Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

This is a short story I finished. It's not amazing, but I'm really proud of myself :)

This is what I’m fighting for.  The only thing that kept her alive. That kept her going. That pushed air into her slowly closing lungs. That made her body keep climbing. That kept her essence, that claimed her soul. Kahara’s feet were sore and muddy and bare. Her hands were scraped and bleeding. Her legs were bruised, battered beyond repair from the sharpest rocks, rocks that's points were more like jagged daggers, sharpened to a deadly tapered point. . She tugged herself up the rocks. She was restless. She couldn’t rest. She would fall. She was never going to let go.

 Never.

  She weakley licked her dry lips, hoping for just small drops of perspiration, and if she was really lucky, water. But Kahara never was lucky. The higher you go, the worse the fall. She was focused, zoned in on only the bland rocks, those slabs of gray that were somehow  her nightmare.. Her ears were numb to hearing her heart hammering on her rib cage. Her feet were oblivious to the scratches that scarred and burned her. Kahara’s mind was only the slightest echo of importance. All her eyes could see were shades of gray. For days now,-or was it weeks?- she could hear a gushing, rushing, waterfall on the other side of rocks, these rocks that only went up, never seemed to stop, and would never, ever, go down, no matter how hard you-or anyone else- tried. The lush rushing and flowing of water had tempted her, reminding her slightly of life, manipulating and toying with her mind for hours, digging in her mind, her mind that thought of nothing, that wasn’t important, but she knew, in her heart she craved water more than anything. Needed it. At night, Kahara was the strongest, where her limbs would relax slightly, helping her remember a little bit about home, about water, about a little girl with black hair flowing like glossy ravens in flight, a mini image of Kahara herself, anything in fact, that would keep her, well…herself, the person even she didn’t know. But she was also the most vulnerable, with the dark encasing around her. She gritted her teeth weakly, as the horizon glinted with an edge of brilliant scarlet light wickedly, threatening only  mere minutes of dark.  And then she somehow managed to see it: a single ruby pomegranate hanging on a branch near her, its ruby coat glinting a  soft vermilion from the now ever-present glare of the sun. This surprised her. She had sensed nor seen  nothing but rocks for days. And even now, the rocks were damp and slippery from the waterfall. She was alive from licking the stale water and holding on, because no matter how strong you are, even if you were Kahara, the fighter, the climber, the survivor, there will always be fate.  So she almost missed it. The sun was beating on her, whipping light brutally on her burned arms, and seeing the pomegranate, well, how could she resist. Kahara was so delirious from lack of food and proper water, and just from trying to keep her mind. She didn’t even wonder how it got there. She carefully climbed down, reaching out…. And then somehow, her numb, tired feet slipped out from under her, and she fell, plummeting  Down, 

    Down,

        Down.

  And  then that was the day she promised herself she would not walk,

she would run.

 She would not talk, 

she would sing. 

And so she would not just die,

 she would die the worst she could. 

This was the hardest thing she had ever done .Proving she was not just a pawn on the chessboard of life. Time slowed, hours seemed like a thousand years,

 minutes, 

Days,

 Months.

 Tears streamed down her hot cheeks, her heart burning with hurt pride, hurt because of her own foolishness, the foolishness of one scared,, weak little girl And then everything went black, and her only thought was of the little girl, the little girl somehow saved in her memory….

But Kahara Jhuna had forgotten one detail: 

Even the smallest, weakest  pawn can become a queen.

As Kahara fell, she saw colors.

Blue, 

the color of the dark abyssal night that swallowed everything in its wake

Black,

 the color of her long,matted, dirty hair that was once a beauty 

White,

 the color of the searing hot tears avalanching down her dirty, tender cheeks 

Black,

the color of the menacing, searing, hate burning a dancing, taunting wildfire deep inside her. But that fire slowly died down, Kahara trying to keep it alive, trying to breathe, trying just to get her aching heart to beat. But just as the fire inside Kahara died along with her, she suddenly saw red.

So much red.

Red, the color of blood. 

Of Kahara’s tarnished, stained hands, hands that would never again heal. Of  the specks and streams of it in her hair. Of the eruption, the bonfire of black hate burning

 a bright, brilliant 

        Red.

 She was-had to-break free from this infernal prison. She was not a caged, trapped animal, and was NOT going to live her life like this. Never ran in her head. Never. Never. NEVER. But add a f and sub the n for o…….Those nevers turned into NO. Into a burning path of freedom, of the burning red color of victory. Was this the game they were going to play?, she thought Well, then let's play! You want to fight fire with fire? You want me  to cry? I can cry for you! Cry tears of victory! Suddenly, with just as rocketing speed and force as it had came, all the anger inside her melted, melting, twisting into a blurred reality of the life Kahara had once known, turning into her.

  Just her. 

But who was she?

And then-with wondering why she was still falling- she looked down from the sky that imprisoned her,and her eyes grew wide with understanding, and she had just time to mouth one word that echoed in her mind before she sank into inky smudges and smoky waves of unconscious: 

Illusion.

Trick. 

Trap. 

Snare. 

Prison.

          Poison. 

           Hate.

         Anger.

         Jealousy.

        Wanting.

         Freedom.

          Victory. 

             Fire.

         Illusion. 

Kahara woke with a start, her eyes snapping open as her brief vision of peace was eroded with the recollection of…..last night? Last hour? Yesterday? Two years ago? She didn’t know. She managed to suck in a rattled breath, her throat curdled and corroded with silence. Then came the bigger question: Where WAS she? She got a good look around and saw folds of twilight, creases of dawn, and waves of the late afternoon encasing her. She was just….there. The colors of time surrounding her. Something seemed off. She promised herself she would never say that name ever again, but ....”KATA”! She managed to finally call, amazed at the sound of her voice, clear, perfect, despite all the suffering and pain underneath, despite how she had spent too long being afflicted in the endless silence. “Katie”? She whimpered quietly, hoping it could be true. She was somehow clean, scrubbed, blood gone, bandaged, and yet all she really wanted…..she began to sob. That was why she didn’t say that name. Each syllable had slipped sharp needles in her heart, each word had brought new rounds of nightmares, of Katie crying softly begging “Ara, help me. I’m scared of the dark” Ara…what she used to be called. The girl she used to be. No. She shook her head. She knew where she was. If this was the void of an illusion……….she slowly drew a sharp breath and snapped. A column of flames erupted before her. She couldn’t help but give a weak,painful,menacing smile. I’ve always liked to play with fire, she thought. She held the flames to the color, knowing if this was the void……... .slowly, the wall caught fire, burning, smoldering in a beautiful arc of color spraying hot sparks until the whole space, her whole pocket of emptiness ignited. They might be masters of illusion, but I’m the queen of fire. SHE controlled. Not them. Never them. Focusing her energy, she shoved her somehow bandaged hands outward, the flames tensing, growing stronger, blinding, searing Kahara’s mind with light, and then the dull echo of dark. 

When Kahara came back, she kept still, her eyes closed. She had never been afraid to die, and yet, here she was. She was sure she was, if not already dead, dying. She would never be Ara again. Never. Maybe Katie had been her poison cure. She should have focused on her, but was too distracted on staying alive. Maybe that poison of guilt and grief. had always been in her mind, seeping in her bones, contaminating her mind. She missed Katie so much, like never before. She missed her crooked grin, brushing her raven hair, sleeping side by side on colder nights. Oh Katie…….Kahara promised Katie in her mind she would come home. Now she would break that. She was starving, but not hungry. In so much pain, she couldn’t breathe and yet her lungs were combusting with air. Words swirled in her head, but all she could make out was I’m sorry. Sorry for leaving. Sorry for hurting,hating. Sorry for being a monster. Time to sleep, a voice said, or maybe it was just Kahara’s imagination, and Kahara drifted into dreaming unconsciously. She dreamed she was in a lush forest, wandering, looking for something, someone, maybe. She couldn’t remember. She saw a carved sign etched with loopy writing hung on a tree that was elaborately carved with 

Heart

She followed it blindly until she came to an old woman sitting on a mat. Sit, she said. Kahara agreed and sat opposite. I’m lost. I don’t remember who I am but I know that I am looking for something or someone special. Kahara admitted. Well, maybe I can help such a beautiful young lady like you, Kahara. Only later would Kahara wonder how the old woman knew her name. Also, she realized she was clean and back to, well, Ara. Let me hold your hands and I’ll tell you what I know, the old woman said comfortingly. Kahara put her warm hands in the old woman’s soft and clean ones. Are you a witch? Kahara asked wonderingly. Yes, but I practice only white magic. You’re safe with me. And Kahara somehow trusted the old woman, squeezed her eyes shut, and told her, Let it begin, please. I need to know. The old woman took a deep breath and began to speak. You are a child of the earth, the forest, but you are blessed with fire. You love a little girl very much, and since she’s scared of the dark, everynight you will light the fireflies for her and sing her to sleep. But one day, she wants to touch one and burns herself. From then on, people hate you and treat you like a monster, for they fear fire more than anything,  except her. But one day, when you wake up she’s…..gone, and you look for her, guided by a want for  a new life . You find the unconquerable mountain  and I think you know the rest. But one more thing: this girl…..she’s not your best friend. She’s your sister.Your little sister, Kataya. Kahara gasped and thought for a moment and said What about the curse? Why is she gone? Where is she? She smiled and started to fade softly. Those you will have to find out on your own. But to find her, see past the illusion and remember, don’t EVER……No! Kahara screamed,tears streaming down her cheeks, burning into her skin as she dug her fingernails into the earth, feeling the throb and pulse of her halo fire, and this time she obeyed, burning the earth, sinking into a hollow nook, fire curling, cradling  around her numb, broken body, the earth rising to meet the fire, both fighting a war….a war for her. It’s always been like this, she thought. She combined all her hate, all her pain and pushed it into the howling flames, causing an arc of dust and ash and smoke, shielding her from the cruel world, the word that could only take.

  Could only hate.

  Could only destroy.  

Maybe that was why she was a destroyer. The constant war between earth  and fire. Her eyes grew misty then closed. In her mind there was a small, tiny, sweet Kataya, sweet tiny Katie- trapped in a cage of ragged, twisted thorns. “Help! Ara!” “Ara?” She looked straight into Kahara’s eyes, the light gray eyes people used to think were blind, - and she looked into Katie’s luminous gold ones, and saw the reflection of the girl she used to know, the girl she used to be. Ara. “Katie!” “I’m coming!” she shrieked with much more valor than she knew she had,, and took Katie’s soft, smooth, outstretched hand. But then Katie started to fade slowly away, and Kahara tried to reach out, to call for help, but couldn’t move because she was chained to the ground, imprisoned by fire and hate.It had been too late. The last thing she saw of Katie were her unmistakable gold eyes, the eyes that pleaded for help, the help that never came, that never would come, and then Kahara herself slipped away into the shadowy remains of what once was hope for a better future, a brighter future. A future where she could be with Katie, a Katie who wasn’t a hunted animal, a prized possession of somebody. 

 A sister.

 A friend. 

 What have I done? Kahara thought. I'm…a monster. They were right.Then the world turned into dark subconscious, and Kahara tumbled into the marred black oblivion, the dark wasteland, of what was once hope.

But Kahara had had enough. She was sick of  it; all of it; this ugly, scarred mess. Not knowing truth from lies, reality from dream, and most of all: from Kahara……to Ara. She was sick of not knowing who she was, and was ready. For what, she couldn’t say. But she knew in her heart that she was ready. Suddenly, a flash of scarlet flashed by, the same shade of the pomegranate,Kahara realized with fear jolting through her,but she was still strangely inclined to see what it was. The illusion. She frantically tried to call fire, but nothing appeared. What had she remembered from her past? Those strange,ancient stories. Oh.OH. Finally, for once in her life, Kahara’s world was clear. Everything just…clicked. This was the core of the illusion. The core, if she remembered correctly from the stories she had heard, could only be reached by raw emotion. But why anger? Kahara tucked that thought mentally away, preparing herself, for who knew what. She sharpened her senses, alerting her eyes and ears, cautiously dashing through this abyss. She knew nothing now, only what she was looking for, and what was that? Herself? Kata? She shook her head dejectedly, and curled up in what she assumed was a corner.  She was mortal, she had always known. But she had always been unbreakable. And yet, as she was so close to her goal, she felt so drained knowing that she would either succeed…or she wouldn’t. And for the second time, she dreamt. She was in a white box. No, a room. But it had no door or windows. Even the walls had a metallic sheen, showing her that they were not mere wood. All she saw was a small slip of paper in the center of the room. Striding over, she snatched the small fragment and read.

You are stuck in a room with no doors or  windows .

You only have a table and mirror. 

How do you get out?

She peered around, and realized that a small three-legged glass table had appeared, a small hand mirror laying on it.  She snorted, confident. This was a riddle she had learned in childhood. She looked through the mirror. She sees what she saw. And as she looked in the mirror, she saw a saw. Kahara, growing more confident by the minute, reached into the mirror, took the small hand saw, and turned to the table. She takes the saw  and cuts the table in half. Kahara sliced through the glass table with surprising ease, as if it were butter. Two halves make a hole. And here the round table top mysteriously conjoined before Kahara’s eyes, and slowly, in the middle, a hole grew. She climbs through the hole and she’s out. Here, she braced herself, and plunged in the hole. 

And here, sitting in the blank patch of……illusion?, was a match. Kahara reached out, tentatively snatched it up with delicate fingers, and immediately found herself back in the abyss. Once her eyes got used to the dark again, she felt a small stick-like thing in her hand. The match. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. She knew what to do. Kahara gathered her energy, and inhaled, letting a tiny spark sizzle at the end of her pointer finger-and ignited the match. There was a spark, a blinding flash, then the room slowly burned away…….or at least the darkness did, the fire consuming it like a shred of paper. The heat was almost tame. And as the darkness burned away, illuminating white took its place. And then, Kahara realized that the room was closing in on her, shrinking to the size of maybe a bedroom. But Katie, she wasn’t there. Kahara slumped down in disbelief and frustration, and for the first time, she cried. Her sobs echoed in the room, her voice ricocheting off the walls, and she realized she had barely spoken. It felt…good. To cry to her was breaking unspoken boundaries, silent rules. Show no emotion. Being weak is bad. And, yet, why did letting choking sobs clouding her throat bring  unspeakable calm and serenity? Why did feeling so sad and broken release weightless adrenaline? Losing the best thing in her life had made her eyes open finally to the endless possibilities she would've lost without Katie gone. But her moment of exalting joy was fleeting, and she once again let her heart turn cold. Just because Katie gone meant personal opportunity, she still needed Katie more than words could even dream of. She missed her so infinitely much, it was a physical pain. She let one final tear slip motionless down her tender cheeks, inhaled a rattled breath, and closed her eyes for a split second, not knowing what to expect. But she heard a familiar yelp, and felt a weight bouncing on her that brought back a strange sense of deja vu. Eyes still closed, heart beating valiantly faster, she smiled and put her arms around Katie. “Ara! Ara! It’s you!” Not waiting for her bedraggled sister to respond, she rushed on “I found out why I’m here!” And at that moment, Kahara whispered “Why, Katie? Why?” Katie’s crooked smile faltered for an odd moment. “Well, um, you were probably wondering why anger was the emotion? Turns out……you were the one who made this mess and your anger trapped me. It all doesn't make total sense, but I guess you also have illusion ‘powers?’ Anyways, do you remember the day before I disappeared?” Finally, she actually gave a moment's pause for her sister to answer. The spark of life had dimmed in Kahara’s tearstained eyes. “That was the day you, I mean I…….the day you got burned,” she managed to mumble softly. “Yeah! And you were angry. But not at me. At yourself! So anyways, in the night, I just….woke up in a bubble-thing. I had no way to get out. But…..there was a glass side where I could, um, spy on you,” she admitted sheepishly, then hurried on. “So I saw what was happening, and I pieced everything together. Also, you have fire powers probably because you also have illusion powers, so most illusion masters also have fire in case they need to destroy their illusions. Father made me study all the different powers, remember? Ugh. Ara, they miss you so much, you know? The day I got burned, um, that was kind of their fault. They wanted to plant fireflowers to prevent forest fires, but they didn’t know fireflowers make fire powers stronger. I found out I can do this, though!” She inhaled sharply, and closed her eyes, then rapidly blinked them open. A sphere of water appeared hovering over her head. Kahara’s eyes opened with awe, and then asked “Katie, how did you learn how to  do that?” “I was bored. I just sat and watched you. By the way, I was only there for two days. Any longer and I’d starve. So I felt so happy for you when you found the match, I just clapped, and a storm cloud appeared over me. It took me a while to figure it out though.” She snapped, and the sphere exploded in hundreds of droplets, splattering Kahara and Katie. “How do we get home though?” Katies wondered anxiously. Kahara just smiled and told her in a soft, melodic voice she didn’t remember having, “If it’s an illusion, just hold my hand, Katie.” Katie did so, and the world melted away  behind them, setting them softly in a wooded clearing, with a simple stone altar carved with a butterfly, with a crying man and woman kneeling behind. “Mom? Dad?” Kahara called, memories returning with astounding speed. Quickly, the man and woman leapt up to their feet and rushed toward the girls. The woman, with long raven-black hair like the girls, with Kahara’s gray eyes, embraced her with gentle yet firm arms. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, tears streaming down her lovely face. “Don’t be,” Kahara murmured dreamily. As for Katie, she jumped into her father’s arms and screamed “Daddy!” The man, also with feathery black hair but with Katie’s shining gold eyes simply smiled, speechless with emotion. After that, some things still remained unclear. Questions were left unanswered. But Kahara’s eyes were forever opened to new possibilities and opportunities.