Note: This scene is meant to be enjoyed after the completion of Nowhere Nara, as it contains spoilers and will otherwise lack context.
(This is an unedited scene)
Nara sits on the roof of the family’s home, her figure glowing in the moonlight. If I had any need for breath, it would be caught in my throat at the sight of her. She has always been beautiful to me, but the ethereal look she now possesses…it’s… well, I have no words to express how she makes me feel.
I died for her, and I would do it all over again. And again. And again.
I cross the expanse of tiles and settle down beside her. Drop my hand over her own.
“Are you moping?” I murmur as I lean into her and brush a feather-light kiss against her cheek.
She shrugs. “I wouldn’t call it moping.”
I lift our clenched palms and drift my lips over the smooth energy defining the top of her hand.
“You mourn the loss of your human life.” A pain I wish to ease.
With the circumstances surrounding and following her death, along with the otherworldly bond the witches in her family hold, her transition had been far from smooth, and her adjustment is taking longer than my own.
I stand and stretch our clasped hands between us. “Come with me?”
She rises to her feet. “Where are we going?”
I hum and crack a smile. “You’ll see.” I pull her into my embrace and wrap my arm around her. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Always.” Her response is soft. Breathy.
“Close your eyes, Baby.”
She grants my request and snuggles deeper into me. I warm and tingle in the most wonderful way everywhere our energies meet and mingle. Her nearness could easily distract me, send me down a different path than I intend, but I hold my focus on not only lifting her mood, but adjusting her view of what we both have become, as well as our new role in the world and the life of those we love.
She’s still learning how to manipulate her energy, but I’ve had a little more practice and know how to do a thing or two fairly well. With a focused thought, I alter our location. I take us from the roof of her family home to the center of the Mississippi River, positioned on the ever-moving water, halfway between the ferry landings at Canal Street and Algiers Point. The lights of the city against the evening sky create a dazzling display and dance over the current moving through our feet.
Energy buzzes through me as I anticipate her reaction.
Using my index finger, I slide a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear. Or the energy representing her hair, since neither of us no longer holds a physical form. “You can open your eyes now.”
She does and her mouth drops open in clear shock.
My responding smile is immediate. I do so enjoy surprising her in delicious and playful ways.
“How?” She asks, her gaze devouring the scenery.
“Feel it.” I tap the pads of my fingers to her heart. “Focus on the vibration of where you want to be and match it with your internal thrum. When the two synchronize, there you’ll be.”
“You make it sound so simple.” She gazes up at me, her hold on me tightening, as if fearful the waterflow will drag her down river.
I dip my forehead to hers and whisper, “It doesn’t have to be difficult.” I pull back an inch. “Would you like to try?”
“Matching my vibration to someplace I’d like to go?” she asks and I nod. “I don’t think…”
Her hesitation speaks volumes. “You can’t mess it up,” I say. “You can only learn and improve as you go.”
She bites down on her lower lip and nibbles, her wariness a minor ripple moving through her system.
“Try this.” I take her hand and place it against my chest, over where my heart used to beat. “Do you feel the vibration of my energy?” She nods. “Now close your eyes and tune into the air around you and the water beneath you. Don’t rush, take your time. But seek out the resonance of our surroundings.”
She closes her eyes and attempts to do as I suggest.
“Let me know when you feel it,” I say.
Her eyebrows lift but her eyes do not open. I take in the wonderous view that is all her while I wait for her to locate the energies’ songs. She doesn’t make me wait long. I suspect her vocal training with the chorus attuned her senses to the rhythm in most, if not all, things.
When she opens her eyes, she meets my gaze. “I feel it.”
“Okay. Good.” I place my hand over the one she has resting against my chest. “Pay attention to both my personal vibration and the vibration of our surroundings. I’m going to move and I’m taking you with me.”
“Like before,” she clarifies, to which I affirm.
And then I concentrate, pick our destination, and adjust my internal cadence. Wrapping my energy around hers, I move us as one.
Time is a limited, physical concept, tied to human existence, and one I manipulate to fit my desire. Time and space folds over itself and, at that moment, everything exists at once. Until, with a tug of intention, our placement in both anchors.
Nara releases a tiny gasp. “Dylan!” Her hold on me tightens. “What have you done?”
We’re in the night sky, far above the tallest building the city has to offer, with the dark river cutting through a sea of lights laid out like a carpet beneath us. The night is darker now, the moon brighter.
“Why am I picking up fear from you?” I secure my arms more firmly around her, attempting to alleviate any of her concerns. “Do you think that being here, in the sky, or even falling from this height, would hurt us?”
Her nose wrinkles and she takes a moment to consider. “No. I guess not.”
“Exactly.” I press a soft kiss to her forehead. “We’re much more than what we were in our physical forms. We no longer experience pain and discomfort in the same way, nor anywhere near the extreme. I recommend you shed those old, limiting beliefs…your human beliefs…and explore the new you. You might find you like the new Nara you have become. I know I do.”
She sighs and shifts her gaze to the world below. “The view truly is wonderous from up here. The ability to simply be here, in an instant like we did, and so high without any kind of support, is sublime. As is the ability to hear the song in everything around us, or even far from us…”
She shook her head. “I guess I’ve just been scared. Of change. Or for them, after seeing how they handled my passing.”
She’s talking about her family and the roller coaster of grief she witnessed them go through. “That is their journey, not yours. Now privy to the bigger picture as you are, and you know that to be true.”
She closes her eyes, her energy humming for several beats the world below provides. When her gaze once more settles upon me, something in her aura has calmed, her vibration falling into perfect synchronization with mine.
“Okay,” she says. “I’m ready to let go of what was and embrace what is…as long as you are here beside me. You’ll help me?”
“Always.” My response is immediate, no thought required.
Her smile is small and perfect as she leans into me. Her lips glance over mine. “Thank you,” she whispers, her energy skating across my being. “I’m beyond blessed to have you with me, keeping me moored.”
“I consider myself the one who is blessed.” I press her into me, her lips to mine, and the melding of our energy is intoxicating.
Fear…fear of change, in Nara’s case…is a human concept. To release all those emotions that stir anxiety is divine. Her adjustment may be a process, but I am here for it. I am here for it all, anything she requires. Because we are forever and always.
THE END
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Born and raised a Southern California girl, Debra Kristi still resides in the sunny state with her husband, two kids, and four schizophrenic cats. Unlike the characters she often writes, Debra is not immortal and her only superpower is letting the dishes and laundry pile up. When not writing, she is usually creating memories with her family, geeking out to sci-fi and fantasy television, and tossing out movie quotes.
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