A low groan left her mouth as awareness returned like a train ramming into a fallen tree at full speed, she sat up, her movements lagging behind her brains command as she felt a wave of air rush over her.
Straining to open her eyes, she finds herself surrounded by a pitch black road, a few black figures with glowing red eyes wandering around aimlessly and a burning candle stick held tightly in her scarred hand.
The creatures kept their distance from her, seemingly wary of the light surrounding her, their forms differed but generally stayed animalistic and greatly resembled dogs and other canine-like creatures, although she could have sworn she saw a panther prowl past her, the candle light reflecting off of the pitch black fur before it faded back into the darkness around them like it had never been there in the first place.
She held the candle stick up and the warm glow of the flickering flame greeted her as she looked on in wonder as the only source of warmth around her flickered in a space devoid of wind, it wasn't that she was surprised by the candle that had appeared in her hand out of nowhere, nor the fact that it was burning even though she saw no matchstick or lighter of any kind around, no, it was the fact that she recognized the candle from many years ago and had thought it gone for good.
She climbed back onto her feet, stumbling a bit before regaining her balance, she held the candle out in front of her, illuminating the way before her, she wondered what the street was made out of, because she had never before seen such a stone, if it even was a stone in the first place.
This situation threw her back into her early childhood, when she was still firmly under the thumb of her drunken mother and selling matchsticks out in the street to make some form of money for her and her jobless mother to live off of.
Old memories resurfaced as she admired the burning candle, getting lost in thought despite her precarious situation.
She'd admit that it was a stupid thing to do, but for the rest of her days she'll insist that it was alcohol and not her overwhelming relief at seeing and finally having proof that it wasn't just a trick her mind had played on her.
She smiled softly as she remembered the woman who had been more of a mother to her than her biological one, no matter how much she loathed to admit they were related in the first place.
The candle was the sign of the love of a woman whose name she didn't know, but yearned to learn, who helped her when no one else would.
Then Memories of cold nights spent outside out of caution or from the threat of a beating should she return with the wares her drunken mother had pushed into her small hands and told her to sell resurfacing as she fell deeper into her own mind, swept away in the tidal wave of thoughts rushing through her head.
It made her hands tingle with the memory of frost bitten and calloused hands, her frozen fingers holding onto matchstick boxes that remained unsold despite her best efforts, of freezing limbs and clattering teeth that were always accompanied by shuddering knees and falling snow that no longer melted once it hit her pale skin.
It reminded her of temporary snow blindness from days spent on the road and stumbling around in the darkness as her eyes stung from the strain.
It reminded her of begging, pleading for sympathy and mercy from complete strangers, how dirty the words felt as she forced them up her throat even if it was the last thing she wanted to do.
Evara, her birthplace and home of her early childhood, was one of the northern lands of Veranna, supposedly the coldest place on Veranna, it was always covered in snow and Ice like a winter wonderland.
The people of Evara had adapted to the cold, where temperatures could go far, far beyond the freezing point of 32°F and during bad months into -100°F, people of Evara had what most foreigners called superhuman cold tolerance and could withstand temperatures of -55°F on average, while people who trained their cold tolerance were capable of withstanding even colder temperatures, she was one such case, else she'd have frozen to death years ago.
She remembered snow storms and landscapes others could only dream of ever viewing, sometimes she felt as if she was in a whole other world with only her in it, surrounded by a castle of ice and snow.
Where others watched documentaries and wildlife shows, she was there, watching the snowy landscapes others dreamt of and spying on animals such as snow deers as they grazed on slow days, or days, where her mother was out with whomever, had caught her fancy that time.
It reminded her of beautiful snow so captivating and soft to look at, mesmerizing and inviting to lay down in and sleep, reminded her of spying through glazed over windows stained from her hands as she watched the families inside be merry and happy, content and warm even on such deep dark winter nights filled with snow and on worse days freezing hail that left behind small bruises as they landed on chaffed and irritated skin.
There were also the kind men and women who sometimes bought her wares and paid too much or even offered her shelter and a blanket, of conversations with other people out and about in the night, rarely but sometimes even others such as her, the matchstick girls and boys wandering about on cold days and colder nights, smiling as brightly as they could at each other to get some semblance of comfort, although brief, as competition was tough.
The thing it reminded her most of was the night she met a ghost and the former owner of the candle she so adored.
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She had been walking down the cold cobblestone street with thin, worn out shoes whose soles could hardly be called that as she passed a woman sitting on the side of the frozen cobblestone road, frozen blue and with a burned out candle next to her, her head low and snow stained hair hiding any expression in a dress far too cold for the nevna night.
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In Oshura, where she now lived, it would have been called a cold November night, she thought with a fond smile, it had been quite the task to adjust to the new continent, not that she'd ever regret moving.
She shook her head, halfway focusing on the path in front of her as she thought back to the night where it all started, or at least she liked to think.
__________
She'd walked past and looked at the matches in her hand, had shook her head and turned to the woman, smiling as kindly and brightly as she could at the woman who had raised her head at her as she lit the candle back up with a small scrape of the matchstick on a patch of semy dry wall and re-lit the candle with shivering hands, "I pray this candle never stops burning for you." She'd said, remembering a night like any other, where a cold gust of wind through her broken window had extinguished the small candle flame in her room without mercy for her shivering figure huddled under thin summer blankets.
She knew it wouldn't help much, but she wanted to be of help somewhat, and as she sold little to nothing, she was bound to get a beating either way, so a small bout of mercy and sympathy towards another was the best she could do that day.
"I believe there's a shelter a few streets over, you'd just have to take two rights and a left." She'd informed the shivering woman.
The woman had looked at her with surprised, bloodshot eyes as she held the burning candle toward the shivering woman who took it with stiff fingers and a look of wonder in her eyes as she looked up toward her with eyes glimmering in unshed tears, freezing before ever getting the chance to fall.
She'd smiled at her again, opening her mouth to say something else as a snowflake landed on her nose and the wind picked up around them, she'd looked up and at the stormy clouds gathering and moving faster and faster, then back at the woman who had all of her attention focused on her, she'd given an apologetic smile as she'd stood, "I need to leave now, I wish you the best, you best find shelter soon, a tempest is about to hit."
She ran off after that, hoping to get back home before the blizzard prophesied that day would truly hit, no matter her resistance to the cold, she'd undoubtedly die if she stayed out that night, she'd take the coming beating and painful lecture over freezing into an ice statue most days.
She tried to run back home, but frozen legs hindered her and she could only trudge back home on aching limbs as fast as her body allowed her to, it wasn't fast enough as the cold, harsh wind knocked her off her feet and she lacked the strength to stand again, it was as if the blood in her veins had frozen and she could only helplessly watch on as the snow tornado arrived, with her trapped in an isolated street and no one around to help her.
She didn't cry nor beg, she'd done that before and learned quickly that she didn't want help from someone out and about on these days, one encounter with a child trafficker that she barely escaped with her life had taught her that much and made her more cautious of anything freely given.
She'd curled up instead, just as she had done before when her body gave out under her in the freezing cold, she'd survived on luck alone before, but even luck wouldn't be enough to survive the estimated -98°F that night.
She'd felt someones eyes upon her and had had barely enough strength to look up, there, standing in the dead of the night, in temperatures likely to be recorded in the countrys collection of coldest days, was the woman she'd seen maybe an hour or two ago.
Gone was the ragged dress as she stood there in a ballgown trailing past her legs, the clothes looking as new as could be and a heavenly sky blue standing out harshly against the enveloping darkness of the night and the stinging white snow all around, hair combed into an immaculate side braid, she was smiling now, lips a soft blue and eyes sparkling in a grey light enough to be mistaken as white, like an angel about to ascend to heaven.
"What are you doing here, shouldn't you be somewhere warm? You'll freeze if you stay much longer." The woman spoke, her voice as soft as silk and as silent as snow falling to the ground, it was a miracle that she had heard the woman over the raging storm all around them.
She'd tried to dissuade her from coming closer, but the woman softly shook her head, her lips pulled up into a gentle smile and eyes soft and sad as she stepped closer, the snow falling around them and the winds covering any other sounds, a candle was within her grasp, golden carvings that hadn't been there before now curled around it like vines around a ruin, curling and intertwining with one another, the candle flame standing strong against the icy gales, not even flickering a bit as the woman knelt down in the snow.
"Are you cold, dear?" The woman had asked, her eyes becoming softer as they focused on her than she ever thought possible a look thrown at her could be, she'd nodded, seeing no need to lie or speak and seemingly caught in a spell as the world around them faded into the background of her focus.
The woman was mesmerizing and she had then understood how a beauty could topple cities and make kingdoms fall as she looked at her, somehow feeling as if she didn't deserve her undivided attention.
"May this candle never die." She said, confusing her due to the sudden prayer, and handed her the candle, not unlike how she had before, pressing the candle stick into her frozen hands.
"Bu-." She started but was interrupted by the figure in the snow, "Now, now dear, I have no use for this where I am going, keep it, may it keep you warm in my stead."
She'd wanted to speak then, but had no chance as another gust of wind came and obstructed her view of the lady before her, she was gone by the time the wind died down, leaving nothing behind but the burning candle clutched tightly in her frozen hands.
Her eyes felt like lead then, and she fell asleep soon after, no longer freezing or shivering, she awoke the next morning, covered in snow and buried under a pile of it, after she had freed herself from her snow prison she'd noticed the absence of the candle and had searched around everywhere, but found nothing, not even a bit of left behind candle wax, she had nearly written it off as a dream before she shook her head, she wouldn't, shouldn't have survived the night either way, whether it was a dream or not, she didn't know, likely never would, but she was thankful for the company nevertheless.
She'd returned home that night to a tearful mother and a hug that held no warmth, but was merely a play for the neighbors next door.
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The candle that she was holding was the candle from her childhood and she felt a few tears prickle in the corner of her eyes as she laughed softly, she'd never frozen again after she had gotten the candle, the doctors had speculated that she just couldn't feel the cold no longer due to her near death experience and something in her brain shutting off permanently, just like how you no longer felt cold when all of your strength was gone and you felt numb instead.
She'd always found it odd that she had never suffered from frostbites ever again, or that her body temperature was below average no matter what she did, it wasn't harmful to her, but still unexplainable and odd.
She felt a wave of nostalgia at the sight of it, the light of the candle the only reason she could see anything in the darkness.
She wondered where she was as she saw nothing but all consuming darkness around her trying to swallow her whole.
Her steps were eerily silent but also thunderously loud in the space void of light and sound, her breath coming out in small puffs of smoke as she trudged onward.
Then there was the smell of decay all around her, it stung in her nose as she walked around aimlessly, hoping to find answers or an exit.
She took her phone out of her pocket, finding it to still be recording, then she tried exiting, nothing, she tried switching it off, nothing, she tried what she could think off to unfreeze her phone, but nothing seemed to work, she returned it to her pocket with a frustrated sigh after she got annoyed enough at it that she nearly threw it into the darkness around her, the red dot indicating that she was still filming seemingly mocking her.
The black figures around her avoided the light of her candle as she wandered around, and as thus her, not that she minded as her gut was squirming ever so slightly everytime they got near.
She nearly tripped when she heard another sound that wasn't the flickering candle, her deafening breath in the dead silence or her footsteps echoing around her.
She heard crying, miserable sobbing and sniffling from what could be a little girl or boy if the pitch of the cries were anything to go by.
She spun around, hoping to find the source and began to follow the noise, having no other option and the odd feeling of having walked in circles, there was no sky, only a slightly lighter ground and there was nothing in the distance except the flickering shadows and glowing eyes.
She found her target after a few minutes, or hours, of wandering, she nearly missed it, the only difference between her and the shadows around them a small flickering matchstick clutched in the small childs hands.
She walked towards her, her theory being proven correct as she made out a small girl sitting on the ground, shivering and blue all over, crying her soul out with wretched screams and sobs, wearing clothes too big, too thin and too ragged to be of any use to ward off the cold chill all around them.
Concern flickered across her face as she approached her with panicked haste and knelt down beside her, "Are you alright?"
She asked softly, if not a bit too hastily, and the little girls head shot up, blue eyes reflecting her own black ones before she continued sobbing helplessly, "I'm cold, so cold, I want to go home!"
Her sobbing got louder and she was wailing at the end, she wanted to hug the little thing, but held back, the last thing she wanted to do was make her afraid.
She frowned and looked at the candle held tightly in her hand, she was once like that as well, and she wasn't nearly as cold and frozen as the little thing huddled in front of her, so, with a sigh, she proposed a trade, the bitter and rancid feeling of something freely given with no motive still fresh in her mind, "Do you want to trade then?"
She asked, holding the candle out and the girl looked at her, searching for ill intentions and then, after deciding that she held none, had nearly snatched it out of her hands as she carefully handed the burning matchstick over after hugging the candle to herself, seemingly not concerned to burn herself, a bit of colour returning under the soft orange glow.
"I can help you search, if you tell me where we are." She proposed another small trade, feeling that the girl could help her understand the situation better.
The little slip of a girl nodded, small, bony hands clutched around the candle as she struggled to stand, she offered her hand and the girl took it with no small amount of trepidation.
"Okay." She breathed, voice barely above a whisper, "I call this place the nothingness, there's nothing here except us, the shadows and the darkness and cold." She began as they walked forward, voice still shaking and a few left over sobs coming from her small mouth.
"Is that all you know, sweetheart?" She asked after seeing her make no further move to speak, the little thing on her left nodded, looking ready to cry again, "That's okay, then, tell me about you." She smiled at her encouragingly, hoping to stop her from crying.
She nodded shyly, "I'm Amy... I'm... 7 and a half... who are you?" She asked hesitantly, looking over at her out of the corner of her eyes, black, snow speckled hair covering most her face.
"Ah... me? My name is Hayleen, Hayleen Simmers, I am turning 18 this year and I am about to graduate high school, nice to meet you Amy." Smiling as she held the little girls hand, she lead the way forward.
"Any idea how you got here?" She asked softly, afraid to touch upon a sore topic for the small, pixy like girl next to her who softly shook her head in reply.
"I was out with mama, selling coal and matchsticks when I fell asleep and woke up here." She recounted her last memories before this place as she walked alongside her.
Hayleen blinked before a grim acceptance settled in, the little girl was dead, she likely froze to death like her, and this was perhaps an in-between of sorts, she wondered, was she dead as well, had that asshole killed her after she had collapsed?
"Where is your home, sweetheart?" She asked as she smiled down at Amy reassuringly, "Home is where the light is, I just know it, but I don't want to be alone.", a frown settled across her doll-like face as she held onto the candle tightly, her bare feet floating slightly above the ground, cementing her grim conclusion from before.
"Then you won't have to be, if home is with someone else, then that's that." Hayleen said, the shadows flickering around them as if in response to her words, she frowned and held the matchstick as tightly as she dared in fear of it snapping.
"Why don't we go together?" A soft voice said behind them, and Hayleen felt shocked upon hearing a voice she'd recognize anywhere.
She, along with Amy, spun around and lo' and behold, there stood the woman from her childhood, looking as if she'd stepped out of a picture, still smiling softly.
"You'd leave with me?" Amy said, eyes lighting up with hope before she flinched back, the woman nodded, "I was waiting for her, but..."
The woman looked at Hayleen and she smiled, "I'll need more time before I join you, why don't you two go ahead without me?" She asked, now aware were home for both of these lost souls was and very much hoping to avoid joining them any time soon.
"Thank you for waiting so long." She added, looking at the woman in the blue ballgown with gratitude, the person or ghost in question only smiled and shook her head, the little girl looked at the both of them, life sparking back into her eyes as she hopped to Hayleen, "I know, I'll give you a goodbye gift, you don't have to return it, ever!" The little thing chirped, seemingly not quite aware of how gifts worked.
Hayleen smiled and tilted her head, wondering what the little thing wanted to gift her, she held her hand out demandingly, small little fingers slowly thawing, she returned the matchstick after a moment of thought as to what she would want from her and Amy nodded.
She held the two things together and the lady blinked in surprise before nodding and holding Amys hands as if to help, the two items fused together and the candle was now placed on an intricate candle holder with a white iron handle, the white iron wrapped around the long candle, keeping it secure, it ended a bit over where the candles flame burned, shielding it from wind , the metal winding together, leaving gaps for delicate glass, nearly invisible for the naked eye to let the flames light escape but keep the candle flame save, it was a thing of beauty and Hayleen could hardly believe that this was made from a matchstick and a candle.
"This is our thank you, It'll keep bad things away and light your way!" Amy chirped, proud of herself as she handed the candle, now with a candle holder, back to Hayleen.
"It'll burn forever, just as I prayed it would, and it will keep you warm no matter where you go, may it light your future like you did ours." She said, floating towards Hayleen and giving her a soft kiss on the forehead, a silent goodbye.
She returned to the childs side, taking Amys hand as they both began to glow, and Amys appearance fixed itself, like two angels ascending to heaven together, both smiling softly, one wide and delighted with a childish joy all over her face and the other one refined and regal like a queen mother waving goodbye to a dear friend.
The little doll like girl jumped up and down while holding the womans hand, waving cheerfully and the woman waved softly with her free hand as both of them began to disappear in a blinding white light.
The light died down not soon after, and both were gone, Hayleen smiled and silently wished them the best.