Shadow Color (NEW VERSION)

Chapter 7

Once both of her feet were on the ground, the man released her hands and smiled, "I didn't think it would have taken this long for us to finally meet."

The man didn't look familiar to Macaria at all. Nothing about him was familiar. "Who are you?" Macaria asked. A strange feeling came over her, it was rather calming as if she had forgotten about the events that had just occurred. She had even forgotten about the stinging pain in her hands which were now red from the branch smashing into her hands.

"I'm Hoshiko. A wind spirit sent by the wind god, Oakuss. I think," he scratched his head as he said the last part. "My apologies Macaria, my memory has been rather fuzzy for a few weeks now."

Macaria blinked twice before shaking her head, "A wind spirit?" she asked sounding confused. And how did he know her name?

Hoshiko nodded with a warm smile on his face, "You seemed confused. It might be best if we started by answering any questions you have. I'm sure there's a lot."

Macaria stared at him; she was sure she was dreaming. Were the events so overwhelming for her that she had to dream about asking a random, unfamiliar stranger questions about everything that had happened? Hoshiko tilted his as a worried look appeared on his face, "What's wrong?"

"I just want to wake up! I don't want to have this dream anymore!" Macaria shouted. Her sudden outburst startled Hoshiko causing him to jump. He watched as Macaria covered her face with her hands, she seemed overwhelmed. Hoshiko stood in silence as she began to cry.

He took a step closer to her and slowly put a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright. I know, a lot has happened in a short amount of time. I've seen it all. I've witnessed everything as if I was standing there with you."

Macaria removed her hands from her face and looked at Hoshiko with tears in her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Hoshiko gestured to the tree Macaria was clinging to while the strong wind blew through and began to walk towards the tree. Macaria followed closely behind him. He then slowed down to match her pace. "Let's start from the beginning. My name is Hoshiko, I am a wind spirit. I know that for sure," he looked to his left as he muttered the last part to himself before continuing, "You are in fact, not dreaming. When you fell asleep, I transported your soul to a realm that is between your world and mine."

"If that's that case then why did you bring me here?" she asked, feeling even more confused. This information was quite bizarre. She stopped in front of the tree and watched as Hoshiko bent down and gently plucked the crystal flower that was glowing during the strong wind. "So, we can properly meet and interact with each other. It gets quite lonely when I speak to you through your head. I'd like to speak to someone in person occasionally. Plus, I'm sure it makes you feel better now that you know who's voice you've been hearing in your head. I hope this is one mystery solved for you."

Now that he said this, Macaria realized the voice she had been hearing in her head matched Hoshiko's. That was one mystery solved. "What about that fight in the alley? Who were those people? How did I get those powers?" Macaria asked as Hoshiko approached her with the sparkling crystal flower in his hand.

"Unfortunately, I don't know who those people are since my memory is quite foggy. As for your powers, I was able to link my soul with yours which allowed you to use my abilities," Hoshiko explained as he handed the crystal flower to Macaria. She slowly took the flower; it was surprisingly light just like a normal flower.

The flower changed color as Macaria shifted it in her hands. "So, I'm not an unknown? You were letting me borrow your powers?" Macaria asked as she looked up at Hoshiko who was also watching the flower.

"Correct," Hoshiko replied.

"So," Macaria began before she took a deep breath, "You're a wind spirit, you let me borrow your powers, and you transported me to another realm that is between two worlds."