The Star, The Demon, and The God - 55. It was a Dream

???

I frown as I stare at a mother holding a young child.

The mother sings in a soft voice.

The child sleeps against her chest as they gently rock in a rocking chair.

Carefully, as if the image were as soft as snow and could break, I walk closer to the two.

Kneeling down on the floor next to her legs, I rest my head on her thigh and watch the woman’s face as she sings.

We all sit in front of a fireplace.

Behind us is an open balcony door that has moonlight shining down on us.

In another lifetime, that light used to scare me.

Even when I would walk for hours at night, with all the threats of dangerous animals of the night or bandits; it was the moonlight that scared me the most.

Now, it no longer scares me.

The mother stops singing.

The chair stops rocking.

“Oh?” The lady says.

When I look up, I see that I am no longer on the floor. I am in my mother’s arms and she smiles down at me.

Somehow I have turned into my younger self.

“What are you doing?” She asks. “You should be in bed.”

I shrug. “I missed you.”

She tilts her head in confusion. “You did?”

I nod. “It has been a long time.”

She leans down and kisses the top of my head.

“Yes, yes it has.”

I close my eyes.

“I’ve done awful things, mother,” I say. “I don’t think I could ever forgive myself.”

She shushes me.

“You may have done wrong, but you have been given another chance.”

I shake my head. “Why? Why do I deserve another? Who says I won’t do it again with this third life?”

She frowns and shrugs. “That is up to you. This time, you are the one in control. In your first life, everyone had a say in what was done to you. In your second life, there wasn’t a single moment that wasn’t pushed by some other force who made decisions for you. You never knew what it was like to have free will.”

My eyes begin to well up with tears at her words.

“For the first time in your life, your fate is in your hands. You know this already, however.”

I frown at her words, slightly confused.

She chuckles softly. “Come now. Did you really think you were speaking with me? You are dreaming. You couldn’t tell because you haven’t dreamed in forever.”

I frown as I find myself standing in front of her, no longer a child.

“My words are simply your own thoughts,” She says. “You know that things are different for this third life. Wake up and enjoy it.”

~~~

Yinx Dunbrali

My eyes slowly open to look up at rafters above me with a stone roof.

After realizing that I really was dreaming, the first thing I notice is a smell.

It smells like...flowers.

Lavender flowers.

I...I can feel the sheets on my skin.

I can feel the exhale of air from my nose. I can feel my eyelids touching every time I blink.

I can feel everything.

Am I still dreaming?

When I sit up, a shiver runs up my spine as I feel the sheet fall off my arms and onto my hands.

Was my body always this...heavy?

My head feels weird, like my body is trying to balance a vase on a stick.

Moving the sheet off of me, I stare down at my body.

I am only wearing underwear right now.

I stare at my thighs.

There aren’t any glowing markings. No glowing demonic words that repeat words that represent the feeling of hatred.

It is only smooth brown skin.

Reaching out to touch my thigh, I freeze when I see my fingers aren’t clawed.

Holding it up in front of me, I see the glowing symbols aren’t on my arm, hand, or fingers.

It is the same for the other hand.

Reaching up to my face, I tremble at the bizarre feeling of my own skin.

This feels so...dreamlike.

How is this real?

I look up when I hear something outside.

Sunlight pours through two windows in this room.

It is a small home.

I am on a big bed with a wooden frame.

On either side of the bed are two paper lanterns sitting on little tables.

There is a small kitchen with pots and pans hanging from the ceiling.

The floor is made of stone with hundreds of hexagonal shapes.

It looks like I am in some kind of home built into a side of a mountain?

It is what I have gathered by a few stone walls while once corner of the home is made of wood.

The home is nice, it just feels weird with all these...'new' sensations.

Looking at a chair next to the bed, I see a pile of neatly folded clothes.

Frowning slightly at this whole predicament, I move to change.

When my feet touch the stone floor, a chill runs up my spine.

Seeing a pair of slippers on the ground, I slip my feet into them.

They are the perfect size.

They were made for me?

What is this place?

When I try and stand, I have a little trouble keeping on my feet.

The weight on my legs feels foreign.

It does not feel right at all.

I freeze when I hear another noise outside the home.

When I snap my fingers, my chained scythes appear in my hands.

Feeling the metal in my hands forces me to drop them onto the bed.

Stepping away from them, I quickly hurry to put on the clothes.

The unnatural sensation of fabric brushing against my skin, almost stops me from my hurry, but I pull through.

Whoever left these clothes left me with a fur coat, a sleeveless shirt, tight pants, socks, and a pair of boots.

All I put on is the shirt and pants.

I button up the middle three buttons, allowing my chest and my lower stomach to be somewhat free.

I want to feel the air brushing against my skin as I walk. I want to feel the different bumps and cold of the stone beneath my feet.

These are sensations I have forgotten and want to feel once again.

As I move to delve deeper into this home, I pause when I see a mirror standing on a wall next to a dresser.

Swallowing at the sight, I quietly step closer to the mirror.

Standing next to it, I take a deep breath before slowly tilting my head into the frame of the mirror.

My eyes widen when I see green eyes staring back at me in surprise.

My mouth is open in shock, revealing normal teeth. Not fangs.

Glowing cracks of souls trying to escape my body are no longer on my skin.

My hair is not a swirling mass of darkness that floats around as if I am underwater. Instead, my hair is a curly mess of raven. Just like it was in my first life.

Reaching up to touch it, I jump slightly from another of those sounds from outside.

Is that...someone chopping wood?

Stepping away from the mirror after a long look at my reflection, I make my way to a window.

Outside is a world of green.

The sun reveals a beautiful setting of green grass, a glittering waterfall into a lake, and wildlife dancing around in a field of purple lavender.

Butterflies flutter back and forth in the flower garden in front of this window.

Another chop of wood comes from my left, out of my view.

My eyes come to a wooden door next to the window.

I am free to make my own choices, right?

Nothing to force me to their will this time?

Looking at my weapon on the bed, I take a deep breath before turning and pulling the door open.

~~~

As I step out onto a stone path, I close my eyes and lift my face to the sky, letting the sunlight bring its warmth onto my skin.

Taking a deep breath, I let the world and its painting of smells breathe life into me once again.

Warm winds brush against me, dancing across my skin.

I hear bugs zipping past me, the singing of birds, the blades of grass brushing against each other as the winds of the world travel from one destination to the next. In the distance I hear the waterfall pouring its life essence into the lake close by.

All sounds seem to come to a halt as another block of wood is chopped.

Flinching slightly, I look behind me.

A massive man stands with his back to me.

He is shirtless, revealing an incredibly muscled back.

Countless scars are littered all over his body.

The man walks over to a neat stack of wood, placing his newly chopped wood there.

When he moves to grab another log to strike with his ax, he sees me.

His eyes widen and he freezes over.

“Yinx,” His voice whispers through the air.

Laneer’s freckled face turns from one of surprise into one with a smile that makes my heart start pounding faster.

He drops his ax and runs after me.

My vision becomes slightly blurry as I become teary-eyed.

He pulls me into his arms, pressing his face into my hair.

My eyes widen.

The sensation of his skin against mine almost makes me stop breathing entirely.

I breathe in his scent of pine and...something else...something salty.

Is it his sweat? Or something else I have forgotten?

“Oh gods,” Laneer huffs against my head.

“You’re awake,” He laughs, pulling back slightly to look at me. “You’re awake and walking.”

His finger reaches up to brush tears off of my cheeks.

“Are you alright?” He asks, his brow furrowing in concern.

I...I can’t speak.

What do I say? There is so much to say that I am not even sure where to start.

I stare at the freckles along his cheeks. His dark red hair and trimmed beard somehow look both the same and different at the same time since I last saw it.

“I…-” I clear my throat, my voice is a bit raspy right now. “I’m sorry.”

He gives a slightly confused smile. “Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry my plan never worked.”

He frowns. “Your plan? What do you mean?”

I sigh, a little annoyed with myself for being so secretive back then. Why didn’t I tell him everything when I had the chance?

That's a dumb question. I knew I was never alone in that life. There always another set of eyes on my at every moment.

“I’m sorry for not being able to trick the two gods,” I say, my voice shaking. “I’m sorry for failing to be smart enough to keep us safe.”

My voice breaks down, “I’m so sorry!”

He pulls me close to his hairy chest and kisses the top of my head.

“Hey, hey, hey,” He whispers. “It’s alright, okay? Don’t be sorry for that. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that everything is over. We are free to live our lives!”

“Are we?” I ask, still not trusting of whatever this all is.

“Yes, Yinx,” he says. “I promise you that what I am saying is true.”

“This isn’t a dream?”

“No, this isn’t a dream.”

I frown. “Where is the Star and Tobias?”

“Who do you think did all of this?” He chuckles slightly.

Of course.

That should have been obvious. I should have known.

How would I ever repay them for this?

“Yinx?” he asks in a bit of a shy voice.

I pull back and look up at him.

He has changed a lot since my first life. He is taller and stronger.

Is it wrong that I like it? I want that protection more than anything right now.

“Yes?” I respond.

“Will you marry me?”

His face turns red and he reaches back to scratch the back of his neck.

A memory pops in my head of a forest filled with flowing purple leaves and orange mushrooms.

A small smile comes on my lips before I shake my head.

He grins before gently pushing me. “Really? This again? That joke is over a thousand years old now!”

I laugh and stand up on my toes to try and kiss him.

He has to lean down so that we can actually have our lips meet.

His hand comes to my lower back and my neck, keeping me in place.

I keep my hands on his shoulders, relishing in the warmth of his lips against mine.

We pull back a few inches, still wanting to be close.

I open my eyes and see him staring into mine, just like he did in those special waters so long ago.

“Yes,” I say, my cheeks warming up slightly. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you big buffoon.”

Laneer picks me up and spins me around, laughing all the while.

“Finally,” He cheers. “I finally get to marry my princess!”

I roll my eyes at the nickname.

Maybe I’ll let it pass this time. At least for this life. This life is all about my free will, is it not?

Something tells me that things will finally be better. Perfect even.

No longer will my life be considered a tragedy.

Not to me.

Right now, my life has just begun.

~~The End~~