Waking Dreams

The watcher weaved and the watcher wove and the watcher saw all that was.

The breeze gently blew in towards the cliff from the ocean, swirling through Amaya's ebony curls. She lounged on the edge, one leg folded in close to her, and the other stretched out over the edge. Though the sun did not shine with all his brilliant radiance, she was not cold, for this was paradise. The wind died down, and Amaya looked over at him. Following that intense grey gaze, she watched as two birds frolicked in the azure sky. Tumbling and wheeling with a grace that mesmerised her. "Are they not lucky, to have such free and careless lives?" She turned back to him as a gust of wind stole the last words from her mouth. He was gone.

Carey blinked away the sun intruding into her dreams. Brushing strands of hair off her sweaty forehead, she tried to remember what day it was. Wednesday. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and stumbled out the door. Breakfast, dress, pack, and bolt out the door just in time to catch the bus. Carey often wondered if there would be more to her life than this monotonous daily routine. A whole world waited for her, but she was stuck studying, and so the world had to wait. She sighed. Sleep had mostly eluded her the previous night; it was his fault. No, Carey shook her head; it was her fault for trusting him again. Yawning as she settled in her seat, Carey tried to think of other things.

A single tear rolled down Amaya's pale cheek; a falling star on the face of an angel. He had been taken away from her, taken into the unknown. For where does the soul of an angel go? He was her love, her soulmate. Now a void existed where once there had been love. Amaya rose to her feet and cried out to the waves that crashed against the cliff face. "Curse you and your immortality! That you may die and that I must live. I do not under." She faltered as another tear fell upon her cheek. "I do not understand."

A loud car horn rudely interrupted Carey's snooze. Cars and trucks, vans and buses scurried along the streets. People in a hurry to get to work, to get to that appointment, to get to school on time. Everywhere there seemed to be an energy that engulfed the individual in its nervousness. In the bustle that was the city, a single person could get lost; just melt into the faceless crowd. It was almost a scary thought, that you could become so invisible, just a tiny piece of puzzle in the big scheme of things. On days like this, Carey liked to just sit and watch the people. She wondered about their lives, and whether they ever thought the things that she did. Did they ever worry about their insignificance? Did they ever despair with that hopelessness that often crossed her mind? After all, if angels can die, what hope do the rest of us have?

"I do not understand" Amaya whispered to no one in particular. Who would hear her whisperings now that he was gone? Was it possible that he could still hear her, in whatever place it was to which he had travelled? She shook her head. No, she could no longer feel his presence in the world; he was gone. It was wrong for an angel such as herself to despair. For angels were the bringers of light, happiness and love. Perhaps she should not be an angel then; she had lost the eternal light. Was this a sign? Mortals always looked for signs to lead them on their destined paths. Amaya supposed that angels too needed signs. What good was an angel who had lost faith.?

The jolt of the bus stopping signalled the end of the ride. Carey followed the others off the bus and let her feet go where they wanted. She didn't particularly want to go to class, nor did she feel like being in the company of others. A bit of thinking time was required, a bit of a time out, perhaps a bit of a snooze. The bench was there and Carey sunk into it, suddenly sapped of strength. Was it her imagination playing tricks on her? No. He started to walk towards her, emerging from the shadows at one end of the courtyard. Their eyes met, and the cold, icy wasteland that she looked into scared her. Five years ago, that wasteland had been a paradise; a set of warm and loving grey eyes that had made her feel safe and needed. Now they said nothing. She was nothing to him anymore. With horrid fascination Carey couldn't tear her eyes away from the figure as he hurried across the area and was engulfed by a passing crowd of students. How fragile a thing a friendship is. Was it a sign? Was he no longer a part of her destined path? Despair crept into her thoughts. What good was a mortal who had lost hope.?

Amaya knew in her heart what she had to do. The pain of her loss was too unbearable; eternity was too vast for her mind to comprehend. The divine wisdom of the angels was no match for the loss of her heart. Stooping down, she picked up the object that she had carried from her home to the cliff overlooking the sea. Wrought of silver, it was plain and undecorated, yet sharp as the sting of death. Amaya closed her eyes and plunged the dagger into her heart, ending her immortal pain. As she was carried away by the gentle breeze, a smile played upon her lips; no more would she remember the pain of her heart.

Carey gasped, shaken by her distorted visions. Those grey eyes were so familiar. That cliff top was so real. She glanced in one of the dark windows embedded in the walls of the courtyard. A woman with ebony curls and longing eyes stared back. A fallen angel searching for the impossible. "Pain is inevitable," she mocked "in this life or the next." Carey blinked at the sudden ray of sunlight penetrating the courtyard. The reflection disappeared, as she did, joining a crowd of students.

The watcher smiled with wisdom and continued to weave and knew all that was.