It was as if my wish had reached an unknown being. A hand enclosed my sanity, and I uncurled to look for something- anything.
I was face-to-face with her. The Gate Goddess stood before me, and a soft look crossed over her features. I didn't know what was happening, but my view of her blurred. I wanted to wipe what was happening away; all I wanted to see was her.
It was like she read my mind, her arms crossed around my body and lifted me to her neckline. There, I felt an uncontrollable comfort. I hugged back tightly, my smaller arms wrapped around her broad shoulders. I tucked my head into her neck, asking and pleading for all the pain to go away.
Her red lips gave a soft chuckle, and her hand rubbed through my hair slowly as her voice echoed through my whole body. "Vienna, you're hurting. There is no reason for you to feel so much pain." Her voice felt soft and light as it drifted out, putting me at ease. "Stop thinking. Stop trying to remember the pain.. you are safe."
The Gate Goddess moved her head above mine. I looked up, trying to look at the glowing woman holding me so tightly and gently. "I am here." She kissed my forehead softly, and my eyes closed in a warm slumber.
The slumber felt light—like I was tumbling in the arms of a warm pile of flowers—but it felt long. Hours went by when I first closed my eyes, but it was mere seconds before my eyes slowly re-opened, and I was standing in the middle of a room that looked vaguely familiar but was completely different.
It was the room the angels Bridget and Seth rushed me into. But it looked new, different in a way I couldn't exactly place. My head throbbed lightly, but it was slowly becoming a dulling memory. I could feel the ghost of the Gate Goddess's embrace wrapped around me—faint but there.
I decided to observe my new surroundings; the room had grown a bit taller, with a more extensive roof, when I looked up. The floor was soft, and a fluffy small carpet parted way for a mattress that sat on the ground. It was clean, made up of dull-looking sheets and pillows. The room had large bookshelves on the end of the walls; even if it was small, it had tons of familiar books along the shelves. They made me smile, looking at the titles of things I knew I had a connection to. Not only that, but a few dull-colored pillow mats were on the carpet floor, and a few lively-looking plants plotted around. Some fairy lights were above me, the colors fading with each other; they were hanging from the slanted roof. Everything looked alive, and the room looked lively. It felt warm and comfortable, but also lived in.
It was familiar, and that is what made me smile.
"What was that?" A hushed voice spoke behind me. I turned, meeting the two angels who looked back at me. It was Seth who spoke. The boy looked around in awe, his wings fluttering behind him.
Bridget gave a small and awkward chuckle and made eye contact with me as she spoke. "Are.. are we allowed to come in and look around?"
"S-Sure…" I answered, turning to the shelf that had a few small mats in front of it. I heard footsteps behind me, walking around the room, and short, quick gasps as the two friends took everything in.
A few seconds later, a small figure stood beside me. "It's very cozy, Vienna."
I turned to Bridget and was met with a small and comforting smile. I gave a shy one back, not really knowing how to respond. "I just thought about what you said. What did I do that made this happen?" I motioned around me, looking at the roof and watching as the fairy lights faded from purple to white.
"It's what your mind came up with to comfort you. I feel like we kind of lost you there for a moment…" She said with a bit of unease.
I looked to her, then to Seth, who walked over to us. I lowered my wings to take in his facial features. He gave a strange look back, standing beside Bridget a bit sheepishly. "You felt pain.. it looked like you were.. remembering something."
"What-?"
"Don't Seth." Bridget suddenly spoke up, her eyes glaring openly beside her to the boy. He looked down in guilt.
I looked between them, wanting to know what they were referring to. "What? What happened?"
The short girl gave a small smile while facing me. "You thought too hard, probably because of all the stress, so trying to make the room made you.. uncomfortable. We are partly to blame for stressing you out so much," she laughed lightly. "I think we are just forgetting that all of this is still new to you.."
My body stiffened, and goosebumps ran along my skin. It was weird. I didn't know why I knew something wasn't right, but she wasn't answering my question about what Seth said.
Before I could speak, the cheerful boy came between us with his usual attitude. "I think we should give you some time to relax. We seem to be stressing you out, as Bridget said." He turned to me, "I'm sorry about that."
I shook my head, "No, it's fine.. you guys have been very kind and helpful to me. Thank you."
Bridget smiled brightly, "of course. Come to us whenever you need answers to anything or just want to hang out." She turned to the exit, leaving to Seth trail behind her. But before leaving, she turned back to me. "We will give you more details later after you rest if you like?"
"Y-Yeah.. that would be nice.." I answered shyly, "but I don't know where you guys.. uh- well.. stay?"
"We will meet you at the top of Angels Cove when you're done resting." Before I could ask anything about what Bridget meant, Seth quickly babbled.
"The top of the cove is very easy to find; just keep going higher and higher into the cove, and you will see us."
"What…?" I felt a numbness in my head, unanswered questions were swarming me.
A soft fluttering sound came from the two. Bridget came forward, gently pushing Seth out of the exit. "He doesn't have the best wording; just rest." She gave one more comforting smile. "You will know where to go after relaxing.."
I was about to ask more when the pair turned to the exit. Their wings shot up from behind them, and in a split second, they flew off. White feathers dusted past me as I looked on, hoping they didn't leave.. that I wasn't alone.
But when I looked out of the bark door frame, it showed that I was indeed alone. A bit of fear ran up my back, the foreign wings on my back twitched at my body's reaction. They moved slightly, causing me to see white feathers fall onto the ground below me.
Sighing, I took another look around the room. The room that I created.
It smelt good. It was like cedar wood mingled with a little bit of roses, it had a masculine and a feminine scent to it.
I returned to the bookshelf, scanning the covers that lay before me. The angels told me to rest and calm down. So, did that mean I needed to sleep?
Did anyone here sleep? Is that even a thing..?
Reading didn't interest me. As I scanned the books, nothing popped out to me. I didn't feel compelled to reach for any, to open a book, and sit down to read. I did however, feel like sleeping—well.. resting.
I made my way to the bed on the floor. The mattress looked tidy and comfortable.
Flopping down, I sank into the sheets, the pillows falling at my ascend. A bit of pain came in response when I flopped down on my back. I hissed, putting my elbows under me to see what made the pain. But as I turned to the mattress, my eyes slid past the bulky wings.
I stared at them until I understood my mistake. "How can anyone rest with these..?" I mumbled to myself. Sighing in annoyance, I turned my whole body around to be on my chest. It was slightly uncomfortable, but at least I wasn't crushing my wings.
"..."
My mind went blank, and with the pillow anchoring my head so it was up, I stared at the wall, which was only inches in front of me. I didn't necessarily feel tired, but I did feel utterly exhausted after everything that happened.
I did want to sleep, but something hidden was holding me back. It was annoying; I felt it there, hiding within the shadows to keep me awake. I muffled an annoyed growl in the pillow, just wanting to rest. How can they tell me to rest, and then I end up unable to?
The shadow's presence was stressing me out, making me overthink things and my own sanity. I was already losing my mind because of everything, and it just kept adding up. It made me overthink, and I felt like I was being watched…
I hated it…
Why couldn't I sleep? I just wanted to relax after everything.
The shadow was slowly disappearing, and my eyes felt heavy. It was a soft yet forceful change, a slight push into the exhaustion I felt running along my skin. I let it in, dropping my head into the pillow.
Why did it feel so warm? So soothing..
My whole body relaxed in an instant. The weight from the stiff wings on my back fell on either side of me. I breathed a sigh of relief, only warmth watched over me as it blocked all the shadows from covering me.