Vicious Serpents & Deceitful Poisons

Chapter Seven

The only thing Kauvara felt, was a bone-chilling cold.

That, and the ever-present whooshing sound of wind that swept past her ears as she fell down the seemingly endless hole.

Above her, the hole had closed, sealing her inside the deep, damp earth.

There was only her, the weightless feeling of falling and the stifling darkness that surrounded her from all angles.

When is this going to end, she thought. It had felt like it had been an hour when in reality, it probably been only 10 minutes.

Suddenly, a kind of stretch began in Kauvara's core. It felt as if her very essence was being stretched apart by two opposing forces. One was pulling her down, further into the dark, into the unknown. The other pulled her up, towards thee surface and back to the mortal realm. But they were both of equal strength, causing her fall to slow down until she just, floated in the air.

She would not be able to move again until one of the forces prevailed against the other.

Or maybe, she thought realization dawning on her. Maybe, they're waiting for me to decide.

And although she wanted neither to go further into the unending darkness or spend more time in it, she had no choice.

So with every ounce of will that she could muster, she pushed against the upward pull and began to fall again, faster and faster and faster into the darkness

But as she kept falling, she could see distant pinprick of light. The closer she got, the larger it became, illuminating the walls of this vertical tunnel.

This is it, she thought with grim certainty. All at once, she fell into the light, and her world exploded into a million colors.

Is it the rolling waves that make my heart long.

Singing. Who was singing?

The beating of its tides like a rhythmic song.

Mother? Kauvara was sure of it. Who else had that breezy voice that would sing her songs of tales or a voice that would tell stories long into the night of faraway places.

I can hear a whale bellow from its darkening deep,

It's lonely call lulls me to sleep.

How soft those peaceful waves flow,

I would love to go out and row...

Yes, she remembered this song now. Her mother had once lived by the ocean as a child and created the song on her adventures out to sea. It was simple, but Kauvara had begged her mother to sing it to her every night before she was put to bed.

A giggle interrupted the tranquil song.

Kauvaras eyes cracked open to see a little girl floating above her.

Thinking the girl was but a figure in a dream, she reached up to touch the child's cheek.

She was surprised to feel the girls warm skin on her own and even more surprised when she realized she had an arm and hand to touch the child with.

She shot out of what she was now realizing to be a bed with a yelp, and stumbled towards a mirror on the other side of the room. The floating girl followed and giggled again when she saw Kauvara's shocked expression.

In its dusty reflection, she saw a brown skinned girl with wild, black strands of hair that stood up quite literally everywhere. She smoothed it down until it was decent and stared at the rest of her reflection in the mirror. She was a little worse for the wear but for the most part, she was fine.