Welcome to Gaia! ::

In the ever..

By Raja Valor


Teal’s eyes fluttered open to the morning sun warming her face. She yawned, stretching her legs out, then suddenly sat up with a jerk. She was in a field of spring flower, with birds chirping over head; singing to the days break. Teal stood up quickly, brushing the grass off her jeans; looking in all directions. She did not remember being here last night.

Everywhere she looked was anew to her. Trees surround the vast field like the guardians of royalty; with the largest king in the valleys center; a weeping willow. A small pond creeped around the south tree line; fish jumped from within catching their morning feast. The wind blew shifting the tall grass; Teal grasped her jacket tight around her, shielding herself from its moist chill. The wind blew yet again only this time from a different direction, and in the whoosh by her ear she heard the slightest whisper “Teal…” Teal turned slowly toward the weeping willow, drooping only a few feet away. Underneath it was a young man who she had not seen earlier. He wore a straw hat tilted down to cover his face; some old worn down overhauls with the holes to tell their age and a pair of old brown boots.
“Teal” he whispered again, softly motioning her towards him. She stepped gently through the blossoming flowers and then approached the boy with out hesitation. She settled down on the ground next to him; he did look at her, but spoke “Teal I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Sorry for what?" she asked.
“For what I now have to do, Teal” Teal leaned against the tree dumbstruck, what could he possibly be sorry for? They had just met in one of the most beautiful places in the world, full of life and purity.
“ What do you have to do for you to be sorry about?” He turned his covered head toward her,
“Teal you will not believe it at first but, you must come to terms with it; it’s the only way…” And with that he grabbed her hands forcefully, gripping them so tightly Teal thought they were going to break. She opened her mouth to scream but no words came out; no birds sang; no breeze swung with the flowers, and a fish sound in mid air; time was frozen. There was no breath to breath, and for the first time she was able to look a the boys face; stare into his stone gray, eyes. The very earth beneath her turned black and shifted violently, but neither of them was shooken The light began to dim then quickly faded to a complete black; in the darkness of silence his hands were the only reassurance that she still existed. The light flooded back with a spectacular flash, his hand loosened their grip, and instantly Teal noticed that she was somewhere else.


It was cold, snow softly feel from the dimly lit sky. The boy let her hands go then pointed to his left. “Go and see Teal” he whispered. Teal followed his finger, and there, behind police tape, was an EMS unit and its staff surrounding a semi-truck. She ran forward, confused in it all, she reached down to cross under the police tape, but here fingers slipped right through it; tears swelled within her. Teal ran through the unfazed tape, then passed through the walls of people that didn’t even notice her; then there she was in front of the tractor-trailer, now paralyzed with the most dreadful sight imaginable in front of her now. There under the truck laid the frigid dead body of Teal Martian, bleeding away from the world.

“NO!” she cried out. Still none of the paramedics reacted, and as they zipped her body up into the body bag; Teal’s world crashed. She fell to her knees and rapped her arm around herself, sobbing uncontrollably. “Why… Why this… Why now?” she choked out.

The scene of death that surrounded her reverted into it previous black but this time there was no hand to help her through. Teal was in the midst of her own utter chaos fighting the brink of insanity. Her tears dropped to the nothingness surrounding her and echoed with each drop. Her sides heaved with every attempt to draw air; the light flickered back and she was again in the field. She did not move, but only continued to cry in the soft grass. Then a soft hand touched her shoulder, gently pressing on her the boy whispered.
“Its ok dear, it was your time, its over now.” Teal spun from the hand and stood up furiously, then she gazed into his eyes yet again, and all her new rage fell with the dying wind; she embraced him, clutching to his back for dear life.
“ Why?” she moaned “Why?”
“ It wasn’t your fault darling, just an accident that’s all. These things happen Teal, I’m so sorry you had to see it this way.”
“But what about my husband, and my kids, what will their children do without their mother? I can’t live with out my babies…” she was clenched to the man so hard she felt that she could break him.
“ They will be taken care of, I promise you that” he said as he rubbed her back.
“ I’m so alone now thought what will I do?”

The young man now pushed her back and looked upon her face, “We all thought we were alone one time too.” and he nodded behind her. Teal turned to see a crowd of people dressed in their Sunday best looking upon her. She began crying even harder, their stood Aunt Mary in her flower dress and sun hat, and Uncle Tom and his old faded suit jacket, the twins Rob and Dan still as young as ever. All these people that she had once known now looked up at here with gleaming faces.
Teal kept crying, but her tears were now of joy, “But...” she said as she looked back at the young man, but as she faced him there was no longer a young man standing in the old overhauls. There gazing through his gray eyes was an older man with an well-aged salt and pepper beard. “Grandpa?” Teal said. He reached out and hugged her again whispering “Welcome home angel.”