The Phoenix Series: Sacrifice

Prologue: The Prophecy

                There is an old legend about the angels of the lucid sky; they are said to live for eternity and that they once used to unreservedly flourish in the skies above. Although in time, they began to disappear, and soon they went completely astray. People say they became extinct, while others believe that they still roam among the clouds. Some even claim to have seen them in the sky and among us. The angels used to say that they would go to a haven where they could live in serenity and peace forever. They said there would always be one seraph left to watch over them. Soon, the humans and creatures of the Earth forgot about the angels.

On the other hand, legends were passed down from one generation to another. The people wanted their descendants to know about these magnificent creatures. To this day, few know of the stories passed down and they are soon to be completely elapsed. There were whispers that the angels had the capability to glimpse into the future. Something they foretold was that one day, the final descendant of the angels would have to choose between her own contentment and the well being of the humans. This solitary judgment would lead to the conclusion of humankind, but with an end would come a new beginning. . . . .

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I am here to tell a story about a young girl, Sayta, who was meant to tread a road of pain and loneliness. No matter who it was, no one would ever remain by her side for long. At the age of six, her parents disappeared. There were no traces, nothing left to identify the path for which they had left; their only child was alone, unwanted and forgotten. Nothing suspicious was found within the confines of the household; her parents had left nothing out of place. Everything in the Hofmann home seemed normal. So Sayta, left with no one else to rely on except for her mother’s step sister, Krista, moved out of her parents’ house and into a new lifestyle filled with nothing but emptiness.

Her mother, Holly had been an adopted child, with a step sister and foster parents that didn’t want anything to do with Sayta’s birth mother. Her father, Shayn was an only child who lost his parents to a horrendous car accident five years before Sayta’s birth. So without a family except for her aunt Krista, who showed her niece no affection, Sayta found herself alone in the world.

Years ago, the very night that Sayta’s parents disappeared, she had a strange dream. In this lullaby of darkness and twilight, she constantly roamed the earth. The sky was a brilliant shade of pink, the valley all around her a golden sea of wheat, everything glowed with pure happiness. Feeling a presence, she turned around to find her parents standing perfectly still, while the wind ruffled their clothes. Getting up, she ran up to them; as she shortened the distance between them, she noticed their facial expressions were full of ache. Stopping in her tracks she stared up at them in confusion. Tears trailed down their cheeks as their faces traveled from Sayta’s face to each others' and back to Sayta’s. In unison, they approached Sayta, got onto their knees and hugged her. The same way they always had; so tightly Sayta found it hard to breath, but with love hidden behind the pain. Wiping tears from her eyes as well, Sayta looked back up at her parents just as they were turning around. On their backs were six gorgeous white wings which at that moment they used to fly away from her.

                In reality, that night her parents had slowly approached her room in desperation, kissed her on the forehead and sadly said goodnight for the very last time; knowing they were going to disappear into thin air, never to be seen again. As Sayta tossed and turned, a light rushed out of her body, enveloping everything in her tiny room; however, her parents remained by her side until the very last moment.

When Sayta awoke, her parents were already gone. Frightened from her dream, she threw her covers off and dashed down the hall to her parents’ room, only to find a neatly made bed cold from not being used.

Tears started welling out of her eyes as she turned around and frantically searched the rest of the house. With each room she visited, her vision steadily decreased. Turning the corner into the living room she knocked over the glass lamp, breaking it into hundreds of pieces. Bending down she gathered together the shards, walked into the kitchen and threw them away. As she walked back into the living room, her legs gave out from under her. Sitting on the cold floor, she looked at her hands which were covered in scratches from the lamp. She hadn't even felt the sting from her hands as her heart shattered like the lamp but moments ago.

                Gathering her hands to her chest, she started hiccupping in between sobs as the agony flooded out of her chest like water out of a dam. Her sobs increased to a finer degree as she wailed out of pain and loneliness. As she began to lean over her legs, wanting to conceal her hurt inside, the piercing sting shot from her chest to her back. Taking a sharp intake of breath in surprise she sat up only to be confronted with the pain drastically spreading throughout her back and centering on her shoulder blades. Whimpers escaped her lips as she attempted to reach her hands to her back; her fingertips just barely brushed a lump on her right shoulder blade. Curious, she moved her right hand closer to her left shoulder blade only to find an identical lump. As she adjusted her body to get a better feel of the unknown lumps, they suddenly hurt.

Letting out a yelp, she stumbled into the bathroom to get a better look at them. The mirror revealed an incredibly red back, purple veins popping out and large almost swollen looking shoulder blades, similar to what a broken bone might look like. As she sat there staring at them, the discomfort centered around the swollen flesh again; turning around, she froze as she realized that they were growing bigger.

Slowly the pain transformed into a small itch, like a mosquito bite then to an incredibly unbearable itch like a newly formed rash. Reaching her hands as far back as possible she started scratching desperately. By the time the itch subsided, she reached her hands back only to see them covered in blood and dead flesh. Looking back at the mirror she found that in place of skin there were bones jutting out of two small holes. As she stared at what she’d done; the throbbing returned, worse than ever. Now the newly released bone started growing out of her skin.

Feeling sick, she jumped to the toilet to puke into it. As she leaned over the toilet, not even needing to look, she felt the bones continue to grow; as if her bones were vibrating, being rubbed against a cheese grater driving her deep into the folds of insanity. After a good five minutes of dry heaving she laid her head on the toilet seat, only to be welcomed by blood dripping onto her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye she could see not just bone but feathers steadily growing out of them. Mesmerized, she reached her hand up and over her shoulder to touch one. The feathers were soft and wet with her blood but beautiful none the less.

Flexing her wings, she walked to the front door as if captivated and opened it. Once outside, a strong wind pushed her back, making her stumble as she called out to her parents. When no response was heard she jumped into the air, intending to take off but falling back onto the ground instead. After the embarrassing fall, she flapped her wings, basking in the feel of the air flowing through her new feathery limbs. Stubbornly, she got back up and tried again; after countless attempts she felt the muscles in her wings strengthening. So she stood up one last time, got into a running stance and took off as fast as she could, hoping that speed would help her attempt at flight.

Right, left, right, left; faster and faster she ran, flapping her wings in sync with her feet movements. The faster she ran the stronger her flapping grew, until she could barely register her feet on the ground at all.

For the remainder of the dark night, she called for her parents from the skies, in hope and agony that they would respond, but there was no such luck. Feeling dead, lost, and lonely, she flew back to her empty house. Heading downward she realized she was gaining speed and rammed into the top of the tree. Branches cracked and broke as her weight took its toll on the tree.

After she painfully landed on the ground, she dragged herself to her feet and stumbled inside to her bed, where she cried herself to sleep. As the last of the dreadful day drifted away, she dreamed of her parents and what she believed were the last moments they shared together. When she awoke the next morning, the sun was shining and it seemed as if nothing had happened. However, she noticed feathers strewn about her room and suddenly, she remembered her dream. And because of this dream and the pain of losing her parents, she had forgotten all about her flight through the sky; and therefore thought her parents had grown wings and left to go watch over her from above. To this day, that is what she believes; although, she remains oblivious to the marks that were left on her back from the last night before loneliness entombed her.