The Dreaming: Dark Star (Book 5)

5.1. Coming & Going (Imorah)

***The same day, but over fifteen hundred miles away.***

Stepping outside aboveground for the first time in her life, Imorah felt she must be dreaming; it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. The magnetic light that had pulled her out of the earth now stabbed at her eyes, like white blinding daggers, and the heat, the dry heat of the sun was like a smack to the face.

Despite this, she felt glorious. Absolutely glorious.

She crawled on her hands and knees out of the pit and the first thing she touched was sand heated by the desert sun. Her eyes were watering, so she couldn't see much, but she could feel a warm, desert breeze and this feeling thrilled her.

Sitting against a big rock, she took off her shoes and rolled up her pants, so she could dig her feet in the sand, and take a moment to catch her breath from the climb and rest her watering eyes.

I did it, she thought to herself, while rubbing her eyelids until she saw stars shooting across her vision. Moments later when she opened them again, she saw only a watery brown and blue: a light, golden brown desert that stretched away from her to the horizon, meeting a vivid blue sky that was truly painful to look at. She sat there, running her hand through warm sand, thankful for the ridge of shadow that sheltered her.

Then she waited. She wasn't sure what to do next and she couldn't exactly travel when she was blind.

She didn't know how long she waited for — now and then she felt an urge to crawl back into the pit, if anything just to get some relief from the fierce sunlight. As she sat there she realised how badly prepared she was. She hadn't taken into consideration that she'd have to make her way through a hostile landscape, or that her eyes, having been 16 years in the dark, were not capable of processing sunlight. In her entire, she'd never known anything but the familiar Reaches of The Shelter, and in that place her vision was a strength she trusted. In the dark she saw perfectly; so well in fact, that some found it astonishing.

But this was a whole new world in front of her, and this new world would require a whole new person from her. A person she had never met before, with strengths that she had definitely not developed yet. She sat there wondering what she should do, meeting the acquaintance of the wind, which seemed like her only friend at this point. It stroked her cheek where the sun had smacked her and wiped her tears away.

More time went by and there was nothing romantic about her situation anymore. What little she could see of the desert didn't look inviting — it wasn't what she had imagined. It was too too open, and too empty. How will I find my place here? she wondered. She didn't even know what direction she should go.

Opening her eyes again just a crack, she attempted to peer at the world around her. To her left a far off distance, she thought she could see a break in the perpetual desert — a spot on the horizon with different shades of brown. To her right the ridge of rocks continued and curled up into a red, rocky and uninviting mountain. She noticed as well that the shadow she sat in had grown and along with it, her ability to see. The sun behind her had started diving into the earth.

"What should I do?" she asked out loud. "Are you there?" She wanted to talk to the voice again. Remembering what it had told her about listening, she found a more comfortable position and closed her eyes, quieting her thoughts.

Just as she was beginning to feel relaxed and peaceful, a bug crawled over her naked foot, distracting her from her meditation. Annoyed, she opened her eyes to flick it off, and was amazed to see that the sky had changed. Clouds. She forgot about the beetle and squinted skyward. They moved so fast. Could it be true that there was water in those clouds? Her eyes began to ache, so she lowered her head and watched the beetle trudge relentlessly through the sand, struggling over small dimples in the sand as if it were climbing a mountain. "Where are you going beetle?" she asked.

She watched it until it was out of sight, and found herself looking again at that break in the desert to her left. With the sun setting she could see better now. It was unmistakable: something poked out of the horizon a long way off. She stood up without thinking about it and took her first steps, passing the beetle on her way. "Thanks, and see you around."

After walking for quite a while, she realised that whatever that thing was, it was a lot farther away than she'd thought. She was thirsty. She hadn't even brought any water or food with her.

What an idiot I am! She admonished herself. The Family always ate together, large communal meals, and Imorah had never had to think about food or drink in that way in her entire life — it was always just there when you needed it.

Great Guardian, please protect me out here in this giant desert, she prayed silently.

She continued walking, keeping her head down low, and only looking up once in a while to make sure she was still on the right track.

How big is this empty desert anyways? she wondered. She'd read once in a novel about a man walking through a desert and almost dying of thirst, but instead of making her scared, the memory excited her. A desert! I'm in a real desert, not just reading about one in a book. She kept walking, admiring the scrubby plants she passed and even spotting what she knew must be a rabbit as it darted out of her way behind some rocks.

Before she knew it, the light around her had faded significantly, and she realised she could see again, almost normally.

The sun was setting behind the mountain she'd just come from. She sat down and watched as the sky turned from light blue to rose, to orange and red and finally to violet and deep indigo blue.

And then the most astonishing thing happened: the stars came out. She didn't even notice one until there were so many that she couldn't believe she hadn't seen them already. Stars. She lay down to get a better look. Slowly they came, until there were so many she felt she was covered by a blanket and the earth a huge bed that she was slowly sinking into. And they were moving, or she was moving, or the earth was moving — it almost made her dizzy. It was too much!! She laughed and touched the sand between her fingers, digging down into it. She turned onto her stomach and smelled the strong wind, the air pouring down into her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

After she stood up, she could see the jagged spot on the horizon clearly now. It was still far away, but she knew it must be a tree: a black outline against the dark blue sky behind it. A single lonely and crooked tree, rising like a frail old man from the desert floor. She started walking towards it again, rushing now, her way lit faintly by the stars.

When the moon began to rise, she was astonished by how big it was. She had seen pictures and it always looked so small — nothing could have prepared her for how alien and and huge it actually was. They had learned that the sun was much bigger than the moon and even the earth, but the moon was so big, she felt she could reach out and touch it.

"Hello," she said to the moon. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Imorah." She smiled up at the big white ball and knew she'd found a friend — the sun was much too bright and strong, but the moon was perfect. Just bright enough to see where she was going, and with a silvery blue light that reminded her of the lights in The Shelter.

Imorah felt her chest swell with happiness and she giggled.

After sitting for a few minutes, she got up and continued walking.

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Author's Note:

I wrote this sweet little piece many, many years ago! I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading.