Amidst the torrent of flames, a man screamed. But it wasn't for the nightmare he found himself in. No, in all the crumbling stone and melted glass, the king was lost in the horrors of his past. Awash in apocalyptic light, eyes once glassy, became vibrant blue. His entire history passed before him, hunger, loneliness, desperation, survival; all rotated in his mind. A scroll unfurled, showing him the list of deeds done, both good and ill. But oh....so much ill. His mind clear for the first time in centuries, it buried him. His memories compounded, erupting from his subconscious. Bringing about a time before Cassie fell from the sky. Everything laid out in sad, disgusting, relief. His humanity was restored and old...so old...creaking...gasping.... brittle...old.
But it hadn't all been bad, had it?! He'd had to make some hard decisions, was all. Nothing but a few well-placed enchantments. What was a lie when it brought comfort? What was a spell when it eased pain? It had all been for the best! Otherwise, how would they have lived? How would they have avoided those horrid stars? They had been tired of running. He had made a home. It was for her. It had always been...for...
His hand closed around heated air. Where was she?! Coughing, he stumbled through burning wastes.
Cassie.... Cassie...
Timbers fell like lit matchsticks around him. Bursting into embers at his feet. He bent his way through the debris, smoke filling his lungs. Constantly sifting, feeling, calling. Where was his wife? He needed her. He couldn't think, he just needed her! She was water. She was air. She was life. He couldn't go on if she was not by his side. Without her, everything was pointless! Without her, there was no explanation. No redemption. It was only him. Him and his disfigured reflection, searching for a reason.
But he had done the right thing, hadn't he? All this misery couldn't have been for nothing! It had been noble...correct...even? No, everything he'd done...everything he'd given up...must have meant something! It must have-
But...wait....
A river of ice wound its way down his back. If he remembered...then that meant. His face turned toward the sky above. His eyes widened before the rest of the mangled roof gave way and sent the tower careening to earth.
***
Asha came around to the sound of dripping water. The air smelled earthy...clean. A drop landed on her nose. Skating along the curves of her face, it traced her mouth. Bewildered, her tongue ran over chapped lips. Rain? Recent rain too. Just ended more like. Where was she? It never rained in Rosas. Had she died after all? Was this what it was like on the other side? Damp and humid? Her nose wrinkled. Smokey fingers touched her hair, her face, her abdomen, her legs. No, alive...she was still alive and in one piece. Her throat dry, the groan came scratched and broken over her ruined vocal cords. Still here...she was still here.
Damn the stars!
Picking her head up from the fractured floor, she found her other hand wrapped around Sol's. The ligaments stiff in her grasp, her heart bled again. But she couldn't bring herself to let go. Clutching to the dead boy, she blinked in the silvery light.
Silver.... light.
She looked up and was breathless. The moon shone bright over the ruined scene. Full and unwavering, it washed out everything it touched. The sky, the deepest black, was entwined with shades of violet. Tiny blots of sparkling dust thrown over the expanse, winked and twinkled.
"Oh!" she gasped.
For the first time in five hundred years, the night sky spread over Rosas. The eternal sun had gone. Then maybe it hadn't all been a waste! Maybe she had done it! She had ended it all. Maybe...
YOU ARE READING
Of Stardust and Wishes (A Wish Rewrite)
Fiksi Penggemar"Salvē!" The golden specter repeated. She was in shock. That had to be it. All that tossing around in the water must have shaken her insides around enough to make her see things. She blinked a few times, but he was still there, looking even more con...
