Trial by Fire

VI

Arron was floating in something, looking up at the sky on fire. He was calm. He wasn't sure if it was because of the poison, but the cold of the water felt like home. The clouds danced like firebirds, spreading their wings and enveloping the sky. On one side of his body, the cold  rolled off of him, like smoke off a candle. While on the other side, heat pulsed against him like the beating of a heart. Part of him wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep, but he dare not take his gaze off the sky.

  The melody was different this time. All of the high parts were low and the low parts were off... He couldn't pinpoint how but they were. Like when he had tried to play the piano back home, only to find it terrible out of tune. The horizon seemed to stretch on not letting him see anything, just the dark water, and the fiery sky. But He didn't know if he wanted to see anything beyond the calm of this place, his own private reality. He found himself humming along to the off-key song, though he could barely make out words. Straining to hear them, the voice seemed to take pity on him and became louder.

Prima per amore, poi per la vita....

Secondo per il dolore e terzo per le lacrime.

Non dimenticarmi.

Avanti per le risate e quinta per il sorriso...

Non dimenticarmi.

Arron's mind began translating and he finally came out with this

First for love, then for life.....

Second for pain and third for tears. Don't forget me.

Forth for laughter and fifth for smile

Don't forget me...

Don't forget who? Arron wanted to tell the voice something but knew that it wouldn't do him any good. But he wanted to soothe the sorrowful person.

"I won't, I promise," he told it, his voice standing clear against the melody.

"Then remember," a different voice whispered into his ear. His eyes widened as he started to sink down... down, down. He thrashed around but it was like a cinder block was weighing him down. He screamed out but shut his mouth as sour water flowed into his lungs. The salt burned his eyes but he kept them open. The cold was seeping into his bones as something took root in his heart. He felt like the sea was taking something from him, the cold stealing away a part of his soul. He closed his eyes as his mouth slipped open. The water flowed in, him not being able to stop it. He Drifted into the dark sea, the silence deafening. He would give anything to feel that heat from the burning sky again, just to feel alive.

 He couldn't move. He didn't want to. He wasn't sure how much time had passed but the water froze around him, encasing him in cold dark ice. He couldn't feel anything except the cold. His lungs began to burn as he longed for air. A light shined against his closed eyes lids as he struggled to open them.

He was in a fishbowl, encased with cloudy glass. The water was no longer a peaceful blue, but a sick fearful green. If he could scream he wanted to, but the ice felt like a gag over him, weighing him down and trapping him in. His tears felt like acid, freezing as soon as they left his eyes. Was this a punishment, a symptom of the poison or was someone else pulling the strings? Was he the marionette, strings of ice dictating his every movement. A corner of the glass seemed to clear up, it's fogginess dissipating. He struggled to look at it, pain coursing through his body

When he managed too, he was faced with a creature staring into his soul. Its eyes were the same blue of the water while its skin was the color of the sky, still burning with a thousand suns. The creatures fin glowed a soft blue light and it started to melt the ice around Arron. The water no longer felt cold, but it was warm and  Arron's lungs relaxed as the felt as though the didn't need the breathe anymore. The light grew stronger but another light appeared behind him. He turned around to see a door. It was old and worn but it shined with orange light. He was pulled to it but faced back to the creature.