But moms were moms and she pleaded, “Just one more cycle. I know she’ll be ready then. I can feel it.”
Zephyr walked over to his wife and encircled her with his arms. “No, sweetheart. We let this go on far longer than we should have. If her wings begin to wilt, we’ll lose her for sure.”
Azure began to cry. “But . . . “
It was BreeZee that interrupted her mother’s plea. “Daddy’s right, Mom. I’ll go this time.”
“Are you sure, my love?”
“Mom . . . I don’t want to think about this anymore. Every day and every night . . . it’s like a huge thunderstorm hanging over my head.” The girl took a deep breath to calm herself. “Besides, I’ve been practicing with Windy and Skye over at Whirligig Peak. I think . . . I mean I know I’m ready.”
She was lying for her parents’ sake. She was mostly certainly not ready.
*****
The Previous Day at Whirligig Peak
“So if you get caught in a downdraft, what will you do?”
“Umm . . . I . . . umm . . . umm . . . Oh yeah, I scream as loud as I can, hit the ground going a hundred miles an hour, then explode into a billion bits of icky red goo.”
“BreeZee . . . get serious, will you?” That was Skye, and he and Windy had been working with their friend for days trying to get her ready for the Rite.
“Which part of that was wrong?”
“Girlfriend, if I could do this, you sure as heck can.”
“Windy, it’s not that I don’t know what to do. It’s just that my mind goes completely blank when there’s trouble. You know that, and so do you Skye.”
Unfortunately, they did know that about their friend. But neither of them were about to give up.
“Come on. Let’s practice that maneuver . . . again.”
“No. Like I said, I know what to do . . . I just freeze when there’s danger. I just can’t help it.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m taking the next Tempest when it hits.”
“But . . .,” Windy couldn’t finish that thought. So, she turned to Skye and said, “Tell her she can’t.”
That the boy looked uncomfortable was an understatement. “I’m sorry . . .” Both girls misunderstood his intent until he finished with, “. . . Bree needs to do this now.”
“How can you say that?” shrieked Windy.
“Like she said, she knows what to do. The longer she waits, the harder it’s going to be for all of us.” It came out sounding selfish, but it wasn’t meant that way. Realizing he phrased it poorly, he stammered “What I mean is . . . umm . . . we all love you BreeZee and . . . and . . . “
Thankfully, the girl said, “Stop. I know I’m making it hard on everybody . . . you two, my mom and dad . . . that’s why I have to go. One way or another this needs to end.”
They were sailing above the Peak while having this conversation.
For a Wind’dancer, it was the equivalent of walking . . . completely second nature. “Skye, promise me you’ll take care of Windy if I . . . if I don’t come back.” She wanted to sound so brave but her eyes were raining tears. “Promise me.”
The three had been inseparable friends for most of forever. But, if truth be told, now that they had come of age, it was a little awkward with two girls and only one boy, especially since each girl assumed the other wanted Skye for herself. Such feelings were never discussed . . ., which was a mistake.
On the other hand, with or without wings – boys were boys, and Skye was no different. He was oblivious to the true feelings that the girls had for him. And whatever serious intentions he might have for either girl was completely lost inside his adolescence-addled brain.
As for what his friend just said, it was way too emotional for him to process. “Come on Bree, don’t say things like that.”
“Promise me, please.”
Skye couldn’t make eye contact when he reluctantly said, “Yeah, okay.”
Momentarily forgetting why this conversation was being held in the first place, Windy whined “Hey, don’t do me any favors, you big jerk.” Then she realized it was she who was being the jerk. “Oh, good grief, what am I saying. Sorry, guys.”
“No, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault; it’s mine. I’m driving everyone crazy.” After an awkward silence, she said, “I’ll be spending tomorrow with my parents, so we have the rest of the day to Remember. Let’s not waste any more time.” As part of the Rite, the individual would spend time with friends and family reminiscing about all the wonderful things they experienced with each other. It was a way to say goodbye . . . just in case.
*****
BreeZee was standing with her parents on the veranda high in the tree they called home. The wind was howling, branches were swaying to and fro in a frenzy of motion, and the sky had turned an unnatural purple streaked with dark, dirty grey. Even the monstrously large Sun-Seeker trees were swaying back and forth like earth kids when they get off the Tea Cups at Disneyland.
The storm was one of the most violent in recent memory.
“You have to wait for the next one.” Azure had to yell at her daughter to be heard above the sound of the furious wind. “You can’t go out in this.” When the girl didn’t answer, Azure screamed at her husband, “TELL HER.”
Zephyr leaned over to his daughter and said, “It’s your choice, sweetheart.”
Bree was as white as a cloud, her knees were shaking and she felt nauseated. “What would you do, Daddy?”
“The bigger the storm, the greater your success. If you do this (and survive, but he didn’t say that), it will change you forever. But . . . you’ve waited this long. One more cycle won’t change anything.”
“But the next storm could be even worse. Thanks, Daddy. I love you,” and she hugged him almost as fiercely as he hugged her. She then did the same to her mother.
She turned back to her father and nodded. He opened the gate and BreeZee walked through and, without looking back for fear she would change her mind, she leapt into the heart of darkness coming face to face with her greatest fear.
*****
It wasn’t as bad as she had expected . . . it was a million times worse. Even though there was a little sunlight creeping in amongst the clouds, she was blinded by the wind-driven rain slamming into her face. In a way, that was a good thing. Since she had no control over where she was being blown, it was best not to see what danger she was about to crash into.
The wind was so strong she couldn’t get command of her wings. And without her wings, she might as well have been a leaf – tossed hither and yon at the whim of the storm. She squeezed her eyes shut, wrapped her arms around herself, said a silent prayer to Zynnia and stopped fighting the inevitable.
She had failed . . . giving up without a fight.
The failure, however, was mental, not physical. A Wind’dancer was made to sail the sky and there were many things she could do to regain control. But, as she knew all along, her fear had gotten the better of her and that made her infinitely sad. The only good in all of this was that her dad . . . and her mom . . . weren’t here to witness her humiliation and defeat.
“Why do you give up, child?”
At first, BreeZee thought it was some inner voice trying to give her courage. But when she heard it again . . . “Why do you give up, child?” . . . she opened her eyes and looked around.
And to her astonishment, she saw a ball of twisty blue light hovering next to her.
“Tell me what frightens you?”
BreeZee just stared at the weird thingy. If she was hallucinating, there was nothing to be gained by talking like a crazy person to a ball of light.
The light, however, wasn’t about to give up. “Look into your mind’s eye, child, and picture your father. What would he tell you to do?”
Oh well, if she was crazy, there wasn’t anything to lose at this point. So the girl asked the obvious question “Who are you?”
“I am the love that created this world. I would
be sad to lose one of my children.”
BreeZee gasped. “Zynnia?”
Ignoring the implied question, the light said, “What would your father say to you if he were here?”
The girl gave that some thought. “He would tell me to concentrate on doing just one thing.”
“Such as?”
“Um . . . pull my wings close to my body so the wind won’t catch them.”
“Have you done so?”
“No.”
“Perhaps you should.”
BreeZee nodded to the light, then focused as hard as she could on her wings. They slowly retracted closer to her body. And the buffeting she had been experience diminished dramatically. “Oh.”
“Where is the wind less strong in a storm?”
“Close to ground.”
“Then why are you flying so high?”
“Oh”. The girl nosed over and dove towards the ground. As the wind subsided a little, she instinctively spread her wings to their fullest. She pulled up into level flight and was now in complete control.
For the first time in weeks, BreeZee smiled. She looked over her shoulder to see if the ball of light was still with her. It was.
“When fear strikes, my child, do not worry about all that can go wrong. Such thoughts are overwhelming. As your father suggested, concentrate on just one thing – that which you can control. After that, think about the next . . . then the next.”
“Why couldn’t I do it without you telling me what I already knew?”
“The mind sometimes dwells on the enormity of the challenge and not the first step in its resolution. For many, the first time to use reason to overcome such panic is always the hardest. Now that you have experienced it for yourself, it will be easier in the future.”
“Zynnia . . . thank you so much.”
But the ball of blue light was gone.
*****
The storm had died . . . but BreeZee had not. She found a gentle thermal (an air current) and used it to circle back towards her village. She was feeling so light and wonderful that if she didn’t have wings, she could still fly.
As she made it back home, everyone was out waiting for her return. She circled once over the crowd, waved to her parents then flew to the tallest of the Sun-Seeker trees. On top was an arrangement of giant crystals that, from a distance, could easily be mistaken for an exotic flower. It was the village’s Ascension Wing Stone (every village had one) and it served only one, very vital, purpose.
As the clan watched, the girl settled down very gently in the center of the glass-like structure. There was a brilliant flash of light triggered by the static electricity in her wings (kind of, like when you pull a sock out of the dryer and it crackles) and for a few seconds she appeared to melt away.
When the light cleared, there was BreeZee . . . with the most gorgeous colored wings.
Chapter 6 – Now and Then
Much like a butterfly on Earth alighting on a flower, BreeZee made a graceful landing in front of her home. The throngs of well-wishers all stepped aside so the girl could do what was foremost on her mind. She ran up to her parents and hugged each in turn.
Azure was sobbing uncontrollably . . . her tears were mostly from relief. Her daughter had returned, and with her newly transformed wings, was radiant and beautiful. Zephyr had to give her a hand to steady his very emotional wife.
As for Dad, BreeZee was his little girl. His emotions were as least as strong as Azure’s. Pride, joy, happiness, relief swirled around his head and his heart. The tears in his eyes, he later claimed, were from a speck of dust. Everyone had the good grace to accept his silly explanation.
Skye and Windy finally got their chance to hug and congratulate their friend.
“Knew you could do it,” said the boy with a big grin.
“You’re cute when you lie,” BreeZee responded affectionately as she gave him a hug.
“How did you do it?” was the more honest question from Windy.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
Anyway, now wasn’t the time. She had to greet and thank all the folks who had gathered to see her return. There were a lot of them – mostly because her father was Clan leader.
When it was finally over, Zephyr led his wife, daughter and her friends up to their lodgings in the Sun-Seeker Tree. They all gathered in the family room while Azure went to make some refreshments. When her daughter’s excitement finally died down, she would be starving. The Rite took an awful lot of effort and, for those who returned, rest and a good meal were the order of the day.
“So tell us everything,” said her father. “That was an incredibly large and violent storm. I doubt many kids your age would have survived.” He was beaming with pride until he caught a look from his wife. Realizing he had inadvertently insulted his guests, he said “Oh . . . sorry, you two. No offense. I’m sure you would have done as well.”
“Not likely,” answered Windy.
“No way. I wouldn’t even have tried. Brea you’re unbelievable. You wait almost two years to take the Rite then you jump into the teeth of that monster. Since your parents are here, I’ll just say that was incredibly brave of you.”
“And after they leave?” the girl asked with a smile.
“Um . . . I might mention the fact that you are one airborne air-head for tempting fate.” He blushed at his own brazenness then turned to Zephyr and said, “Um . . . no offense, sir.”
Bree and Windy both giggled so the clan leader said, “I might agree she was perhaps . . . mind you, just perhaps . . . a bit imprudent. But, nonetheless, I am so darn proud I want to scream BREEZEE’S MY DAUGHTER from the top of this Tree.” He actually did shout it.
“Z . . . shsssssh,” scolded his wife. Only his wife would dare call him Z.
“Sorry,” he said contritely.
“So, tell us how you did it. We want to hear every last detail,” said Windy.
Did you ever feel so hyped up – so excited – over some achievement that it’s hard to sit still, hard to concentrate, hard not to talk a mile a minute? Well, that’s how Bree was feeling. So she took a moment to organize her thoughts.
“Do you guys know the old fable about Zynnia helping out some poor ‘dancer (she meant Wind’dancer) who totally messed up his Rite and was about to become a Wind-Jammer (the nickname given to a Wind’dancer who doesn’t survive the Rite)?”
“Yeah.”
“Well . . . it’s not a fable.”
“WHAT?” That was Skye . . . but he was responding for all four.
“Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” asked Azure with more than a little concern.
“Almost from the start, things were going really, really badly. I knew what to do but I couldn’t make myself do them. So . . . “ She stopped, embarrassed. She really didn’t want to tell her parents and friends that she had given up. “So, that’s when I heard a voice . . .”
“That’s just your inner voice, your subconscious, talking to you, Bree.”
“No, Daddy. At first, I thought it was. Then I heard it again and looked around and there was a ball of blue light.”
“Well, it’s no wonder. In a storm as violent as the one you were in, there’s bound to be all sorts of static electricity and lightning.”
“Daddy, it was a ball of blue light and it was speaking to me. It said . . .,” and the girl went on to repeat her conversation with the sphere. When she was done, she was smiling at the memory. But everyone else was grim faced and staring at her.
Her mother finally said, “Sweetheart, it was just your imagination.”
“NO. It was Zynnia.”
Again, there was silence.
“You don’t believe me.” It was a statement not a question.
“We believe that you went through a life changing experience,” said Zephyr in a very quiet, very commanding voice. “We believe that you looked into your heart and found the courage to do what was necessary. We believe that your mind created the sphere and the voice to
talk you through a super-human challenge. And we believe that no matter what you call it, it was you – not the spirit of Zynnia – that brought you home to us. And we, all of us, are very proud of you.”
BreeZee’s eyes were wide as she heard her father’s words. But if they were meant to be comforting, they had the opposite effect. She stood and ran from the room.
After a moment, Zephyr also stood and told his guests, “She’s been through a lot. Let her rest. By tomorrow she’ll be her old self.” Then he added, “Please don’t talk of this to anyone else.”
Zephyr was wrong. BreeZee would never be her old self again.
*****
About a Year and a Half Ago
There had been seven friends. Besides BreeZee, Skye and Windy, the group of pre-Ascension kids included two other boys, Styxx and Looper, and two girls, Twirl and Nyxxie. However, when the next Tempest came in about a week, both these boys were going to take it. They were older and more than ready to Ascend.
Kids who Ascended were no longer considered . . . well, kids. And as such, they would seldom hang out with their former friends. When everyone considers you an adult, you naturally want to spend time with others such as yourself. So the group was going through some very mixed emotions. Happiness for the two who would be moving on and a deep sadness for exactly the same reason.
“This might be out last chance to hang together,” said Twirl. “Let’s do something totally memorable.”
“Like?” asked Skye.
“Why are you asking me? How the heck would I know?”
“Because it was your idea, you harebrained airhead.”
“Hey, I did the hard part . . . you know, to do something amazing. Now you figure out what it should be. I can’t do all the thinking for this group. I’m good with the grand ideas; I prefer to leave the silly details to the rest of you.” Twirl was the group’s resident joker and, while the other girls giggled, Styxx and Looper glided behind her, grabbed the girl by her wings and dove straight down.
Box Set #2: Zynn-Zaz'Zia: [The 4 book 2nd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 16