Chimera Ryder

Chapter 23 - Desire

Jessa stands in the middle of her lane. No one is around. She is standing in front of her mother.

She cannot believe her eyes! She does not dare to blink. A few steps closer and she can see that this is not a dream. That is her mother's smile. Everything about her is just like how she remembered.

Jessa rests her head on her mother's apron. Her mother's hug feels tight; it is like she is trying to suffocate Jessa with her love. Jessa wants to cry, but not a single drop of tear is ready for an occasion like this. She hugs her mother back. She can feel her mother touching her face, but for some reason, she doesn't want to look up. She just wants to hold onto her mother's waist and rest for a while...

This moment can stretch on for a lifetime. It's the feeling of peeking over the endless sea and reaching to the corners of the universe. Yet after journeying across space and time, she is still looking for this love back home.

She can smell the homemade cheesecake from outside of her father's shop. She can hear her mother calling her name from the kitchen below. She can hear--

"Jessa... Jessa!" a voice echoes through the clouds. It's from the professor! His voice continues to blast like thunder.

"Jessa! Listen to my voice!" the professor shouts. "I know you are still angry at me, but you have to listen to me!"

Jessa buries herself deeper into her mother's hug. She doesn't want to listen to the professor. She doesn't want to be interrupted by anyone. But her mother lifts her face up, forcing her to have an open ear.

"Jessa! What you are feeling right now is your innermost desire!" says the professor. "The Archsage cast a spell on you! He is prying into your head! He is doing this to distract you from finishing the race!"

This is not a dream... but it isn't reality either. Jessa is inside her own head, being absorbed by her emotions.

"You must abandon whatever you are feeling right now and come back to us...!" the professor's voice starts to fade.

Jessa doesn't want to go. She knows she has to, but she doesn't want to. She holds onto her mother, unwilling to let go. Her deepest desire isn't about winning the race or being the best rider. She just wants her family to be whole again...

Ryder's shadow appears next to her. The shadow is running in place, unable to move forward. Jessa can see Ryder is struggling on the tracks. Ryder roars, bleats and hisses from the outside, desperately trying to get Jessa back, and Jessa knows she has to leave now... She has more than herself to think about now.

"Mama... I have to go..."

Her arms slip off of her mother's waist, and she runs towards Ryder's shadow. She can feel her mother waving goodbye to her from behind. She can almost see how proud her mother looks from inside her own head. But she cannot look back. If she does, she will not be able to run again.

A single tear trickles down the corner of her eye. She is wide awake on Ryder's nape. The goat head reaches over and lifts her up. Ryder's been running by herself for a full minute now. The clouds are now gray and thunder continues to roar. Jessa and Ryder are last on the tracks again.

"I'm sorry, Ryder..."

Jessa takes off her goggles and wipes away her tear. She leans on Ryder and forces herself into the zone!

"Let's go!"

In the zone, Jessa sees the professor at a standstill with another elder high up on the bleachers. They have their staffs against each other, ready to strike! Jessa nods to the professor, thanking him for informing her about the spell. She is now back and ready to race!