AISLIN | I

CHAPTER ONE

MY SENSES were overwhelmed with the scent of saltwater as I stood at the very edge of the cliff. The tips of my feet hanging off.

I looked, and remembered, at the vast sea. Remembering what it was like to be free, to flow freely through the air, to be weightless. That feeling that I can experience only in combat. I've been longing for it. Just a taste of the adrenaline, the determination, the power. It's what life offers me. That's my purpose for breathing.

The ocean under me smashed into the cliff of rock. The water, each time it touches the rock, attempts to ascend higher and higher, causing its playful mist to rise to me. Around me, the clouds settled, blurring the world from my sights. I could hear the waves roaring, battling for the title of the biggest, I could hear the birds zipping through the clouds, diving to the surface of the ocean.

There is always something making sounds when the world around you is never totally still, you just need to listen. Listen to the tiniest pieces of sounds that have existed from things you forgot. Such as a cricket's chirp on a humid summer night, or a firefly's faint buzz.

I closed my eyes as I felt myself lean forward slightly. My whole body dropped forward, freely descending into the sea. I clashed with the water underneath my falling body. Water surrounded me, filling my lungs, and plugging my ears. But I didn't resist, I let the body of water take me whole. It was completely silent. Often, to help you think, silence is what you need.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" my best friend Elowen questioned. I opened my eyes and glanced behind my shoulder to see her as she came up next to me on the cliff and gazed mindlessly into the fog. She had her blonde hair braided and laid on her back. I watched as she crossed her arms in the corner of my eye and took a deep breath. At first, I did not respond to her question. I wanted to savor the moment, the silence, before breaking it.

"Ayah loved the ocean." I mumbled, "She used to stay up throughout the nightfall and listen to the waves. I asked her once, why she wasted her sleep on the water, and she just told me to listen."

Elowen hummed, "And what did you hear?"

"Nothing. The only sound I could hear was the waves fighting against each other, and it was soothing. I had the sensation of being able to breathe again." I answered. I could just imagine Ayah sitting at the edge next to me, breathing in the salty air with a brightening smile on her young face. I quickly blinked away the imagined vision of her.

We sat in comfortable silence for what felt like ages, but neither of us complained. I turned around wordlessly and walked away from the edge of the precipice and into the descended clouds. Elowen followed behind me, walking away from the edge silently.

Flashes of my siblings came and went in my vision. I lost them three years ago. All three of them. My young sister Ayah, my younger brother Alistair, and my older sister Soleil. They suffered the consequences of my mistakes.

It haunts me to this day. I could've done something about it...I could've.

I walked through the blinding fog until the outline of our home began to show. When I reached the steps to the Oak front door, I stopped and waited for Elowen. After a few moments, she emerged from the fog. Her grey dress flowed with her movements.

I walked into the house with Elowen behind me. The rich smell of tea hit my nose. I could feel my body hum with excitement. Once we entered the kitchen, Elowen poured me a hot cup of light brown and energizing liquid. I grabbed the small spoon from the sugar bowl and put a dab of sugar in my cup.

She watched me walk over to the living area and sit on the floor with my back against the sofa. She followed me and sat on the sofa behind me.

"I don't know how you sit on that floor," She said with a slight chuckle in her English accent.