“We’re almost there, Anye,” my father said. “Just a few more miles.” I smiled, his encouraging words giving me a renewed vigor. I quickly covered the distance between the two of us, making sure to stay close to him.
He looked
down at me and smiled, releasing a nostalgic sigh. “My little girl’s grown so much.” And it was true. I had.
And now I was on my way up the mountain, dressed in my finest dress,
done up as nicely as possible. It had
taken me the entire day to prepare. “And
now it’s finally time for your ceremony,” he said, staring off into the
distance as we walked. “I’m proud of
you, Anye.”
“Stop it,
Daddy! You don’t need to flatter me like
that!” I laughed and threw my arms
around him, making sure not to slow him down.
After all, we had to reach the top of the mountain before dark. Night was falling, the sun’s faltering rays
painting a beautiful mural of pinks and oranges and blues across the
clouds. The air was calm, and the dusty
upwards trail felt warm against my bare feet.
I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect evening for the ceremony.
My father
fell silent, slightly increasing his pace.
I sped up with him, clutching his arm tightly. The effort winded me a bit, but I was too
excited to ask him to slow down. In
fact, I would have sped up. But that
would hardly do. This was a ceremony of
great importance. It wouldn’t do to
start running up the path like a child.
Besides, any faster, and I would exhaust myself. Through it all, though, my father’s breathing
remained slow and calm. He was in such
control of himself. It impressed
me. Even though I knew he was as nervous
as I was, he still had such control over himself.
My
restraint was not as strong. As we
neared the summit, I broke away, tugging at his arm, pulling him faster towards
the peak. “Come on, Daddy, we’re almost
there!” He smiled wistfully, resisting
my towing for just a few moments before caving and running with me to the
top. We both arrived breathless and
laughing on the small plateau, carved into a slight bowl by those who had come
before. I paused, my anxiousness giving
way long enough to remember a lifelong dream.
“I want to
see them, Daddy,” I told my father. “I
want to see the lights. Would you…would
you cover my eyes and lead me to the edge?
He smiled and nodded, placing his hands over my eyes and slowly leading
me to a distance he deemed acceptable.
“Go ahead, Anye,” he whispered, removing his hands. “Open them.”
My eyelids shot open, taking them in for the first time. The entire town, gathered at the foot of the
mountain, a candle in every hand. It was
beautiful, that flickering sea of gold beneath me. Better than I had dreamed.
After a
minute, I felt hands on the back of my head as my father started placing wild mountain
flowers in my hair as I stood looking at the lights below. He had never been an expert at weaving them
in, but he had practiced on my younger sister the entire day in preparation for
the ceremony, and they held fast. “Happy
birthday, Anye,” he said quietly.
“Tonight marks the seventeenth year since your birth.” Then, with a glance to the side at the setting
sun, “It’s almost time.”
I nodded,
closing my eyes and taking one last deep breath. “I’m ready.
And, um….” I hesitated, my nerves
getting the best of me. “Thank you,
Daddy. For everything.”
He smiled,
leading me over to the pillar in the bowl’s center, gently fastening the metal
cuffs around my wrist. “It has been an
honor having you as a daughter, Anye.”
With that, he fastened the final latch and kissed my forehead before
stepping back.
I turned my
head, looking towards the horizon, where I watched the suns final rays wane
into darkness. I took a deep breath,
closing my eyes and counting to myself.
One. Two. Three.
Silence.
And then,
the night erupted, a jet of azure flaring up where the sun had set. Tiny sprites of light raced across the night
sky, weaving and intertwining with each other.
The crowd below gasped as one. I
had been below in the past. I knew that
some averted their eyes, but it didn’t matter.
They couldn’t see me at this distance anyway.
The lights
came closer and closer, circling the pillar in a dance, the sort of dance you
can only perform when you don’t have the physical limitations of a body to slow
you down. The lights twisted, spiraling
and turning, before descending to where I stood in awe, chained to the pillar.
As the
light entered my body, casting a burning blue aura around me visible from the
foot of the mountain, I was struck with a sensation of a pure, indescribable
euphoria. This is what it felt like, I
knew. This is what it felt like to be
one of them. They whispered to my mind,
calming, soothing thoughts without words.
All their thought, all their presence, all their being poured into
me. And for one second—just one
beautiful second, I knew that I was one of them.
Then they
withdrew. They left as quickly as they
had come, pulling all they had given me with them. As the strength left my body and my eyes
slowly closed, I managed a smile, grateful that they had chosen me for the
ceremony. A final thought crossed my
mind as I died, tugging my mouth into a permanent smile.
I was at peace.
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