Falls

Winter had nearly passed, but Avangeline was still uncertain whether or not she liked it. It had a certain beauty to it, such as when she had first awoke to the snowfall and dawn’s light was soaked into the fresh, undisturbed blanket of white, making it shimmer and sparkle. It had been the first time in many months that she’d felt close to her goddess, Tsura; yet, sorrowfully, the feeling had passed. Avangeline had grown quieter than normal, lost in her mind and with her heart a constant, painful, yawning ache within her chest.

How much longer? She wondered. How much longer would she have to stay in this strange and foreign place where there were no gods, where she felt so far from home and from those she loved? Why had she come here at all? Was she to be trapped here? Was this her life now? Avangeline was not sure she could stomach the thought of never again seeing mother, father, or even watching Tsura raise the sun each morning. When she slept, most nights, she thought of her mother weeping, wishing she were home.

One particular evening, perhaps an hour or two past midnight, when the moon was still high and spring was only weeks away, Avangeline stirred, unable to sleep. As always, her gaze struck out for where the black stallion would be, the Arabian named Al-Hattaal who she had met when she’d first arrived at the islands. He was seeking his sister, she knew this now, and she was comforted by his constant companionship and protection, so much so that she never strayed far from him, never sought out new conversations unless he were near.

But this evening she would not reach out to bump his shoulder and stir him if he were sleeping soundly. She would not push at some unspoken rule and slide her skin along his where she could tuck her face against his chest, and breathe his cologne. She only looked at him for one moment longer before her head turned forward again and she walked, carefully stepping over a ground of half melted snow. Avangeline had no destination in mind, she only walked as if hoping to move away from the sorrow which plagued her.

It was impossible to leave it and, it seemed, this evening, all she could do was feel it. At last, across the clearing of the Falls, where all she could do was look upon the dark sky with its blanket of twinkling stars, tears began to burn and gather in her golden amber eyes. A small breath was choked from her and she tried to fight the urge as she had for so long… but there was no fighting it. The tears came, a small pitiful whimper was strangled on her lips, and her lean neck dropped, limbs shaking as the emotions flooded without mercy throughout her body.