Fae Land

Sometimes We Need A Good Cry

After their walk, Bo led her to Alicia's room which was closest to the door that lead to the wing. He paused, but Lela waved him off and knocked on the door frame.

"Alicia?"

She heard a slight rustle of different materials she couldn't distinguish but could have been a book. "Hi, Lela."

"May I come in?"

"Of course. If you walk straight twelve paces, you will be standing in front of my bed. I'm sitting on the right edge." Alicia's voice wobbled and sounded resigned.

Lela took the twelve steps sliding her toes through the furry carpet. Her toe touched the large stiff oversized pillow that doubled as the bed. She sat down. The creature moved from her neck to her lap curling and giving a sigh. Lela found that petting it really calmed her down like when she would play her flute for hours, she could feel it center her.

"For the record, I think its adorable." Alicia's voice was higher pitched and much more confident.

"Me too. I don't know her name, but you know in Russian how they say 'goodbye?' I think that would be a good name. Dasvidaniya." Lela mused.

"That's probably her name then. Dragons link telepathically with others. Though it's obviously bonded with you, the bond hasn't been set. If it was set, then you would be able to speak with her." Alicia explained. Lela felt the pillow move as Alicia slid closer. "May I?" She asked Lela.

"Umm. What?" She wondered aloud.

"Sorry. May I pet her?" Alicia chuckled.

Lela shrugged. "She seems very independent. You should probably ask her."

"Good point." Alicia's voice deepened and softened. "Desvidaniya? May I pet you?"

Lela felt the rodent raise its head to look at Alicia and then it snorted. She smelled a touch of sulfur. "I guess not."

Alicia giggled. "Ya. I'm not going to chance it." She paused. "The Fae really have connected with you." She paused again then more serious. "I'm not going to lie. I am happy you are here."

Lela sighed. Her thoughts went quickly over the numerous years she spent hoping Alicia would knock on her door. She paid attention to every bang in case she needed Lela's help with her door. Other than cooking a few meals for her and a side hug or too, Alicia gave no indication she wanted to spend time with Lela. She often thought Alicia was so guarded because of her past experiences, but Lela had been through some pretty shitty things too. They could have helped each other get past their fears. "It's hard to trust you right now."

"I know." She said in a resigned fashion. "Do you remember when we first met?"

Lela did. She nodded.

Alicia continued, but her voice was unsteady. "Shortly before I met you, I was in a horrible accident." She exhaled, and Lela felt the bed jiggle as Alicia shook her hands. "Sorry. Its never been easy for me to talk about it."

Lela instinctively wanted to comfort her friend. She waved Alicia over so that their thighs were touching. She wrapped her arm around Alicia and let her friend lay her head on Lela's shoulder. She didn't say anything though. She let the silence fill the room until her friend was ready to continue.

"I wasn't the only one in the car. A drunken driver came over into our lane going highway speeds crashing into my girlfriend and love of my life, Jessica." Alicia sniffed. "I still go to bed and I can see it all happen clearly. One moment, I was driving cross-country with my best friend in the whole world. She was my universe. I already made up my mind that I was going to propose to her once we arrived in Chicago. I had a reservation at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of John Handcock Building the next day. We were only one more state away and I knew that my life was never going to be the same. Jessica got accepted to Northwestern University and would be able to go into their nursing program with a full scholarship. We had been saving our money and found an adorable rental not far from the University. We had our shit together and we were going to have a fantastic life." Alicia's tears flooded out. Lela could see the small sparkles creating tracks of tears down Alicia's cheeks. Lela wiped the tear across Alicia's face. Her tears became sparkling paint that Lela used to reveal her friend. As Alicia's tears were absorbed by her cheeks, Lela got a quick glance at the sadness in her friend's eyes.

Alicia sighed. "We were seriously only two hours from the Illinois State line when it happened. It was the middle of the night. We were so excited. The song Free Fallin just came on the radio and we were singing it so loud and laughing so hard. Then Jessica got distracted by a bright light which I then noticed. She was yelling that he was in the wrong lane. She swerved to try to veer away and misjudged the car next to us that was just outside the blind spot. She thought she had more room. The car next to us hit our hind corner knocking us into the car that started the whole reaction. We hit a railing and went over a cliff. The whole car flipped over and over. I remember just staring at Jessica whose white knuckles were trying to hold on to the steering wheel but she turned to look at me and watching her head be completely decimated by a pointy gigantic rock that came through the windshield. At the same time, a tree branch and another rock came through my side of the windshield. She stared at me for hours as I waited for the ambulance. I tried shouting for her to talk to me, but she was already dead. Staring at me." Alicia choked back a sob. "They said she didn't feel a thing. The hospital said I had a branch in my stomach and a glass shard just to the right of my heart. They spent so many hours just trying to find all the tiny glass fragments. I even had to go back into emergency surgery because they missed one that nicked an artery and I was slowly bleeding to death while in ICU. I was ready to die Lela. I couldn't imagine life without her. Every time I would close my eyes I would see her staring at me. Even after meeting you, I couldn't even get the guts to be with anyone because then they would have to see the scars. They would ask me what happened, and I wasn't ready to talk about it or her."

"I wish I could say something profound." Lela didn't know what to say. She had no idea. "She was so lucky to be staring into the eyes of someone that loved her so completely when she passed. I'm so sorry that happened to you." Alicia cried until she couldn't anymore. The rodent creature annoyed at Alicia huffed and scurried to a pillow away from them. Lela gently stood Alicia up and they walked to the bathroom. Using her bedroom and bathroom as reference, she walked to the bathtub and turned on the water. Steam filled the room and glittered to life. Alicia was crumpled over sitting on the edge wearing a flowy white dress made of tiny flowers woven together. She sat next to Alicia letting her feet hang over as well.

"The funny thing about this. I was so afraid that I didn't deserve to be alive. I didn't have a reason to live. Being here, I feel like there was a reason I didn't die. Like the cosmic fates knew that I needed to come here, maybe to bring you here... I don't know. I feel like I have a second chance to be happy without the scars of my past." Alicia kicked her feet at the water and let it splash on the tile wall. "Even if we do find the Prince, I don't know if I want to go back. Do you know what gifts I received when I first came here?" Lela shook her head looking at her friend's sad features trying to remember every inch.

"First they took away my nightmare. The first night was the most peaceful deep sleep since the accident. The second night when I threatened not to stay they gave it back. I saw it over and over again. For hours straight the Fa' reminded me of their first gift. How they could take it all away even theses scars." Alicia tore at her dress which crumpled into a fizzy bubble in the water leaving chunks missing. Huge red jagged scars went from her breast down to her navel. "They brought back every shard of glass and embedded it into me, but I was ready to let them kill me. I knew I wasn't the human they wanted me to be. I was too broken. When I was in my lowest moment, I didn't think about Jessica. You were. I realized that if I died; I would never be able to see you again. I couldn't tell you how much I appreciated our long talks and how you made me laugh. I wouldn't be able to tell you how sometimes I would follow you to the train station just to listen to you play. How you helped heal my heart by listening to your soul overcoming everything. I'm so sorry I brought you here for such a selfish reason."

"I forgive you." Lela hugged her friend close. She felt the weight of her friend's words settle in her stomach. How could she not help her friend? A person she cared for so deeply all those years. Lela let her arms and their fingers intertwine covering Alicia's destroyed clothes. Lela closed her eyes listening to Alicia breath which was starting to steady. Lela knew she loved Alicia and she wouldn't be able to leave her here, but was she willing to give up the world she knew for the dangers of this place? She didn't know if she could make that leap. And then there was Bo. She didn't know where she stood with him, but she felt conflicted after seeing how completely he trusts her. She knew if she asked, he would walk into a fire for her. Lela sighed. She held Alicia tightly and kissed the top of her head.