angel’ and the tower.
Leonara sat in the dark, and looked at the figure of the child, watching it shifting to get comfortable. The darkness did not bother her, she could see as clearly as if it were full daylight. The child’s fidgeting did bother her. She was impatient, working with humans was always such a slow process - they needed so much, just to continue to exist. So much time wasted, that could be spent on more important and valuable things. And if the child needed sleep so much, why did it not just sleep she thought, irritably. Finally, after what was a few minutes, but could have been hours, for she still had no perception of time, she grew tired of waiting for Mia to settle. Gently, and so that the child would not detect it even though Mia’s powers were now awakening within her, Leonara sent her Influence over the girl, and within moments, she was soundly asleep.
CHAPTER SIX
Mia was enveloped in a kind of soft fog, almost as though she was inside a cloud. She walked, trying to find her way out of the cloud-fog and found herself in a blindingly white room, which seemed to go on forever. The ceiling was so high she couldn't see it, and the room stretched away from her as far as the eye could see, with two rows of ornate columns extending upwards from the floor to support the impossibly high ceiling. The carvings on the columns were the only decoration in the otherwise plain, but undoubtedly grand, room. She moved towards one of the columns to see what was carved there, but the carvings were changing, shifting quickly so that she could never quite make out the pictures there.
Entranced, she stood there a while, and watched the incredible shifting of beautiful images, which in turn created a magical rippling effect, as though the entire column was quivering and shifting form.
Somewhere in her mind, she became aware of voices, far down the corridor. She wasn't sure how long she had known there were others there. She thought it might have been a while, but she had been so fascinated by the columns that she hadn't wanted to tear herself away. Somewhere in her subconscious, Mia knew that she had to follow those voices, to know what they were saying. It was important, although she couldn't remember why.
Reluctantly, she walked away from her column, and resolutely refused to look at any of the others she passed, lest they entrance her too. The voices grew louder, and she suddenly, in the way that can only happen in dreams, found herself before an enormous white door, which was closed and had a handle which was so high she knew she would never reach it. The voices were coming from behind the door, although their words did not make sense to her. From the pitch of their voices, she determined that it was two men speaking, and they spoke a language Mia didn't understand.
A light flooded from beneath the door, different than the light illuminating the room Mia was standing in This one was warmer and more yellow, as though it was coming from an open fire. She lay flat on her stomach on the floor and, with her face to the ground, tried to see through the gap under the door, into the room beyond. She could see nothing but the open fireplace, burning brightly in an otherwise darkened room.
She shuffled forwards, trying to see if she could see anything more, and was surprised to find that her entire body fitted easily underneath the gap. She was sure that had not been the case at first. Nonetheless, this was a dream, and in dreams, the impossible becomes the ordinary. As quietly as she could, Mia edged forwards under the door, from the cold white marble of the hallway and onto the thick, soft, dark red carpet of the new room.
She stood up and brushed herself down, then took a look around the new room. It was warm - almost too warm. Mia couldn't remember being cold out in the corridor, and wondered why there was a fire lit in here, if it was not cold. Still, details didn’t matter all that much, she supposed. She had come here for a purpose. What was the purpose? She pondered this as she looked around her at the room she was now in.
Compared to the previous gleaming white and impressively grand place she had just been, this room felt claustrophobic. Still huge, still grand, but very dark and very hot now. The columns here were made of a dark wood, so dark it was almost black, and like the columns in the white corridor, these ones shifted too. Mia had no desire to go near these columns, and walked past one without giving it a second glance. Something about these shifting columns felt sinister and wrong. Her heartbeat quickened, and she felt a sense of dread and fear press down upon her.
She couldn’t remember why she was here, why it was important. Hadn’t she heard voices? Wasn’t that why she had come into this dark and terrible room? As if on cue, she heard the voices again, they seemed to be coming from high above her, but when she looked up she could see nothing but blackness. The only light in the room came from the fireplace, and though there was a roaring fire lit, it’s light did not extend up into the darkness of the chasm-like room.
The disembodied voices echoed all around her, and she wished she could understand what it was they were saying. It was important that she knew what they were saying. Wasn’t this why she had been sent here? To hear this?
And then the meaning was clear. She did not understand the words of this strange language she had never heard before, but their meaning and intent was clear. It was a fight, an argument between two men. No, not just two men - two brothers. She understood that they could no longer live together like this, the way they had always done, the two brothers who had been alone here for as long as either could remember. They were too different, and their brotherhood was no longer enough to keep them together.
They would separate, and each would rule his own kingdom. They agreed that each would have the power to create his own companions, but that they must keep to their own realms, their own Truths. Neither would disturb the existence and peace of the other. They were brothers who loved one another, neither wanted the other to be unhappy. They just wanted to live out their lives the way they chose.
The ground began to shake violently, and the fire flared up as the final words were spoken sadly by the two men, who bid one another a heartsick farewell, for they knew they would never meet again. Mia scrambled for the door - it felt as though the ceiling of this hot dark room would come down on her at any moment. She made to squeeze beneath the door as she had to come in, but found there was no need, as the door was flung open. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the hot room, and she was blinded by the sudden bright whiteness.
Shielding her eyes with her arm, she stepped out, but instead of the hard white marble, she felt nothing meet her foot. She moved her arms and looked at the corridor before her, just as it should be, then down in horror as she continued to step out of the dark room and realized she was stepping into nothing but a swirling grey fog. The white room and
the dark room were above her and out of sight in an instant, as she fell through an endless fog, wanting to scream but being too terrified.
She fell, and continued falling for what seemed like forever, certain this was it, that she was going to die - after all, how could anyone possibly survive an endless fall like this one? And then it stopped. She was not aware of the exact moment the falling stopped, there was certainly no impact at the end, she was just there in this new place. She was lying on the ground, and completely unharmed. There was warm early-morning sunlight on her face, and she was vaguely aware of a slight dampness now seeping into her clothes, her hands and the back of her neck were already wet with it. There was a familiar, earthy smell.
She was lying on grass, in the early morning, and it was dew soaking into her clothes. This much she managed to deduce whilst lying with her eyes shut, simply savouring the feeling of being alive. She realized she had never actually been grateful to be alive before. It was odd, something she had always taken for granted. But now, after falling so impossibly far, and for such a long time... from where? She couldn’t remember. She only knew she had been afraid, before she fell. She remembered whiteness and heat. But that part of the dream was lost to her current mind, now she was focused on being alive. Breathing fresh sweet morning air. And being here. Where was here? Surely she should move to find out?
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and saw nothing but pale blue skies above, with the slightest hints of morning sky still remaining, pink and pale purple streaks across the otherwise flawless blue canvas. Not a cloud in the sky, on this beautiful day.
She sat up, and gazed around, her eyes adjusting to the brightness and the sudden explosion of colour. There was the grass, a deep and bright lively green, interspersed with brightly coloured small flowers, of a kind that Mia had never seen before. Further over to her left, there was the beginning of a dense forest, and even here, there were an array of shades of green, lush and fresh-looking. The sun was beginning to get higher already, and Mia was surprised to find how quickly she had become hot, how dry her throat was, and she choked involuntarily with thirst.
As if responding to her thirst, she became aware of the sound of trickling water, somewhere over to her right. In this direction, she could see nothing for miles but more lush grass and tiny dots of colour as far as the eye could see, where flowers had sprung up between the blades of grass. Still, she was certain that this was the direction the water sound was coming from. Slowly and stiffly, as though she had been asleep for a long time, she stood up and began to move towards it. The only sound, besides the trickling water, was the soft whispering of her feet against the grass. Her feet were wet, and she looked down to see why - she had not thought the dew was so heavy it would soak through her shoes. Her feet were bare. She stopped for a moment, and stared at them in puzzlement. Hadn’t she been wearing shoes before? But as she stood there, and licked her lips as she tried to remember, she felt them crack and tasted a hint of blood on her tongue. She remembered now, she was very thirsty. She forgot about the shoes and listened again for the sound of the water.
She continued to walk towards the sound, which was growing louder and more enticing. She stepped carefully, afraid her bare feet would meet a rock or a thorn, but she needn’t have worried, all that was beneath them was soft fresh grass. Finally, she came to it. Where the field had appeared to be unbroken as far as the eye could see, it concealed a clear sparking stream, low-banked either side by a smattering of smooth pebbles amongst soft sand. The water was so pure and shallow that Mia could see the bed of the stream clearly, and that there were no sharp rocks here either. She knelt down and scooped up some of the delightfully cool water in her hand, then drank it greedily. It had a certain sweetness to it, and was more refreshing than anything she had ever drunk before. After she had drunk her fill, she played, childlike, in the water for a while. Dipping her toes into it, she felt the wonderful coolness wash over her bare feet. Had it not been so shallow, she would cheerfully have bathed in it.
After a while, she grew tired of playing in the stream, and realized that the harsh sun was now very high in the sky, and beating down on her.
Looking all around her, she could see no other option but the forest, which she felt sure would offer at least some protection from the burning rays, if not some coolness from this heat. Eagerly, she walked lightly across the field, rejoicing at the feeling of the now dry and warm grass under her feet, and remembering at least, that she was delighted to be alive. She didn't know what this place was, but she liked it here alright. It was beautiful, and peaceful, as though not another soul existed in all the world. It was not like the tower dreams at all - despite knowing she was alone here, she didn’t feel lonely in the slightest, she simply felt at peace.
As she reached the forest, she peeked cautiously into the darkness beyond. She had a sudden pang of doubt. Maybe it would be better for her to stay out here, in the sun, with the flowers and the stream. She could get lost amongst that tangled mess of trees and vines, and she had no idea what waited for her in the darkness and gloom of the forest.
She looked back and forth between the cool, shady and mysterious forest, and the wide open plains with the tiny flowers and blades of shockingly green grass dancing gently in the breeze, while the sun blazed overhead.
“Perhaps if I just stay here at the edge of the forest, under the canopy of these trees” she thought to herself.
It seemed to be a good compromise, and nodding to herself, as if to affirm the decision, she climbed carefully over a fallen and decaying tree trunk. She thought it strange, that it should be there. There was no sign of other humans or even any other animals, and she wondered how the tree had come to fall. The rest of the forest, at least what she could see of it, looked to be thriving and wholly alive.
The moment she was over the fallen tree, the air around her changed. It seemed that the vast canopy above her stopped the gentle breeze from entering, and although she was sheltered from the sun, the air was perfectly still, stuffy and humid. The trees stood silently too, and Mia found this particularly odd. She had never been in a completely silent forest before - there was always a faint breeze, or the scrabbling of an animal, the swish of the leaves as a bird or squirrel brushed past a branch - here there was nothing. It was peaceful, but eerie, in a way. Too quiet. Mia felt something which at first she thought was fear - but quickly realized was not. No, this feeling was not the same as fear - it was more like a burning curiosity. What was in these woods? What kept them so still and so quiet?
She laughed to herself then, realizing how silly that sounded. Nothing kept them still. Nothing kept them quiet. It was just that the trees were too large, too densely packed, for the gentle breeze to pass through here. Still, she thought she might like to explore. She looked down at the ground, to see if it would be safe with her bare feet. Here too, there was no sign of rocks or stones. Just a carpet of fallen leaves, slightly damp on her bare feet, with a mixture of dew and decay. Here too, a few flowers peeked through, but much fewer in number than out on the fields. Mia wondered how they got any sunlight at all down here. She could see no breaks in the canopy when she looked up, and though she knew the sun was shining brightly overhead, in the forest was an eerie green-lit dusk.
As she looked up at the canopy above, which seemed to glow an unnatural green as the sunlight illuminated the leaves, Mia heard a sound, just in front of her. Her head snapped back down and her eyes immediately began searching for the source of the sound. She listened carefully, standing perfectly still. After a moment or two, just as she was convinced she had imagined it, she heard it again - a rustling, through the leaf-litter on the forest floor. It sent shivers down her spine, and she was not quite sure why. Hadn’t it only been a minute or two since she was wondering why there were no sounds? Why did this one seem out of place?
She moved cautiously in the direction of the sound, and noticed that as she drew closer, the sound simultaneously became louder and moved further away fro
m her, as though whatever was making it was no longer trying to be quiet - it was just trying to get away. Something else was alive in this forest, and Mia had a sudden determination to find out what it was. She quickened her pace, her eyes searching the ground before her for what could be making the sound. And then the noise simply stopped, although there was nothing she could see that could have been making it.
Slowly, Mia turned in a full circle, scanning the leaf-litter for signs of anything hiding beneath the decaying leaves, or a burrow or hole something could have slipped into. And then she heard a faint rustle from the tree above, and as she raised her eyes from the ground, she came face to face with what had made the noise on the ground, and what was now hanging from the tree and staring directly at her - a huge yellow-eyed snake.
She stood there for a while, just staring at the perfectly motionless snake staring back at her. Neither moved, both seemed to be waiting for the other to make the first move. Mia scrabbled through her mind for what one was supposed to do if they ever found themselves confronted by a snake. Instantly she felt stupid - who on earth would have taught her that? And why would they have taught her that? Crazy dogs, yes, she knew what to do with them. But why on earth would anyone ever tell her how to deal with a snake staring right into her eyes, mere inches from her face?
It was impressive in size, at first glance it seemed to be entirely black, but as she stared she noticed it was actually a dark green, and it’s back was patterned with a slightly lighter shade of green marking out patterns all along it. It’s belly, from the little she could see, appeared to be quite pale, and it’s eyes were huge. Huge and yellow, and as she stared at them she noticed tiny flecks of gold in them. And a few, barely noticeable rust-coloured flecks too. The more she stared at this snake, the more beautiful she found it. After some time, how long it was she couldn’t be sure, the snake moved, breaking the silence of the forest.
Awakening (Children of Angels) Page 4