Gentle waves washed over her body, the cool water on her skin and the warmth of the hot sand stirred her awake. The woman sat up slowly, her mind a spinning whirlpool of thoughts and feelings. Thinking felt foreign to her, the ability to control her own body and gather her own wits was a rapturous experience. Opening her eyes slowly to take in her surroundings felt like seeing for the first time, the deep blue color of the sea in front of her was an exhilarating scene. She ran her hands through the fine grains of sand around her and it felt remarkably comforting, warmed all day in the sunshine.
"What is this? Where am I?" she said out loud to herself, crawling over to the lazy waves that lapped at the beach. Waiting until the waves calmed down just enough to see her reflection in the sea, she inhaled sharply at what she saw on the bright surface of the water. Blonde hair matted into dreadlocks from neglect, a smooth complexion, and piercing eyes, somehow she recognized herself. The ability to feel, think and recognize her own body was a revelation to her, she felt free for the first time in what felt like an eternity of bondage.
"I can think..." she whispered into the warming breeze coming off the water. The woman raised her head and scanned the horizon, she saw an endless blue sea as far as her vision could perceive, and turning around to face the beach was a long stretch of sand against a short cliff cut into a hillside. Wherever she was didn't feel real to her, or at least it wasn't anywhere that she could recognize or remember. The woman closed her eyes to reflect on her thoughts, a number moved inside her inner vision. Seven. Seven. Seven. The number repeated itself to her like the notes to a simple tune. Focusing on the number, she began to hear gentle music in every direction, the waves sounded like a consistent rhythm and an ethereal melody echoed and bounced off the face of the short beach cliff. "I am Seven?" she wondered aloud, her eyes once again opening to take in the scenery.
The music all around her grew and swelled, melodies and rhythms filled the air from unseen instruments. Seven took a few cautious steps onto the beach, following a particular melody she could hear from the top of the cliff. There was a smooth set of marble steps set into the cliff face, leading off the beach and upwards into a dense and lush jungle, Seven took another step towards it, spurred on by distant music and singing.
Seven marble steps marked the entrance to a path through the jungle, and she ascended them slowly, marveling at the fact that she was moving of her own free will. "I am myself... I can choose..." she stated aloud as if to reassure herself that her mind was functioning correctly. At the top of the staircase, the verdant jungle opened up into a wide dirt path, surrounded on each side by thick trunks of strange-looking trees and bushes of purple flowers. The melodies and distant singing filled Seven's ears, rising to a climactic chorus:
Amidst the jungle's depth and green,
A path of destiny within Song's dream.
And yet you walk, your thoughts ablaze,
With the hope to meet the goddess who saves.
With each step, the past fades away,
And in its place, a new fate holds sway.
A song of magic and ancient lore,
Where in its midst, your soul can soar.
You walk with purpose, direction true,
The sea behind, a distant hue.
And as you tread upon this ground,
A new sense of purpose is found.
The goddess waits, both wise and fair,
Her voice was like music in the air.
And as you stand before her grace,
YOU ARE READING
Song of Seven
FantasyA man flees from his past by making a new life for himself in the frozen reaches of a northern wasteland. Can starting over from scratch free his conscience? What lies in his past that he has turned to the comforts of wilderness and the comforts of...
