DROPLET

Droplet - A Short Story Prequel to Water’s Blood

Copyright 2013 The Writers Canvas, LLC Author Elaine Calloway

Connect with Elaine Calloway at http://www.elainecalloway.com

 License Notes

Droplet is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

***

The first thing I remember was having an unquenchable thirst. That dry, bitter feeling that buries itself in your throat, begging for relief with an unrelenting stranglehold.

“Your name,” a strong and commanding voice spoke, “shall be Brooke.”

In the thick blackness, I couldn’t see anyone. Yet some form of liquid pooled around my ankles. Was I sinking? The rush of tiny particles under my feet must have sunk my body down by several inches.

“Where am I?”

I didn’t know who I was, what I was, but I didn’t want to sink into nothingness. The sheer will to fight had already been instilled, from the beginning.

“The Gulf Coast,” the voice said. “We’re at the edge, by the Water from which you were created.”

Created? I tried to think, tried to remember, but my memory was only minutes old. How had I gotten my ability to speak, my means of moving my limbs? This didn’t make sense.

“Don’t be frightened,” the voice said. “Things will become clear.”

Somehow the calmness in his tone soothed my nerves. Then, out of the black night, a semi-transparent being stepped into view. He had a kind smile, warm eyes, and there was a glow around him that illuminated everything around us. I could see. The rolling waves crashing into the shore, the sand particles tickling my feet, the random crab scurrying to safety.

The question bubbled up inside me, exacerbating my parched throat.

“Who am I?”

He smiled, and his eyes beamed. “You are Brooke, one of many Water Elementals. You were created from Water; you will train and be able to wield Water with a power that must be respected.”

The sky seemed to open up then, wisps of pink and red breaking through. The color seemed to tear a hole in the black night, forcing light in all directions.

 Did nature obey this man’s voice, or was it coincidence?

I asked the only question I could think of. “Why? Why do I have this power you speak of?”

“To protect humanity, to ensure the innocent are allowed free will.”

Humanity. The word sounded familiar, yet something about it implied a distance, a separation. I wasn’t human, but I’d been assigned to protect them. 

A random seagull cawed and took to flight across the water. The sky turned warm, arrays of pinks and reds, before an enormous orange ball rose from the horizon and cast off the darkness.

“What do I need to do?” I asked.

He bent down, traced his fingers in the wet sand, and smiled. “Remember who you are.”

###

After that first night, my questions were gradually answered. The man who’d first spoken to me, I learned went by Universe. He’d created Elementals to protect innocent humans from the Fallen Angels, who reaped souls and performed dark deeds during witching hour.