by Various
I sucked in another gulp of air and continued. “I am not a queen, nor do I recall any of you. So, if you’ll excuse me, I will be on my way.”
Then I closed my eyes and slapped myself, hard.
Everything stilled; the wind, the water, the hum of their wings. I heard nothing. Rubbing my cheek, a quick wash of relief swept over me. Upon opening my eyes, I jumped; startled to find them all staring at me with their gray, blue, and purplish eyes. Their silence exploded into laughter, filling the air with chimes, trills, and a few deep gongs from the males. I stood there, dumbfounded.
The smallest female with hair down to her knees wasn’t laughing. She held an expression of concern. “Orion, she speaks like a scattered soul. I believe she believes her own lie.”
The others slowly stopped laughing and studied me again.
Slowly, the tiny snippet set down her bucket and placed her palms out, facing me. “My Queen, I am called Ursa Minor.” She spun around to display her long mane, and the sparkles of the constellation she was named after glowed bright in her midnight strands. After making a complete circle, she addressed me again. “I am named after the constellation I was born under, but everyone calls me Minor.”
She pointed to the tall, willowy figure who had greeted Orion. “He is my twin, Ursa Major.”
He carried a broom as he approached us. Spinning it around, he then stuck the handle in the sand. Grabbing the handle under the broom-corn bristles, he then preceded to angle his head to show me his hair. Tiny, bright points of his constellation sparkled in the moon’s glow.
Ursa Major cleared his throat, “Orion, it appears as though Virgo did get to her.” He adjusted his tan cap to shade his dark blue eyes.
The other three females pulled Minor behind them, and the one with dark gray irises rimmed with a blue, starlike outer ring spoke next.
“I’m Ara.” Pointing to her right, she said, “This is Lyra.”
I made a mental note—Lyra wore her hair the shortest, resting at the middle of her back.
Ara pointed to her left. “And this is Vela.”
Vela held a sack in front of her like a shield. She widened her light purple eyes and curtsied. Vela’s hair was in a braid tighter than mine, resting over her right shoulder, with the tip barely touching her waist.
Ursa Major placed a hand on Orion as a sign of reassurance. His voice gave me the same feeling. “Queen Taye Ann, you’ve met Orion. This is Bootes—”
His hair was in a short, straight ponytail, but I could still make out some of the points of light in it. Major eased to his right and clamped his right hand on the snippet a head shorter than he.
“—and this is Pavo, your cousin.”
Pavo tossed his hair away from his eyes, and my feet became cement. Those eyes were the same as mine.
I went from having no one to having a family and an unrealistic companion—who, by the way, could only have been conjured by my imagination—and on top of it all, I was royalty. Now it was my turn to laugh, and the sound that erupted from my stomach rocked my body to tears. I sounded crazy as it echoed around us. The breeze picked up again and dried my face before a teardrop fell from my chin.
Orion’s face was stern. “To the Marais. We have to find out what’s going on here.”
My head whipped up, my laughter stopped, and I screamed, “No!”
I remembered. The nightmare was coming.
“I don’t know how I know, but you all must hide. Now! Go; save yourselves!”
The air crackled and sparked, electrified. Nevermore became agitated, and steam escaped with each bubble. The waves retreated as though the water were being sucked down a drain. The space above my head darkened, which I found most unsettling since it was outer space. Even the stars seemed to dim, adding to the dread I felt.
A booming voice above slammed us all into the ground. “Queen of Epoch, why have you returned?”
With my mouth full of sand, I didn’t know how to answer the question coming from the sky. In my dream, my answer to this unknown always resulted in these creatures’ expiry. This time, I decided not to reply, instead waiting for another demand, or maybe a villain-type monologue.
The voice from above thundered again, “Child, why have you come?”
My brain scrambled for a logical response to a question for which I had no answer. The snippets were scattered across the ground, and a sense of responsibility worked its way from my heart to my head. Orion moved his head side to side and mouthed, ‘Don’t do it.’
I wasn’t their queen, but I wasn’t going to allow whatever this was a reason to destroy them. As I rose to my feet, I caught sight of my dress for the first time, blinking several times to take in the sheer gown of shimmering constellations. The sparkling points resembled the map of the heavens, and leisurely moved over the bodice, down the skirt, to disappear after reaching the hem. Something had fashioned this dress for me straight from the heavens. I hadn’t noticed it before, in my previous nightmares, and took it as a sign of control.
I screamed at the stars, “What is it you want from me?”
Thunder answered back, “To cease.”
“Why do you wish my time to be taken from me?”
“You thought you could control and rule over the Dust of Dreaming. I am Time; every minuscule moment, minute… each breath is what I create. You only exist because of a mother’s plea.”
I have a mother? What is this?
I permitted the feeling of frustration to possess me and felt my fingers curl until each nail sliced the skin of my palms. The moon’s rays illuminated the place where I stood, and the phase I recited before bed leapt from my throat. The reverberation was as loud, if not a smidgen louder, than the voice above me.
“If only time could move me; I would, in turn, move the stars for the moon.” The words left a metallic aftertaste that made my throat tighten. Like the snaps and pops of a lighted bug trap, my body pulsed with energy. I lifted my hand towards the pools, and with the spread of my fingers, the water changed course. The snippets needed time to escape, and I was going to change this night-terror’s ending.
“No!” the voice responded. “Time does not obey; it rules.”
A tingling sensation squeezed my shoulders, trying to force me to my knees. I refused. This was my nightmare, and I was going to change the ending.
Orion was on his feet within a wave’s crash. His glass-etched sword drawn, he pressed against my back. The feeling of his skin threw my concentration off, and the grip of power I had been tethered to slipped into the night. With the breath knocked out of me, I couldn’t even protest his closeness.
Horror squeezed my core as the snippets peeled themselves from the sand, bearing brooms, buckets, and staffs. They were coming to protect me. They were coming to die. A sob rose from the depths of my heart, riding the ripples of each tear. But Orion’s courage penetrated my own, and the sound of my crying turned to singing. My song sailed over the waves, creating copper, gold, and diamond colors above the ripples. Whatever I was doing was having a positive effect on our surroundings.
A sheet of thickness dissolved, and the sky opened up for the stars to see. The darker-than-dark bled into the back corners of space. A sand devil encircled us, and everyone huddled closer. The song coming from within was on autopilot, but it made no sense to my human ears. My eyes locked with Orion’s; wiping the trail of tears from my face, he slowly bent down and tilted my chin up as I sang.
“I do this for you, Taye Ann. Only for you.” Orion sealed his mouth over mine and swallowed my song.
I felt displaced. The pelting sand bent our bodies together, and I realized our forms were crumbling with each lick of wind. Actually, the entire group was dissolving into the atmosphere. The song continued to resonate from inside me, but when I pulled away from Orion, it turned to screaming.
He faded into the sand devil. I looked around to find all of them gone. My hands rose to wipe the tears away, but the touch of my fingers never made it to my face. Both hands w
ere gone. I was dissolving, too. The magnificent gown had been replaced with my old nightshirt, and the wind was tearing it from my body.
As I sobbed, the night boomed a formidable farewell.
“Taye Ann, if you ever set foot in this kingdom again, it will be the last time you see the moon.”
Pain seized me, and the voice seemed appeased as it ripped a scream from my throat. My eyes burned while I watched the Pools of Nevermore fade.
***
My cheek was frigid, and a heaviness lingered over one side of my body. There was a tickle of movement that passed over my eyes and down both cheeks. The back of my tongue felt gritty. Clearing my airway took some effort. Another light touch was followed by a whisper.
“Taye Ann?”
I pried my eyes open against their will. Through several flutters, a figure came into focus. A four-inch figure stood with one hand on his hip and the other on the tip of my nose. Disbelief held me still, but pure rapture had my heart quivering.
Orion looked perfectly fine, from his ivory boots to the shimmer of his perfect, cobwebby wings, and behind him stood the others. The need to embrace them must have been mutual. They all approached with bright, broad smiles.
I whispered, “Where are we?”
Orion spoke in a surprising volume. “You returned to your last imprinted memory.”
Disoriented, I moved with caution, taking in my surroundings from the bathroom floor. “What?”
This time, Ara spoke. “You returned to your last memory.”
“I remember being sick, but I thought I was better. Geez, I must be still dreaming because I remember showering and feeding my fish. Then I picked up…”
My sandglass was on the floor behind them. All four measures of time continued to flow at different speeds. The sphere in the middle was swirling clockwise. What did that mean? For as long as I’d owned it, the vortexes had spun counterclockwise.
I picked up the hourglass. “Orion, what does this mean?”
“It means we found our queen.”
NO!
“This has to be a dream. I honestly don’t remember any of you. I wish I did.”
There was a light pinch on my ankle.
“Ouch!”
“See, not a dream. Besides, you control the Dust of Dreaming.” This time, Major looked a little cocky, blowing his bangs back after he spoke.
“Your Majesty, if I may, you also control the cycle of people’s memories,” Lyra said with a tone of admiration.
“Memories? What? How?”
Vela spoke with excitement. “Well, we all play a small part. All snippets have a position you have entrusted us with.”
“I’m sorry; my brain just isn’t processing this. I fell asleep to wake up and find my life is nothing but a lie. Look at me; I’m human and not the size of a Post It.”
I pushed myself off the floor. When the bathroom moved with me, I decided to sit on the lid of the toilet until my world made sense again. My wandering eyes settled on the little creatures at my feet. I must have succumbed to isolation. I’m clearly insane.
I dropped my head into my hands, glad to find they were still there. “I must be crazy.”
A deep, silky voice found my ear. “Taye Ann, if I may. I think that I can shed some light on our dilemma and your lack of recollection.”
I reached over and grabbed a roll of toilet paper. Placing the cylinder in front of them, they hopped up and sat down, dangling their legs over the edge. The twins started pushing, and Ara coughed hard. After a few more seconds, they all turned to me.
Crisscrossing my legs, I puddled to the floor and positioned myself for story time.
Orion looked concerned. “Are you ready for this? It may be a lot for you to take in.”
I gestured at them. “I’m talking to four-inch snippets. I think I’m doing pretty well so far.”
There was a quick esophagus rasp as he readjusted his sword. Clearly, he was nervous. Brushing the bangs from his eyes, he began.
“You were born to the house of Cynelle, in the Kingdom of Epoch. Blessed into existence as the first daughter of seven to Virgo and Hydra, you were next in line to rule.” He paused, and all I could do was blink.
With a hefty sigh, he pressed on, “You and your sisters make up the constellation Pleiades. There are several myths about you and your sisters, which Father Time has taken as truth. One is that the oldest offspring would tip the hands of time, and a new keeper would be entrusted to the Kingdom of Epoch. Your powers developed with speed unlike your siblings, but Virgo and Hydra had different plans for your future. Your father forced your mother to train you to succeed in her death.
“She controlled imagination and creativity among the humans, as you once did. When a human loses their way, you have the ability to port a soul back in time through the Dust of Dreaming. You can reconnect them to a memory they need to remember at that time.”
He stopped, hopped down, walked over, and touched my hand. “Taye Ann, breathe. You are going to pass out.”
Nervously chewing the inside of my cheek, I processed everything, including the fact my mother was dead. I released my lungs and started choking. After a few gulps of air, I motioned for him to continue.
“Virgo felt his power threatened by you and your connection with the Pools of Nevermore. That’s where we store the tears of man and use the collected waters to control time’s motion. All of us have positions that you have bestowed on us to maintain the lake’s needs. Your connection with Nevermore became an obsession, and we believe it is the reason your father banished you.
“We feel you are a scattered soul now, and in order for you to regain your crown, we must cross through time to find your memories.”
Searching for a response, I could only come up with, “How?”
Orion smiled with confidence, walked over to my sandglass, and tapped it.
I was actually taking all of this in. No wonder I’ve always felt alone. I was a snippet, and not just any snippet. I had a family, a purpose, and friends who wanted me back as their queen. A feeling of trepidation enslaved my voice. I wasn’t sure what to do next.
My father had banished me from my home not once, but twice. We needed to find those memories because this world held nothing for me. I was going to accept this quest to find my scattered soul, even if I had to look within each grain of sand to do so…
…and this was the beginning of another snippet’s tale.
If you enjoyed Within a Grain of Sand we recommend you check out So Shall I Reap by: Kathy-Lynn Cross.
“Happy Birthday to you…”
Eighteen candles flickered while friends and family sang. Grandma Dot was loud and off-key like always. Mallory hoped they might skip the part about looking and smelling like a monkey, but her younger brother, Tommy, never missed an opportunity to tease her.
Eighteen. While Mallory was finally considered an adult by legal standards, she’d felt like one for years. It was hard not to after losing Scott. He was her best friend, the one who knew her better than anyone else. They had even shared the same birthday. Their mothers gave birth in the county hospital, down the same corridor, only hours apart. Being next-door neighbors, Mallory and Scott spent their entire childhoods together, exploring the woods that bordered their backyards, building snow forts in the winter, and digging up wiggly worms for fishing in the spring. Losing Scott, Mallory lost a piece of herself.
She could almost see him now. If he were here, he’d be standing behind Tommy and making rabbit ears. When Tommy caught wind of it, he would turn, and Scott would tickle him in the ribs and make him squeal. Her brother lost a lot, too, when Scott died.
“…you look like a monkey, and you smell like one, too.”
Tommy’s teasing voice rose above the others. Scott had found it hilarious that her family continued to add that verse to every birthday serenade. Unfortunately, the last time he’d heard it was when she’d turned fifteen. She would take his teasing now. She would give anything to have him back. A
lthough she tried to smile bravely in front of everyone, the tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
“Mal?” Her mom’s brows knit together as she studied Mallory. It wasn’t just her mom watching her. Mallory stared at the expectant faces of her friends and family. It was time to make a wish and blow out the candles. With a swipe to dry her cheeks, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her wish vibrating through her entire being.
I wish I could see Scott again.
A light breeze lifted her hair, and she swore she could smell Scott’s cologne. When she opened her eyes, the room was empty. Where did the breeze come from? The windows in the kitchen were all closed. What had happened? Where was everyone? Were they in the other room playing a trick on her? Very funny, she thought, but then she looked down and gasped. A different cake sat before her, this one covered in pink roses, its sixteen candles yet unlit. Mallory sucked in a sharp breath. She remembered that cake and that day. She couldn’t possibly be where she thought she might be. Time travel? The idea was ridiculous.
The back door slammed, and heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs.
“Mal? Is that you?” Her mom called from the front of the house. “Did you get the ice cream already?”
Mom sounded the same, and Mallory wanted to run to her and ask for answers. Before she could, she heard her own voice call back from the stairs. “I told Scott to get it himself. I hate him. I don’t care if I never see him again.”
The words pierced Mallory like a knife. They were hers, and she knew them well. They had haunted her every day since. With her heart in her throat, she raced to the back door and out into the yard. She was just in time to see Scott opening the back gate, his shoulders slumped, his pace dejected.