Nightly Mirage

1. Family

For most of her life, Liryl had never seen dawn. Above her, the sky would dye a pearly hue as if by magic, and hours would pass before the golden disk of the sun emerged from the forest.

Then, her life had inexorably started moving east. Until one day, from atop Mount Esper, she saw for the first time the sun rising in a pale light from the horizon. Since then, dawn had become a part of her daily life.

But, from that little garden enclosed by the walls of surrounding houses, dawn could never be seen. Dew drenched the plants in the shadows of the morning, while the vault of the sky lightened up gradually. That moment of the day, more than any other, brought the nymph's heart back to her past.

Pulling up the hem of her robe, Liryl kneeled down on the wet grass at her feet. Lily pads covered the surface of the small lake before her.

The first few times she felt nervous, tense, unsure, as if she were introducing herself to a stranger. Now, however, this moment had taken the reassuring form of a familiar meeting to her. Her lips slowly opened, as her voice chanted the gentle notes of her prayer.

The lily pads in front of her remained still, a silent audience for her chanting, until the watery surface below began rippling. Little concentric circles took an irregular and flickering shape, like the feelings she infused in her words. Then, a tongue of water started rising from the lake, twisting and dancing in the cold morning light.

Whenever she stared at that shapeless figure, swinging to the soft sound of her words, Liryl could not help seeing herself in it. Her loneliness, her frailty, her jealously hidden frailty on the shores of the sea.

Even now that she was no longer alone, going back with her heart and her memory to those old feelings made her feel better. Especially on those days when loneliness made itself felt again, exorcising her words in the contact with that distant echo of herself helped her overcoming her worst moments.

The thin tongue of water dissolved in a spurt, as soon as Liryl turned to the door opening behind her. Before she could rise up, a child ran towards her and threw himself in her arms.

"Hey, Pimys! You're up already?" the nymph said, caressing affectionately the unkempt silver curls of the little ath'ar. "You're really getting good, aren't you?"

The child returned the compliment with a radiant smile. "Are you coming for breakfast, Liryl?"

The girl nodded. "Of course. By the way, has your sister got up already?"

Pimys did not make in time to reply before the door opened suddenly. An ath'ar girl appeared on the doorstep, no more than five feet tall. Her bowl haircut surrounded a frowning face, and two fiery golden eyes.

"Pimys!" she exclaimed in an exasperated tone. "How many times did I tell you not to disturb Liryl when she's meditating in the garden?"

The child jumped in fear and hid behind the nymph, causing her to laugh in amusement. "Don't worry, Ashne, I was about to come anyway."

The ath'ar girl sighed. "Sorry, Liryl," she said, looking down ruefully. "We didn't want to bother you."

The nymph smiled gently. No matter how angry Ashne turned towards her little brother, she was always ready to share the blame for whatever he did, even when she had no responsibility in what happened.

"You got nothing to apologize for," Liryl reassured her, bending down just enough to meet the girl's golden eyes. "There's no moment I wouldn't want to spend with you. So ... let's have breakfast, shall we?"

Ashne stared at Liryl for a few instants, then nodded hesitantly.

"Is Valhias up already?" the nymph asked right after.