Emergence (5 page)

Melissa also saw her mother still wore thick-stoned jewelry like she used to, though she was surprised to see a common piece was missing. It was a thin necklace with a large blue ralon setting, and she remembered that she was never without it before.

“It seems as though much has been hidden from me,” said Melissa, confused about how she should think of her father. “I . . . I don’t know what to think -- I don’t know what’s right.”

Esoica threw her arms around Melissa and hugged her close. “Oh dear Lissa! The world is shades of grey; almost never are people or choices or ideas rendered in stark contrast. We all make mistakes and choose the wrong sides or the wrong beliefs; all we can do is keep an open mind, and change if our assumptions are proved false.”

“So you won’t hate me if I don’t hate father?”

Melissa watched as her mother shed a tear. “I couldn’t have raised you alone, dear child. You are the wonderful woman because of both of us -- not just me. I still love him for that, and with that love, can understand yours.”

Melissa hugged her mother tightly, and felt her wince under the strain. As Esoica stood, Melissa saw it was with difficulty, and that her breathing was labored and accompanied with a rumbling cough. Off to the side, near a desk, was a wastebasket overflowing with used tissue, and almost a dozen healing stones littered the top of a nearby cabinet. A weathered wooden cane leaned nearby, and it all made Melissa anxious about her mother’s health, and what was corrupting her frame.

“What . . . what have you been doing?” asked Melissa. “Why are you living here, in this small hovel?”

“Let me show you.”

As the sun set and a violet dusk swaddled the frigid landscape, Melissa followed her mother to a wide, open window in what looked to be the living room. Her mother bade her sit on a small, soft, peach-colored sofa as she opened the windows.

Melissa wrapped herself in a thick, stout cloak lying nearby. “What are you doing?”

“Watch and see, my precious.”

Esoica flung open her arms, and intoned a long series of words Melissa couldn’t quite understand. A long ribbon opened in the sky, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other. As it opened, the dusk was pierced by the brilliance of daylight.

Melissa got to her feet. “I . . . I can’t believe it!”

The ribbon opened wide to reveal the great city of Imathrin in opulent splendor, hanging like a jewel in the sky. Melissa gazed rapturously on crystal buildings she knew from her childhood that were lost in the Apocalypse.

“How?”

“This is the past, dear child, and I am here to deliver a message.” She watched as her mother closed her eyes, and their small platform drifted through the opening in the sky and closer to the city. Up and in-between the buildings it sailed, until finally it came to rest just outside a large bay window near the top of a thin, glass-clad structure.

“But, I know where we are!” cried Melissa, coming to Esoica’s side. “That’s . . . home . . .” she said dreamily. “Our old suite.”

“Yes. This is where we once lived, and where I met myself.”

Melissa stared, dumbfounded, as a younger version of her mother came to the window. She opened it, and Melissa could smell the decadent warm scent of ghuxa cookies waft in.

“I cannot maintain this for long,” said the older Esoica, “but I needed to tell you that the apocalypse is coming. You aren’t strong enough yet to do what I am doing, but it must be done if you are to save Melissa.”

Melissa watched as the younger version of her mother gazed on her, and wanted to run through the ribbon to embrace her. She looked so full and vibrant, with eyes that twinkled and skin that was soft and supple. And around her neck Melissa saw the ralon necklace, and knew all was right.

“I understand,” said the younger Esoica. “How long?”

“Six years. In this place where the First Apocalypse occurred the Second shall also, and only Imathrin shall survive. You must learn enough to make this small levitating platform, to help your daughter escape to freedom.” The older Esoica knelt down, losing strength, and Melissa came to support her. “You may pay for it with your life, but it must be done.”

“I shall. What of Toby?”

The older Esoica managed to stand once again. “No matter what, he must follow his own path. Resist your motherly inclinations, and let him be.”

Melissa watched as the ribbon drew closed, and the glittering city of Imathrin faded from view. As it did, something out of the corner of Melissa’s eye caught her attention. It was only for the briefest of instants, but before she could think on it, her mother collapsed. Melissa grew fearful and anxious, as her mind raced trying to figure out what to do.

“What is it?”

“I . . . am spent. To cross distances in a portal is one thing, but to cross through time is quite another.” She reached up to touch Melissa’s cheek. “Yet I would do it all over again, just for you.”

Melissa frantically scanned the room, unsure of what do to, anxious about her mother’s fate. She felt suddenly weak and unsure, and wished there was someone she could call for help. “But what am I to do?”

“Learn,” she said, waving her hand at the thousands of books stacked behind her, “and quickly. This small platform will continue to hover for only a few more weeks without my presence -- I was able to store sussa in three containment vessels under this house. But you need to learn what is necessary if it is to survive. If you . . . if you . . .” Before she could finish, her body slumped softly back into Melissa’s arms.

Melissa sat with her mouth open in shock. For so long she thought her mother dead, and to be reunited for only such a brief instant seemed terribly cruel to her. She pulled her mother close into her small chest and screamed as loud as she could.  

“Mother,” she cried, “don’t leave me -- there’s too much to do!”

Somehow, her mother returned. Melissa almost dropped her head out of shock. And while she was overjoyed, Melissa saw her mother’s aspect was slightly changed, and the woman who looked at her now was not the same as before.

“Are you really my daughter?” she asked warily.

“Yes!” cried Melissa desperately, “I’m here for you.”

Her mother sagged. “Mmm . . . I have never known my daughter to be so kind. In any event, you are alone in this world, dear child -- in more ways than you can realize. I have never taught you in the ways of men,” and as she said that, Melissa blushed, “but the right man can give you great companionship. Learn what you can, become strong and wise, but you must attain a balance that none before you have been able to. You must find a way, for war with the Freilux is suicide . . .”

Melissa watched as her mother closed her eyes for the last time, and wept on her chest as dusk turned to night.

Chapter 6

After a few days of grieving, the reality of the situation forced Melissa to do as her mother suggested, and begin to learn. She walked back and forth, surveying the multitude of thick, dusty tomes before her, wondering where to begin. She now wore her mother’s sweater, and while she sobbed often as memories flooded forth during the cruel cradle of night, it gave her comfort during the day.

“Why didn’t you tell me where to start?” she said aloud. “I can’t even read the titles of these books, much less hope to absorb what’s inside them.” Suddenly, she stopped before a thin, golden book with an inscription she thought she recognized. It looked to be in her father’s handwriting, and after a few moments, she knew what it said.

Begin here
.

She opened it, and found the pages inside were a crisp, unblemished white parchment, on which were handwritten notes.

“
First -- it ever you get the chance to possess the Centric Sphere
,” said her mother’s voice in her mind, “
don’t bring me back. Not under any circumstance. No matter how much you might miss me, I have no desire to overstay my welcome. I made many mistakes in my life, but I had you, and you have redeemed all my failings. To live longer, increases the likelihood I would mess something else up, so let me be. And if you’re smart, you’ll let your father be as well. He was a good man but a fool, and fools should only live once.
”

“
Secondly, these words are enhanced, which is how you hear my voice inside your head as if I were with you. Others can hone in on the usage of such things, so you need to shield yourself and quick! Do you remember the words I taught you when you were young, to protect your mind from strangers peering in?
”

“Yes, I do.”

“
Good,”
was written in the book, as if she was having one last conversation
. “It is half of a full shield. Here are the rest. Speak them after you speak the first words
.”

Melissa sat back, trying to remember the words properly. She had only used it a few times, but she remembered them because of their lyrical quality.

“Onimaya, y uliana . . . what was the last word?”

“
Lissa . .
.”

She could hear the Freilux’s voice in her mind, and could feel his presence grow near.

“Onimaya, y uliana . . . Goshi xi Cuulaaga!”

“
But I’ve changed, dear one. I only want to help . .
.”

“Never, you foul old man,” she said, as her shield grew stronger and the Freilux’s presence faded. “I would never lay with you even if my life depended on it.”

As she read on in the book, she could hear cackling laughter diminish in her mind.

At night, Melissa’s dreams were at once magnificent and terrifying. The city of Imathrin sprawled in her mind, as she flew through it on a wisp of vapor, darting in-between the golden spires she loved. And yet, the image of her mother in that other room haunted her mind, for in it she could see herself looking back.

What?!

She bolted awake as the image resolved in her dream. She knew that a younger version of herself looked back from the shadows, but yet she knew it wasn’t really her. Melissa had led a carefree youth, filled with capricious indulgences of toys and baubles. The girl that looked back from behind her mother was nothing like that. She was serious and focused, with malice behind her eyes. Most certainly she was steeped in great power, and absolutely certain about herself.

I can’t think about who I might have been. I must focus on who I shall become
.

She picked up a book -- the first one her mother directed her to read, and sat in one of the wide chairs that faced the main window. It was an exercise in opulence, made of hard redwood gently bowed into an exquisite latticework of arcs and curves that supported two full and firm cushions. She pulled her knees up under the sweater and propped the book up on them, absently thumbing through the pages.

No, I’ve got to read this -- I’ve got to learn! If not, this platform will fall, and I’ll have to take a portal back to my brother
.

So she endeavored to read the book, a tome called
The Principles of Intermediate Sussa Direction
. It was a densely written and dry, full of formulaic prose that she found difficult to decipher. She felt like she was back in school, except none of her friends were around to distract her. A mental key given by Esoica unlocked words as she read, and while she knew she would get used to it, for now it sat on her thoughts like thickest gauze. After only a quarter of a page she found herself gazing longingly out the window on the massive, snow-covered crater, and after a few more lines she had drifted off into a light, lovely sleep.

When she woke, she found the book was still turned to where she left off.

Why isn’t there someone to give me any help?
she asked herself, as she put the book face-down on the table.
There has always been someone to help me; when my riding lessons got tough, good old Stavi would help me get the hang of things. And when I couldn’t pass my formula studies that nice Gerrlia wrote down all I would need to know
. She leaned her head against the cold windowpane.
Why didn’t mother write down the formula I would need to stabilize this thing? She knows who I am . . . I just want to go home, but the funny thing is that this is home.