Her hand was soft, and her long, slender fingers were held tightly onto my smaller hand. She was leading me somewhere. A different place than where we already were was what I was getting at. Light shimmers of random particles sometimes appeared as we walked, but other than that, we were traveling in a plain, bright abyss.
Even in this terrifying new environment, I knew I was safe if this woman was with me. I felt calm. Nothing about this scared me; instead, it made me grow curious. The angelic woman noticed how my eyes kept seeking her; my questioning stare made her face melt into an innocent smirk.
My mind and body went easy; I clutched her hand, facing my eyes before us. I only expected to see the same white abyss, but the abyss slowly transformed. I looked onward, my mouth agape in shock at the change happening around me.
Trees towering up with wide trunks of all sizes and shapes made their way beside me and the woman. I turned left and right, looking at the bursting of overgrown leaves. The sounds of water, birds, and wildlife enveloped me.
Moss and bright green grass with all types of flowers in different colors littered the area. I felt so calm and comfortable. The rocks under my bare feet skipped around, hitting the light bark along the path I was traveling on. The stream of water beside me was a vibrant, luminous blue. I saw small fish swim, jumping up in joy. The tiny splashes hit the grass from below, the water spraying around and soaking into the moist moss.
I heard a chuckle above me. Looking up, I was met with a smile from the lady. She looked calmly down at me, seeming to enjoy my reactions. Her hand was still holding onto me as we traveled forward, walking along the path that never had an end. The beautiful nature kept going.
I decided to focus on the woman for a moment. I took in her clothing—it was odd and looked almost ancient. It was bright in colors, primarily white, with a few multicolored golden accents. Her back was exposed, with a bit of the shirt coming and crossing along her shoulder muscles. The cropped shirt in front opened up for her chest to be half-seen. A loincloth hung between her long legs while golden trims crisscrossed her legs for shoes.
A silver-lined armor piece covered her neck. The layers crossed around her skin and paired with her bare and exposed arms. The armor took up her pale skin, reflecting back to her.
I wanted to speak and ask questions, but I was scared that if I opened my mouth, nothing would come out.
The woman tilted her head. "Vienna, darling, are you enjoying this?"
Her soft voice delicately drifted through my ears, and I couldn't help but feel relieved just hearing her. I looked back at her, wanting to answer her- but my mouth opened by itself.
"Like... it.." I heard my voice let out, and I spoke like a fish out of water.
The woman with wings giggled, and I felt my face flush like I had embarrassed myself in front of this gorgeous being.
"It's as beautiful as you, my darling." She softly spoke. I felt her hand squeeze mine lightly, forcing my face back up to her. Her smiling expression made butterflies fly around inside my stomach. My face was entirely red, and I could only squeeze her hand back.
Voices started to grow from all around us. I looked back to the path, shocked and scared of the unknown. The voices grew louder as the woman and I kept walking forward; I felt like turning around and running away, but the woman's wing moved over to cover me. Her wing covered my back, emitting heat to my trembling body.
It made me feel warm and safe, prompting my feet to continue walking as the voices grew louder.
A clearing was coming up; the trees with long branches and lush leaves parted, giving way to a bright, extensive grass clearing. In the clearing, all types of… Creatures were around. I saw people, but what was on them.. or what they had, did not make them look like ordinary people.
Some flew around with wings in different shapes and sizes. Others had long ears, and some had animal characteristics mixed with human traits. They all wore somewhat similar clothing; it was something more old-fashioned, some having shorter clothing, some being longer. The colors were the same as the tall woman beside me. Golden, white, and a mix of different colors that matched the.. creatures' style. I was just amazed. Fearful- yes, but overall amazed.
The "people" started to calm down. Some flew down to the grass floor when they noticed us, and some stayed in the sky. Most of their eyes moved to the tall woman, then to me.
Excitement spread through their faces. Almost everyone in the area ran over to us, some flying through the air and dropping in front of us.
My hand squeezed hers, and my body turned defensive when they crowded around us. I was hoping they would leave, walk, or fly away and leave me alone with the towering lady.
They didn't. Instead, they started talking, asking questions, and looking at me expectantly. What did they expect? I didn't have any clue what was going on, so I couldn't answer anything.
I felt the woman squeeze my hand in reassurance. I looked up as she focused her gaze on the ones before us. "My angels. Calm down, yes, this is a new arrival," her calm voice spoke out. The angels got more excited; someone's wings bristled widely, sending white feathers in the air.
The reactions from them made the woman smile brightly. She looked down at me, the same warm smile on her face. "You may introduce yourself, darling."
She gave me another squeeze when asking me to speak. Another thing was that the angels stayed silent, waiting patiently for my response. I didn't want to talk to these unknown.. angels; they made me fearful. But I didn't want to let the woman down.
"V-Vienna…" I responded.
With my words silently coming out, cheers erupted all around me. The angels shot up in joy. I could only stare in complete confusion at the reaction I was getting for just saying my name. They all looked so.. happy.
For what?
For me?
I heard the woman let out a soft chuckle; she shook her head. "My angels. Why don't we make her more comfortable?"
I stared at her, confused. But it looked like the angels understood what she meant immediately.
Like a flock of birds, the angels shot up into the bright blue sky. Flying orderly in the sky, the angels slowly moved down to circle me. I felt the woman's hand leave mine; I looked to the side where she was, terrified that she had left my side. She stood in the same spot, now facing me.
She still gave me another warm smile, almost like she was reassuring me that everything was alright. I didn't even notice the angels were coming closer. I didn't even bother to see what was happening, but something unnatural was occurring. It was like.. at the corner of my eyes, the angels became lights.
Lights in all different colors, shapes, motions, and blurs. It was so unnatural. But I couldn't take my eyes off the woman in front of me. Her hair began to blow behind her as the air circled us from the angels' fast motion. Her smile never changed, her eyes never leaving mine.
A warm feeling began to surface deep inside my chest. It then began to be overpowered by something powerful. It wasn't painful. If anything, it was just peaceful. I didn't feel a thing. I just knew something was happening.
Something I had control over.
I had control over something so profound and powerful in me that it.. it felt just... Normal.
I am so confused.
"Relax, my dear." The woman's voice spoke through me. I couldn't help but look back at her, confused- maybe hoping for help to figure out what was happening. All I got was a giggle and a simple order: "You chose."
Just like that.
Two words, and I knew what to do. As if I knew what was meant to be done, my body lifted from inside of itself, and I felt free. With the strange feeling running through me, my clothes, or whatever I wore before- began to change. I could feel something stir inside me.
My usual dark brown skin began to glow. The color stayed, but only my whole body was glowing. With that, clothing formed, covering my body in soft white and yellow silk. It flew along my arms to my hips, fitting snugly on my chest.
I couldn't stop what was happening; I just registered that I was doing it. I decided what I wanted and how I wanted it to fit my body; even the shapes and colors were all in my control.
My eyesight became brighter, and everything became much clearer. My hearing felt enhanced, like I could hear everything all at once. It didn't really make me feel overwhelmed. Instead, it calmed me down to know everything that was happening. My back became heavy, and I didn't even have to look behind me to see why.
For some reason, I knew why.
My new changes had occurred not only on the outside of my body but within me. I felt much more comfortable; I felt like I belonged. I noticed the angels began to drift back down, slowly coming back down to the ground.
Compliments flooded my ears; all the angels looked so happy and excited. They kept a distance from me, ensuring I had room to see myself and not get crowded. I still felt unsure about everything around me, there was still questions that I had. But I knew one thing: I knew that I was still... Me.
. . .
I knew this was still my body, which comforted me most.
That and the woman beside me-
Fear surfaced as soon as I realized what was missing. Looking around, I shot my eyes around and strained my ears to try and hear her, hoping I could hear her lullaby of a voice so I knew I wasn't alone.
Although I didn't hear or see any sign of her, I did feel something. A warm presence pressed into my back, and a calming hand landed on the wings attached to my back. I could feel them weighing my back down while rubbing lightly to shift through some feathers. Without turning around, I let out a small voice. "Who are you?"
The response was a small chuckle; her hands drifted down in a calming manner, immediately relaxing my heart and mind.
"They are as gorgeous as you, Vienna."
Her soft voice completed me as her hands went from my large wing to my shoulder blade, opening up on my back and shoulders. The tunic split at the back, allowing her long fingers to glide down my brown skin.
My face turned a deep shade of red from the skin contact. I wanted her to continue, her soft hands gave me such a thrilling feeling. Whenever I had contact with her, all my troubling thoughts and tense muscles relaxed. I forced my body to turn and face her. I didn't forget the questions I wanted to ask. I was ready to ask- but when I turned to her, my whole being stopped. I was in a trance once again, unable to say or do anything.
"You.. who..." The words came out in a jumble, but even so- the tall women understood what I meant.
With one more reassuring smile, she shook her head. "You will know soon enough, my dear Vienna." Her eyes reopened to look at me, and with one last warm caress- she vanished.