Riz

So, she wrote about that.

The beauty of it all. The rawness of it all. The way doing something I'd done a hundred times before felt like the first with her, and the way it opened a floodgate for us both. Sorry, friends back in Amalia. Yeah, we were pretty sure they were doing fine without us. We hoped.

From the deck where we did next to nothing but each other for three days, we could see it in the distance the whole time, looming through the darkness. And when we were finally ready to go, I commanded a conjured current to speed us toward the island.

"What are we looking for when we get there."

"I don't know," I said. "But I have a feeling we're going to find out fast."

The island was encircled in a darker darkness than the rest of Celestia, which is… dark. Growing up, I couldn't wait to go to Palisade because I heard they had daylight. I tried picturing it, but the concept was always just out of reach. Anyway, it generally felt like something I'd like, and though I didn't understand it, I knew I wanted it. I didn't miss Celestia once I left, but for the first time, I considered what it'd be like living there again. With my kids, or with Ever, or maybe both.

I double checked the compass, and we anchored at the darkest point of the island.

"Did your mother love you." Ever asked.

"Yeah, we were close."

"Okay. Because this place looks bleak, TSB. Coming from me."

So, that nickname slipped out somewhere in the second day of our frenzy. The Sexy Beast. Believe me, it was entirely earned.

"Have you changed your mind?" I wondered.

"Hell no."

"Then let's go, gorgeous." I scooped Ever into my arms. Violin case in one hand, she held down her hat with the other. She squealed when I hopped off the embark.

I set her down on the other side.

The island looked exactly like Celestia itself, full of the usual variety of giant rotted willow trees, low-light ferns and glowing mushroom networks. The stars and the moon may have been brighter in Celestia than anywhere else in the world, but the canopy of dead, interwoven branches kept the light from making much of an impact. Every step we took was lit by the luminescent moss and lightning bugs. The frogs were out in full force that day, too. I used to catch them when I was little, but only to wipe their noses which always seemed runny. I'd let them go afterward.

We walked for a while until she stopped. Her voice overlapped my thoughts.

The door was still always open for her.

"Do you hear that," she asked.

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No, but I heard her, and that was enough to stop and listen past the buzzing and the croaks. And then I heard it, too. Music, playing in the far distance.

Her voice in my head again. "At least now we know which direction to travel."

She meant toward the music, right?

"Obviously toward the music," she answered soundlessly.

And there was nothing to do but continue toward the music.

Okay, so neither of us were exactly new at being presented with usual circumstances. But when we followed the music, we ended up facing a huge clearing. Wide, open space for two, three leagues. A chipped and overgrown cobble path led the way to something I used to take questionable and highly illegal narcotics to experience.

"Are you seeing this," she asked.

Yeah, I was seeing it. I nodded.

The music we heard was coming from instruments being played by transparent musicians. Wispy ballet dancers swept through the air, and others walked across illusory tightropes. We walked the cobble path and a spectral figure approached. He put his face up to Ever's and then backed away quickly. He put his face up to mine and then backed away quickly. His breath was cold and he smelled like frost burn. The entertainer reached into his spirit coat and fished out a handful of small knives. He juggled while he followed us along the wreckage of what could only have been a traveling sideshow of sorts. Old, rotted wagons. A shimmery painter waved from beside their canvas. We were both seeing it, but none of this was real, was it?

"Wait, I know this song." Ever stopped at the side of the road to lay her violin case down. "My favourite part is coming up."

My heart raced and my stomach jumped at the click when the latches opened. She took her instrument out and began to play along, and from what I could tell, she did it perfectly.

But none of this was happening, right?

Ever swayed her way down the path, playing along with her favourite part while the illusions of the performers around us moved inward toward her from their posts, the artist, the dancers, the tightrope walkers, and whatever else. I hurried to catch up, but it felt like I was walking through a swamp. Not out of the realm of possibility in Celestia, but when I looked down to verify, I was still standing on stone.

One after the other, the transparent figures formed a circle around Ever.

But I couldn't move anymore, and nothing I could think to do was working. I tried freezing them, which should have been easy, but nothing. I tried pushing them away. Also, should have been no problem. But yet again, nothing. I was completely powerless.

All I could do was watch while one after the other, the specters disappeared into Everleigh Gloom and finally, so did she. Just like that, she was gone. No more music, no more ballet dancers, just me, the old cobbles, and the wreckage.

Totally normal, right?

Yeah, I had no idea what just happened.

But I'm not above admitting I cried.

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