Daeva: Black Diamond Chrysalis - Danielle Bolger (essential reading txt) 📗

observed a scene in the exact same position that he was just standing, a view point from the highest lookout atop of Skyward Mountain. Vibrant hues flowed down the landscape that matched reality accurately, however there was one major difference and that fell within the sky. The real view showed only the subtle varying shades of dusk to his eyes, but in the painting rivers of vibrant twinkling rainbows stretched across merrily. Pinks, purples, blues, yellows, oranges and greens were all a part of the twice daily masterpiece. Never fully blending in together but never at once separated. It was my portrayal of the world's perfect harmony of all the different representations of its souls.

He smirked. "It's amazingly beautiful, what do you call this style? Abstract, surrealism?"

"Neither, it's... landscape art."

"As much as I like this you know that the aurora borealis and aurora australis only exist at the poles, right?"

I smiled. "Trust you to know that."

"I like it. It's more amazing than reality, that's pretty special."

"But it is real." I insisted. "The wonderful world is all around us, all the time. Its soul runs through it all and paints way prettier than me, it's just that we can't see it normally."

"The world's soul..." Eric repeated thoughtfully as he gazed at my picture. "Well you can definitely see it, can't you, Abigail? And I think you painted it perfectly."

I shifted beside him. "Eric, you told me that I could tell you anything but I don't think you understand what I'm communicating here."

"That you've seen some horrible things lately and yet, despite all that, you see all the beauty the world holds? You think I don't understand that about you?"

"I... yes, but..." I struggled completely baffled as to how to proceed. It seemed simple enough when I had painted this picture yesterday evening. I knew that I wasn't so good at explaining things with words, especially things so strange that were occurring within my life, that was why I thought I could achieve this explanation through art. Pictures have always spoken more to me than words so if I really wanted to talk to a person then I knew that it had to be through visual stimulus, but I had just done that and still it didn't succeed in what I hoped. Eric still didn't understand what was really happening.

"Abigail..." Eric squeezed my hand. "This girl you knew who died, I understand that it's really upsetting you. It upsets me too, actually, because I can see how hurt you are and the worst thing is that I can never really know what you're thinking and feeling because we all exist in our own universes with their own beauties and their own pains. We can recognise things in other people's universes but we can never completely know what's going on there. I really want to know your pain, more than that I want to take it away so you don't have to carry it anymore, but I know that I cannot do that. All I can do is tell you that I love you and promise to protect you from as much hurt that I can, but I..." He turned away from my art book and the scene and grazed his fingers along my face soothingly. "I can never heal the pain that exists in your soul."

I smiled. "Oh, but you do, Eric! Every moment that I'm with you I feel like I'm being saved!"

The boy's tortured face melted into calm before it neared me and, eyes closing, I felt the gentle touch of his lips against mine. It tingled there and prodded my mouth into a wider smile but never did it venture away from its perfect proximity.

Eventually his did though as it shifted just enough to murmur, "Do you hear that? It sounds like someone's... singing."

The words of the singing could not be made out but the voice was unmistakable, it was Dorothy's.

"Oh, Eric..." I bit my lower lip as I pulled him behind me. "Please, let's just run away from here!"

He frowned as he placed one backpack strap to each shoulder. "Sure, we can go but I gotta ask, why are you so freaked?"

"I've just been telling you!" I exclaimed. "There's bad things here and I know that you say people only act on experiences but I'm not so sure. I think... that there might be bad people too that want to hurt others. Want to hurt us. I think that if we want any kind of life then we need to run now!"

Eric turned slowly in the direction of both the forest and singing then watched me carefully, still reticent to leave. Just as he elaborated I saw blue snow float across from the air behind him. "Abigail, what is it about this singing? Why does it have you so spooked?"

"Please, Eric!" I tugged at his arm. "That girl's not nice. She does bad things and she's always smiling when she does them. Please, let's just leave!"

Eric's eyes narrowed. "You know this girl, she's a bully?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "And the worst sort. Let's go, now, before she notices us!"

But still, despite all the tugs I was giving the boy he wouldn't move from that spot. "She's a part of the reason why you're so upset. She's hurting you..."

"No, Eric, that doesn't matter! What does is that we need to get away from here now!"

He watched me for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to stay and try to resolve whatever's going on?"

I shook my head. "I wish it was that simple but whatever her reasons may be this is just one bully you avoid."

The tanned boy nodded. "Alright, I get it, avoid conflict if you suspect it coming."

Then finally he allowed me to lead him down the road but it wasn't long before I witnessed a black figure climbing up it. I stopped immediately.

"Abigail, what's wrong? Why did you stop?" Eric enquired as he looked ahead.

He can't see it, I reminded myself. He can't see the shade rising over the top of the hill.

"We can't go this way." I muttered, turning around. "This way, come."

"Wait! Abigail!" he cried as I tugged him so hurriedly behind that he was forced into a jog. "But that's the direction of the singing, right?"

"It is," I acknowledged. "But we're not going there way, not again. This time we're going off the path and straight into the bush."

"Wait, again?" Eric puffed behind me. "What's going on, Abigail? What are you running from?"

As we crossed through the nearby playground I voiced, "Would you believe me if I told you that I just saw a monster now?"

"Abigail!" Eric jerked behind me and halted my forward progression. "Whatever you got going on running away won't help!"

I turned back to him, eyes shifting over the dried bark floor, past the slide and monkey bars before I saw the good concerned boy, but behind him, back on the road stood a black silhouette. It was likely that it was the same shade but it was also possible that it was another.

"I think it will!" I argued. "I think we really need to run now!" I tugged him back towards the other end of the park before stopping suddenly with a gasp. Another shade was there too.

With another yank I diverted our path again so that we ran away from the two and before I could realise it we were atop the path that had led me to my first shade encounter. I stopped there, frozen.

"Abigail? What's this all about? Why do you keep changing directions like this? You'll get us lost!" Eric implored but I was lost to his words, all that I could perceive were the five, six, seven shades moving through the forest in a direction that made it seem like they were heading straight for us.

Of course, they were attracted to Dorothy's singing like the last time, giving us the perfect reason to keep away from the clearing. The only problem was that running away from the song meant running into those wanting ebony arms. So I couldn't move, not forward, nor back, since I knew that wherever we ended up we were sure to be caught in the violence of the storm.

"Dammit, this is ridiculous!" Eric cried as, tugging me behind, led me down the path that followed only deeper into the trees.

"No, Eric..." I murmured, "You can't go there, that's the eye of the storm..."

He didn't stop to turn back around as he responded. "Well then I think that's precisely where we should head. Maybe there you can actually calm down and explain what's going on."

Furtively I turned back around to where I witnessed no fewer than ten shades moving through the trees behind us.

It was the wrong way to go but I simply had no other path to take. I just hoped the increased sideways blue snow did not prove to be too grave an omen. The singing, too, terrified me, especially since we became close enough so that once again I discerned their disturbing lyrics.

 

Tears fall when I see your face

These black streaks trail with grace

Mascara smudged, never to be repaired

Because the loss of you will never be fair

 

"Hey, Abigail, don't worry, everything will be fine, everything is fine." he stated when I didn't respond. "Besides, with this music and the beautiful day I kind of have a really good feeling. It's weird actually, the more I hear these foreign words the more at ease I become."

"Foreign?" I repeated meekly as I stared at the slow-moving shades many meters away. "You think it's in another language?"

"Yeah, of course, but it's strange, I'm familiar with all the major ones enough to recognise them but this I can't. I wonder what country it originates from. I think... I'll ask the girl who's singing."

He's being lulled in by it, just as Bethanie had been when all this started. The blue snow had just started carpeting everything, just as the white sheen did then, and I remembered that it wasn't long before my protector ran off and allowed my hand to slip away...

 

Skin so white you could be a doll

With a perfect image and nought a soul

You are still my man even though you're gone

But I hold out for when the sun will be shone

 

"Eric, no! Don't leave me!" I cried as my two hands wrapped around his one.

Gasping Eric turned with alarm. "Of course not, Abigail. I would never leave you!"

"Then don't! Don't lose yourself to her song!"

 

It is death that claims you now

And though you have taken your last bow

I will never give you up

 

Eric turned his head fervently to the sides. "There's only two places where I can be lost, the first one is within your Bambi eyes."

"I don't know what to do, where to go..." I murmured as I shrank closer to him.

"What's back that way?" Eric nodded over the top of my head. "Why are you running from both directions?"

I didn't have to turn to know of their presence, the nearest just ten meters away but it hadn't seemed to be going for me or Eric, just ahead, no doubt drawn by Dorothy's singing. That meant I could have made a run for it in the opposite direction but I wasn't sure whether that would trigger their acknowledgement of me. Something told me that shades were as compelled to the music as humans were, but if it was in the same way then they could be snapped out their reverie if something caught their attention too.

 

In my heart you will stay

Just as these tears keep it a rainy day

But I will never give you up

 

"Come on," I slowed as I redirected our course back off the path and into thick brush, "this is the way we need to go."

"Back off the path again, but it seems like you're travelling very close to it..."

"Precisely," I responded, more calm this time as I trod slowly. "I realised something just now, that if you're caught up in a situation that you seemingly