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Nina
It only took us about a month to get to Florida. Once we got there we looked for Key West, a small group of islands. One of those islands contained the legendary Door. There was only one problem. I have no idea which island it is on. We set up camp on the beach the night we got there. I decided that we would stay here for a while, and we set out to make solid shelters. Running around the island, we gathered up enough logs and palm leaves to make three buildings: a bed room, complete with a bed and a table, a kitchen, and a bathroom. In the kitchen, we added a table, two chairs, and a fire place. I mixed sand with grass and salt water to make the bricks. They weren’t the best, but they would give me something to cook in. We placed the buildings a hundred yards apart, so they wouldn’t catch each other on fire, and all three had a perfect view of the beach. Our little slice of heaven took only about week to complete. Connor is strong, and I am tireless, as I have found that I can live on less sleep and less food than Connor. He would often go to sleep while I worked on into the night. One night he gave me the best surprise of my life. It was long after out huts were complete, and I was sitting on the porch of bedroom, weaving a basket, and watching the sun set. Connor was out catching clams for tomorrow nights dinner, or so I thought. I must have been so immersed in my work, because I hadn’t heard him come up the stairs in the back of the building. “Hey beautiful,” he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. “What’s up?” I asked him, ignoring his opening statement. “I have a surprise for you. Come down to the beach with me.” He took my hand, and ignored my protests. I gave up after a while, and followed him to the water’s edge. “So what have you got?” I asked, not able to keep the curiosity out of my voice. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a little green packet. “here you go. Be careful now,” his voice was overflowing with emotion. I unwound the palm leaves to reveal a tiny wooden box. It was no larger than my palm, but it was covered with sea glass, shells, and stones. It was absolutely beautiful. “Oh Connor,” I breathed. “Open it up,” he whispered, wrapping his arm around me. Unable to contain my curiosity any longer, I gently opened the tiny box. Inside I found the most beautiful ring. It was a tiny stone band, with a shell on top, taking the place of a stone. “What is this?” I asked, my voice full of wonder. He took the ring out of my hand, and knelt in front of me. He took my hand, and looked into my eyes. “Nina, will you marry me?” he asked so solemnly that I began to cry. “Yes,” I whispered. Tears were streaming down my face as he placed the hand made ring on my left ring finger. I looked down at my finger, where my ring shined against my hand, and then I looked up into his eyes. He looked so proud, and so handsome. I stretched up onto my toes, and kissed him. He stooped down to pick me up, not even breaking our kiss. I gasped a little when I was In his arms, and took the time to look into his eyes again. They were so beautiful. He bent his head down to kiss me again, and he carried me all the way to the little bedroom. He laid me on the bed, and curled up nest to me. There we were content to spend the rest of the night in each other’s arms.
Connor
Last night had to be the best night of my life. I proposed to Nina, and she accepted, and we spent the entire night together. I woke up the next morning to find that I was alone. “Nina?” I called out. There was no reply. I pulled myself out of bed, and got dressed. I walked out onto the porch, and smelt the most wonderful smell. Following my nose, I wondered out to the kitchen. It was awful quiet when I stopped outside the door. “Nina?” There was no reply. I walked into the kitchen, and saw no one. “Nina?” I called again. There was still no reply. Where was she? I was really starting to panic, when I heard a tiny whine coming from the back of the pantry. I walked back, and pushed the curtain aside. Nina was sitting on the floor, one leg was curled beneath her, and she looked like she was in pain. “Help me,” she gasped. “What?” “My leg...It’s stuck…There is a hole in the floor, and I found It.” she was panting, obviously from trying to get out. I walked over to her, and grabbed both of her arms. I pulled gently, and she came out. Her leg looked awful though. It was all black and purple. Cuts and scrapes were all over. Blood was still oozing from a particularly bad gash on her ankle. “Oh my god!” I whispered. “What did you do?” “I was…making breakfast…and I slipped…and fell through…the…floor. It hurts to talk Connor.” She whimpered. I picked her up, and carried her out to the front porch, and sat her in a chair. I ran back into the kitchen, and grabbed a bottle of sterile water, and a rag. I went back out to Nina, and washed her leg. She winced a little as I dabbed water on the gash on her ankle. “Are you okay?” I asked. She was looking a little pale. “I’m fine…I just…need to…rest…” she dosed off in her chair. I dressed her leg, and carried her to the bedroom. There I laid her to rest, and I went to make some breakfast.
Nina I don’t remember much of what happened. All I know is I slipped and fell through the hole. I must have knocked myself out, because it was dark when I got up, and light when Connor came. He helped me up, and cleaned me up. then I fell asleep. it was nice. I felt myself slipping, and I didn’t try to hold on. Slowly the blackness engulfed me. It was cool and inviting. I welcomed it with open arms. There was nothing stopping me now. People say that death is blank, and nothing happens. That you are forever separated from the world of the living. But they are wrong. I was alive, almost. And I watched everything from my still body. I couldn’t move, and I felt stiff and cold, but I was aware of everything that was happening. I could even read Connor’s thoughts. He was in the kitchen making himself breakfast, and fixing some tea for me. He would be crushed when he found out that I was no longer among the living. It hurt to have to hurt him, but there was nothing I could do now. I was already dead. I decided to test my powers. I vaguely recalled a tale my mother had told me when I was little about the dead possessing powerful talents. I stretched my mind out, past my old boundaries. I heard animals, and sensed their locations. There was a rather large croc about a mile down the shore. A mile! I never dreamed of reaching that far. I turned my attention back to Connor. He was finished breakfast, and was returning to me with a pot of crude tea. It was going to hurt, seeing his tears. I had to remind myself that there is nothing that I could do. “Nina, wake up,” he whispered. My eyes were closed, yet I saw everything. “Nina,” he sat the tea on the table, and reached his arm out to touch me. His touch was warm. It felt good against my cold skin. “My you’re cold.” He shook me a little. “Nina?” panic was beginning to leak into his voice. “Nina?” he shook me a little harder. I still didn’t stir. I was however, beginning to feel an elusive pull. Like I was supposed to move, but couldn’t. “Nina!” he screamed, the tears began to pour down his cheeks as reality hit him. H began sobbing, and shaking. Shaking and sobbing. It was uncontrollable. He reached out to me again, and wrapped his arm around me. “Nina,” he whispered through his sobs. Moving closer, he bent down to kiss me one last time. the moment his lips touched mine, I felt an enormous pull. It felt like I was being dragged. The sensation was not painful, but not pleasant either. Slowly, I felt the blood rush back through my immobile limbs. Then the feeling returned. I felt every one of my tem fingers and toes. I opened my mouth, and gasped for breath. Connor backed up immediately, and I stared into his sad and startled eyes. I took a few more gasping breaths, and leaned into him. Our lips touched, and we couldn’t break apart. It felt so wonderful to be alive again! My hands traced the contours of his familiar chest, and tangled themselves in his hair. He groaned in delight, and pushed me back onto my death bed. It was an amazing feeling, and we were content to spend the entire day right there.
Sahira I set out at noon with a tiny guard. It was only the Captain, and a small Cavalry. Raahi came along to help with the horses. He is such a dear boy. It is too bad that I am almost six years older than him. The road to the Door was hot and dusty and uneven. By the time we stopped for lunch, I was caked in dust. I felt absolutely disgusting. We stopped around noon under the shade of a giant palm tree. The shade was minimal, but it was something. I hoped down from my horse, and reached for my water bottle. I had just taken off the lid, when a vision over took me. Something like this hadn’t happened to me since Maataa died. In my vision, I saw Nina, crumpled up on a bed in a little shack on the beach. The man I saw with her before was leaning over her; tears were streaming from his eyes. He looked absolutely distraught. What happened to Nina? Why was she so still? I sank to the floor as realization swept over me. She was dead. Nina was dead! The hope of Kamal died with her. Our kingdom would never be the same. Worst of all, the sister that I had not seen in years is dead! Raahi shook me back to reality, and I was overcome with sadness. I began shaking and sobbing. “Sahira? Are you ok?” Raahi asked, attempting to hug me. “Nina,” I choked, and wrapped my arms around the frightened boy. “She’s dead.” I sobbed even harder as I said the words. My life was over. Everything I had worked for, everything I had planned for. It was all wasted. There was nothing I could do. I took a calming breath, and decided to go and get Nina’s body. She needed to come back home one last time. “Alright,” I said, “I’m alright. We are still going to the Door. I am going to collect her body. She needs to come home.” I climbed back onto Hara, completely forgetting about lunch. The rest of my guard followed, and we wandered into the afternoon.
Connor
I was confused. There is no other way to describe it. Nina was dead. I was her, I felt her. Her skin was cold as ice, and hard as a rock. She was stone dead, and there is no denying it. But as I kissed her one last time, she came back to life. I wasn’t too concerned at the time. I was just glad to have her back. But now that we had finally grown tired, I wondered what really happened. “You are quiet,” she said. It wasn’t a question, but I could hear what she wanted to know. Why. “Why did that happen?” I asked, my voice was hallow as I recalled the memory. “You called me back. You didn’t want me to die.” “But how did I do that? I am not magical. I have no powers.” “Yes you do. I felt it. You can raise the dead.” She said with a quiet giggle. I couldn’t tell if she was as surprised as I felt. “You knew?” I worked hard to keep the accusations out of my voice. “Only suspected. Ever since you couldn’t kill that rabbit.”
mellerbell · Thu Apr 02, 2009 @ 01:29am · 0 Comments |
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