The years I spent in that prison of ice had been very long and very tough. See, I had been in there for thirteen years. I was already twenty-five! Illogical now that I thought about it. What kind of an idiot would do that to a twleve-year-old? ...Of course that was a rhetorical question. Anyway, for the time being, they've given me supplements to give me the information I had missed whilst in my prison of ice. It was sometimes too much to take in, all these changes. And it pained me now that I had to see it.
~~~*~~~
Jagger was a whole foot taller than me now, with silvery-blonde hair and silvery-blue and silvery-green eyes. He had three metal rings in his thin, right eyebrow, green, red, and blue. Silver snake-bites in his pale pink, lower lip. Three piercings in his left ear, and four in his right. He wore raggedy, bright clothing with silly, meaningless quotes on the shirts, elaborate, intricate patterens all over them; torn up, pale pants with long chains hanging from his pockets and colorful buttons; black combat boots, wrecked from years of use. Years I wasn't there...
My brother was much taller than me now, too. And it hurt me how much he changed.
His face, now a man's, was hard and cold, calculating. His hair was longer, but brushed down from the wild mess it once was, tamed in a way I had never wanted it to be. His eyes, still the same color as my own, lost their old shine. They were emotionless now, with so much darkness lingering in them, so many things there I was sure I would never understand. Because I wasn't there. He now wore all black, with skulls or words, saying things I didn't quite understand. He no longer wore the shark-tooth necklace I had made him; he now wore the fangs and eyes of beasts I hadn't even seen yet. And when I smiled at him, he did not smile back. He did not look me in the eyes...
My father and mother now had wrinkles in place of smooth skin, white strands intermixed with black, softness in place of danger. They spoke of sweet things, comforting things, and smiled at me the warmest smiles. They did not mention prison and anger and hatred and loneliness and longing. They gave me food and warmth. But when I looked them in the eye, they looked away.
The other four girls had grown up to beautiful women. And I learned that I had not been the only one through suffering. But that was another story completely.
The real story lies with the boy-I-disliked-from-class, now turned the-man-I-cannot-look-away-from.
~~~*~~~
I had grown up quite a bit as well. But it was most startling in the beginning. It seemed that during my imprisonment, I had changed quite a bit. In the reflection of my prison of ice, I saw what had become of me. Instead of the pitch black hair I was so used to, I had hair as blue as the sky itself. Instead of my midnight blue eyes, I had eyes so pink, they almost glowed. Instead of the coffee brown skin I knew, my skin was as pale as snow. A hot bath cured that right up. For an hour, I sat in a boiling hot tub of water and scrubbed at my skin with peach-smelling soap until all the ice had cracked and fallen away, until my brown skin was once again my own. I massasged mango-scented shampoo into my scalp until my waist-length hair no longer had the remnants of my sorrow and pain and loneliness, back into the hair that reminded me of the starless, moonless night I saw every month. I kept my head underwater, eyes open, until all the anger and hatred and regret had left my eyes, and they were once again the blue I was so famous for.
And I saw how much I'd grown. Five-foot-six, with the voluptuous body my mom had had, and a face so lovely I surprised myself into silence. I resembled my mother greatly, beautiful and strong, but with the warmth my father had always had in his eyes and face. And so, as the Elders had said, I was a work of art, just as they had expected of the Goddess of Water. And I frowned because I didn't want to think of what I had become. What I had never wanted to be.
And the boy with the beautiful eyes was now a man with beautiful eyes. He was so tall, the top of my head barely reached his shoulders, and so handsome I scowled at the ground with a blush on my face the whole time the Elders spoke to us. His eyes, now more golden than green, shined so brightly that I almost cried. His skin was darker than mine, yes, but looked so soft, stretched over muscles gained from war and hardwork. He smiled a gentle smile at me, the first real smile I'd seen since he freed me, and did not look away when I looked him in the eye.
And they told us we were perfect for one another. And the confusion I felt was so strong I didn't notice his smile.
~~~*~~~
We were married.
Dear God... married... I was married to him?!
But the feeling I felt was not fully disgust. And not fully anger. And not fully disappointment.
It was part elation.
~~~*~~~
The wedding band was gold. Pure gold. With the word "Fang" on it. I had no idea why until he told me his name was Fang. The sudden rush of embarrassment I felt was somewhat painful... Honestly, what kind of a wife doesn't know her own husband's name?
The wedding band did not feel heavy on my finger like I had used to think it would when I was a kid. No, I barely felt it at all. But it was there. A reminder when I noticed good looking men walking around, when I would brush my hair back self consciously, the light catching off the lovely gold. And I would have a moment of guilt and self disgust and ignore the confused looks as I hurried off somewhere to wallow in self pity.
The wedding band was nothing special, but the simplicity implied the worth, and, if my assumption was correct, it had cost a fortune. And that made me bite my lip in the anxiety of my disbelief. I didn't like the thought of someone spending so much money just for me. But when I broached the subject, he merely smile and brushed my hair behind my ear.
He brushed my hair behind my ear.
And my heart had never felt so light.
~~~*~~~
It was Fang who started it.
In our new house. With the fog that never went away, on the wide wooden pier, above a crystal clear lake with a billion different kinds of fish and creatures that made my smile so very geniunely happy. The wooden house that made me feel comfortable and safe, with the two walls made of glass in the front that gave a clear view of who came and went and the front yard that had no grass but a huge garden where aquatic plants grew. The floors were all wooden except for the bedrooms, which had smooth white carpet, soft to the touch. The couch was made of wood, with white cushions and brown throw pillows. The coffee table in front of it was wooden, with a bunch of recent magazines of random things and books about animals and stuff that made me want to sit and read for a long long time. The kitchen was simple and the table was big enough for four people and was placed in front of one of the glass walls and that made me glad for some reason. The walls were bare and not many decorations lit up my new, quaint house, and when I asked why, he told me it was because he wanted me to choose. And that made me smile.
The master bedroom was where it started. The bed was large, king-sized, with a white comforter and a bunch of white pillows. The nightstands were wooden of course, with white lamps. I was sensing a pattern... The bathroom was big. There was a giant marble bathtub with lots of soaps and stuff. And the shower was behind a wall made up of opaque glass, the tiles of the shower a mud brown that made it dark but warm. Nice to be in. I liked the house. It was the kind of house you had never dreamed of having and are left wondering why. The kind of house you might have thought displeasing if seen in photos, but pleasing if seen in person. The kind of house that made me feel perfectly content to spend the rest of my life in.
And as I turned to share this feeling with him, I felt the world come to a stop. His eyes were dark, more green than gold now, and I felt a fear I had never felt before. He walked toward me and I backed away. My back hit the glass wall. And he was right there.
And I realized much more had changed while I was gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment