The Wisp
The stars began to fall then. Light blazed down from the sky and hovered before piercing through the lake surface. Radiant rapiers cut through the watery depths and trailed down into the dark. The last shimmering trail dimmed and Bara was alone again. Her eyes searched the beach and what she could see of the forest. Nothing.
The dark-haired boy was gone.
A wave hit and shattered the silence. A rush invaded the shore, quickly followed by another. The lake bubbled and surged. The moonlight reflected off the splash as steam. A glow appeared beneath the waves and lifted from the water. The glow was a girl. Her arms and legs unfolded. Her hair was full and thick and rode upon a wind of its own. Her long robes, her eyes, her hair, and even her skin glowed white. As she glided across the lake, her feet grazed the water below and created trails of spray.
She stopped and hovered a few meters from shore.
Bara stared in wonder. Here was a face just like her own, maybe aged a little, but not more than a year or two. She stood before yet another doppelgänger, but there was no terror as before. This one had eyes. They glowed like the rest of her, but she did have eyes. They held no menace, only an unmistakable sense of kindness. All beauty is not beauty, sang the apparition.
“Who are you?” Bara asked. “Are you me?”
***
It's been a rough few days psychology for me, nothing major, just not feeling my usual positive self. Cyclical downs, more biological in cause than anything.
Those of you who are into astrology will point out that Mars was in opposition, and so it was no wonder the god of war namesake, red planet was causing turmoil. And wouldn't you know it. To escape the unease, I gazed outward and found others lacking too. No war declared but an uncomfortable detente established. I have grown wise enough to keep my acting to a minumum when I am feeling my worse, but still the worse I feel about myself, the worse everyone else looks. The more I judge others wanting, the more awful I feel inside. Nothing works out as I would have it.
It is the Way ... perhaps backwards ... but it is the Way it works. Always we are our own worse enemies or best allies. It isn't about outlook; it is about how we look to ourselves inside.
The material world can only ever reflect back what it is given.
And so it is with Bara and worlds she inhabits. Her psyche is reflected back to her. There are doppelgängers aplenty. Like any of us, she is both her own ally and enemy, and it informs character and plot. There is a dream lover, made to specifications, who she can glimpse but never truly gain knowledge of and real intimacy with. He comes and goes too quickly, never staying long enough.
Although his timing is on par with any Deux Ex Machina. You cannot be the heroic lead in a love story with bad timing. Bad timing is for the losing corner of the love triangle. The other thing about Mr. Right, he leaves you wanting until the story end. He maintains his mystery, his aloofness, and in this way his allure. And yet, still manages to save the day.
If Bara is to solve his mysteries and others, she must go deeper into the forest, deeper into her own psyche, study not just her reflection, but its source.
Words and Images are my own.
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Alas, poor Bara, requiring some deep self reflection. That can be one of the scariest places to be, deep within one's self truly finding out who you are. I hope she struggles through it!
She get further along anyways but always new lesson to be learned and sequels to write:)
Alas, poor Bara, requiring some deep self reflection. That can be one of the scariest places to be, deep within one's self truly finding out who you are. I hope she struggles through it!