The Sleeping Girl

Chapter Twenty Four

The cool wetness of the grass beneath my feet feels blissful, especially now that we're out of the rough battlegrounds. Walking towards little spot where I woke up, seven days ago, I feel nothing but content. And looking at the Sleeping Girl beside me, I can see that she's happy too, if a little nervous. But that is natural after all, 'tis what I myself felt. And anyhow, I know that she is a thousand fold more prepared than I was to face the new world, the world of five hundred years from now.

It's incredible to think of how much the world has changed from when I myself first went to sleep. How ballgowns and rich palaces and small towns, and everything that I grew up with seems nothing more than a long fading dream, a foreign idea unheard of here.

The other members of society have long since left us, and now it's just us two girls, walking in harmony with the Earth. Amanda told me to find the spot where I woke up, and I have every confidence that I can. It's calling to me. It's calling, but differently from how it called me then, how it must be calling to Chloe. I know I'm to go there, but I'm not sleepy, not scared for my fate. I'm happy, and somehow, I know Chloe is too.

My mark too, is softly glowing. It's completely different from how it has been for the past few days. Rather than a sharp searing pain telling me to go somewhere, I feel nothing more than a pleasant tingle that, unless I really pay attention to, I can't even tell that it's there. And the glow is a warm golden color, a glow that reminds me of happy days, of home.

I've been conflicted at where to call my home. If it's with my birth family five hundred years ago, or if it's with the society of today. And maybe, just maybe, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I have a home, and here, with Chloe and the forest, I'm here.

This time, my mark is not telling me that something is wrong, but rather, that something is right.

Finally, we come to a halt in the pretty spot where I went to sleep. "Are you ready?" I ask Chloe, turning to face her.

"I guess I'll never really be fully ready, but I know that I'm prepared to face anything now, so I guess so," she says, bravely.

"It's not hard," I tell her, a small smile creeping onto my face when I remember what a similar conversation I had with Tegan five hundred years ago. Another girl, another place, but really in the gist of things, it's all the same. "It's really peaceful. And it doesn't feel like an exceptionally long time, but more like just a normal night's sleep."

"I'm not worried about the sleep," says Chloe. "I'm just scared for what the world will be like when I wake up. I mean, you all will be dead. I already lost my first family, and I don't think I can bear to lose my second."

I'm touched. Touched that she thinks of us as her new family, even though I know nobody can really replace the first one. I still think of Ailie from time to time, but I have this new family too though, so I guess I can get what she means.

"Come here," I say, reaching over and embracing her. "Listen, you don't have to worry about a thing. Don't think of us as your new family, think of society as that way. And I know without a shadow of doubt that the society will still be standing strong when you wake up, so really, when it all comes down to it, we'll still be there. You're not the first Girl to do this, nor will you be the last. I remember being just as scared as you were, but now, I wouldn't trade this society for the world."

She nods, stepping back, then moving forwards to hug me again. "Thank you so much Keela, for everything that you've ever done for me," she whispers into my shoulder. She looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Do you still remember everything?" she asks me. "It is a really long time. Maybe it would hurt less if I didn't remember."

"Don't say that," I say softly. "You will remember. I don't know about later in my life, but for now, everything is still clear. Sure, the memories feel like they've come from a whole different world, but that is only to be expected, for in reality, they have. But I still remember everything. My family, my friends, my experiences. And though this is my family now, I know I'll always remember my first. They're the things we take with us in life, the things that make us unique. You'll honor the memory of your original parents, and you'll remember us, and you'll have a new family, and honestly, maybe that's a really lucky thing. I know that I feel lucky to have been the Girl."

"Okay," says Chloe, softly. "I guess I'm glad."

"You'll still be fifteen at heart, and in your mind and body too."

Her mouth twitches. "That's good to know. Not to seem vain or anything, but it would really suck to wake up as an old lady."

"Yes, that would be bad."

She looks at me again, looks long and hard, and I can tell that she's drinking in the last of a person, a real thing that she will see in a long, long time.

"I think when I've seen what you can do, Keela, I've seen everything," says Chloe. "I hope that the world can handle you."

"I hope the new century can handle you."

She gives a small smile, then settles down on the ground. Smoothing out her skirt a few times, and running her fingers through her hair, she lies down, curling into a sleeping position.

"Have sweet dreams, Chloe," I tell her as her eyelids flutter shut.