TIME AFTER TIME

quinque.

FIVE:

"Spirit Realm"

SALEM.

When my eyes open I'm lying on my back, surrounded by water. Above me is a black sky with no stars. I can hear crashing waves in the distance, and when I sit up and gaze to my right I see the shoreline meets sand. It's not the shore of the Oasis but of my Spirit realm. At first sight of sand, I think of those days when I woke up to sand in my room. I allow my mind to wander as I attempt to catch my breath.

A shadowy figure is on the shore, a black veil shields its features, but from where I lay, I can see that the spirit has no legs that meet the sand, and its black silk clothing hovers above the shore. Beyond the spirit and the shore is a great sand dune.

I stand from where I'm lying and see that the water isn't deep it's barely an inch high so I can walk comfortably to the figure that awaits me. The silk dress I wore before is still on me, but the white value seems brighter surrounded by the darkness. My bare feet splash in the water. The spirit's voice echoes when I approach, "I've been waiting for you, Salem."

I can feel the energy pulsating from their figure. Whoever -or whatever - they are, I know that they're powerful. Seeing as though we were in my head I took a guess on who they could be, "Trinity?" That was the name of the first witch.

It sounds like they laugh, bells chime through the air, "In a way." The figure gestures to the water I came from moments ago. "This is where all of my Sprits meet. When we go into the Flow state, our bodies come here. And then we go back."

I consider this information. While I think, I look to their missing feet. "What happened to your body?"

The pause is long, long enough for me to see that beyond the shore the distant sand dune shift in formation. Hills roll into the other, sand collapsing onto itself before rebuilding again. I hear the silence of sand falling. Intricate patterns shift creating more complex shapes and sizes. "That is a story for another time," the omnipresent voice echos throughout the silent world. The veil flutters to face me, a ceramic bowl in the ghostly hands stretches from outside of the veil, "Are you ready to accept the power of a Primary?"

"Yes," I swallow, staring at the glistening waters.

"Do you sware to protect the lives, spirits, and sacred lands of your sister witches?"

"I do."

"Do you promise to make necessary sacrifices in order to maintain balance between our world and the world of other beings?"

I nod, staring at the golden water in the ceramic bowl, "if it means getting Mom back and protecting my sisters."

The veil ponders, "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Is that all you want? To protect and save others?"

It had been my main focus for so long I hadn't considered anything else. "Well, yeah. What else is there to want?"

"Unmeasurable power all for yourself." The spirt states this as if it's obvious.

My head shook, "Aunt Pearl said that witches can't use magic for personal gain. And that we have to stay within the bounds of nature."