Midnight on the 61st of Summer 517
Once long ago the servant who had been the mixed blood’s first caretaker, Malla, told Jaylani of the god of the moon. The mixed blood had been a young child then, but she still remembered the story vividly. His name was Leth and his great love was the Syna, the goddess of the sun. They were fated to never be together as human lovers wished to be with each other. As Malla explained it then, they got to see each other in passing. When night changed to day and when day shifted to night. Dawn and dusk, those were the times when the two lovers could come together and see each other until one of them sunk below the horizon. Expect for one time filled with great pain and greater sorrow, they had always done the tasks required of them. Even as a child Jaylani had respected that. She had understood to some degree the amount of love for people it must have taken to continue to be apart from the one you loved for the majority of time.
It was rare for the mixed blood to be out so late into the night. She was not much of a night owl, but preferred the mornings instead. The night was the time for sleep and the day the time for being awake. Tonight was different, however. It was just so beautiful out this night. Leth’s light was full and bright as it stretched out across the land. It was like Syna’s light, only white and full of shadows instead of the golden light that tended to reveal all. Surrounding the god were Zintila’s stars sparkling through the darkness that fell like a velvet curtain colored dark blue. The sky was beautiful, but it was not the only thing beautiful this night.
Jaylani was walking barefoot along the wet sand. Beneath her weight the light brown colored sand turned to a much paler, almost white, shade. If she stood in one place long enough her heels would get buried beneath the surface of the packed sand, but if she kept walking it was almost like she had never existed. Especially when the tide was fluctuating as much as it was tonight. In and out, high and low. Leth had an effect over that. Malla had told her that once as well. The woman had told her much and though the mixed blood barely recalled her, occasionally she missed her. Occasionally she remembered to remember her and recall the various lessons she had been taught by the woman.
This tide was not as Jaylani remembered past ones. The water was calmer and slower than she thought it ought to be. With it came these prickly little balls that she had never seen before. They glowed iridescent. Jaylani was reminded of the moon when she looked them. Each one looked like a tiny, colorful moons. Tiny Leths born from the ocean. So very strange. When the mixed blood neared them she saw so many long, thin, needles jutting out from the surface of the balls. Unable to figure out an easy way of picking them up, she just observed the little moons and wondered what they truly were. Her interest had been drawn.
Strange things happened so often here. Jaylani had long ago stopped being afraid when something new entered her life. Instead she found the new and strange exciting. She had begun to expect it, maybe even look forward to it. First there had been the fire that ignited by thought which had remained, later those pretty stones that filled the beach, and now tiny moons. What would these bring? What did they mean? Jaylani did not know and did not find herself pondering her own questions for long. Instead she simply moved on and continued to walk the beach. Her attention being easily caught each time she saw a new mini-moon in the sand.
It was not just the mixed blood that was interested in those colorful moons. The birds were coming. Jaylani watched as they maneuvered around those needles and got to the inside of the glowing spheres. Her molten gaze took it all in with great interest. Watching them get to the fleshy edible part of the prickly balls was like seeing the circle of life take place. The death of one to sustain the life of another. The question remained as to whether or not the balls were alive, but Jaylani thought they must have been. There was little in the ocean that was dead. Even the coral was alive. Shells might not have been alive, but they were made by things living. They housed the living. So, in a way, even those held life within them.
Jaylani had reached where swing beach was now. From what she could see, the swings all seemed to be empty. Though she did not look close so. Perhaps some of those in the shadows were occupied. The mixed blood left the wet sand and made her way up towards the nearest swing. It was one of those that looked like a suspended cage with a large circle cut out of the front of it and something plushy set in the bottom of it. It reminded Jaylani of a bird’s nest which seemed fitting. One had called her a little bird not long ago and she remembered that. She still would not have minded having been born a bird. Jaylani settled into the swing and leaned against the back of it. One leg was bent, her foot pressed against the thigh of her opposite leg. The opposite leg dangled outside of the swing, her toes playing in the sand in a way that sent the girl swinging very slowly back and forth. Her gaze just continued to watch the birds as the sea breeze brushed against her face and tangled her hair.
All was right with the world in these moments in time. There was just a quiet peace. Jaylani was filled with it as she swung back and forth while watching those birds eat the strange, little, glowing orbs. Tiredness was settling in her bones and making her eyes heavy. Where she was did not seem to be the worst place to fall asleep. There was something almost comfy about it. Only, before she allowed her eyes to shut, a new development caught her attention. It was one of the birds… the prickly orbs were not the only things glowing anymore. Jaylani found herself suddenly not so tired anymore.
The mixed blood scrambled from her comfy place in the swing and darted down the beach. She was careful to avoid the spiky orbs and made her way towards the bird, kicking up sand as she went. Her first thought was that the creature was injured. Normal creatures did not just glow… none that she had seen before anyway. The bird flew off before she could reach it, however. With a groan of protest, Jaylani glared after it. It was easy to see because of its new luminescent appearance. Only, the glow did not last for very long. Jaylani watched that bird for maybe ten chimes before the light from it faded and it was just a normal bird again. The mixed blood blinked. Had the bird just flown too far away that she could no longer see it?
Jaylani looked around at the other birds, looking to see if there were others. What she saw startled her. Some were just beginning to glow, others were loosing it, and others still were glowing bright. All seemed fine and most were still munching away at the prickly orbs. The mixed blood walked towards one with a newfound curiosity. She wanted to figure them out now. What made them glow?
Common | 'Thoughts'
Word CountPost Total: 1,297
Overall Total: 12,042/50,000
