𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐒 {spirit animals}

5. Shadow by the Ocean

Rae was by the beach, standing in the water while she felt the waves drift to the rhythm of the sea. Her honey-brown hair drifted in the wind as she looked beyond the horizon. At the break of dawn, Oceanus was silent, other than the soft sound of crashing waves, and the chorus of birds in the distance.

        Years and years later, this had become routine for Rae. Leaving the house at the crack of dawn, standing in ripples of water, watching the distant sunrise.

       Clouds of purple and orange drifted across the sky, and Rae let the sunlight soak into her skin, the warmth seeping into her. As morning rose, sea birds started landing in the water, the rest of Oceanus awaking.

       Rae had started this daily routine two years ago, as she sprinted across the beach, a bag full of stolen gold in her arms. She remembered that day very clearly, it had been a particularly unsuccessful heist, where she didn't realize the owner of that particular house had a spirit animal of an owl. A single hoot blew Rae's stealth, and she had no choice but to turn around and run.

       That was when she and her family first moved to Oceanus. She remembered the agreement they came too, how Eura had too many dark memories for the family to stay there. They had hoped that by leaving the country, they were also leaving the memories behind.

       That couldn't be further from the truth, as Rae held on to all of her memories, lived through them every single day. As she ran across the beach that one day, she could only remember how this exact situation had happened once before, and how she could never go through that ever again.

       With exhaustion and mental distraught combined, Rae remembered collapsing on the beach, and for the first time in her life, she was giving up.

       Then, she remembered a crack of light coming from the horizon, of the sun rising. Birds began singing their songs, and on the beach, right next to her, landed a goose. It wasn't true, but in her state, Rae saw the goose that was once bonded to her sister. The goose that tried to save her once, tried but failed.

       And Rae told herself that this time, failure wasn't an option.

       So she remembered getting up, fighting against the odds and running across the beach, taking in the first of the morning light. It was a sense of serenity in a dire situation that she wouldn't let go.

       For Jasmine, and for Freedom.

       Now, Rae stood in the heart of dawn, her hardships over and her family now safe. The only thing missing was her sister, Jasmine Rodriguez.

       She died in Eura, along with Freedom the goose. There was the story Rae told everyone of how Jasmine died in her arms, after suffering the consequences of a terminal disease.

       Then, there was the truth. The part where Jasmine had been murdered, and Rae had caught a glimpse of who the killer was.

       Half of the story Rae shared with the world was true. Her sister had been diagnosed with a terrible, strange disease, but Jasmine had fought it. Of course she did, the same girl who fought against all the odds for her family didn't go down from sickness. She gradually healed, grew stronger, and one particular day when Rae went to find her sister, she was greeted by her dying body, and one glimpse of who had taken everything away from her.

       Feelings of pain and guilt shot through her as Rae relived the moment. She wouldn't cry, that was a promise she made to herself, and she wouldn't break it.

       Instead, she would do what Jasmine did. Push through it all, then find a way to live with it. She'd be the hero that her older sister was.