She moved forward, making her way toward the tree and trying not to crush any signs of life there may have been cast her and there about the ground. It was odd to see the one lonely tree standing when there seemed to be, as Maia grew nearer, many trees scattered about in the distance. None looked so lovely as the one before even as barren at it was.
She was almost upon the tree when what she was seeing seemed to change. It was bright and beautiful, Maia was shining in lilac colored sky. The grass stood a beautiful ice blue dancing in the wind about the glowing silver tree, with silver leaves and what looked like glass fruit. It was so very beautiful, she wanted to cry.
Suddenly a very young girl ran by, straight up to the tree and hugged it. To Maia great surprise it sang. It sang and the girl danced around it, clapping and singing, a bright smiled on her face, luminescent green eyes shining, and ice green hair swaying about.
Maia did not understand the words, but the happiness of the song filled her. The girl was speaking the the tree now, although the tree did not speak back to her and then she ran off down a path off to the side.
Maia blinked and it was night again, she was back on the dying world and the happiness of the moment seemed to flow out off her. She headed for the tree once more determined to reach it. She needed to touch it, she wanted to know. Would the tree sing for her.
It was only a few moments before she reached the tree, but it felt like hours. She stood before her the tree just starring at it before slowly reaching out to brush the bark. The tree sang out a sad lonely note and Maia jumped back in surprised nearly falling over. Was the tree shining more bright now.
Maia turned a bit freaked out by the whole ordeal and headed off the now visible path. Had that been there before? It was the same path the young girl had taken, but Maia could have swore it hadn't been there when she reached the tree.
Looking back at the tree once more she turned and headed down the long path and walked. There did not seem to be in anything in the distance, but the young girl in her vision had to have gone somewhere right?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maia frowned as her boot clicked upon the path before her. She had been walking for at least an hour and nothing, she had seen nothing at all. It was so very very awkward. She felt like she was wandering aimlessly and even more so, she was extremely worried about how long she had been home. Maia looked to her phone, the time shone bright 1 A.M. Did that mean it was 1 A.M. home Maia severely hoped it wasn't and if it was she found what she was looking for.
Looking up from her phone she saw something in the distance and even more so, the tree that had been few and far between seemed to be lined up and leading toward whatever was in distance. Maia ran, she ran straight toward it, as fast as she could hoping that it was what she was here for. That it was what she needed to find.
It took several minutes of running before she reached a large castle encircled by the singing tree with a glass gate hanging from it hinges the other lay particially shattered on the ground.
She looked up at the castle which was built in the branched of the largest tree Maia had ever seen in her life. It was the mount everest of tree and it was the beautiful glowing sliver of the rest of the trees on her world. Her eyes grew wide, filled to the brim with tear at the sheer beauty of what she was seeing. She moved forward, right up to the tree, which had a spiral staircase that lead up to a landing.
It took no time at all to make it to the landing about 50 feet up the tree. The landing made way to strange looking elevators which were one tracks attached to the tree. She figured she needs to take one to make the rest of the journey up to the castle. She picked the closest one and stepped in and looking over the strange symbols on the wall. It was so weird and she had no idea how to make the elevator work.
Maia spent several minutes trying to push the symbols, jumping up and down and even singing to the elevator. She sighed slumping down against the wall when nothing worked. She was tired and very frustrated and was beginning to wonder if it was all for not, when the elevator door opened and in came the young girl from before, which several other young ones. They were giggling and pushing each other about, but she went to the symbols and traced them with the her finger.
Maia blinked once more feeling a little freaked out at the images of a young girl she must have knew, but thanked her star, for now she could up. Maia quickly mimicked the girl and to her great relief the elevator gave a jerk and up it went.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The elevator went right into the castle and Maia went about exploring it happily. There was cloth pictures of people on the walls all with hair in lovely shades of green. The had lovely simply gown and simple tunics, it was a soft quiet beauty. A beauty the entire castle had, which Maia suspected helped balance the castles outside grandeur.
She walked around for some time, going in and out of rooms touching fabrics and picking up art. Much of the furniture bases seemed to be made out of marble, but it wasn't marble. It was smooth like marble, but lacked it cold feel and its obvious weight. It made Maia very curious as to where exactly the it had come from.
Entering another room, it looked much like the rest and smelled of abandonment. In the middle of the the room, on the floor lay a glass ornament of some time broken in two pieces. Maia picked it up on the floor looking it over for several moment wishing she knew what it was but feeling as though it was not going to come to her.
With a sigh she set it one the table and looked to her phone. It read 4A.M.
Maia's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Her brother had to have been freaking out by now. It was time to her to go. She could always come back, hopefully next time a little closer to the castle. Maia quickly dialed Earth and only just missed the sad song that rang out at her departure.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The odd feeling passed Maia opened her eyes to see she was exactly where she started from. She looked to her phone again and sighed. It was indeed 4A.M. She found a place to power down and called her brother, boy did she have the story of the century for him when they got home.
