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A breath of ozone filled the nostrils of a once human maiden, now an angel floating among the clouds. She was so high up, that stretching out her hands would allow her to touch the stars.
She couldn’t resist the temptation to grab one of the twinkling balls of gas, housing it in hand and looking at it with mesmerized eyes.
What a dream she lived as she saw one so close. And more awaited her sight, furthering her yearn to stare at every last one of them.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands… Counting them for hours couldn’t tire her out. The endless night she was living here felt so clear, causing her to forget her previous life.
What did she do before traveling the edges of the sky? It didn’t matter anymore. It wasn’t important if her mind let it go so easily.
A bed of clouds floated under her, allowing her to travel even deeper into space. Only so far went the First Heaven of the air, now she explored in the midst of the Second Heaven, among the orbs of light she so happily stared at in the night.
If she kept going, would she see the pearly gates of the Third Heaven? Nobody had ever been so far into the universe before. How long did this infinite expanse of twinkling objects extend?
Science told her that the universe had its edge, expanding only so fast, so far at any given time. Beyond that perhaps awaited a primordial wall that no light had ever traveled past. But her imagination was far more creative.
Past reality, far away from the sight of the most powerful telescopes, were physics defying worlds, even foreign to what magic had made. Worlds crafted in new shapes, squares and blocks, rings, even some flat as paper, but wide as an ocean.
But why stop there? This endless universe could be even more of what she wanted it to be.
Animals began appearing, along with plants sprouting up to feed them. Two trees in particular rose high above all the rest, providing sustenance to all the hungry creatures of this land. She even sampled the lovely fruits herself, finding the taste pleasing.
Food and animals were pleasant, but what about entertainment?
In the wind played a song like the echo of chimes. A soothing melody that kept her and all the other creatures at peace.
In contrast, silent fireworks shot up along the horizon, quietly exploding in the sky and painting it many different colours of light. It was all she’d hoped it would be.
For all the wonder here, one thing was missing. One thing she wanted more than anything…and that was a cure for her loneliness.
Where was everyone? No other human souls were around to frolic through the night with her. Did she have friends in her past life? Family? A lover?
She tried to imagine them, hardly even able to picture the silhouette of a small one… What was her name? What did she look like?
White hair… Blue eyes?
She tried and tried, but no one fully came forth. Only a weak shadow of a tiny person rose from the ashes of the soil, but sank quickly and lost its shape.
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“What is it you seek?” A deep voice called from the clouds. “Do you not have all you wished for?”
She remained silent, too embarrassed to answer.
“Please, tell me how I can put to rest your troubles.”
She invented motivation as she realized the eagerness in this voice.
“This has been fun, but I feel lonely,” she replied. “Am I… Am I supposed to have friends?”
Having even another person to travel with would make it all the more enjoyable to wander the universe. So many creative experiences awaited her, but she wished to share them with others. Perhaps a boy she liked?
“You have no friends,” the voice claimed. “You are a queen. Queens only have subjects to obey them.”
Purple and silver cloth draped over her, a scepter filled her hand, and a crown topped her head. Stars twinkled all over the objects that clothed her.
The scepter had a solid platinum snake slithering up the rod, holding a golden apple in its mouth, which formed the top of the regal tool.
“Where are my subjects?” she asked.
“The whole universe is your subject. It bows to your needs.”
She waved her hand outwards, willfully creating people in place of nothing. But each of them merely blended in with the cosmic background, dark as the night they came out of. They didn’t talk. They had no aspirations of their own. They just sat idly.
“Before you are blank pages,” said the voice from above. “What shall their story be?”
A book came down from above. Its intimidating appearance made the girl hesitate to take it up, but she did so anyway. The moment it touched the bare skin of her palms, she saw no reason to let it go.
She knew this book was hers to own, but no author had been placed on the cover. Her name continued to elude her, as if it were rebelling to reveal itself.
Much like the nameless cover, the inner pages were all blank.
She had no pen to write with, but the pages of this book slit a cut across her finger. Blood dripped out, supplementing ink.
As her finger danced across the page, the silhouettes before her began to dance and sing with joy. Anything she jotted as a command, they followed to the letter.
Unusual personalities were born from her experimentation. But for all she attempted, she never could get these shadows to look or act human enough for her liking.
All the animals disappeared and the plants withered away. Water turned red as blood, and what remained of the plants set ablaze.
A throne was before her, tall, and on its seat was one man. His eyes were bright blue and he had a soft smile.
He pat a seat next to him, requesting she come and sit. She did so.
“Now you are not alone. I’m here with you.” His alluring blue eyes nearly gazed into her soul. “As long as you are my queen, you shall not be lonely. I will make your dream come true.”
Was this her husband? She had an unnatural gravitation to him, her heart tempted by his charm.
Her guard fell as she took her seat. The blue eyed man requested she continue writing in her book.
Whatever she drew came to life, but it all was merely a silhouette of the things she wanted.
She refused to keep creating anymore. They were empty of light, which made them nothing more than lifeless imitations of reality.
“Are your children not pleasing to you?” The blue eyed man asked.
“They’re disgusting,” She argued. “Nothing like real people.”
He sighed, resting his chin on a fist.
“How long until you will be ready, my bride? I grow tired of waiting…”
He snapped his fingers…then Yamin awoke from her dream. She was back in the home she had once requested a little angel rescue from its dark curse. Things seemed to be normal once more, meaning that the aid was worthwhile. The only thing she'd carried with her from whatever dream she'd just had was the book, but her mind was so disoriented that she paid it little attention.
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