Sister of Time

Prologue

Sister Of Time 

Prologue

Sometimes at night I have these dreams.

At first I feel safe. Every detail is soft and bright. The whispers of grass and the sighs on the wings of birds creating peace of mind. Then, slowly, things start to shift in the background. A bird’s song fades, a deer runs off into the forest, the wind dies altogether leaving the large field seem suddenly terrifying. These small changes are drastic enough to quickly turn my soft, quiet dream into a nightmare.

It's always the same. On a nearby hill stands a small girl. Surrounding the hill are tall grasses and flowers and other plants for which I have no name. From where I stand I can see that her eyes are closed and hear her as she sings quietly to herself. Her childish tone is contrastingly and surprisingly harsh against the peaceful scenery. The innocence of the song sends chills down my spine, as it is obvious that there is a deeper meaning to her words.

 

"Wait for me, I will come. Reach for me, I will run. Call for me, I will answer. Follow me. Come now, come."

She sings on in her soft, light voice that sets my nerves on end. The words of her song echo around me, crashing against the sudden wind as white blond strands of hair float around her face. Then, slowly, her hands lift away from her sides, reaching for me as her song strangles me from across the now dying field. A bird, as black as fear flies past me, trying to escape the gale. As soon as it passes into the range of her sweet voice it drops from the sky, falling with a loud thud against the soft grass. The angelic voice of this child ages the grass, the trees, the flowers and the animals around her, draining the life from all that stand within reach of her song.

I shield my face from the wind as I struggle to view her face. Our eyes meet, for hers are now open, her piercing stare holds mine, drawing me towards her. Her eyes are a piercing grey so bright that it seems like pure silver, with small blue stars like sapphires that float in the storm of her gaze. While her gaze terrifies me, I find myself more afraid of the visions that dance in front of me after our eyes meet.

 

Suddenly, I am drowning.

Quick, dark flashes rush at me. A city of stone falls, the skies open up and storms destroy whole towns and kingdoms. Tears flow chaotically down a wounded mother’s face, her arms clutching at her child whose eyes have lost life’s glow. Fires burn relentlessly through a fortified city, chasing its citizens out into the cold night. Mouths move in the crowd but the cries and names are lost in the roar of the flames.

I claw at my throat, feeling as though her very words had wrapped around my neck and were slowly cutting off my air supply. As I fight with consciousness her song continues, louder than ever.

 

"Wait for me, I will come. Reach for me, I will run. Call for me, I will answer. Follow me. Come, now come."

I try again to look away, to close my eyes, to do anything to escape the tortured gaze of this small child. Finally a scream escapes, ripping through me, clawing its way out of my chest and into the sky. Tears threaten to drown me as they pour from my eyes and air rushes back into my burning lungs. No longer distracted by visions and lack of air, I see the one thing that had escaped my notice in the beginning. Panting, I look into the face that had uttered the words that had almost taken my life.

The girl on the hill?

 

She is me.