Once Upon A Miracle

Chapter 35: Together

"Today, no matter what it takes,
we ride home together."

~ Brian Andreas (Travelling Light: Stories and Drawings for a Quiet Mind)

~~~~~~

Their victory was, unfortunately, short lived.

As soon as the sarcophagus closed, Goodness collapsed on the ground, hitting her head on the ground with a wincing clank!

Miracle was about to dash towards Goodness/Blue but Rita Jennings beat him to it. Cradling her daughter's head, Rita caressed Blue's cheek, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Blue," she sobbed. "Get up, please."

At that moment, Timmy came lumbering out of the back door as well, limping as fast as he could towards Blue. He was a noble dog, Miracle had to admit. He had bravely fought Evil tonight and injured himself in the process too.

Miracle's heart was speeding as he rushed towards Blue. A part of him wanted to give Rita her space. But he needed to know if Blue was safe or if she'd hurt herself too bad. Warren and Sherry followed, albeit looking a bit hesitant to intrude on them.

"Miracle," Rita said, looking up at him with tearful eyes. "She's not waking up."

Miracle's heart spluttered on his chest before regaining its rhythmic beat. No, Blue was strong. She would wake up and turn back to her own self in a few minutes...right? Swallowing, he bent down on his knees and placed his hand on her heart, hoping to give her some reprieve from the pain she must be in with his powers.

Only, something didn't feel right...

It took him a second but when it hit him, his face drained of colour.

"What? What is it?" Rita asked frantically. But Miracle was no longer listening to what she was saying. As if mirroring his mood and lamenting in grief, the first of the raindrops pelted the earth, bringing with it the smell of damp soil.

With his entire body shaking and his mind screaming in disbelief, he bent down further so that his ears touched the skin below which Blue's heart should have been, seeking the familiar, reassuring, steady beat of it.

But he only found silence.

~~~~~~

The sensation surrounding Blue was a weird one. But it was weird in a pleasant way.

She seemed to be floating around in...an inky darkness?

When she looked at herself, her form seemed less solid and real, and more...wraithlike. And she was dressed in a diaphanous dress of pale gold. Wisps of her hair tickled her face as if a wind was blowing. Yet, everything was impossibly still and tranquil.

What was going on?

Blue was mildly solicitous. But her body felt light and free, like a feather. As if she would go flying away along with the wind to less cumbersome areas, carefree and never tethered.

The environment was cool and calm. It made her feel at peace. Something, she realised belatedly, she hadn't felt in a while. The darkness didn't bother her. In fact, it comforted her. It called to her even, whispered at her to let go. A part of her yearned to do so. To just float away in this mellow, whimsical space of nowhere.

Yet, another faint part of her was warning her not to.

What to do? What to do?

"What to do, indeed?" a familiar voice echoed from behind her. Blue turned around and squinted ahead. There was a light coming from a tunnel of sorts, almost blinding to her eyes. But, then, a figure emerged, only a distant silhouette against the illumination. But as it came closer, Blue could see it clearly.

The figure was a man. He was vaguely familiar with black hair, a rather large nose, a clean shaved jaw with a small smile playing on his lips. It took her longer than she would have liked to pull out his face from her fading memory. She quickly held on it while the rest of it seemed to dissipate from her mind, slipping away from her fingers like water.

"Papa," Blue breathed. For some reason, she wanted to be afraid, to back away from him. But the rest of her didn't even remember what it was like to fear. Besides, why should she? He was her father, wasn't he?

Her eyes seeked his and an odd relief filled her when she noticed that they were a startling and vivid green. She had been expecting black eyes to stare back at her. She didn't know why though.

"Blue," Markus said, holding out his hand. "My daughter."

"Where am I?" Blue asked as she took his hands. Blue's heart swelled with a faint joy when he reached out to caress her cheek, so affectionately, so tenderly. A part of her, yet again, sensed the joy she was feeling was only a muted version of what she could feel.

"That is hard to ascertain," Markus said, "considering this is my first time here as well. But...I believe we are at a...crossroads of sorts."

Blue nodded. Somehow, that seemed to make sense. "Why are we here?" she asked, her voice carrying that charming innocence.

Markus looked at his daughter and raised an eyebrow. It hit Blue suddenly. Yet again, she felt no fear at that realisation. "We're dead, you and I."

"Not really," Markus corrected. "Not yet, at least. It is our choice from here. Few get this opportunity."

Blue nodded again. "If I succumb to the darkness, I die," she figured. "And, let me guess, the light leads to life?"

Markus smiled. It was a warm, benign smile. "I always knew I had an ingenious daughter. How tragic, is it not? I barely ever got to meet you when we were still alive and breathing. And, here we both are, finding our way to each other in death."

"I-I don't want to go back," Blue admitted. The light was harsh, washing towards them like a blinding beam. But the darkness was comforting, easy. It would be so effortless to just give in to it.

"No, my child. You must go back. Your Ma awaits you. Your friends and that boy, Miracle, are waiting for you. You have a whole life ahead of you. Don't give up just yet," Markus said, his voice stern and sad at the same time.

"What about you?" Blue asked.

Markus sucked in a breath. "I will not go back. I do not know if I can stand to see your Ma's face after all that I did. I do not know if I have it in me to bear the sight of the destruction I caused."

Blue barely recalled what he was talking about but her emotions seemed to heighten slightly, for a second. "No," she argued. "It wasn't your fault!"

"And, yet, I would have to face the consequences anyway."

Blue, though, refused to hear that, some of her old stubborn nature seeping back. "No, if you don't go, neither will I," she decided.

Markus shook his head. "No, Blue--"

"Papa, please," Blue pleaded. "You need to come with me. What if...what if I get lost on the way?"

He chuckled. "I won't let you get lost, Blue. Never."

"So come," Blue begged. She held out her hand. Markus looked at it hesitantly for a long time.

"Together," Blue said, smiling as their fingers entwined.

"Together," Markus agreed, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.