In the Open Cage

Chapter 31

A vast blue sky, a sea of grass. Misa stood in the middle, watching the thin, green stalks wave at her and brush against her white dress.

"Where am I?" She looked up at the sky. Such a clear blue, with not a cloud marring its pure surface. The sun was nowhere to be seen, yet everything was bright as midday.

"Misa?" A familiar voice, carried by the wind. A string of leaves whirled around Misa, turning her around and shooting towards a single direction. Misa squinted. Someone stood in the grass, a small figure in the distance. A woman, Misa thought, as she too had on a gleaming, white dress.

"Y-you're..." Somehow, Misa knew. She just knew who it was. "Tika."

The witch came closer, though she did not walk. It was strange, ethereal, as if the entire field beneath her feet had moved so that she could stand right in front of Misa.

Tika did not look like she did when she passed away. Her hair was still fair, though a much richer golden colour that reminded Misa of the late afternoon. Her skin was smooth, pale, healthy, and a little flushed to bring out the colour of her bright blue eyes. It was only then that Misa realised Tika must not have pure Plathean blood in her veins. No. To have such foreign features-pale hair, pale eyes-Tika must have had at least one parent not from the country.

"Where am I?" Misa asked, this time to Tika.

Tika smiled, dazzling. Such beauty that sent a thrill through Misa. She wondered how long it would take for her to paint the portrait in front of her. A beautiful woman in pure white, standing in a calm, peaceful field with nothing breaking the earth for kilometers around.

"You must wake up." There was sadness in Tika's smile, sadness Misa hadn't noticed before. "It is not time for you, yet."

"Is this a dream?" Misa swivelled around, taking in her surroundings, her dress spreading out like a flower. No sun, but still a bright field full of peace and quiet. "This must be a dream. Such a place couldn't exist in reality."

"Go, my child." A gentle push. Not physical, but Misa had felt it all the same. Tika reached out and put a hand on Misa's shoulders. "The magic in you is no longer mine. You must understand that, Misa, at all cost."

"What?"

"Do not fear it." Tika placed her forehead on Misa's, sending a jolt of lightning blitzing through her skull. And everything, every thought, every memory Misa had came rushing back in a short, compressed wave. In that one second, Tika knew everything. "The problems of your heart will be your greatest hindrance. Face them, Misa. It is the only way you can face Nisha."

"My heart?" Misa echoed, placing her hand over her chest. She squeezed. "I don't know what to do, Tika. What am I supposed to do?"

"Let everything go." Tika brushed her hand through Misa's hair. "You must stop clinging to your past. You have been reborn, Misa. Let go of yourself, and everything will fall into place."

"Let myself go? What does that even mean?"

Tika backed away, gliding, moving the earth. Misa reached out for her, but the witch was moving too fast.

"This is where we part, Misa." Tika smiled. "We shall meet again, someday, when your time has come. For now, I surrender my magic to you. It shall no longer tie me to your soul."

"Wait! You can't just leave!"

"Goodbye, Misa."

"No! There are so many questions I still have! How do I lift Royle's curse? How do I defeat Nisha? Please, you have to tell me!"

"Knowledge is bound in your magic," Tika said. She began to glow, a light so bright her figure disappeared, her voice the only thing Misa could cling onto. "It is my final gift to you."