As far-fetched as it may sound, Perrie is really with her. Jade feels as though she's still dreaming. She had to pinch herself.
"Ow!" She yelped. "H-How is this possible?" Jade looks at Perrie.
Perrie just looks at her in astonishment and smiles. Jade was startled when Perrie pulled her in for a hug so tight she wished it wouldn't end. The brunette couldn't help but hug the blonde back even tighter.
They were in that position for a long time, just basking in the warmth of each other. And it seems like neither of them wants to let go.
The only time Perrie let go is so she could kiss the brunette. She captured her lips in a soft, gentle kiss. A kiss that she'd been longing for so long. A kiss that only Jade could ever fulfill. And Jade kissed her back, with so much passion and yearning. All of what they're feeling like now is ethereal and otherworldly.
Their foreheads were touching after they kissed, both of their eyes are still closed from the moment they shared. Hearts beating erratically, catching their breath for a second.
When Jade opened her eyes, Perrie was still there. She looked around them and asked, "Where are we? How am I here?"
Perrie takes Jade's hand in hers as they take a stroll down the meadow. They were like inside a forest that's full of sky-high trees and lush greenery all around. The sun was high up, and they could see its rays through the clouds. And the temperature wasn't hot or uncomfortable.
"I'm not sure about this place, but I've been here for a while now. I sometimes see people around here, but after some time, they just...disappear," Perrie explains. "I don't know where they go, or how they manage to get out. This place is like an endless forest. I tried going in every direction, but everything is the same. Except for that one place where I can see you and be with you. Other than that, it's all trees, birds, and the sun – it never sets, by the way."
"You mean, there's no nighttime here?"
"Nope. Just daytime, all day, every day," Perrie beamed, and then remembered something that made her furrowed her brows. "However, there's also one place here that seems...unnatural to me."
"What do you mean unnatural?"
"I'll show you..." Perrie dashed forward. Jade couldn't do anything but follow her lead since the blonde was holding her hand.
They were running for about ten minutes when Jade pulled Perrie's hand to stop her from running. They stopped, Perrie looked at her with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Wait..." Jade says as she panted. "I...need...to rest."
"Jeez, what happened to your stamina?" Perrie questioned. "You can't do it for more than ten minutes now?"
"Shut up, Pez!" Jade lightly hits Perrie's arm.
The blonde chuckled, "I'm talking about the running!" She smirked, too bad Jade didn't see it because she was holding unto her knees while she continued to pant and take deep breaths.
"Aren't...you...tired?"
"Nope. I can do infinite rounds." Perrie smirked again, only this time Jade saw it causing her to hit the blonde's arm again before stomping her way forward.
"You little minx!" She grumbled.
Perrie laughed heartily as she followed the brunette. "I'm still talking about running!"
Jade rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to smile, "Yeah, whatever!" When Jade noticed Perrie wasn't following her, she spun around, "Are you coming or what?"
"We're here." Perrie declared and looked up causing Jade to follow her lead. Perrie tugged Jade and pulled her a bit further from the Hyperion tree so they could properly see what she's referring to. "See that?" She points to a tree.
"Yeah, it's like a house – but on the trunk of a tree – that's hundreds of feet above the ground," Jade answered and turned her attention back at the blonde. "Who lives there?"
Perrie shrugs, "I don't know. I haven't seen anyone. But look at those flowers that are embellished outside the house, and these ones down here around the tree. This is the only spot in this entire forest that has these flowers."
Jade steps forward and plucks a flower. "This is a daffodil. This kind of flower only grows in cold places. You think maybe...we're in the Northern part of America? Or Europe? Or maybe even Canada?"
"You're not on earth anymore, darlings. Or should I say, you're not in the world of the living."
Perrie and Jade were startled when someone spoke behind them. They spun around only to be met by a caramel-skinned woman with luscious curly hair and a refined, classically beautiful face. The woman is knockout gorgeous, everything about her appearance screams solid.
"Leigh-Anne?" The pair chorused.
Leigh smiles. "Well, I expected that...but yes and no." The woman began. "Yes, I'm Leigh-Anne, and no, I am not your Leigh-Anne. You two are familiar with the multiverse, aren't you?"
"Oh..." Perrie and Jade said in unison. They both get that the Leigh-Anne they're talking to right now isn't the same as their friend and companion. This Leigh-Anne spoke softly and with a hint of mirth in her voice, which is totally different from their Leigh-Anne who always has a terrible temper and who looks like she's ready to fight.
They also noticed that this Leigh-Anne talks and sounded like she's not from the modern times, like she's from the Medieval era or an era before that.
"What do you mean we're not in the world of the living?" Jade asks. "Are we dead? I mean, I know Perrie's dead, but me–"
"This is not the world of the living, nor it is the world of the dead. This place is a sanctuary, another dimension between the two worlds. And the couple who lives up there..." Leigh points at the house on top of the tree making Perrie and Jade follow what she's pointing at. "They're the guardians of this place...and the flower that you just plucked."
"Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't–"
Leigh waved her hand in dismissal, "It's fine. But next time you see a beautiful flower, just let it bloom. Let it grow on its own – let it be..."
"Don't worry, this flower won't die..." Jade assured her. "I'll just put it in a vase full of water and–"
"SILENCE!"
Jade and Perrie were shocked when Leigh's voice boomed and echoed around them all of a sudden.
"Just stop trying to bring back things that are already gone. You're messing with the balance of nature."
Perrie looks at Jade then to Leigh-Anne. However, Jade was staring at Leigh with a look of determination on her face.
"With all due respect, but I'm not messing with the balance of nature," Jade argued. "Why are you stopping me from taking care of this flower that I picked when I can do something to keep it alive? To keep it from dying? That's not messing with nature, that's helping nature. Maybe I was wrong for picking it in the first place, but that's because I'm just human. I am not perfect, but I learnt that picking this flower was wrong. And now I know I can do better next time."
Leigh chuckles, while Perrie was shell-shocked at what Jade had said. "You remind me of someone. Someone who not only shares your face, but your wit and feistiness, too. Keep that up, and you'll see the end is worth it." She then turns around to signify that their conversation is over.
"Wait!" Perrie stops her. "Can you at least tell us what's going to happen? If this is a dimension between the living and the dead, am I going to the – uhm – the great beyond, and Jade will go back to the world of the living? Is this the place where we say our last goodbyes?"
Leigh spun around. "I have no idea what's going to happen, darling. I don't have the ability to see the future because it doesn't exist. All I know is that no one ever stays here for a long time. It's either you go beyond or you go back to earth. The fact that you're still here..." Leigh pauses for a while to look at Jade, then back to Perrie." ...something happened to your earth. You probably messed up with the universe. If not the balance of nature, perhaps the balance of space and time."
"All I did was save the future."
Leigh clicked her tongue and tapped her ear, "You're not listening, darling. I just told you, the future doesn't exist."
"But I'm from the future. I just traveled back to Jade's time, which is the present."
"How exactly do you know that the time you're from is indeed the future, as you say?"
"Because it's the year 2511?"
"How did you know the year?" Leigh pressed further.
"Well...uh – the calendar? A satellite?"
Leigh raised an eyebrow as Jade watched the two women converse, "And who invented the calendar and the satellite?"
"Uh – wait, is this a history test? I really didn't do well at school. I was asleep most of the time."
"Who created the calendar and the satellite?" Leigh-Anne tried again.
Perrie was getting a little frustrated at why this Leigh was giving her a lecture about all these stuff that she thinks are irrelevant to hers and Jade's situation. "I–I don't know! Okay!? Someone invented it."
"Man invented it," Leigh simply answered. "And the whole humanity bought it, believes in it, but the reality is there's just daytime and nighttime. You wake up, do your thing, call it a day, then sleep. You wake up again and just repeat everything. What you have is just the present. You're just doing it over and over again – an endless loop of night and day. The past only exists in your memories and therefore you can only visit it through your memories. Humans are curious beings, darlings. That's why they invented everything. More often than not, they try to outsmart nature and the universe, and that's the reason why things like this happen."
"You sound like my sister."
"Hmm...well then, you have a smartass sister." Leigh grinned.
"Uhm...guys? I hate to be rude, but...what's happening?" Jade spoke, causing both women to whip their heads in her direction as she stared at her arms that looked like a holographic glitch. She was slowly starting to disappear.
Perrie immediately rushed to her side, "Oh, no! No, no, no, no...Jade..."
"What's happening to me?" Jade asks as Perrie frantically paced in front of her, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
Leigh-Anne, however, was unfazed. "Like what I said, no one stays here for a long time." Just as Leigh said that, Jade completely disappeared in front of her and Perrie. "Hm...I guess she's back in her real world." She looks at Perrie who looked crestfallen. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. You know you can always see her whenever you want to."
"Not that I'm complaining, but I wish I could hold her, too, you know?" Perrie sighed. "I'm not sure if she could ever see me again. Do you know what it feels like to be invisible in front of the one you truly love?"
Leigh's expression softened. She understands what that feels like, and she knows how painful it is to see the love of your life but not able to touch them.
"I guess I made a wrong decision to be the hero and save the future. The universe is punishing me because I'm painfully suffering right now." Perrie concluded.
Leigh-Anne shakes her head. "Wrong decisions are not all bad. Humans make mistakes all the time – that's what makes them human. That's what makes life meaningful. Imagine if everyone and everything around you is perfect–"
"Then everyone is happy."
"And how would you know happiness if you never experienced loneliness? How would you know that you're excited if you've never been bored? Or how would you know love, if you've never experienced pain and hurt and suffering? The list goes on, really..."
"Uh–well..." Perrie was about to refute but then realized that Leigh-Anne was right. The ups and downs, the light and darkness, the good and bad – that's what makes life beautiful.
"Go...be with Jade," Leigh urged her. "Don't focus your energy on the things that you can't do or the things that aren't given to you. It's just a matter of changing your perspective, darling. Be thankful that you still have the chance to see her and be more thankful that you're still here. That just means one thing – you still have the chance to be with Jade."
Perrie looks at Leigh and studies her expression. "I hate that you're right." She groaned. "And I hate you even more because the more I talk to you, the more you sound like my sister!"
Leigh chuckled, "You're lucky to have a sister who's like me, then."
"I know." Perrie briefly closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I should go..."
"Yes, you should."
Perrie was about to leave when she remembered something. "Wait, I've been here for a long time now, how come I didn't see you before? Are you from here? Like, one of the guardians or..."
Leigh smiles at Perrie. "I'm just...visiting, darling."
"So you're not–"
"No."
Perrie nods like she understood what Leigh-Anne meant, and starts to jog in the direction where she and Jade came earlier.
There may have been a lot of things that happened between her and Jade, but there's no obstacle they can't overcome without each other. Perrie is determined now more than ever to do her part for her and Jade to be reunited.
-
♫ Let Me Down Slowly - Alec Benjamin