Flowing 001
Begin your story with someone either being followed or following someone else.
liberty
vision
pony
death
I paused. My breath hitched as I dared not move. The sounds of the alley echoed against the brick buildings and the pressure built in my chest from my paused inhale. Water drip, drip, dripping from a pipe. Laughter and the din of revelry escaping the windows of a home or perhaps an establishment several buildings down.
The street lamps cast their eerie glow, shadowing from the doorways and stairwells around me. Shadows I nimbly slipped into as I allowed my lungs to expand. The fresh air in my lungs felt like a handful of cool water from a fresh brook on a hot summer’s day. Nothing behind me moved; I waited.
I heard the clip clop of hooves clapping against the cobblestones married with the soft sounds of leather soles erratically scuffing along. The splash of the wearer not minding their step as they trudged through a puddle of something -most likely the soils of the day. A moment or two later a man and a pony stumbled by as I waited, patiently.
Seemingly convinced I was not being followed, I turned from the shadows. Shivers raced down my spine and my arms pimpled with gooseflesh as a cool, dry hand wrapped its bony fingers around my arm.
“Why do you run, child?”
My head drifted to the sound of the raspy voice, indubitably weathered by the ages. My fingers found the hilt of the knife I carried but my hands remained still on the leather. Calm. Ready.
“I’ve been looking for you. I have a message for you,” the flickering of the gas lamps danced in the darkness of her eyes. A shade so deep, they could be black. The rest of her face was shielded in the collar of the cloak she wore, the texture of a fine linen worn well but cared for nonetheless. Her clothing spoke to wealth, a finery not all could afford but it was not the crisp newness of a recent purchase. It was clean, pressed.
I remained silent, lips pursed as I waited for her to explain why the hell she was touching me. I pulled back slightly, and her fingers curled firmly around my arm in response. My eyes slowly looked down at her hand and the gnarled fingers graced with a sapphire ring. Perhaps she should be relieved of the gem.
“When the sun passes its peak and casts a darkness that fractures the heavens, only you and the unspoken daughter may mend endings under the shattered sky. You must seek the object of death's desire for this will be your only chance of undoing.”
I wrenched my arm free of her grasp, and her hand flung back towards herself after my arms sudden departure. She leaned forward slightly,
“You must heed the seer’s vision. No one may escape the truths that are foretold.” She stared at me for a long moment, and it felt like her eyes were searching the crevices of my soul. What the hell is she going on about?
Her eyes clouded over a milky white and her voice changed, smoothing over and sounding several notes higher, “Don’t forget who you are, what you are destined for. You know the truth they are keeping, and it’s not theirs to steal away. Free it, daughter.”
The woman stumbled back and inhaled a ragged breath,as her chin lifted it cast her face in the warm glow of the street lamps. Her eyes returned to the likeness of a deep chocolate. She uncurled a knobbly finger and pointed at me, “You,” the whites around her eyes shone as her eyes widened.
“Be mindful child, if she wakes we are all indeed in grave danger.” She lingered another moment, her eyes narrowing on me as if to relate a greater warning. She pivoted and her cloak fluttered behind her for a breath as she was swallowed in the darkness.
