Hope for the Past

II

I didn't know what it was at first - the only screams I'd heard for years were the ones in my nightmares. It came from outside the cabin, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd left my house.

I raced into the bitter cold of December, the wind biting through my well-worn t-shirt. Another scream tore through the night - somewhere behind the cabin. I ran around back and froze.

A blue ball of flame hung in the air at the edge of my light - beyond that was the deep dark of the woods. I staggered a few steps back - this was the first hint of magic I'd seen in a decade. After centuries of living that way, ten years was as good as a death sentence.

I longed to plunge my hands into the fire, douse myself in its power, suck it in and let it fill my soul - or at least the places where my soul would have lived if I still had one.

"Whitney."

I closed my eyes. I didn't know how to feel. I never expected to see magic again, and for it to appear right here at the end, when I was about to be sealed away forever - it felt like a cruel trick. One last insult from Kiara and Connor.

"Whitney is dead." I turned to walk away.

"No, Whitney. I am your last chance. Turn around and walk away now, and the curse is sealed. Listen to me for a moment, and I may grant you redemption."

I paused. "I'm listening."

"It won't be easy."

"I've been sealed away from everything I've ever known and loved for ten years, and you're going to warn me about hardship? Try again." I took a few steps toward the flame. The air crackled with its energy.

"You have less than an hour before the curse put upon you ten years ago becomes stone magic," the flame said. I could almost place the voice, but every time I got close to a clear picture, it fuzzed out again.

"Painfully aware of that, yeah," I said.

"I offer you one chance. One chance to break the curse."

The flame glowed brighter and seemed to challenge me to walk away. That would be easier. I glanced at my watch. Time had frozen at 11:00.

"My watch stopped," I said.

"Yes, but only while we're here talking. Once you make your decision, time will march onward. You have one hour to live, or one hour to change the world."

Few people got that kind of offer.

"The hell with it." I walked straight into the flames.