Crumbling Visage

Flight

It was mid-December and festive spirit rose high, amidst the speculation of a grand event occurring on Christmas Eve. The people of Tinberry were quiet sort of folks and nothing grand ever happened there, so it created quite a buzz when the priestess announced that something great was prophesized for Christmas Eve.

Kiara knew better and rolled her eyes. She did not want to be part of the hopeful speculation, bright lights and celebration. She wanted to be gone- far away. She had reasoned with her mother that her grumpy presence wouldn't add to the festivities or aid in the hope alighting the small town after ages of darkness.

Tinberry was no ordinary place; it had seen war, bloodshed and turmoil and it had barely been a decade. A decade in which the dead were mourned, the establishments were re-established, the buildings were mended and nothing more than an attempt to put everything back in place.

The orphaned were shipped off to distant villages which could provide for the lost, the widows made their way back to their hometowns and the people leftover were a mass- determined enough to not leave their home, yet seeking shelter in the futile wreck.

This left Kiara- who was only seven when the war broke out- trying to find her place. The seven-year-old was to be shipped off with the other orphaned, but a charitable young woman of twenty took her in. She had been Kiara's mother ever since and the two of them lived and fended for themselves.

Kiara had often questioned her mother of her reasons to take her in. Her mother had never given a concrete answer- she'd just said something about knowing Kiara's biological mother and something or the other about a 'Christmas miracle.'

Kiara did not believe her one bit- for one, her biological family were distant folks- they were not the sort to have well-wishers or friends; for another- her brothers and sisters were shipped off to the orphanage. It had only been Kiara.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wash before entering, young woman." Janet looked out of the corner of her eye and away from the book she was reading.

"It's only mud..." Kiara muttered as she washed her feet, "I suppose you'll be going to the town hall tomorrow?"

"No." Janet casually flipped a page and frowned.

"You won't?" Kiara nearly dropped the towel, "But...but you were so eager! About the prophecy and everything..."

"I realized you were right after all, it's no big deal." Janet set the book down, her gaze still aimed at it.

"That's not all, is it?"

"We're going to fly tomorrow, so pack up."

"Flying...?" Kiara stuttered. She had always thought of it before she was seven and then the war occurred and the sky did not hold its initial allure. It was filled with chaos, smoke and the buzzing outlines of helicopters. It was nothing like the stark blue against the soft white that she'd looked up to from the meadow. Cloud watching, later, only blended in to nightmares of dark smoke and incessant buzzing and her parents yelling for help...

Kiara had long since given up on the prospect of flying- due to financial inadequacy before she was seven and due to trauma when she was older.

"Where are we flying to?"

"You'll see."

"How long will we be gone?"

"Quite long."

"Why are we flying at all?"

At this she quirked a small smile and shook her head, "It'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

Kiara just stood there with her mouth hanging open. She did not know what to feel and her throat felt dry. She knew better than to assume that she would get a straight answer from her mother; so, she tried to maintain the same level of nonchalance as Janet.