The Elements

Chapter 16 - Darkness Before The Dawn

All the anger in me dissipated, and this time, grief and heartache took over. The tears came, leaking down my face unceasingly. They flooded down my cheeks like a waterfall, as irremediable sorrow washed over me. I didn't try to stop myself. I cried and cried and cried and cried until I had no more tears to shed. Sniffling, I stared down at Aura, who looked so peaceful, as if just taking a nap, as if she would wake up very soon. But I knew much better. Silence had never bothered me, but the silence that came from Aura's lips was deafening. It was unbearable to hear only the calm swishing of the waters, only the bird calls from far away. Aura had to survive. I needed her.

"P-Pearl?" Aura's familiar voice sounded. I turned around, and saw her eyes fluttering open. No, it's a dream. It must be. But I replied to her anyway.

"Aura? Are-Are you alive?"

"Umm.. Yeah, why else would I be talking to you?" For a moment, I couldn't think of a reply. Despite everything. She had pushed through!

"I-Thank you, Aura." My voice was thick with emotion as tears began welling up in my eyes again. This time, though, they were golden tears of pure joy.

"Hey... Are you alright?" Aura didn't seem to realise what had happened. "I just fell unconscious for a while. No biggie."

"No biggie?" I yelled at her, my voice thundering over even the crashing of the waves, sounding too much like Aura herself when she was angry at me. In fact, it seemed as if our souls had just switched sides. "You don't know how much I had to go through. I-I thought you were... dead, Aura. I dragged you up to the surface wishing you would survive, but... things looked bleak for a long time. And I saw those people again. With Amber and Alexa and Emerald, on a cloud. But they escaped even after I tried to shoot them with water and stuff."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sloow down. You mean those creepy dudes turned up again? Doesn't that give us a confirmation that we're on the right path? And - wait. Did you say you dragged me to the surface? Doesn't that mean... you were the one who saved me?" Time crawled by slower than a snail as Aura's words sunk in.

"Uhh... I, um, didn't really consider it that way?" That was the best I could do, but my comment did not make the conversation any bit less awkward. Aura didn't speak for some while, but her face showed me more gratitude than anyone could have ever asked for.

Finally, all that came out from her mouth were the words "Thank you". I felt like I should be the one thanking her more, but didn't see a need to tell her.

"Umm... Okay. So... that just happened. I'm just glad you're alright, okay?" I desperately wanted to end this difficult conversation. And it seemed like Aura did too.

"Yeah, um, thanks? Anyway... I think we should be getting on our way. You saw them with the girls - we're already late!" And with that, we set off again. Aura lifted us into the sky on her cloud. Thankfully, the tide was going down, which made our journey ten times smoother. We zipped across the sky at the speed of wind (no pun intended) until we reached a tall barrier made of rocks, surrounding land. We had crossed the Waves of Marone (I bet we deserve a Nobel prize for that)!

I stared up at the fortress of rocks around me. Up close, it looked even more formidable — but at least Aura was there, with her cloud. In a matter of seconds, we whooshed over the barrier and landed safely on the ground. All courtesy of Aura and her magnificent control over her element. Only at that moment did I look at the architecture of the place I was in.

Rows and rows of houses lined both sides of the road we were on. Each house was made from the finest building materials. Bungalow after bungalow of gigantic houses with sculptures of majestic animals — lions, owls in flight, dolphins — lined the road in front of me. Intricate carvings were made on each wall.