Path of the perilous sun

[perfectpeach]

Path of the Perilous Sun

When little girls fall asleep at night, they ask for guardian angels and horses with sparkling wings that could take them to places only in the furthest corners of their imaginations. Fae asked for nothing. Her only wish was something she knew she could never have. She wanted to be free of the invisible chains that tied her life to the spot. From the day she was born, she was marked with her family?s trademarked fire red hair and shallow emerald eyes; eyes that held so much more than beauty. At the tender, innocent age of seven, any other girl would lose their sanity and their sense of self-control simply knowing they had the problems Fae had. Problems that took no prisoners when they surfaced her body at first glance of the ironically beautiful sunset. She walked.
Fae thought of this every second of everyday, but that is what allowed her to survive. Even now in the endless crowd of trees that was her home, she remembers that this curse that bore heavy on her frail shoulders was something that she could live with. That phrase playing itself like a taunting broken record in her head did not falter her self-control, but strengthened it. Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she found herself face to face with the part of the record she feared, yet longed for: people. She stopped.
In a clearing that dwelt among the greenest of trees was the town. It was a dream of hers to be able to touch that town. She wanted nothing. She thought that would be selfish. God had saved her from the curse that had eventually broken the rusty old chain that was her family, only to tie her down with a new. But she dreamed when her mind was in the best of state. She dreamed of the warmer air of the town hitting her cold unseen body in a torrent of ecstasy. The many chubby, pink cheeked faces guiding her effortlessly inside the safety of the stone city walls. Children her age smiling with sickening innocence, begging her to play with them. They had room for one more on their team?She ran.
These images were teardrops behind her eyelids, flickering on her lashes yet never fell to her cheek to cool. She was warm. Like flames on a bed of ice the glow spread in front of her eyes. The millions of lush green trees all became lined with a glow akin to that of the cherubim in her mother?s stories. The sun shone a fantastic red above her and she felt its rays melt into the hair on her head. She had spun on her heel; she wanted to see everything. She wanted to feel the full extent of the pleasure her personal paradise had to offer. When her eyes fell to the usually cold, wet, shadow dominated grass she found the glow had turned it into rock. She felt sturdy, as if her life had regained its balance. The tear was still lingering tirelessly on her lid. She slowed.
The rock underneath her was blissful. The sun had caressed it with it?s heated fingers and it shot up through her feet to her once ice-encaged heart. She unconsciously brushed a hand through her hair which was now partly dishevelled from the sensually cool lashes of dry, salty breeze on her face. She could smell a mix of wet sand and mild fishy aromas that only served to make her lust for a revitalising dip in the sea. The sea; oh, how that would feel. The rhythmic waves guiding her on an uncharted course to a blissful state of amnesia. The coolness of the liquid on her lower half as the sun exposed itself to her top. How the water felt when it was warm as a bath on its face yet the recesses of the winter current hiding itself underneath it. She swam.
The trees had gone. In their place she found an alarming yet heart-warming amount of townsfolk. There were fishermen on the piers waving to her as they dragged in their daily load. There were gulls hovering menacingly above her head, acknowledging her with their echoing screeching. There were lightly clothed women with baskets of wines, freshly baked buns and strawberries in the crooks of their delicate arms. There were the families that have come together in union, to praise God for this day. There were kissing couples and younger children climbing onto abnormally thick ropes the sailor had dumped there during their break. She laughed.
This was her haven, and she was going to reside in it for as long as she lived. It was only when her mind had recited those very words did time seem to come to a screeching halt as shadow drifted from the inferno of sand and did goose bumps prickle her skin. The oblivious warmth evaporated excruciatingly fast out of every edge of her body. The teardrop fell. She didn?t think it. She didn?t say it. She merely comprehended it. Sunset?..

[Mellie]

This was an enjoyable read, Peach! Just the soft emotions I got from Fae as I read. It was nothing strong, but the scenery helped push it forth. And the implied angst of her past came to a satisfying close and I sighed in happiness. It was subtle in its emotion portrayal, but it was strong and sweet nonetheless. Great job!