Short Stories: Here and There

Coming Day

   It was an unnaturally warm winter day. The sun shone from behind the looming, dark clouds, and the streets were empty of birdsong and life.

   Could it be? Had the day finally come? Caym gazed out upon the empty roads and houses, missing the sound of life. Her owl's wings propelled her up, up, up into the air and away from the ghost town. She refused to let a bad omen control her day, but stole a glance back at the deserted homes. Fate was a fickle thing; gods were not used to letting the inevitable come their way.

   As Caym stepped back from the threshold of life and into the waiting doors of death, she gave into the dread. Bad omens had been appearing for months now, and for weeks on end. From littered trash in sacred waters to desolate cities, it was starting to become unbearable. Her ghouls were restless. The tides would be turning, after all. Caym, with a heavy heart, finally made a decision.

   Caym would drag herself up those awful, gilded marble steps if she had to. Even if it meant that he would hate her forever, for who she was. For robbing him of everything. Caym lowered her gaze just thinking of him. Akaro.

   Caym had failed in taking care of him. She'd let her golden child be swept up into the claws of those white-feathered snakes. When Akaro had been born and Helle had laid her greedy eyes upon Akaro, Caym could bear Helle's egotism no longer. After Helle has whisked Akaro away, she'd slipped in through the cracks of the glass castle and kept an eye on Akaro. Helle dined downstairs, entertaining guests, leaving Akaro unattended. Akaro grew up with Caym's ghouls, undead souls, and black birds as playmates, though she'd sternly lectured Akaro about telling others about her secret visits.

   As thousands of years passed, Caym watched Akaro grow, and ached as Helle shaped him into her another one of her fine tools. Caym's visits had grown infrequent, eventually stopping, as Helle no longer seemed to let Akaro out of her sight. There had been rumors of him becoming a new knight to Faedra, the High Goddess. Perhaps fading into the background was for the best, Caym thought sadly. I am now but a shadow in his memories, and to him.

   Still, being knighted as one of Faedra's very own wasn't enough for Helle. Caym grieved as she watched her little boy grow grayer, the lively spark in his eyes dimming. And he was still so young. Caym took on many forms. An encouraging mentor, a supportive fae, an owl bringing him trinkets, and more. But still, Caym looked on, seeing Akaro fade around the edges, until she was terrified that he would one day dissappear from existence.

   Caym kissed Xelvium goodbye, unable to promise him her returm. Xelvium knew it too, and watched her go, carving every detail of Caym into his memory. He'd told Caym that he would not stop her, knowing this day would come. Xelvium set the table for three, and would wait for when Caym came back with Akaro. Or for the day when news of disaster would arrive on his doorstep.

   Caym skirted across the border between Below and Above, and set her eyes upon the palace of glass. Just in the distance, its jagged towers ominously overshadowing the green hills. And Akaro would be in there. As Caym flew towards the castle, she felt the gaze of a thousand sentries. Caym had ensured that she has looked just like someone from Above, with white wings and a robe, but she still felt the nervous skitter of sneaking in. Like all the other times before.

   Caym stalked through the long corridors, looking for any sign of Akaro. The door creaked loudly as Caym turned the handle to Akaro's room, a sure sign of disuse. As Caym had expected, Akaro had moved out of his child's room long ago. When Caym turned around to leave, she was met with steely blue eyes, tired beyond their years. With a start, Caym realized they belonged to Akaro.

   Caym had only ever seen him from afar. It was a pleasant suprise to find out that she was still taller than him, though not by much. His silvery hair still had black streaks through it, and Akaro still wore long, flowing white robes.
   "Do I know you?" He asked, eyeing Caym suspiciously. Caym wasn't sure how to respond. She'd played out this very conversation in her head many times, but she still found herself at a loss of words. Her silence was too long and Akaro drew out his spear.

   "In the name of Faedra, Ruler of the Above, state your business." The tip of the spear was very close to Caym's throat. Slowly, Caym closed her eyes and spoke.
   "Do you remember your childhood?" The spear was moved closer, and Caym could feel its cool tip. "There was a lady with an owl's wings," she continued, unflinching. "The lady had yellow eyes." Akaro's expression flickered, and Caym plowed forward. "She brought you feathers of all kinds, and she gave you more toys than you could ever hope to play with. She read you mortal's books, and she-"
   "Stop!" The spear was lowered, and Akaro now looked panic-striken. "Who are you? Tell me, where is Kay?"

   At the sound of Akaro's old nickname for her, Caym nearly fell to her knees in relief.
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   Akaro watched as the woman in white before him opened her eyes. They were now yellow. Behind her, huge, brown wings unfurled, and standing in front of him was suddenly a very different person. Kay.

   Akaro's memories of his younger years were blurry and vague, but he could remember a winged woman arriving through the window, and her twirling him high up in her arms.
   "Kay!" he squealed, watching the world spin by him, faster, faster, faster. "Kay!"

   "Come with me," the lady, who must be Kay, pleaded. She gently took his hand. All of a sudden, Akaro felt like a child once again. "Come with me," she repeated, more urgently this time. "You are exhausted. Your mind is wasting away, slaving to the girl you call a sister. Let your mind rest. Please, Akaro, come with me." Akaro was about to reply when he heard footsteps. Grabbing Kay's hand, he swiftly pushed her into his old room and bolted the door.

   "Akaro! I was looking all around for you!" Helle crooned, and rested her fingers on Akaro's shoulder. "Come with me," she said, spinning Akaro around and marching him down the hallway. "You are meeting with Faedra's knights in half an hour."
   "But-"
   "You must establish your status, do you understand?"
   "I-"
   "Do you understand?"
   "Yes, I do" Akaro whispered. And in that moment, Akaro understood. He understood what the owl-winged lady was saying. He was weary, and he now knew that Helle and her demands would plague him, wasting him away until he was no more. "May I go to my room to prepare myself?" Akaro asked, having made his decision. Today was the day.

   "Of course," Helle replied, unsuspecting. As soon as her back was turned, Akaro flew down the halls, and into his old room. For a moment, before he turned the doorknob, he worried that Kay had left, and he would have to bear living with Helle for an endless torrent of dreary days. But she was still in the room, where Akaro had left her, gazing at the toys on the shelves. The ones she had given him as a child.

   "Let me come with you, please. I can't stay one more day here." With a nod, and the faintest hint of a smile, Kay took his hands.
   "My real name is Caym." There was a twinkle in her eye as she spoke, reminiscing. "You called me Kay because you couldn't quite say Caym. It's lovely to see you again."
   "Caym," Akaro said, mostly to himself. It felt right.

   With a wave from Caym's hand, the windows flung open, letting sunlight pour into the room. The rays coated everything with a soft, delicate, golden glow. As Caym held Alaro's hand, both running towards the open window, Caym promised herself that she would never make the mistake lf letting Akaro go ever again. Never, in the coming days, decades, or millenia.  Caym soared out the window with Akaro next to her, finally free.

   Together they flew above rolling hills and lush forests, glass castle long behind them, and into a new day.