The souls of two kingdoms, who reign from opposite ends of the earth, cross paths in the isolations of a dark realm...the Upside-down. Each time they enter this realm, their connection to one another deepens, even when they depart into their own reg...
(Listen while you read: "Climb to Sakteng" by Imogen Heap)
《...Normani...》
Dinah and I had been walking the streets of Shanghai for a while now. But I wasn't complaining in the slightest. The whole time we were here, our hands never left one another's. I felt as though there was something she was hiding from me though. Not in like a life or death kind of way, but just like...like she had a surprise for me or something. I felt it in the way she would slightly squeeze my hand every other step, like she was anticipating something.
"Excuse me," a kind elderly woman said from our right.
I smiled at her as Dinah led us to her flower cart. She had a little boy with her, his hair as dark as night and his eyes almost as big as Dinah's. He looked at me and giggled, hiding behind the cart shyly once I waved at him. Such a little cutie.
"Your flowers are beautiful," Dinah said to the woman. "How do you keep them so vibrant?"
"I tend to them quite often with the help of my grandson over here."
Dinah looked his way and smiled at him, causing him to giggle once again. He then scampered his way over to his grandmother, whispering something in her ear as he pointed to a lone white flower hanging from the top of her cart. The woman looked up to it and smiled before detaching it from where it hung. She walked over to him and put it in his tiny hands. As soon as she stood back, he carefully made his way over to me. I sat down on my knees so I could be his height. I smiled at him, and he smiled right back at me. He then got closer to me and put the white flower in my hair.
"Thank you little one," I said softly to him. "It's beautiful."
He giggled and ran inside as fast as he could, me giggling in response. I turned to Dinah so she could see how it looked.
"You're such a dream," she whispered to me before kissing my nose.
I couldn't help but blush at her. The woman smiled at us before she began speaking.
"This jade flower is very special. My late husband gifted me with it on our wedding night. Up until today I had no idea why I kept it alive for so long. But then I saw you two, and I knew why. You my dear, carry the same loving spirit of my husband. You love this young woman with all your heart. You were meant to love her unconditionally, just as much as she was meant to receive it. Always keep this flower close as well as each other."
I looked at the white haired woman and smiled beside myself, getting a little emotional at her words. This single flower held so much history of her life, and yet she willingly gave it to me and Dinah though she didn't know us.
"Thank you so much," I said as I took her hands in mine. "It's beautiful. I promise to take great care of it."
I soon felt such a strong amount of love for her as I looked in her eyes. I allowed her to touch my cheek as her eyes began to water, realizing that she was seeing her late husband as she bore into my eyes. I kissed her on her cheek before capturing Dinah's hand again, the both of us waving to her and her grandson as we continued to explore the city. Dinah and I soon came to an area filled with blooming cherry blossom trees. Alot of them were falling, creating such a beautiful scene around us. As I looked around me, Dinah touched my arm, causing me to turn back to her.
"Mani," she began softly, "over the course of two to three days, I've grown to really care about you. In fact, I've grown to love you with all my heart. You bring things out of me that I never thought I was capable of doing. And because of that, I wanted to make you something that would connect us forever..."
She brought out a little black velvet box, and my eyes began to water. I looked up at her as she walked closer to me, her smile growing by the second. She opened the box, and in it was the most beautiful ring I had ever laid my eyes on. The ring was welded into two small hands, holding a tiny oracle that shined brighter than any star in the sky.
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I looked at her the whole time as she carefully took the ring out of the box, putting it on my ring finger before kissing it. As soon as her lips touched the oracle, it began to glow a bright shade of rose gold, as did her crystal necklace. I looked in her eyes and saw that hers had finally matched mine; a hue of rose gold with hints of little stars still evident in her pupils. I was rendered speechless at it all. She did all of this for me. All because of her love for me.
"Dinah...when did you make this?" I said with a little giggle.
"Well, Ty and I were gonna wait until we got back to their realm to make it, but I couldn't wait any longer. I found the oracle in a cave deep in the forest while him and I were taking our walk the other day. I instantly thought of you when I saw it. Now I can feel you no matter how far away you are from me. And you can feel me no matter where I am."
I jumped in her arms as she let out a surprised giggle, capturing my lips before carefully putting me back down.
"I love you so much," I whispered to her.
"I love you more," she replied.
Our lips met in an endearing kiss. One that would always leave me wanting more for as long as I live...
