Louanne Learning
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Winner: 4th Contest Feb
Winner: 4th Contest August
Winner: June Flash Fiction
Ben, standing between Katara and Ravenna, extended his arms. “Take my wrists,” he said to them.
They obeyed. A whoosh of air rushed past them, and Ben’s glow went out. A total and complete darkness engulfed them, and a strong wind whipped up. “Hold on,” Ben said.
Katara felt no ground beneath her feet, but they were not flying. Suspended in what rippled like a divine pattern of time and air, encircling them, flowing past them, Katara felt no fear. She held on to Ben, and a great sense of anticipation for their destination thundered her heart.
“Where are you taking us?” Ravenna cried.
“To the primal threshold,” Ben answered.
A soothing hum sounded, and the wind calmed. An amber illumination, from a wider space, emanated from the ground and then bled up to reveal a clouded sky. In the gentle light, they stood on the cobbled banks of a green river. High, grassy hills speckled with yellow and orange flowers rose up some distance from the banks, on both sides.
Katara, transfixed, murmured, “This place is strange.”
“The River of Beginnings,” Ben simply stated. “In a place removed … a place new to you.”
Katara and Ravenna exchanged wide-eyed glances. “What—what do we do now?” Katara asked.
“We need to go back,” Ravenna insisted, in a rush.
Ben smiled. “You will have the chance,” he said, then turned about, putting his back to the river. Facing the ridge, he said, “Look. Look here.” The girls turned about, too. “Do you see those two openings—those entrances to caverns within?”
“Yes, I see them,” Katara replied. “They are openings to caves?”
“Yes, and passageways that provide the easy way out, for both of you.”
Katara furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“Hear me out … Ravenna,” he turned a calm expression to her, “you have endured terrors. I have seen much, and yet I flinch at your past. Here lies your opportunity to resolve all that plagues you, from what you have endured. If you enter that cave,” he raised a hand to the entrance on the left, “it will lead you to your family. But you must go alone.” He turned an open look to Katara. “Katara,” he said, “I know you want nothing more than to write poetry in the safety of your little window nook. The opportunity to do that presents itself here. If you enter that cave,” he gestured to the entrance on the right, “you can be removed from all this danger, and find yourself in your room, back at the tavern. But you must go alone.”
“Oh!”
Katara and Ravenna rushed towards one another. Desperately, they grasped hands between them and searched one another’s eyes. “It can all be over for us now,” Ravenna breathed.
“We can go home.”
Their eyes widened as if they had the same awful thought at the same time. “But—what about Olive?”
“And the fate of existence.” Katara’s face fell. “It makes our meaning small, to only think about ourselves.”
“I cannot only belong to myself.”
“What shelter can there be for us, if we leave Olive out in the cold?”
Rather than let go of one another, they drew together, and embraced. In the comfort of the proximity, clinging to one another, Katara fixed a face of anguish on Ben. “If we refuse the exit, where do we go next?”
He rolled his eyes up to the clouds. The young women followed his line of vision. A hole in the sky, resplendent with glittering rays of hope, appeared. “Up there,” he said.
Katara felt the pull, even as she had a thousand questions about it. “Have you been there?” she asked.
“No … it will be my awakening, as well as yours.”
“But, but,” Ravenna stuttered, “how do we do any of this without magic? We are not mages!”
Ben opened his hands. “There is magic in friendship.”
“Enough to move worlds?!”
“Well … there is only one way to find out. But friendship is creative, so let’s see what you can create.”
Ravenna and Katara drew apart, and locked eyes. “I feel it in my bones,” Ravenna said. “I feel that this is the way I can put my trauma to good use.”
“We have to go.”
“Yes, we have to go.”
“But we will be together.”
“Together.”
They put determined eyes on Ben. “We are ready,” Katara said.
“We are ready,” Ravenna added, “to go through the hole in the sky.”
***
Dusca awoke in the arms of Barnabas. “Are you awake?” she murmured.
“I am … Nice to dream in the midst of this nightmare.”
“Are dreams even real?”
“I don’t know what is real, except my love for you.”
“My mother used to tell me, love, but be careful what you love.”
“Do you love me?”
“I do.”
“And why must you take care with that?”
“Wounds take time to heal.”
He laid his hand on her cheek. “I will spend the rest of my life earning your trust.”
Their lips met in a tender kiss.
Slowly, they brought themselves up to sit. Dusca wiped her eyes, then scanned the space where all slept. “Where is Katara?” she asked. Her panic rose. “Where is Katara?” she shrieked.
Barnabas sprang up on his feet, and Brother Silas came to confront him. “She is gone, with Ravenna, and Ben, to recover fragments of the Celestial Gear. I have great faith that they will meet the challenge. And we have a challenge for you, too. We need you; we need you and Dusca, to recover a fragment—the Indigo fragment, representing Eros, the god of love.”
“Why us?”
“Because … only true love can capture it.”
They obeyed. A whoosh of air rushed past them, and Ben’s glow went out. A total and complete darkness engulfed them, and a strong wind whipped up. “Hold on,” Ben said.
Katara felt no ground beneath her feet, but they were not flying. Suspended in what rippled like a divine pattern of time and air, encircling them, flowing past them, Katara felt no fear. She held on to Ben, and a great sense of anticipation for their destination thundered her heart.
“Where are you taking us?” Ravenna cried.
“To the primal threshold,” Ben answered.
A soothing hum sounded, and the wind calmed. An amber illumination, from a wider space, emanated from the ground and then bled up to reveal a clouded sky. In the gentle light, they stood on the cobbled banks of a green river. High, grassy hills speckled with yellow and orange flowers rose up some distance from the banks, on both sides.
Katara, transfixed, murmured, “This place is strange.”
“The River of Beginnings,” Ben simply stated. “In a place removed … a place new to you.”
Katara and Ravenna exchanged wide-eyed glances. “What—what do we do now?” Katara asked.
“We need to go back,” Ravenna insisted, in a rush.
Ben smiled. “You will have the chance,” he said, then turned about, putting his back to the river. Facing the ridge, he said, “Look. Look here.” The girls turned about, too. “Do you see those two openings—those entrances to caverns within?”
“Yes, I see them,” Katara replied. “They are openings to caves?”
“Yes, and passageways that provide the easy way out, for both of you.”
Katara furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“Hear me out … Ravenna,” he turned a calm expression to her, “you have endured terrors. I have seen much, and yet I flinch at your past. Here lies your opportunity to resolve all that plagues you, from what you have endured. If you enter that cave,” he raised a hand to the entrance on the left, “it will lead you to your family. But you must go alone.” He turned an open look to Katara. “Katara,” he said, “I know you want nothing more than to write poetry in the safety of your little window nook. The opportunity to do that presents itself here. If you enter that cave,” he gestured to the entrance on the right, “you can be removed from all this danger, and find yourself in your room, back at the tavern. But you must go alone.”
“Oh!”
Katara and Ravenna rushed towards one another. Desperately, they grasped hands between them and searched one another’s eyes. “It can all be over for us now,” Ravenna breathed.
“We can go home.”
Their eyes widened as if they had the same awful thought at the same time. “But—what about Olive?”
“And the fate of existence.” Katara’s face fell. “It makes our meaning small, to only think about ourselves.”
“I cannot only belong to myself.”
“What shelter can there be for us, if we leave Olive out in the cold?”
Rather than let go of one another, they drew together, and embraced. In the comfort of the proximity, clinging to one another, Katara fixed a face of anguish on Ben. “If we refuse the exit, where do we go next?”
He rolled his eyes up to the clouds. The young women followed his line of vision. A hole in the sky, resplendent with glittering rays of hope, appeared. “Up there,” he said.
Katara felt the pull, even as she had a thousand questions about it. “Have you been there?” she asked.
“No … it will be my awakening, as well as yours.”
“But, but,” Ravenna stuttered, “how do we do any of this without magic? We are not mages!”
Ben opened his hands. “There is magic in friendship.”
“Enough to move worlds?!”
“Well … there is only one way to find out. But friendship is creative, so let’s see what you can create.”
Ravenna and Katara drew apart, and locked eyes. “I feel it in my bones,” Ravenna said. “I feel that this is the way I can put my trauma to good use.”
“We have to go.”
“Yes, we have to go.”
“But we will be together.”
“Together.”
They put determined eyes on Ben. “We are ready,” Katara said.
“We are ready,” Ravenna added, “to go through the hole in the sky.”
***
Dusca awoke in the arms of Barnabas. “Are you awake?” she murmured.
“I am … Nice to dream in the midst of this nightmare.”
“Are dreams even real?”
“I don’t know what is real, except my love for you.”
“My mother used to tell me, love, but be careful what you love.”
“Do you love me?”
“I do.”
“And why must you take care with that?”
“Wounds take time to heal.”
He laid his hand on her cheek. “I will spend the rest of my life earning your trust.”
Their lips met in a tender kiss.
Slowly, they brought themselves up to sit. Dusca wiped her eyes, then scanned the space where all slept. “Where is Katara?” she asked. Her panic rose. “Where is Katara?” she shrieked.
Barnabas sprang up on his feet, and Brother Silas came to confront him. “She is gone, with Ravenna, and Ben, to recover fragments of the Celestial Gear. I have great faith that they will meet the challenge. And we have a challenge for you, too. We need you; we need you and Dusca, to recover a fragment—the Indigo fragment, representing Eros, the god of love.”
“Why us?”
“Because … only true love can capture it.”
