I S O L A T I O N

Chapter One

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhaaale.

Then, with her eyes shut tightly, arms folded across her chest, she leaned off the cliff and free fell. The air swirled all around her, combing through her dark hair as it rushed passed her body. Endless fall, nothing to stop her— the feeling was divine.

She descended straight down, bringing her arms to her sides to further her speed. She felt like an unstoppable bullet, a force that could defy any others and continue on eternally. The rush swelling up in her chest added to her thrill as she listened to her roused heartbeat beneath the blaring wind.

There is only one kind of freedom: the one without boundaries, without floors.

When she felt too close to the ground, she opened her eyes to find a growing lake drawing near her and brought her fingers to her mouth. A loud whistle fled her lips to catch the wind and locate the one she sought for. That entity was him.

    A creature more devastating than a tsunami, yet more docile and beautiful than a calm sunrise reflecting off a vast blue sea- that was him. A being whose wings shimmered a brilliant navy, that left intricate patterns, not unlike etchings along palace doors, of shadows on the floors of everywhere he passed over. His teeth were white as sea foam, and his eyes were of the purest crystal blue. His name was Tenochritus, and he was hers.

    His screech soon came to echo throughout the realm. She smiled and looked above her to see- Huh?! She gasped as a tiny dragon the size of a fairy greeted her with a "mew". Her heart began to race in a panic as she realized that she was falling without any way to stop herself. She turned herself on her stomach and looked below her once more, putting her arms up just before she plundge—

    Mouse jolted up from her sleep. Despite the immediate burst into reality, she quickly gained her wit and cleared her mind, allowing her heart to settle. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. The teen found herself atop a roof— the drugstore roof, to be precise— staring out at the small village around her as people and animals ambled about like clouds.

    It was a familiar sight, the village, one that went unchanging each time she looked upon it.

The elderly sat on their porches, singing the same songs to their grandchildren that their grandparents sung to them; the children sat eagerly and sang along happily, that is, when they weren't helping out in the fields or getting scolded.

Young men hauled incredible loads of fertilizer and crops slowly back and forth through the streets— some of the less work-inclined ones scanning the crowd for women their age. Older men and women tended to the sick and frail. The two or so young women the village had to offer just sat around, enjoying the attention from would-be suitors.

    They were all in their places, which meant that it was between 12 in the afternoon and 3. At 4:00, the elderly would take their naps, and the children would tend to their chores. 6:00 would bring the collective dinner for the entire village, led by the older men and women. Teens like herself would clean up that dinner and then hang around Square until 9. Like clockwork.

    The monotony of the village was suffocating. If she left for sixty years and returned, even the faces would hardly change. Her afternoon were one of the only highlights of the day, probably even for the whole village's history. Except, there was her dragon twin.

    "Mew!" A tiny, chubby dragon-sprite squeaked as he flapped his stubby wings in front of her. He was, by all technicalities , a blue gerbil that had sprouted translucent wings outlined by black veins.

    "Hey, Cheese," Mouse greeted him.

She herself was a thin, frail sixteen-year-old girl with short white hair that was cropped around her head like a squirrel. Her apparel consisted of a dusty black shirt and black jeans that were much too baggy for her tall and lanky frame. She never wore makeup; that was for the two other girls her age, not for the fisherman's daughter, and her soft face did just fine without it.