| 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 |
The Dark is dangerous. The Dark is deception.
And the Dark is the only thing she wants.
What would you do if the only beautiful thing in the world was the one thing you couldn't touch...
Mama's arms wrapped tight around me as we leaned back in the nook of a tree branch, staring through leaves at the glittering, velvety blanket of sky. "Ain't it gorgeous, love?" she whispered.
I nodded and snuggled further into her. She smelled like tree sap and earth.
"You fix it in your mind. Alright?" Her voice was thick, and I craned my neck to look at her.
"Why, Mama?"
She smiled at me, and her eyes glittered same as the sky, except the sky glitter don't never fall, and Mama's glitter looked like it was about to. "Because," she said, kissing my forehead, "after tonight, we ain't gonna get to see this same view 'gain. We gonna be somewhere brand new. Somewhere up there."
She pointed, and my eyes followed her finger to those gleaming stars. "We gonna be in the sky?" I exclaimed.
"Yes, ma'am," she drawled, pulling me into her again. It was chilly with no blanket, but we already done sold all the ones we had. Besides, Mama said we had the sky for a blanket, and she always kept me close and warm.
She stroked my face, and I knew she was wanting me to go to sleep, but as my mind swirled toward drowsy nothingness, it fisted onto a question still hanging in the air. "But how we gonna get there, Mama?" My empty stomach hurt, so I focused on being sleepy instead of hungry. I yawned, little fist coming to cover my mouth.
Her lips brushed my cheek, her silky black hair tickling my face. "Same way those tourists come here, love. One of them fancy shuttles. I'mma take care of you. No matter what. Alright?" I hummed my agreement, and her fingers stayed stroking my face as she whispered, "Now, sleep." Soft fingers ran over my eyes, gently demanding they shut.
They did, every bit of me too tired for any more questions. My little head was curious about one thing, though. Those shuttle station doors only opened out. So how was Mama planning on getting in?
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When my eyes blinked open, I was looking over Mama's shoulder, bundled up in her arms. She walked at a clip away from a sky so grey, it wasn't even dawn yet. Wasn't our glittery night, neither though. The forest stretched out behind us, green and lush and perfect. Only thing that wasn't so perfect were those glossy pamphlets those tourists kept dropping everywhere. I couldn't read them, but Mama had told me they said nice things about our planet. A dream clothed in reality—Silestia is so beautiful, once you arrive, you'll never want to leave...
I bobbed up and down as Mama walked. "What're we doing," I mumbled. I was too groggy to put any effort into the words, so when Mama shushed me, I didn't bother asking again. Letting my head rest on her too-bouncy shoulder, I drifted back asleep.
I woke up to madness.
We were somewhere shiny and metal, and there were people screaming—those rich touristy types with all them golden clothes and hair that coulda beat a rainbow for colors. "Don't you lay a hand on her!" Mama shouted, but the big men with those guns that shoot beams of light, they didn't stop coming. I buried my face in her neck, scared, and she held me so tight it hurt. Other, stronger arms wrapped around me, though, and jerked me away.
