Aραтιтє - A Steven Universe OC Story

Chapter 4 | The Room

        The room was incredibly serene. There was nature present everywhere! When I turned away from the door, I felt relieved that it wasn't anything frightful. I looked up, down, left, right; basically everywhere! Beneath my bare feet was cold stone, but it looked more like marble than stone. Up ahead was a waterfall, and there were rocks of different sizes in the middle of it, forming a line of stepping stones. The waterfall leads all the way down to a bunch of rocks... well, more like boulders. But at the edge of the waterfall, there are rocks there too to stop me from falling down. 

       I looked up at the glass walls and turquoise columns. They stand tall, then arch at the top to form a dome. Since the glass is clear, I can see how it is outside. Or maybe this is all an illusion. Or maybe.. actually, it would make more sense if this was an illusion. I'm inside of a temple. 

       I look all the way up and notice a few bubbles in the air. They're way too high for me to reach and pop. I notice that they are all the same color, except for one purple bubble. Inside of each and every bubble is a stone or something like that. I've read that my mother used to bubble corrupted gems after they sorta.. "poofed". That was the way mom described it. She wrote down how she would bubble them and send them home, and seeing as this is her room, I assume this is where she sent them. My child instincts tell me to grab a rock and pop those bubbles, but being afraid of whatever is in that bubble throws my attention somewhere else.

       Everything within a footstep and beyond seemed to glimmer and shine, despite this being the first time anyone has set foot in here for like.. thirteen or less years. Instead of keeping my feet glued to this spot, I tore them away from the smooth spot and started walking towards the running waterfall. Where was the source of this water? I mean, this is a magic room after all. Magic water! It only makes sense! I rolled my eyes at myself and hopped on a flat stone, which was a feet away from the edge of the side of the waterfall. I am literally so close to falling off this rock.

      I take a deep breath in an attempt to reconcile myself. I believe I won't fall unless I lose balance. Or literally take a step into the rushing current. The closest stepping stone is about twice the distance it took me to reach this rock. My chest heaves up and down as I am breathing heavily, trying to muster the courage in order to make the grand leap. I wait a few seconds before reminding myself that time is precious and will not last forever. 

      I just barely make it to the rock, my heels directly on the edge of the sparkly stone. I also find that lavender bubble only a few feet ahead and above me. Resisting the temptation is yet again such a struggle, but with another mighty jump, I avoid it. I also go towards the edge of the waterfall, where the flush of liquid rushes down towards the bottom. I can't see any rocks that could probably injure me badly, but I can't see a bottom either. 

      Since I've always lived in the city, no one has ever taught me how to swim. Well, that isn't entirely true. The last time I went to a swimming pool, I was being taught how to float, which of course is probably a natural instinct. I can sorta swim. By swimming I mean flailing my arms about in the water. 

      Before I can stray away from the possibly dangerous edge, my knees slip back, causing my entire body to lean towards the fall. Before my entire body can make contact with the cool water, my left hand catches the jagged edge of one of the guarding rocks. My soft palm is beginning to roughen up against the sharply cut edge, but I continue to toil in order to save myself. If I don't, who will save me?

      I notice that the rock next to the badly cut one had a much more smoother border, so I stretch my right hand towards it. At this time, I recognize how bad my timing is. As my right hand is trying to grip the leveled rock, I let go of the irregular one. Luckily my right hand is able to grab the smoother one; but because of it's rounded, flat edge, I can't hold on for long. When I tried to pull myself up, I ended up letting go by accident, leaving my physical self tumbling down towards the water.