https://i.imgur.com/vjutb04.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/vjutb04.jpg]

Sonia wasn't quite sure what the cause of it was. Maybe it was the sun, which seemed to shine just a little brighter through the crystal windows. Or maybe there was something in the air that allowed her to breathe a little more clearly.

Sonia could hear the ambient sound of wind as it tossed leafy branches of lush forest trees in a dance of nature. Should she have been able to hear that? The trees were a considerable distance away. Nonetheless, she herself felt like dancing. She felt amazing. Alive and healthy. She couldn't describe how she felt. It was like she had drank several cups of coffee or something to that effect. She wasn't sure how long she slept, but it felt as if she had slept for days. Was that the reason? Was she just simply well rested?

As she lifted her head off the stone king's lap, her head felt weightless on her shoulders. Her body felt as light as air as she leapt lightly onto the stony surface of the marble floor. She took a long deep breath. Everything about her was clearer, brighter, and stronger, and she didn't know why. She felt that she should know, but she didn't.

Sonia examined herself. Her hands, her arms and her legs seemed normal enough. She brushed her hands over her face and felt the clean texture of her soft and perfect skin. Until recently, she had suffered bruises, cuts, and fractures on her face and head. Even her lips, which were once split and swollen, were healed and clear of any trace of injury. She brushed her fingers through her clean, silky brown hair and felt the back of her head, and remembered that it was Gran who had healed her. She was sure that this was her doing. She had awoken, feeling like a million dollars. Or was it more accurately said that she didn't feel human? She felt more like a dream.

Her eyes perceived colors more vibrantly than normal, her ears heard sounds more clearly, and her body felt like it was walking on clouds. In short, she felt like an enhanced cyborg, with superhuman strength and senses. It was almost overwhelming. there were a few reasons that could explain why she felt so amazing, but the only one that she cared to entertain, was Gran.

Sonia approached the stone figure, who was holding her hands modestly at her sides, the same beautiful smile permanently shown on her face.

"Good morning, Gran. How are you?" Sonia said brightly. She fell to her knees in front of the old stone statue and waited. She believed in her heart that the statue would come to life and greet her warmly as she did in her dream, but the statue never moved. She waited for a long while, basking in the warm glow of the sun and listening to the cheery playfulness of the birds as they flutter joyfully past the windows. But Gran never woke up, and the longer Sonia waited, the stronger Sonia's anxiety became as her doubt set in. She cried.

"Do you know, Gran, how many times I looked out my window at night, praying in tears for someone, anyone, to love me. I prayed for an angel to come and take me away; to love me and to hold me, to tell me that everything was ok. I was only a little girl! At an age when the only thing that I should have worried about were the boys at school. I just wanted to be a normal girl with a normal life." Her tears dotted the floor as she recalled her childhood.

"Home should have been a place of shelter and comfort, but it wasn't. It was actually the source of my misery. It was always this way. All of the other children had supporting parents that came to school and participated in their children's lives. Inside and outside of school, actually. My mother never loved me. She only thought of me as a burden. I've lived this way my whole life. But you, you and your people accepted me and loved me without judgment. Without even the slightest hesitation. How is that possible?" Sonia looked up at the woman, teary-eyed.

"I'm so confused. I don't know what is real and what is my imagination. Ever since I got here, it seems that you were with me, but just beyond my reach. Are you real, or just something my broken heart made up? Did I really eat magic bread that healed me? and the dream I had was so real. Please don't tell me that it was all in my mind. My heart can't take it. My heart can't take this loneliness anymore."

Sonia stood and embraced the stone woman and cried.

"Please wake up! Don't leave me alone. Let me hear your voice and your laughter. Let me feel your loving hugs, because your hugs are the best, not mine. You don't understand. You are the angel that answered my prayers."

Sonia's body trembled as she clung to the old woman, wishing beyond hope for her loving friend to be real.

As the sun rose higher in the sky and shone brighter through the tall windows, the light, warm and bright, casted it's sparkling rays onto the stone figure that Sonia held. The clothes and body of the woman became softer as the stone melted into flesh. A heartbeat was felt, and the expansion and contraction of breathing lungs came to life as the arms of the stone figure rose from her sides to embrace the weeping woman in a firm hug.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Oh my sweet child, I am here for you, and I will never leave. Indeed, I am real!" She said with a waking sigh as air filled her lungs, anew.

"Gran!" Sonia cried, holding the woman tighter. Once again the woman's eyes shined with the divine blue that she had seen in her dream. It was true! she was real, and so were her striking blue eyes. Even the sound of her voice was the same. Sonia was so happy, she'd forgotten how to function normally as she kept fumbling her words, forgetting how to speak. Instead, her words came out in sobbing fits of choking breaths.

Gran laughed a hearty laughter. Sonia's heart was bursting with happiness. This was the happiest day of her life, and she would never forget it.

"Please calm down, you silly girl. Let us sit for a moment while I wake." Gran said, smoothing out her dress as she sat down on the cool marble floor. She inhaled deeply and slowly as Sonia held her arm in hers. Gran still wasn't used to the transition of stone to flesh, so it took a little time to adjust. After a time, she turned to Sonia and asked her a question in concern.

"Tell me, dear, how do you feel? If you can recall, you were on the verge of death.

"Are you kidding? I feel amazing!I feel like I could do anything, and even more so than when you made the bread. What did you do to me?

Gran flashed her famous smile.

"That's a secret." She said, teasingly. "Do you remember what happened to you the last time we seen each other?"

"Yes. I was stabbed by a creepy-looking sword. It was scary. I can't say that I've ever been stabbed before, and it hurt like crazy, even if it was just a dream. The pain was a very weird sensation. "

"Yes, I imagine the pain you felt was quite different than what you'd expect in this world. Most of the weapons in Celestia are powered by magic, and Breillia's sword, I believe, Hinders the inflicted with the inability to heal. Its demonic nature is deadly even for gods, let alone a mortal. I'm so glad you're alive and well." Gran said, squeezing Sonia's hands.

Celestia. Magic. Gods.

There was something about those words as Gran spoke them that sparked her memory. They were reminding her of something, but no matter how many times she repeated them, she couldn't remember it. She shook her head as an attempt to focus on the most important thing in front of her. Gran was here, in the flesh! She was truly real, so why should she care about anything else?

"Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need anything?" Sonia asked, Gran's striking blues eye reflected the orange glow of the sunlight, reminding Sonia that this was no ordinary woman. She was a Goddess. Although, she didn't know how she knew that. The woman's glowing gaze in the sunlight was like a portrait painted by magic, but as stunning as her eyes were, it could not compare to the woman behind them.

Gran thought for a moment, looking around the silent cathedral. The sun had fully lit the hall with its light and both of the woman were smiling in each other's company. It was a beautiful day, full of the promise of a beautiful future. How would they advance from here? What does the future hold for them? Their world was changing, and the possibilities were exciting.

"Hmm, How about a walk? The day is young, and we have much to discuss. But first, I would like you to meet someone." Said Gran. She stood up so effortlessly that she almost seemed to float up off the floor, unlike Sonia, who had yet to get used to her new body.

"Meet someone?" Sonia asked curiously.

"Yes. While you slept, I have discovered that my granddaughter has been awake this whole time, while the rest of our people were turned to stone, the poor girl had been wondering around the damned property for the last five hundred years." She turned to Sonia with a grin. "Well, no use whining about it now." Gran said with a chuckle, taking Sonia by the arm and leading her to a corridor though a door behind the alter.

"Wait, she's been awake for over five hundred years? That's crazy!"

"Yep, That'll happen when you've only got yourself to talk to for five centuries. She's probably rightly whacky by now. I guess we'll see."

"That's not what I meant!" Sonia said, wide eyed. "I can't believe you said that."

Gran's laughter filled the corridor as they made their way through dusty halls of carved stone and iron, lit by the thinly shaped crystalline windows, Sonia found herself becoming increasingly nervous. Gran said she was about to meet her granddaughter. How old was she? Was she a child, or was she a teenager? Would she be as nice and accepting as Gran and the others? Sonia hated meeting new people. It never usually went well, but Sonia had to remind herself that in this place, she was no longer under the influence of the awful rumors that plagued her.

There are several rooms in the back hallway, including a neat, fully functional kitchen. At the end of the hall was a spiral staircase leading to an upper level, which the two woman silently climbed. Once on the top level, Sonia noticed that there were two rooms, which she presumed were intended to be administrative offices, since it was a church.

They stood outside the doorway to one of the rooms. Gran motioned Sonia over, beckoning her to come closer, but she stood a little distance away, hesitating. Gran could see the scared look on her face, and understood her anxiety. She's seen the horrible memories that she's suffered her whole life, and knew that meeting new people wasn't easy for her.

Gran took her by the hand and gave a warm, reassuring smile.

"You have nothing to fear from us, my dear. I am with you always, and soon, all of Celestia will bow to you in loving adoration. You are our future....Your Highness."

"What?" Sonia asked in shock. "Why did you call me that? I'm not royalty."

"You are to me. Now, chirk up, sister. We're going in." With that, she knocked once before opening the door, revealing a beautiful teenage girl within.

With an awkward stumbling sigh, she greeted her.

"ummm....eerrr....aahhh.....Hi"