[Harriette]

The night was dark. Darker than she remembered. It had been a while since she’d been woken by a nightmare, but there she lay: awake, eyes open, but only seeing blackness. Images of death flashed before her open eyes, causing her heart rate to increase. But she did not move. She did not cry. She did not shoo them away. Instead, she welcomed them. She listened to their words. What did they want to tell her?

What were the ghosts saying tonight?

Stillness, silence. Deafening, heart-wrenching silence. She didn’t move. She couldn’t move. The darkness gripped her like her mother used to, but not in the loving way. This choke hold had a sense of urgency; a feeling of despair and sorrow. It held tight, it clenched its greedy fist around her with a force she could not comprehend.

A struggled breath fell from her mouth and she watched as the smoke rose, splitting the inky canvas before her as it danced like a ribbon – up and up and up. Ember and ice eyes followed, watching with a glazed-over, childlike curiosity. The smoke rose, and from within it, a soft light emerged.

Harriette’s eyelids fluttered, moving to watch as the light grew brighter and brighter. The murkiness of the air around her slowly became blinding, her body recoiling, a small particle of fear growing larger and larger in her chest.

Quickly now, the light dimmed to something softer, more soothing; eerie, but comforting. Blinking away the lasting effects of the blinding light, the pale girl allowed her eyes to focus.

Someone stood before her, and at first, she didn’t recognize him. The figure was fuzzy, undefined. Simply a looming shadow. But as the figure became sharper and Harriette’s eyes adjusted, she started to recognize who it was. It had been a … while since Harriette had gotten a visit from her late brother. Her breath caught in her throat, the nothingness around her coming to a standstill as the air grew very cold.

“Tauro,” she spoke in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. She felt the tightness in her chest, felt the grip of the darkness curl its greasy fingers around her heart. Harriette forced a smile, the corners of her mouth quivering.

Normally, she’d be happy to see her brother. She missed him. She was never ready for him to leave. But this time, something grim followed him, something dark and something … ominous. His laughter was usually what woke her, a smile present on his face, his eyes bright and shining. Tonight, his expression was grave. It didn’t feel the same as the other times, and Harriette would proceed with caution.

Suddenly, Tauro turned his head, his body following. Where was he going? It felt like he wanted her to follow him, but Harriette couldn’t see her feet, she couldn’t see the ground. She wasn’t sure if she was standing or laying down anymore. The world felt nonexistent around her, and she wasn’t sure how to move herself from where she was.

He stepped away from her, and her heart jumped. She had to follow him. Wait!

Forcing her legs to do something, anything, she somehow got her body to follow his. She could just barely see his aura, her eyes only catching a glimpse of the light that shone around him now and then. She tried to quicken her pace, but the void around her felt slippery. It was hard to keep her grip, hard to understand which direction she was going. Where was he taking her? What was going on?

Harriette saw his aura fade, and she called out in a panicked voice, “T-Tauro, slow down-!” He appeared again at once, his light coming back into her vision. But he wasn’t alone.

A familiar being stood next to him, a face Harriette had seen at least once before. Who was this girl? She racked her brain, staring at her, then back at Tauro, trying to connect the dots. Memories flooded her mind, too many flying by too quickly for her to pluck out the right one. Her eyes searched Tauro’s face, then the girl’s, and suddenly a hundred switches flicked on in her brain.

Quartz.

This was Quartz, and she was Tauro’s daughter. How could Harriette have not known this? Staring at the two now, it all made sense. Somehow, they were so similar. Somehow, Quartz did remind Harriette of Tauro, but only in a subconscious way that the pale girl never truly caught on to. But why was she here, like this, with Tauro? What was the meaning behind it?

“Quartz..? Why…” she breathed, unable to understand what exactly was unfolding before her.

She stared at the father-daughter duo, a soft glow shimmering and dancing around the both of them while the rest of the world remained as an empty abyss. The three of them were here together, but each in a different stage of life; a visitor, an eagle, and a prisoner.

A E S T H E T I C

[quartz.]

Pearl. Such a pretty name.

She envisions the garden her grandmother cultivated until it thrived as a living maze of every hue imaginable, who’s air hummed with the soft buzz of an assortment of wings. She sees herself combing through the sprouts of weeds, singing along with nature’s symphony. She can taste the perfume of Tauro’s roses, she can feel the damp soil between her paws. She feels it all, entirely, beautifully, until she… didn’t.

Her vision of bliss ended as soon as her eye pierced the sharp edge of a rock. Had she been cognizant, maybe she’d hear the harsh crack of her skull as it splintered against the stone.

Perhaps a girl standing above would hear that exact noise and shudder at what she’s done.

But she faded into an even more blissful darkness before she even realized what had happened.

She couldn’t see, but she wasn’t afraid. It felt like an eternity that she lay trapped in darkness. She could hear swarming all around her, like thousands of bees. Like in the garden. Through the dark, a presence of light finally appeared, a beacon that called her name with a familiar, youthful chime. A voice she’d never truly heard, but heard whispers from in her dreams. This indistinct figure radiated a vibrant yellow, creating a crown around what she assumed would be a head. Quartz felt herself rise without hesitation, and looked below at a body pooled in it’s own blood.

She was the embodiment of light, following another figure bounding through the territory faster than she’d ever gone before. She could hear herself laughing, it was her voice, wasn’t it? Yes, yes that was her. She feels pure bliss as she soared through fields with someone who’d felt so close to her. A friend? A guardian? A star? Perhaps all three. If ghosts could cry, her cheeks would be warm with tears. She can’t see anything through the darkness, except for what their light illuminates — until another beaming aura shined like a lighthouse. Her blue aura was easily distinguishable, one she’s encountered before, the healer with icy-hot eyes. She can’t see her, but her voice, though distorted by the constantly buzzing, confirms her thought.

“Quartz..? Why…”

“ Hello, “ She can see her own voice carry through the darkness as a light breathing through the wind. Would she hear her? Even a simple hello wavered the light that made the central of her being. She feels herself smiling. Could Harriette see her?

“ I… I can’t see… “

“ Can you… hear me? “ Her smile fades.

[Harriette]

The darkness around the trio swirled and lurched, reaching for them with greedy fingers, but pulling away at the last second. Harriette couldn’t seem to calm her heart, her eyes darting around them, nervous, anxious, confused… Scared. It was cold here, cold and unwelcoming. She couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to leave, but how would she leave? She wasn’t even sure how she got here in the first place…

The Acolyte never once felt scared to see Tauro’s presence before, but something here just felt wrong. This was not the way things were supposed to be. Her brother’s eyes weren’t supposed to look so dead, and the abyss was not supposed to feel so cold.

The glow around Quartz and Tauro was flickering, as if it was getting weaker. She didn’t want them to leave yet, she didn’t want to be alone in this nothingness. But then Quartz spoke, and it strengthened again. “Hello,” she said, her voice echoing lightly in the nothingness, reverberating off of empty air and structureless walls. So soft, and yet insufferably loud. “I… I can’t see… Can you… Hear me?”

The girl’s face twisted from a smile into a look of fear; a confusion so strong Harriette could feel it in the depth of her chest. Fear was visible in her eyes, those ember eyes…

Taruo’s eyes grew darker, sunk deeper.

Harriette blinked, unsure what to say. Couldn’t see? But her eyes weren’t sinking into her skull like Tauro’s were – don’t look, don’t look – so how could she not see Harriette? The pale girl cocked her head to the side slightly.

“Yes… Yes, I can hear you.” She assured her, trying to keep her voice quiet, trying not to disturb the grasping fingers in the shadows. “I can see you, too. You…” She considered telling Quartz that her father was right next to her… But was that really her father? Or was it simply a shell of what he used to be, a guiding light? An empty vessel; a ghost.

Avoiding looking at him still, Harriette cautiously looked around them. Nothing had changed yet, nothing felt right. “What are you doing here? Like this? You shouldn’t be here…” Her voice trailed off, dancing around them before falling heavily down, down, down.

You shouldn’t be here either.

Not thinking, Harriette took a step forward, feeling the abyss heave around her paw; a heavy breath escaped the nothingness below her, a grieving sigh. She couldn’t understand what was happening, but it didn’t seem like she’d be getting any answers from Quartz.

Harriette took another soft step forward, wincing as the ground below her shifted again. Cautiously, slowly, she reached a paw out and watched as she inserted it right into Quartz’s chest. She’d never tried to touch them before, but this was nothing like the girl had ever seen before. A sudden chill took over her, and she drew her paw back out of her niece’s chest, staring at the girl’s fearful face the entire time – those ember eyes wide, pupils mere pinpricks. For a moment, Harriette saw her mother in those eyes. That wide-eyed look… Harriette imagined that’s how she’d look, viewing the sight of her dead children.

Blinking, Harriette stepped back, almost losing balance on the uneven, shifting platform below her, that chill still wrapped around her bones, her hair standing on end. She gained her balance, gripping the floor beneath her.

Don’t fall… Down… Down, down down.

A E S T H E T I C