The Healer(The Healer Series Book 1)
Page 15
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been walking, but I was feeling strangely serene considering how lost I was. There was a white path before me, rolling green hills on either side of me, and all around me red cherry blossoms were falling from the sky. I reached my hands out to catch the falling petals, never for one minute thinking it strange that blossoms would be falling from heaven. As I did so, I noticed my arms were enveloped in white, silky sleeves that draped from my wrists to the porcelain looking floor beneath me. I was wearing a white silk kimono with a long train billowing out the back. I stopped my trance-like gliding in order to observe more closely the swirling floral designs stitched into the fabric of the silken gown. Every flower seemed to resemble the flowing lines of a cherry blossom. I picked up the folds of my dress and continued my walk down the white, winding path.
In a detached sort of way I wondered why I wore such an outfit. Of course, I wasn’t sure where I was going or why I was continuing to walk down the path that twisted before me, but I felt as if my destiny was simply waiting for me just beyond the sharp bend ahead. The blossoms continued to rain down upon me, and my eagerness to reach this unknown destination made my earlier graceful movements choppy and slightly less coordinated, especially with my long silken kimono tangling around my wedged shoes. I finally kicked them off and gathered the front of my gown into a large mound. I lifted the beautiful material to knee level and began running as fast as I could toward what I hoped would be the end of this mystery.
Upon reaching the bend in the path, I followed it right and continued running. I had moved several yards forward when another person rose up before me in the distance. I felt my heart nearly leap from my chest, but I couldn’t account for the cause. My body seemed to be responding to the stranger. My feet propelled me forward until I stood a few feet away from him.
I couldn’t believe it was Tie. His smug smile beamed brightly through the onslaught of blossoms that were falling at a much more rapid pace. His golden hair had an otherworldly glow to it, and his clothes were bright white and silken as well.
He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I wanted to speak to him, ask him what was happening and demand he tell me why we were here, but before I could do so he lifted his empty hand out invitingly and a cherry blossom the color of ebony suddenly appeared, hovering just above his proffered hand. Its black hue seemed to take on the darkest shades of midnight. It was a startling contrast against the white of our apparel and the red blossoms falling all around us.
“Take it,” he said softly.
“Why?” I felt mesmerized by his crystal blue eyes.
“It belongs to you. It always has, and it always will.”
The blossom’s ebony petals glistened enticingly within my reach. I stepped forward hesitantly and reached out my hand to take it.
“Wait,” said a commanding voice.
I turned around, surprised to see Victor a few feet behind me. His jet black hair matched the blackness of his own attire, and his striking features looked stormy and forbidding. His presence seemed to agitate everything. A strong gust of wind began whipping the folds of my kimono. My long dark tresses blew haphazardly around me. I pulled them back in frustration so I could better see and understand the look of anger (or maybe it was betrayal) radiating from the depths of Victor’s eyes.
The cherry blossoms showering down upon us began changing from red to midnight black. I turned to my left as a statue of a kneeling woman with her arms outstretched seemed to materialize out of thin air. I looked down and stared at my apparel in amazement. It was no longer white, but blood red.
I turned forward to face Tie, and then I looked behind me to gaze at Victor. The black blossoms swirled around us all, creating a dark blanket that shut out every shred of light. The darkness pulled me under, leaving me feeling hollow, empty, and hopeless.