Daughter Nature

Chapter 11-My Sleepless Night

Breathe.

You knew this would happen.

Your mother knew it would happen. She told you it would happen.

How will you react? Because your reaction will determine your future...

These thoughts settled in my brain as I lay in bed, tears streaking my face. I couldn't sleep. No one could sleep--no one among the palace staff, anyway. The news of my mother's death had not reached the townspeople.

All I could think about was her death. She was...Gone.

I knew it would happen. Mother knew it would happen. I had braced myself every way I could, yet the impact of the events had run into me like a bullet train. Hard, solid, and with a loud BAM.

These new thoughts brought on another onslaught of tears. Breathe, I reminded myself, for the action was no longer so immediate. No, now everything, every action, had to be thought about. For the thoughts of my actions kept my mind away from the thought of my mother.

I shook my head. Do not think of her, I told myself. Think of...sleep.

Yet sleep would not come, it would not come to relieve me of these thoughts. So I got out of bed, and put a bathrobe on over my pajamas. If I wasn't going to sleep, then I wasn't going to spend the whole night wasting time trying.

Pale moonlight shone on the floor as I walked over to my window. In the window pane, I saw my reflection. There I was, my summer-leaf green hair straight and smooth, my tanned face clear, my brown eyes only slightly red around the edges. The tears I had been crying streaking down my face in perfect, sculpted lines, the only evidence I was grieving. I looked like a despairing image of perfection. Ugh.

I looked beyond my reflection and into the dark, misty night. The moon shone high above, shaped as a perfect half, stars twinkling around it like fanboys and fangirls wanting to get the moon's autograph. Weird simile, I know, but that was how a girl like me thought about things.

It was humid outside--not warm, only humid--and there was a cool mist collecting by the streets. My window looked out upon the gardens, where the flowers looked calm and peaceful, resting in the soft moonlight, sleeping, as I should have been.

I walked away from my window, and towards the door. Of course, I opened the door, and slipped out of my bedroom, my bare feet pattering against the cold floor. The sound of my footsteps seemed to amplify into much louder BOOM's in the quiet night.

I knew where I needed to go, who I needed to see, what I needed to do (For the first time, I had an actual, real-life, no joke, serious PLAN. I wonder if these planning instincts come with the gain of an authoritative position, I mean, I was Mother Nature now).

First, I had to get Trina. NOW.

Clutching my robe around me tighter, I slipped out into the cool night and ran awkwardly up to Trina's house. I knew better than to knock on her door--I opened the door myself and barged into Trina's room without a second thought.

I shook Trina so violently that the self-proclaimed, "I could sleep through a war" girl jolted awake, adrenaline kicking into her system, and would have screamed if I didn't cover her mouth with my hand.

Trina struggled to calm down, her eyes as big as oranges, staring at me. When she had calmed down enough to get her breathing under control, I removed my hand from her mouth and put my finger perpendicular to my mouth, making the universally accepted "shhhhh," sign. As usual, Trina ignored this.

In a low, rumbling voice, Trina growled, "WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?" (A/N: Comment if you either had an Aladdin moment or are the same way when someone wakes you up! LOL)

I sighed. "Trina, it's me. There's an emergency in the making right now, and I need your help."

Trina narrowed her neon green eyes and stood up. If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now. "You need me..." Trina said, "In the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?" I made the "shhhhh" sign again, and to no avail.

"What?" Trina whisper-yelled, "What is this great emergency that involves me at this hour, this emergency that--"

"Mom's dead." I interrupted. My words seemed to hang in the air, feeding on the cold silence, and then fall to the ground with a thud.

Trina stopped talking. Her mouth hung open slightly, forming an oblong shape. We were both thinking the same thing--that came out of nowhere.

The words I had just uttered seemed to jab the back of my mind, letting memories of my mother flow out and bring fresh tears to my face. I turned away from Trina so she wouldn't see me cry.

Trina finally got her voice back and whispered, "Sky...I didn't know...Oh my gosh, Sky..."

"It's fine. I'll be okay," I said in a voice that made it clear that it was not fine and I might never be okay again.

Trina seemed to be numbed or paralyzed, in a daze. I wiped at my eyes and whispered, "Come on, I need you at the palace." Trina nodded, tears collecting in her own eyes, and half-consciously hobbled out of her room, out of her house and into the night, towards the my own home.

When we got there, I brought Trina to the map room. It had a desk, where we could work. As I stepped inside the map room, memories of my mom working here hit me like a brick to the head, and it took everything I had not to collapse on the floor sobbing.

Okay, I thought. Next step: get Miss Crystal. I told the bark guard standing at attention by the door to the map room to fetch Miss Crystal and bring her here. He did as he was told, and Miss Crystal was in the map room with us in a matter of minutes.

Miss Crystal's diamond eyes seemed to be even shinier with tears when she joined us--it was a sight I was not used to seeing. I cleared my throat and began step three of my plan.

"As you know," I said with what little strength I had left in me, "Mother Nature--my mother--has passed, and it is the duty of I, her only heir, to complete the wonderful things she has started." I bit back tears and continued. "But it is the duty of everyone to make sure she is properly remembered--not my duty alone. That is why I have called you two here. We must plan--" I took a deep breath to keep myself steady "--a funeral.

"You two have been selected for your special skills to help me make such an event possible. Miss Crystal--your career as a housekeeper have required you to learn how to sew. If you could sew mourning gowns for you, Trina, and me, among other tasks, I know that we would both be extremely grateful."

Miss Crystal nodded, and I turned to Trina. "Trina, my best friend," I started, "You can organize an event better than anyone I know. If you agree to help me with this, and that would mean creating a guest list, make the ballroom visually pleasant" (I couldn't bring myself to say 'decorate') "organize catering, music, and invitations, having the assistance of Miss Crystal and I, I would owe you tremendously." Trina nodded, just as Miss Crystal had. Neither of them looked daunted by the tasks ahead.

"I will organize the things that will make this event a funeral," I said. "I will oversee the creation of the coffin, hire gravediggers, and figure out exactly where Mom will be buried, and once I figure that out, I will then organize the procession. Can I count on you to help me remember and honor Mother Nature?"

"Yes," said Trina and Miss Crystal, strong, determined, in unison.

My lower lip quivered, and more tears flowed out of my eyes. "Thank you," I whispered.

Trina and Miss Crystal came in at exactly the moment when I needed them, and they enveloped me in a group hug. I couldn't stop the tears then--they came out, pouring down my face and onto Miss Crystal's and Trina's shoulders.

"It's okay," Miss Crystal said, stroking my hair. Trina added solemnly, "Oh Sky...These next few days, you don't need to be happy. You don't even need to be optimistic. You need to be strong, okay?"

"Okay," I whispered. "Okay."

~Author's Note~

Yeah...

Sky is acting so much more...grown up. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Comment on your opinion.

Well, okay. Stay tuned, everyone! There's more to come!

Bye!