The Chronicles of Soraya Thenayu: Darkwood Academy

Chapter 24: Hymn of Healing

    She turned translucent and fell into him once more, slipping into his body like a glove. Transforming into their hybrid self felt much more natural for the both of them the second time around.

    "We should make our hair look different too, just in case."

    They reached down and untied the white ribbon from their ponytail.

    "Let's make two braids, so we look nothing like our normal selves."

    Soraya let Rhys take over their hands, so he could twist and weave their hair into two ponytails on both sides of their head. After tying both ends with ribbons, they walked to the boy's restroom and looked at themselves. Standing before them, in the mirror, was someone who looked like a new student they had never met before.

    "Perfect," they agreed in unison.

    The dirt road used for the timed mile run was dimly lit by the stars above and the waning moon looming overhead.

    "In three days, the demon will visit again."

    Despite being a fusion, Rhys moved their left hand to gently hold onto their right. 

    "Let's focus on fixing this problem first."

    There were no lampposts anywhere in sight, which helped them blend in with the shadows. All they could hear were the crunching of leaves and small rocks beneath their feet and crickets chirping faintly from the tall grass.

    "There it is."

    They cautiously approached the circle of dead, wilted grass and the two skeletal trees. The broken, dead limbs and branches were scattered about on the lawn, already decomposing and being swallowed back up by the earth.

    Sadness overwhelmed the girl as she stared at the destruction she had caused.

    "This is all my fault."

    Rhys squeezed their right hand.

    "It was an honest mistake, you don't need to keep beating yourself up for it."

    They knelt down, brushing the dead grass beneath their fingers. Soraya winced when a few blades turned to dust from her light touch. Despite never having used Water Magic before, the tattoo on their right hand warmed up, as if it knew the plants needed help.

    "Do you feel that too?"

    "Jai."

    They shifted their thumb under their hand, so four fingers were raised.

    "Heal them, please," the girl pleaded to the Gods.        

Instinctively, she squeezed their thumb into their hand, and they both watched as sparkling, clear water flowed out of their palm and into the grass. It stretched and spread itself out, forming a small lake encompassing every dull and gray blade and every dead and rotting root from the two decaying trees.

    "Sing a hymn..."

    Soraya and Rhys froze. A faint voice, barely above a whisper, had breathed in their right ear. Rhys hadn't heard it at first through his left ear and had almost mistaken it for the light breeze rustling through the surrounding leaves.

    "I haven't prayed or sung to the Gods in a long time," Rhys said sadly. "I've been calling myself agnostic for years, always wondering what the truth is since I grew up being taught two different religions."

    A memory of Rhys' flashed into their mind. The boy was crouching down behind a stairway, peeking nervously in between the bars. A woman with golden hair and blue eyes, who Soraya recognized as his mother from Ujuu's photograph in his locker, was arguing with two older, more weathered looking adults.