Zahralan

Second Breath: Meadow of Wings

The sun rose slowly over the horizon, illuminating the small meadow. Dew pricked the grass like tears and Leah let the Earth cry for her. Leaning against a tree, alone and sitting in a quiet, crying meadow, Leah knew she had no strength to weep herself. She had no strength to remember, so she had run and run for hours until she was too tired to stand.

But she didn't sleep.

Why is everything so green?

She didn't want to remember green, or the darkness, or dead roses.

"Who are you?"

Startled, Leah jumped back into the rough bark of the maple tree. A young girl hung upside down from a branch in front of her, small face vaguely lit by the dawn, or perhaps by childish innocence.

Her eyes were green.

"I'm...no one," Leah said, pulling her dark sleeves over her hands.

"No one?" The girl disappeared for a moment before landing heavily on the ground. "What's it like being no one?"

Lonely. Terrible. I want my wings back.

I want to fly again but I'm no one now. Only a forgotten angel in the minds of one town - and forgotten angels can't fly.

"It's..." Leah trailed off, unable to bring herself to speak. Shrugging, she turned away from the pale, dark-haired girl.

The girl was silent for a long while and the former Zahralan began to drift into slumber, until the child began yelling excitedly.

"Ah, look!" She beamed as Leah turned to her, a hand outstretched. In it was a samara dropped by the maple tree. Another fell, spiraling past Leah's head in a careless tumble.

"Here," the girl smiled, taking Leah's hand and placing it in her palm. "You look like you could use wings."

The Zahralan stared at it and then at the girl, smiling and innocent and strange in the light of dawn. Slowly she smilled too and closed her hand gently.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!" the child said with a wide grin, rising from the grass. "Where are you going?"

Leah looked at her, tired and confused and surrounded by so much green."What?"

"Well," the girl looked around the peaceful clearing, "you can't be staying here forever, right?"

"I...I guess not." Then Leah remembered and she looked away from the green eyes. "No, I'm going to the City of Wings."

"Really?!" The child was suddenly crouched in front of her, eyes wide and excited. "That's where the head Zahralan live, right?" Leah nodded. "Are you going there to get wings?"

"Sort of," she smiled a strange smile, and it looked like the tear-covered grass or the lost, winged samara lying on the ground.

"That's a long ways away. You're gonna need more food."

Leah looked at her small, hastily gathered supply and looked back up. "I guess..."

She trailed off, realizing the child was already running across the meadow, shouting, "Stay there, I'll get you some!" And she vanished, a pale ghost amongst a dark forest.

Leah leaned back and fought against the drooping of her eyes but lost to grief and confusion, and she dreamt of black and green and the white of feathers against sky blue. When she woke up the girl wasn't there but a traveling sack filled with food was set on the ground, lopsided and messy with the care of a small child.

Standing and stretching in the now bright sunlight, Leah opened her hand and gazed at the samara. She smiled and blew it into the wind and watched it fly away carelessly.

As she hefted the sack on her shoulder and left the meadow, she wondered who the odd girl was and why she was in a tree in a crying meadow at dawn. Something about her reminded Leah of a Zahralan, yet the girl had no wings.

Well, Leah thought, maybe she doesn't need to be a Zahralan or have wings to be an angel.

This time Leah smiled and it was like the twirling samara in the wind.

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A/N: A samara is one of those winged seeds - more commonly referred to as helicopters, whirligigs, etc. - that are dropped by maple/birch/etc. trees.

Agh, I'm sorry that this one was so bad. Haha. Hopefully the next one's better.