Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows by Michelle Horst Page B

when we are on Earth, but here on Vaalbara we lose our masks and show our true selves. I am not the only one who was altered my appearance. Go ahead…look into the water.”
    I stared into the pool and saw the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen staring back at me. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear. She had straight black hair with silver streaks hanging down her back. The well of emotions in her sparkling emerald eyes made her look vulnerable. I lifted my hand to my face and the girl in the water did the same. My breath caught when my fingers glided over the perfect pearl-colored skin. It was all too much for my system to absorb. I couldn’t stop the full blown panic attack rising inside of me. I looked at Ryan; tears of anger stung my eyes and blurred his image.
    “ Raighne! You are…back.” The man's words faded when he saw me. “Your Highness. Peace be.” Bowing his head in respect, an older man appeared beside the first.
    They both had thick brown hair and possessed the same violet eyes as Ryan. I looked from Ryan to them, and then back again.
    Ryan’s face softened, as he took me by the shoulders. “Breathe, Alchera. Just breathe.”
    His handsome face started to fade as little sparkles danced in front of my eyes. I never thought there would come a day I would actually faint. But today was certainly a day for firsts.
    ~*~
    Soft voices broke through the fog in my mind. They were whispering to one another, as if being careful not to wake me. I opened one eye first hoping that would soften the blow of what I was about to see.
                  I was in a small room lying on a single bed. There was a whole row of identical beds against the wall and a trolley littered with cotton wads, bandages, and other medical supplies standing in the far corner. Shelves lined the walls stocked with hundreds of small brown bottles on them, although I couldn’t make out the names
    I was in a clinic. It smelled clean. Not like a hospital, just clean. There was an elderly man and woman not far from where I lay, and the woman held a small vile in her hand. It looked different from those on the shelves. This one was clear with a small base. It sparkled like something out of a fairytale.
    The longer I stared at the elderly couple, the more familiar they became.
    The woman turned around first, but froze when she saw me looking at them. She was blonde with blue eyes - wise, loving eyes. I knew those eyes.
    “Ima?” My voice was a hoarse whisper. Clearing my throat, I tried to speak the words that came most naturally to me, again.
    “Ima? Abba?” They approached me slowly; their faces remained masks of calm and serenity.
    “Child, you are awake. How do you feel?” Alder, the High Priest of Vaalbara, took my hand and squeezed it softly, while Aster, the Head Priestess, came around the bed and stood on my right.
    “I’m feeling okay. My mind feels…like a veil is being lifted. I—”
    Aster raised her hand. “That is delightful to hear. The potion’s effects will be wearing off soon. We need you to think hard, child. Try and remember.”
    I closed my eyes and fought through the black veil to see the pictures locked in my memory. I remembered being brought to Aster as a child. I remembered it in flashes at first, like watching one of those old home videos. It was my thirteenth birthday. She had given me something to drink. I inhaled sharply as the floodgates opened up. I remembered. I had a family - father, mother, Alder and Aster. I remembered a much younger and happier me.
    And that day…the day it all changed.
    I woke up at my waterfall, the clairvoyant was there and I was placed with the Marks family. I remembered the torturous years of school - the loneliness. Ryan. Ryan came and befriended me. My first and only real friend. A sudden blow of grief hit me. I moved it aside as best I could so I could try and concentrate on more of my memories, but there was nothing now…only the sadness of my lost