hithlumhero
She sat on the stiff plastic chair, a child on her lap and another beside her. They babbled on, "Did you see the new Star Wars movie?" and "Is Mulan still your favourite?", as she tried to answer both questions without casting aside either.
Her eyes quickly found the kind gaze of her Grandmother, who laughed softly at her plight before leaning over to feed each grandchild a chip.
"You two should let your sister breathe a bit, don't you think?"
"But Grandma! She has to decide which one is better, Star Wars or Mulan!"
"Silly! She already said her favourite was Mulan, weren't you listening?" The child on her lap nudged the other, "And big sister said that I can watch Mulan and play Panopoly next time I go over!"
"It's Monopoly. And you can both watch Mulan with me, ok?"
The fabric flowed softly between her fingers, all nine yards of it, as she carefully wrapped it around her frame. The pleats were perfected by darkly henna'd hands, the deep red
(She would liken it to raspberries at the height of summer.)
and cream
(This, she found, reminded her of the fresh milk she drank as a child at her Grandfather's farm.)
creased into measured lines.
The golden bangles on her wrist would chime with every movement, singing a song that foreshadowed the binding ceremony that was to come.
He placed a hand on his brother's forehead, the other hand on his own. The unnatural warmth coming from his brother tipped him off - he was sick, and apparently quite good at hiding it.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" His brother lay in bed, the definition of sick, and still in denial. "Hey! Don't give me that look, I'm fine!"
It was a pain. An unfortunate, unavoidable pain. But he managed to live with it, because honestly, what other choice did he have.
"Max, do you have enough snacks?" His mother would ask every morning.
"Hmm, did you remember your insulin today?" Would come from his father.
They stretched out for as far as her eyes could see - which wasn't very far considering the fact that she was in a hall. Rows and rows of tables filled with anxious students, fiddling with pens and shuffling papers. There was a dull murmur that ran throughout the room, the uneasy quiet that fell between entering the exam room and beginning the exam. Hushed whispers began to taper off as the clock began to tick closer to the hour. Hands clenched, fingers trembled.
The two clung to each other, cuddled under the soft blanket. Before them, two titanic armies clashed - neither gaining sway over the other. The slight fuzziness of the screen seemed to fill the air around them, static crawled under their skin. Yet that detracted nothing from their enjoyment.
Years later, the two would remember how the room buzzed with the sound of the dying TV. How the chill of what they saw was chased swiftly away by the gentle touch of skin on skin.
It consumed her from the inside; that horrible feeling that flooded her veins and set her soul alight. And it was all because of him. The usurper who claimed to know what was best, what would save their village. His lies would lead them only to death, and it was that knowledge which made her feel as though she was burning alive.
The stars glimmered overhead in their infinite glory.
The moon bathed the land below in gentle light.
The wind had stopped for that moment alone.
Far below, upon the precipice of the great mountain, stood the unwillingly cast heroine. Beside her, her allies - her motivation. They welcomed the fast approaching dawn, for with it would come something unlike that which they had ever seen before.
It was 4 AM and she she was typing away furiously, hoping that she would make the 6 AM deadline for her assignment. Time slipped from her, as sand slipped from trembling fingers. Her eyes began to fall, keenly feeling the 37 hour sleepless vigil she had subjected herself to.
It wasn't hard to keep it all here. Just a penny a day. All moving towards the only goal I'd ever had - my very own time machine. Of course, no one could have predicted that a time traveler would show up to steal it all. What a tremendously terrible bit of irony.
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