The Story Of Sarelle: The Immortal Years »

Chapter 37

13 th June 2048

knelt slowly to the ground, my hand cupped as I cradled two small seeds in my palm. Life was dormant in them now, but it wouldn't be for long. Soon they'll awaken and reach out into the world around them. Spreading twining roots through centuries old soil while budding leaves open tentatively to the sunlight above.

I smiled as I poked a small hole in the earth and dropped the seeds into their place. I had lost track of how many times I had done this but as I looked out across the meadow I admired the spray of lilac dancing between the grass as it swayed in the summer breeze. It was a beautiful day, the kind my mother had always loved. The wind carried the floral scent of the wildflowers that grew here, playfully fluttering the tendrils of my hair as it swirled through the meadow. I thought I had a memory of something similar happening to my mother while she walk through our small garden but logic told me it was too long ago to truly trust the memory. Except on this day each year, when I visited the meadow and planted a purple flower in their memory, I felt like those forgotten memories were no longer lost. It might be the way the light filters through the trees, or a certain smell coasting on the breeze, but for just one day it's like the veil that usually clouds my human memories is lifted. I can remember them not just as my parents but as the people they were. I can remember how my father played with his beard as he thought or the way my mother would only ever eat halves of cakes, despite always going back for one more bite. These nuisances had seemed insignificant when I was human, but now I had the mind to savour them.

I pushed the dirt around the seeds, encompassing them in dark rich soil. They'd thrive as all the others had and they'd make this place just that little bit more special.

My fingertips grazed over the locket as it hung against my chest, protecting the memory of my parents as much as it kept they're photos safe. It seemed hard to believe it had only been a year since I had last been here. So much had happened and so much more had changed. I wanted to tell them about it, as I usually would, but I was acutely aware of Aslo hovering at the edge of the meadow. He was out of sight, trying to give me my privacy, but I could hear his footsteps as he paced through the trees. He had never been here. In all the years we'd traveled together I had always carried out this ritual alone. Even now, it felt odd to have him watching from the tree line, but ever since my encounter with Heidi we had all been on high alert. As such, Aslo had refused to let me come here alone.

I stood slowly with a sigh, turning to look towards the tree line, "you can come out now," I said with a grin.

He slipped from the shadows and walked slowly to my side. "I didn't want to intrude."

"You could never intrude, Aslo," I replied as he walked towards me. As he walked I saw his eyes take in the little bubble of sunshine we stood in.

"It really is quite beautiful here," he said as his arm slipped across my shoulders, playing with a curl as it sat against my skin.

"You would never think somewhere so pretty could be hidden in a forest as thick as this," I commented while looking out to the darkness beyond. It made the sunlight all the more dazzling as it bounced off our skin.

"I think if I was a human I would want somewhere like this as my final resting place." he declared in a way only Aslo could. He hadn't been human in so long that he had lost that discomfort many humans felt when talking of death or what came beyond it. That being said, his human life had always given him a matter of fact approach to death, not that he spoke of it often.

Still, his words comforted me. My parents may not have been laid to rest here, but this was where I said goodbye to them so for me it was where their spirits lingered.