Love Lost and Found {Mianite/Sparksize} - ON HOLD ↹

-=+Chapter Two+=-

-=+Chapter Two+=-

     A violet light surrounded me, whisking away the dark void of my sleep, a sleep no one knows they're in until they wake up with light coming through the windows. I was back in Ianerea with a natural purple hue covering the land, a permanent result of the violet skies. Chiselled cobblestone ran roads under my feet, some weeds making their existence known by popping up between the stones. To my left was a bubbling fountain, with a few children and adults milling about peacefully, tossing in coins or sitting by the basin admiring the land around them. On either sides of the road sat humble tenements, Antebellum houses, and Arcachon villas. They were all different but the same, sporting a colour palette of purples, greens, and whites. In the distance, the tall spire of a watchtower stood out in the clear sky.

     My marvelling was ripped away from me as two young children rushed past me. More accurately, they ran through me. One was a scruffy-haired young boy dressed in a slightly dirty white shirt with brown pants. He ran barefoot, and held a black cloth over his eye and a fishing hook in this other hand, playing pirate. The girl he was chasing had long brown hair and wore a simple pink dress with the occasional grass stain, barefoot alongside her sibling. I smiled, knowing exactly who they were.

     "You were so spirited as a young girl." I jumped slightly as Ianite appeared beside me, putting a tender hand on my shoulder as I hastily dipped into a bow. "There's no need for that, Kate. Just watch with me." Time and place surged past in a blur, and suddenly we were standing in a small bedroom. The walls were a soft cream, and blonde birch wooden floors were below. In one corner there was a white vanity, and in the middle of the room was a birch-framed bed with purple sheets. In the bed was a woman, with sleet dirty-blonde hair and a sickly pallor. On her right was a tall man with dark brown hair, thin glasses, and a brown suit. On her left and kneeling beside the bed were the two children from earlier, them being taller and a few years older. The boy, Redbeard, still wore the same clothes with the addition of black boots. Younger me had traded my pink dress for a more feminine version of my brother's attire, and a blue coat that had been made for me a week previous. I cringed slightly, knowing this day well. It was the day my mother died from an unknown illness she'd contracted one day while helping at the docks.

     Ianite, still beside me, sighed. "Your family never did find out what the disease was, did you?" I shook my head.

     "The crewmates she was helping that day had left a few days after, and they never came back. We never got the chance to ask where they had gotten the cargo from, and none of her symptoms matched those in the medical books." I watched on, noting the tears streaming down my father's face. He'd never cried before or since that day. It was one of the things I admired about him; that he always kept a strong face even in despair.

     Once again our surroundings blurred away, and then we were at the docks of Ianerea in the pristine condition of years ago. Tied to one of the wooden piers was my ship, the slightly younger versions of my crewmates already aboard and working. My eyes drifted downwards to the pier itself, and there I saw three figures. Dressed in the same attire as we were today, Redbeard and I stood side by side with our father. The years had not been kind to him, as he was more hunched over, and stood favouring his left ankle. As younger us spoke, he would occasionally break off and release a hacking cough, and every time he did so younger me would flinch. I walked closer, listing to our conversation once more.

     "Make sure you take care of your little brother, alright Kate?" Redbeard rolled his eyes at the comment, and younger me lightly punched his shoulder.

     "Of course, Dad. He's no use under the ocean." My father and I laughed, but Redbeard huffed.

     I groaned. "I regret this day." Ianite gave a sad smile in response.