The Girl With the Icy Hair

8

Setting off through the trees with Emmerson was the first thing on Aura’s to do list after her scuffle with Jared and Chad. Aura had a difficult time walking as her eyes welled up with tears at the thought of the life she’d taken. Stopping, Aura began to wail, hot tears streaking down her face as she collapsed on the mossy forest floor.

“I’m sorry!” Aura screamed into the empty forest. “I never meant to kill him.” Dirty hands covering her face, Aura sobbed. Emmerson sat down softly next to her and leaned against her. Aura reached her arms around his torso and hugged him hard. Resting her head on his warm, soft fur, she regained her composure. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the trees.

*****

         Aura’s feet were beginning to ache as she trudged through the forest, but she ignored the pain and forced herself to keep going for what she’d done to Jared. The sun was starting to sink in the sky, casting shades of gold and crimson onto the heather and tall grasses that waved in the wind. Aura felt something tugging at her though the trees. With no clear path, and not the slightest clue where she was going, she marched onward lead only by her instincts. She felt a magnetic attraction deep within her being, pulling her forward. It won’t be long now, Aura thought. I can feel the pull getting stronger.

         The pull was becoming unbearable. The force on Aura’s soul was intolerable. She broke into a full sprint. Emmerson struggled to keep up with her fast pace. It was close. She could feel it. Vaguely, Aura realized that she recognized this path. The way the bracken fronds fell, the way the trees hemmed in the closed path, the way the shadows and eerie silence fell upon the earth all seemed familiar to her. That’s when it hit her. Although many things had changed, it was not unrecognizable. This was little used path that lead to the Grand Echo Caverns. As she ran past a pine copse, the daunting mouth of the cave loomed in front of her. The mouth of the cave yawned, the inside as black as a never-ending, starless night. Dropping her backpack on the ground, Aura pulled out her flashlight before resituating the bag. She cautiously entered the cave with Emmerson trailing her. His tail was tucked carefully between his legs, and he let out a soft whine.

         “Hello, is anyone here?” Aura slowly shone the flashlight around the room, seeing nothing except the damp, dripping cave walls. Walking around a corner, the mouth of the cave disappeared, and they were engulfed in utter darkness. Suddenly, the beam quivered and flashed before the flashlight quit working entirely. Terrified, Aura didn’t know what to do. Anything could be hiding in this darkness, and with no way out, she was afraid of disturbing anything. Amidst her bought of panic, Aura became faintly aware that, what she thought was just a useless blue patch on her skin, was capable of phosphorescence. It’s light was a bright, crystalline blue, not unlike that of her hair. It was enough to light her way through the cavern. Putting the flashlight back in her backpack, Aura continued through the cave, holding out her hand to light her path.

         “Hello!” Aura heard nothing in response to her calls except her echo and more soft whines from Emmerson, who was still hiding behind her. “Can anyone hear me?”

         With still no response, Aura moved further into a smaller tunnel that broke off from the main room. The low ceiling and close walls made her feel claustrophobic, but Aura still continued to move forward. I wonder how much of these caves have been explored, she wondered absent-mindedly as she came into another massive cavern. Out of nowhere, Aura heard an echo of her thoughts off the cave wall as if she’d spoken out loud. That’s weird. A few seconds later, the cave echoed her. Now this is getting creepy. Aura counted the seconds on her fingers. One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four. “Now this is getting creepy,” echoed the cave. Holding up her hand and trying to keep her mind blank, Aura wandered over to one of the cave walls. Written there was an inscription in a language she did not understand.

         “Sou-ka, ramën ęte śotu lácà, est sou húv shaü,” Aura tried to pronounce the words.

         “It says ‘never forget the light within; it shows, protects, and bounds all who can see it’,” a voice came from behind her. Aura whipped around to see this newcomer. She was terrified since she had not heard him enter. Holding out her palm, she cast her own bluish light around the room, stopping only when it rested on the new one. He had hair the color of melting sea ice that hung down to his eyebrows. His eyes shimmered silver. The newcomer had a complexion the color of sunshine on a cloudless day, and he was easily 4 inches taller than Aura who was a mere five feet five inches tall, and most importantly, he had a luminescent blue patch on his right palm.

         “Who are you?” Aura felt a tingling sensation run up her spine.

         “I’m Breccan, and you are?”

         “My name is Aura,” she replied.

         “Why did you come here, Aura?” Breccan’s face gave nothing away; he showed no emotion on his face, but his eyes glittered with the brightness of a thousand smiles.

         “I need to know why I was created, and if there are more of us,” Aura unsuccessfully tried to steady her voice. Breccan made her nervous. He was gorgeous all clad in an impeccable white V-neck t-shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and a pair of blue and black Nike tennis shoes, which were miraculous to Aura and her stinking mess. Aura’s once spotless blue cami was now speckled with dried mud and sweat, her jeans were muddy and torn in places, and her purple and black Adidas running shoes were filthy. Her ice blue hair stuck out in places, and it was mingled together with leaves and twigs from her journey.

         “We are the only ones of our kind of which I am aware,” Breccan answered finally. “Until you arrived, I thought that I was the only one. Regardless, come with me. I have a place where you can clean up.” Following Breccan, Aura and Emmerson trailed to the other end of the cavern until they came upon a solid wall. Aura watched in awe as Breccan placed his lit hand upon the wall, and it moved to reveal a hidden passage. He confidently walked down the hallway. Aura could not wait to have her first bath in days. Finally reaching the end of the carved hall, there was a wooden door. Breccan opened the door, and showed Aura the natural hot springs that flowed within the caverns.

         “Feel free to clean up in here, and when you need me to come back, just call my name,” Breccan said.

         “Okay, I will. Thank you,” As Breccan left the room, Aura slipped into the hot spring with all her clothes on. She was too tired to waste any time on undressing. Taking a breath, Aura let herself sink under the surface of the water, down farther and farther into the blackness where she felt time stop.