Gift from the Heavens

Prologue-Part 2

Islelle twirled in front of the floor-length mirror set in the corner of her room. The sleek icy-blue dress she had chosen for the occasion matched her eyes perfectly. Her long black hair had been meticulously styled in an elaborate waterfall braid, and she had applied a light coat of sparkling golden eye shadow and pale pink lip-gloss. She smiled at her reflection, and then gracefully stepped to her bedroom door and down the stairs, where her father waited for her.

Upon seeing his daughter, Xephos blinked. The girl was just turning eleven and already looked like a grown woman. Just like his Avilah had once looked.

“How do I look?” asked Islelle, smoothing down her skirt where it had gotten slightly crumpled during her walk.

“Avi, my dear. Beautiful. You remind me so much of your mother when she was your age.” He blinked back a few tears that sprang to his eyes at the thought of Avilah, smiling at him from across a classroom, across a wedding chapel, across a hospital bed.

“Mommy had blond hair, didn’t she?” asked Islelle. “And green eyes.”

Xephos nodded. “You have my hair and eyes, but your face came from her.” As if the thought just came to him, he said, “I almost forgot! Your presents!”

Islelle grinned. “You didn’t really forget, did you, Daddy?” She stuck her tongue out, somewhat distorting the image of beauty and maturity she displayed.

“Now, now, young lady, none of that. You are a noble, remember, and if you don’t act like one  I might change my mind about giving you those presents!” All the same, Xephos couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his face. “Here.” He handed his daughter an envelope. “And be careful when opening it. You don’t want to tear what’s inside.”

“Mommy wasn’t a noble though, she had green eyes, so she was a commoner. If I was a commoner too, I wouldn’t have to act like a noble,” Islelle stuck her tongue again cheekily as she carefully slipped her finger underneath the flap of the envelope and pulled out a picture of Xephos and a woman with blond hair, green eyes, and a startlingly beautiful copper band around her finger. “That’s you and Mommy, right?” Islelle asked, looking at her father.

“Yes. But keep looking, there’s something else in the envelope.”

Islelle reached inside the envelope and pulled out a copper band with engravings on the side that read ‘eternity’. There was a silver chain that was fed through the loop of the ring so she could wear it around her neck. “Is this what she was wearing in the picture?”

Xephos nodded. “It’s yours now.” He watched his daughter slip the ring-made-necklace over her head, and he was once again reminded of Avilah.

“Thank you!” said Islelle, beaming.

A pinging noise came from Xephos’s comm device, a thin metal band every Callarusian wore around their wrist that allowed them to communicate with others from far away. Xephos pressed a button to silence the ping, and listened to the message, his expression changing from surprise to excitement to a little bit of worry. When he had finished listening, he looked up to Islelle’s curious face.

“Isy, that was the chairman of the Callarusian Aerospace Facility’s extrasolar branch. They are offering me the opportunity to be the captain of a ship headed to a planet in a nearby star system, then run some tests to see if it’s habitable. If it is, we’ll establish a colony.”

His daughter looked thoughtful. “Will you go?”

He nodded. “It’s the next big leap in interstellar expansion, as well as the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m going.”

“And… will I be able to come too?”

Xephos swallowed. “No, Isy. It’s too dangerous for a girl barely eleven years old.”

“I’ve been in space before! We went on a field trip to the moon in Academy last year.”

“That was different, Isy. That trip was short; it was controlled by professionals who had taken children there and back many times before. There’s not going to be a fancy moon base on this other planet. We’re going to have to make our own city.”

Islelle’s bottom lip trembled. “But if it’s so dangerous, how do I know you’ll come back?”

“I’ll be back, Isy. It might take time, but I’ll always be there for you.”

“When do you leave?”

“Now.” He opened the door and signaled a passing taxi.

“Now?!” Islelle clung onto her father’s arm. “Where will I stay?”

“You’ll stay with my sister and her husband.”

“But, Daddy…” she began.

“Don’t worry, Isy. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Islelle finally began to cry. “I’ll miss you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Isy.” The taxi arrived, and Xephos kissed Islelle on the head and began to leave.

“Wait, Daddy. Take this!” Islelle ran to her father and handed him the picture of Xephos and Avilah, together. “Keep it so you have a piece of our family with you.”

He swallowed hard, crying a tiny bit himself, and placed the picture gently inside a small ebony box. It drifted down and rested atop a picture taken two years ago, on Isy’s ninth birthday. He kissed Islelle again, turned away, and stepped out the door.

Heyo, it's Callie this time. We don't have a New Year's Day to release this chapter on, so... happy Friday, I guess. If it's even Friday for you people. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and SEE YA IN TEH COMMENTZ!!! :P