As I flew on, I passed by two islands. One of them was the big cliffs with the bioluminescent people and the other was a lake. I was very grateful that I had no need to land at the lake.
“Grandfather,” I said.
“Yes?” Grandfather asked.
“How long until we reach the Elders Temple?” I asked.
“Well, the temple is always moving, but considering we have yet to reach it, I do not know” Grandfather responded.
“Aw…” I said disappointedly.
“Do not worry, we will get to your mother before they cannot return to a mortal form” Grandfather said.
As the island I needed to land on came on the horizon, I wondered if I would forever wander the world looking for the Elders Temple. But I decided that if I was going to be negative, I might as well just stop. But I wanted my mother back, so I could not stop. I was so deep in thought that I almost missed the island I needed to land on.
“WYNNE!!!” Grandfather yelled.
“What?! Yes?!” I said suddenly.
“Open your eyes!” Grandfather said.
I opened my eyes to find myself flying towards a massive mountain. I did a dive down to the ground and once I caught my breath, I took in my surroundings.
There were small, but tall cliffs every so often. There was bridges connecting most if not all the cliffs, they were wooden and looked to be covered in green stuff, which I assumed was moss. The air tasted moist, almost like rain. Which made sense, because on the ground, there was a rainforest. Just like the jungle island, except the trees were all different sizes. There was a heavy mist covering the top of the cliffs, but the rock was pitch black. I smelled the sweet grass surrounding me, and it made me very hungry. I could hear the wind rustling the leaves and underbrush. I heard no animals, which sent a shiver down my spine, but I brushed it off, and decided to start looking for an opening.
Small thorns, and large underbrush made getting anywhere very hurtful. I was pushing through big bushes and getting small cuts on my legs. So when I finally got to a shallow pool, I started bandaging myself. Thankfully, before reaching the clearing I got some strong grass, and my hands were very sticky, so I pasted the grass onto my cuts in hopes of soothing the pain. Sadly, it did not work. But it was all I had so I decided that I needed to either rest here, in the shallow pool, or I look for a path. Weirdly enough, after looking around, I found a path. It was worn, but better than anywhere else.
“Wynne, I do not think this is safe.” Grandfather said before I could start walking.
“Why? Anything is better than camping here.” I said, glancing at the shallow pool. I knew that I could not camp here, as the water would not allow me to cook anything.
“Have you not noticed? There are no animals, no humans, no nothing. What made this path?” Grandfather replied with a very annoyed tone.
“Well, it does not matter, we need a space to rest, and I refuse to go through more underbrush.” I talked back.
“Well, get ready for either illusions or a battle.” Grandfather said.
“I will” I said, excited to finish the conversation.
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I kept walking, the trail kept going. After quite some time, I wondered if it led anywhere, and then I reached one of the cliffs. I was confused.
“This does not look like illusions or a battle.” I muttered.
Grandfather took on a more physical form. They touched their palm to the rock, and became a more liquid thing. Soon, I saw a pattern. Then the rock opened up to a staircase. It was the same color as the rock, but the sun shone just far enough into the cave to show me the staircase. I started going up the stairs, waiting for grandfather to say something, but they stayed quiet .I reached the top, and it looked like I was in the clouds, but I realized I was at the top of the cliff. A heavy mist surrounded me. So I could not see very far from my face, and I had to wave my arms around to see any farther, so I started walking and I reached the bridge.
The bridge was wooden, and very wet. Moss crawled up the ropes that banded the wooden planks together. The bark was tearing away, and there was visible chips in the wood at the end of the planks.
“Go ahead.” Grandfather said.
“No.” I said. I did not think I could trust it.
“Well, then I will take your physical form, with everything you have, and if it breaks, then we know” Grandfather said. An exact copy of me appeared, and grandfather walked on the bridge without any trouble. So I stepped, and slipped.
“Wynne!” Grandfather screamed.
I panicked and grabbed the rope.
“Phew, use your cloak.” Grandfather said.
“Right,” I said.
I used the cloak to lift me up, and continued on my way to find a cliff with the least amount of mist. Once we finally reached a cliff that I could camp on, so I started setting up. As I started trying to light a fire, a question popped into my head.
“Grandfather,” I said.
“Yes?” Grandfather asked.
“Why did you encourage me to go on the bridge?” I asked, since he was originally so protective.
“Because you were being rude, so if the bridge broke, I would be satisfied. I had no idea how scary it would really be though.” Grandfather said casually. It made me so angry. How could they do that? Then be so casual about it?
“That is so messed up…” I said angrily.
“No, it really is not. You were being rude to your elderly-” Grandfather almost finished before I stepped in.
“It is! Think about it, I am a child! I do not think about my actions sometimes!” I raised my voice trying to get my point across.
“That does not excuse your poor behavior.” Grandfather said flatly.
“It should!” I said.
“Do not raise your voice at me, young one.” Grandfather said, sounding angrier than before.
“I have every right to be angry” I said, the fire started just then.
“You have no reason to be angry, your being un reasonable.” Grandfather raised their voice.
“I AM NOT BEING UNREASONABLE!” I screamed.
“WATCH YOUR TONE!” Grandfather yelled back.
“Your just a stupid spirit! I should have left you at one of the islands!” I said.
“You are just disgusting! I am ashamed to have you as my granddaughter! Your mother never loved you, and I hope that you fail!” Grandfather yelled.
What..? Did they just… My eyes started water. How could they say something like that? I started crying.
“Oh please, save it for someone who will believe you!” Grandfather said in a snarky tone.
That made me tick, I started digging around in my messenger bag for the staff. I found it and walked over to the fire.
“I will get attached to another one of your things if you burn it.” Grandfather said.
So, I walked to the edge of the cliff, and used all my power to throw it.
“Wynne!” Grandfather yelled as he was forced to follow the staff.
“How does it feel…” I said, clenching my teeth.
I finished cooking, and ate. I would fetch grandfather in the morning when they might have learned their lesson. I looked at the stars, and saw my own reflection. I was no longer a kid who stayed on their island. I was Wynne Amari, my long white hair glistening, my blue and brown eyes studied every detail of my face. My tan skin was dirty, and my cloak was still in contact and perfectly fine. I looked away, why did the stars show me my reflection? Maybe because I had not seen myself in weeks, my own reflection. It was to show me my journey. I fell asleep.
The next day, I woke up. I packed my stuff up, and started going back to the cliff with the stairs. I found it, and went down. I spotted a bunch of vines, and tied them around my legs. Which definitely helped, because my legs were not getting scratched. I searched, and searched. Then, I heard grandfather yelling. I ran towards them, and found them.
“Wynne! Are you crazy? We could have never seen each other again and I would be stuck here forever!” Grandfather panicked.
“Yeah, I know. Did you learn your lesson?” I asked, not addressing their panicking.
“If the lesson was to never yell at you then yes.” Grandfather said.
“Perfect! We should be able to get along just fine then” I said happily.
Despite grandfathers pleads to talk, I ignored them, and started flying.