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This isn't a dream.
The fierce, knife-like throbbing within her chest isn't a mirage.
Iewa's death isn't a hallucination.
Her heart conflicted. Two sides of the same coin. Leilani didn't know whether to kiss Iewa's face right then and there, or to simply retch on the overwhelmingly dry sand beneath her, which felt excessively sharp for the moment, like stepping on shattered glass and having a knife thrusted into them each time she walks.
Death had cruelly stripped Iewa's soul away and bid farewell, but an aching charm of bittersweetness still bloomed on her face like a delicate flower. Even if Iewa hadn't been Leilani's own mother, memories of their shortened time together remains tragically sweet, she could taste their conversations like the most sickeningly saccharine honey on the tip of her tongue, and trace their promises from a brilliantly visible star to one of Pandora's glorious moons.
A gentle nudge to her side, and all her reflections of the past were simply shut and only the bleak remains of reality enveloped her mind.
"Payakan, is it time to go?" She voiced, observing the dim luster of the Tulkun's dirty bronze orbs, and how his eyes seemed to perfectly understand even the lowest sorrows and highest joys of every Na'vi. He simply swam towards Iewa. The girl took the cue and proceeded to gently position the body atop of Payakan. Together, they swam towards the Cove of the Ancestors, the most sacred place according to the Metkayina clan, the clan in which her birth mother took her first steps and drew her last breath, that was her home. A home that could, but never became Leilani's.
The usual solitary and peaceful Cove had never glistened and glimmered this vividly, this intensely . To lay rest in such an enchantingly divine sacredness would be in itself a blessing from Eywa. 'Forget that, just simply setting one's eyes upon this magnificence had to be the greatest fortune any Na'vi possessed.' Leilani thought. She was positive even Payakan, who had probably been here a few times, would silently agree with her thoughts.
The flowers of a Pamuya she had an abundant. Growing up with recurring aches in her chest, along with the occasional shortness of breath, Pamuya was absolutely essential for Leilani's survival. The sound of Iewa grinding the pearl-like seed into a powder-like substance and the sight of the flowers slowly wilting into nothingness had always been a part of Leilani's life. The familiar voice of Iewa's, nagging the young girl to swallow the bitter medicine was still fresh in her mind like thoughts of yesterday.
"I always said if I ever saw one of these bastard flowers again, I would simply throw myself out to feed a school of Akulas." Leilani muttered whilst chuckling softly. She slipped the flower in after tucking a strand of Iewa's hair, a mix of black and white, behind her ear tenderly. "But no matter how many times the chance to be absolutely sick of this presented itself in front of me, I couldn't. Now this flower bears a symbol of your love and care for me, Iewa. "
She leaned against Payakan, who had remained in a solemn state until this very moment, not many words exchanged but a mutual understanding acknowledged by both. They dived together into the depths of the sea, Iewa's body will be buried below, but they knew her soul will find rest above. The flora which seemed to glimmer in the shade of the purest gold, cocooned her body similar to the embraces Iewa offered Leilani whenever her heart wanted to sink and whenever her tears threatened to fall.
