Bittersweet Memories

Alizeh stared off into the distance and saw that a storm was approaching. She observed as a sapling leaned over, shedding leaves that danced in the breeze.

The air stilled for a moment, and to her it seemed as if the tree stooped, like a mother saying farewell to her child for the last time. Suddenly the wind blew so defiantly that it made the trees dance, and the birds sing.

In the distance, the lake rose and fell. Alizeh watched as the crystal water became splattered with blue and green, and she realized that the universe was just beginning to paint this wondrous canvas.

She smiled as the birds played, bobbing and weaving with the current, their play reminiscent of an innocent child, so full of pure joy and sunlight.

It seemed as if the sun were playing, too, as it hid behind the clouds, daring the birds to come and find it. She watched as a bird flew with all its might, but the wind was too strong.

The bird was not discouraged, though; it was simply enjoying the moment. Alizeh longed to be that bird. To fly away, to be happy and free

.

She knew these birds held the secret of life, as did the trees, rocks, and sea, and even the sun and the moon. They didn't worry about the future, nor did they dwell on the past. They lived for the moment.

Alizeh shook her head to clear her mind. She realized she was tired and hungry, yet she couldn’t help but watch the storm roll in. Storms had always amazed her despite the devastation that lay in their wake.

The beauty they possessed was so pure, it was almost majestic. She always found herself drawn in by a storm's perfect balance of opposing forces.

It was time to move on. Alizeh was feeling antsy again, and that always meant trouble. She decided that in the morning, she would pack her belongings.

She covered her short black hair with the hood of her tattered old coat and headed toward home. Back at camp, Alizeh rummaged through the small amount of food that was left, ate her small rations, and then prepared herself for the long night ahead. She climbed into her tent, and with the first drops of rain, drifted into a deep sleep.

Alizeh had run away from home at fourteen. There had been no other choice. Now her days were spent running, and each night she cried herself to sleep.

If only things were different. The whole realm was missing the point, and there was nothing to be done. One person could never win against the church council. Even a mob of people wouldn’t stand a chance. It would take a full-scale revolution to make any real changes.

Gazing at the sky, Alizeh knew that tonight, like every night since her world had ended, the pattern would continue. The tears were allowed to fall freely.

It was cathartic as the tears started to flow, still waiting, knowing, without a doubt, it would come. As expected, the sound of light tapping from rain hitting the top of her tent echoed in her ears. She did not remember it ever raining so much in her old life.

Following the same pattern as always, her mind unwittingly drifted back to her home and to her oldest friend: sweet, kind, and loving Cade. Alizeh was home-schooled, so she did not have the opportunity to make many friends. When she was five, she saw a little boy on the other side of their land, only a fence separating them. The little boy had deep brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

She had called out, “Hey boy, what is your name?”

“I’m called Cade. What’s your name, girl?” the boy had asked with a mischievous smile.

“I’m Alizeh, and I demand that you come over and play with me,” Alizeh replied with her nose in the air.

Cade had climbed over the fence, "'What do you want to play princess?'I am going call you princess, because that's what you look like."

"letse play mommy and daddy."

"How do you play mommy and daddy?"

"I don't know Belinda from church actually has friends come over all the time, and guess what they do?"

"Tell me."

"They sleep over there."

"Woah."

"I know.They play mommy and daddy and you're not going to believe this."

"What?"

"They make brownies together."

"No, Way. Do they eat them too?"

"yes."

"outside of church? What are they rich?"

"They must be."

"So, did she ever tell you how to play?"

"No, but it has to be easy. I will watch the baby and pretend to cook and do wash. You plan witch hunts and beat the baby when she cries."

" That doesn't sound like much fun."

"No it really doesn't."

During the day, they lived in a magical world of make-believe, and at night they counted the minutes until they could be together again.

Cade was an extraordinary child, with an abundance of patience and quiet strength. He was happiest among animals, and he had a strange ability to calm those around him.

When They were seven. She came home from church exited.

"Guess What?'Becky kissed a boy."

"Eew really?"

"Don't say eew, you're going to kiss me."

"I am?"

"I need to know what it's like."

They shared the sweetest kiss before her dad walked in. He grabbed her by the hair and drug her into the house yelling the whole time.

"You are a filthy whore. if he defiles you, you wwill be useless to the church. I can't beleive my slut daughter is already kissing a boy."

He gave her one of the worst beatings she ever had that day.

She was just happy she had Cade, because life would have beem unbearable without him.

The last time they were together was the first time they ever even hinted at the feelings they both had been hiding. They were too young to really understand and appreciate the kind of love they had shared.

They found joy, strength, and peace in each other’s presence. Some people search their entire lifetimes for such a connection.

None of that mattered, anyway. They would never meet again. Sometimes, a wish spoken softly came rushing out: if only we had never met, then this pain would fade away, and maybe I could feel whole again.

It had been two years since that night. She was a wanderer now, a gypsy, a vagabond, never stopping in one place for long, and avoiding people at all costs. Alizeh had only spoken to one person since leaving. He was a tiny man named Zeek, who had appeared to vanish after they said their goodbyes.

It was funny how much time she had spent just asking herself if their encounter was real. Each night while it rained, seemingly over her tent alone, the crying began, and her mind wandered to him.

After finally falling asleep, the same dream played in her head. The details never quite came to mind while in a conscious state. They were always on the tip of her memory, but she was never able to recall them, not even the slightest hint.

At last, the Sandman pulled her under, down into a satisfyingly deep sleep, and someone hit the switch in her brain. Once again, the dream she had never quite been able to grasp started to play.

Hypatia was the first of all the human world. It was the only realm created directly from Anwyn. It seemed obvious that this would give them the advantage of being the most magical mortal realm, though in reality, it was almost completely devoid of magic.

There were a handful of people who beat the odds and had tiny traces of repressed magical abilities. Most of these people had no clue what magic was or even that they were blessed with this precious gift.

Magic had no room to grow here. It was blocked by the negative energy that permeated the air. Hypatia had the potential to be an amazing, magical place.

After all, it was formed directly from Anwyn, which was created by Platonia, the realm of silent gods. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Those born to this land never knew about Anwyn or Platonia. Maybe if they did, things would have been different. Instead, people had questions about their existence.

They were desperate for a purpose. They needed something to believe in so badly, they created a god and a set of rules to follow.

At first, it helped keep people in line, fostering kindness, giving, and brotherly love. It built community and gave people that sense of purpose they needed so badly.

Sadly, the rules soon became stricter, and kindness slowly left the equation. People became so hyper-focused on their god's ideology, they lost everything good and right within themselves. Gradually, this deity started to change, too.

His anger grew, and he turned spiteful and vengeful as the people started shaping their god to meet their own needs.

It quickly became less about helping each other and more about making a show out of other people's misfortunes.

Then the council formed, and started a tradition many moons ago. When the first-born daughter reached the age of 14, their virtue was to be sold to the highest bidder. For more than 50 years, this horrid tradition haunted the daughters of Hypatia.

Unfortunately, people who asked too many questions or spoke against the church or council were burned as witches. If people believed in anything else, they did so behind closed doors–in silence and in fear.

The council members were very proud of their witch hunts, tortures, and murders. They believed that if they sinned in their god’s name, then it wasn’t really a sin.

Those who managed to hold onto a sliver of magic were the few who dared to take a step back and acknowledge that things were not right. These were the healers, horticulturists, animal caretakers, and artists. They all shared a common bond, but not one of them was aware of it.

Alizeh knew nothing about the bond her family shared with others. It would not have mattered anyway. Her only wish was to live her life again.

She would have given anything to stop running and be free from the constant fear. If so many people didn’t need her protection, it may have been worth it–to risk it all and try to go home.

But for now, running was the best course of action. One day her heart would tire from all the running, and when it did, her enemies had better be on the lookout. Their god wouldn’t be able to save them. May he have mercy on their souls.

As Alizeh succumbed to sleep, she began to dream of a past that she wanted to block out forever. Her father, Gustave, was a member of the church council and a farmer.

All the men were required to join the council when they turned 18, but her father had joined by choice when he was only 16.

Her mother, Gwendolyn, was the town healer. She went to church with her husband because it was required, but she practiced her own religion in secret. Alizeh spent a lot of her time with her nanny, Isabella.

Her mother and Isabella had met when they were young during a pagan ceremony in the woods, and they had become the best of friends.

Alizeh’s father did not know about Gwendolyn’s religious views. He was a hard man and was a product of the world in which he lived.

As a devout man of god, he would see the whole family burned at the stake rather than be embarrassed by their heathen ways. He was always the first one to instigate a witch hunt. To find a witch living in his own home would be unthinkable.

The day Alizeh turned 14, her father decided that she was more than ready to be considered an adult, and he wanted her to start earning her keep. Alizeh would not have minded finding a job, but her father already had a profession mapped out for her.

One night, while she was lying in bed trying to figure out which local shop would hire a 14-year-old girl, she overheard her father telling her mother about his plan.

“Gwendolyn, I understand that this is not what you want to do, but the council tells me this is the only way to save the church. You know that the dowry the church receives for the arranged marriage of everyone's firstborn daughter is what keeps the council going. It has been a tradition since before you and I were born. There is nothing we can do to change it."

“No, this is not going to happen, Gustave! Alizeh is my only daughter. Don’t you see this plan is sick and perverted? You know she is in love with Cade. What kind of god requires this?"

"What does love have to do with anything?"

"I know our marriage was never based on love. I want her to be happy."

"Well, if god wanted her to live a had happy life, he would have made her a man. Now be quiet woman and let me sleep..It is settled. The marriage has already been set in place."

It is not settled, If you want her, you will have to go through me first!"

"How dare talk to me like that, wench. You better remember your place in this household."

Alizeh heard a sickening crack, and her mother screamed in pain. Then an eerie silence filled the house. She held her breath, not knowing what to do. Had her father just killed her mother? Was she going to be next?

"Let that serve as a reminder next time you think you can get mouthy with me."

Finally, she heard her mother weeping quietly. She wanted to go to her, to help her get out, but she knew she would just make it worse. Her father had the town on his side, and she was just a child. After the initial shock came a fury that she did not realize she was capable of.

Alizeh realized that her mother would always be in danger if she didn't disappear. She would fight this marriage to her death, and her father would have no problem killing her. Solemnly, she gathered up her meager possessions and wrote a note to Cade, which she slid under his door.

She thought about the words she had written and fought back tears.

'My dearest Cade, I must leave to save my mother. Please remember me. I will return for you one day. '

She ran away and didn't have the courage to even look back.

With adrenaline and rage leading the way, she walked all night and well into the next day. She was running on fumes when she noticed a little house that looked like it had seen better days. As her eyes wandered to the back of the house, she noticed an old barn among the overgrown grass.

She decided she would try to get some rest. Once inside the sweltering barn, Alizeh realized that it had not been used for many years; the tools were rusted, and there were no signs of animals ever having inhabited the stalls.

Then she looked far off into a corner and was relieved to find a pile of soft hay. She sat gingerly in the hay and prayed that sleep would come swiftly. She knew they would come looking for her. her father wouldn't just sit back and do nothing. Not because he Wes concerned, but because it made him look baf. They would probably go door to door knocking. She was pretty sure no one had seen her. It started to rain, and the rain cooled the barn, the tap-tapping of each drop on the desolate barn's rooftop quickly lolling her to sleep. As sleep took her under, she heard a commotion outside. Her last thought before drifting away 'They're here, I am doomed'.