Flash Fiction Magic: January 27th "Clear Skies"

This flash fiction prompt came from Emily Barnett, on Instagram @embarnettauthor. The prompt this week is my excuse to flesh out Glitter City, a fantasy/sci-fi novel I should not be working on...

Secelia looked up at the perfectly clear sky above her. Earlier that morning, she’d woken up from another nightmare. Nightmares were normal for her. In fact, they were so frequent she’d stopped letting them bother her years ago because they were always the same.

She was always looking out at the crumbling city through a smudged window, her arms feeling heavy as though she’d been carrying something for days without rest. She’d stare past the desolate landscape and see those eyes. Giant amber eyes filled with hatred and disgust, set into a dark smoky cloud under the Regent’s manor gave it a platform as though to prevent the dirt and dust from reaching its pristine marble facade. The eyes roved back and forth over the city, keeping watch, waiting for… something.

The darkness in her dream swirled around her. “Mama, it’s dark in here.”

“Be quiet, child, it’s a perfectly beautiful day.”

Her arms felt heavy, fatigued to the bones. She could barely lift them to tug her mother’s skirt. “Mama, I’m tired.”

“How can you be tired, child, when all you have to do is admire the beauty and perfection of the city. Of your family.”

Then, she had to ask… the question tumbled out of her before her sleepy brain could tell her mouth to stop. “Mama, what lies beneath the Regent’s manor?”

“Nothing. Stop asking questions.” The last word carried her mother’s loathing, what the child had felt as long as she could remember. “Now.”

With all the strength left in her body, she turned her head to look out of the window again, and the eyes landed on her. Thick black smoke surrounded her, drowning her in its heaviness.

The nightmare tormented her for years, until she was old enough to rationalize things. My arms are heavy because they are twisted above my head at night. The eyes were symbolic of the Regent’s all-knowing power in Baí Rel. The smoke surrounding me was just me, falling back asleep.

It was just a nightmare.

It was easy to rationalize because everything in her waking life was perfect. She spent her days on Leisure Hill with the rest of the citizens of the most modern, most perfect city in the world. She was… she wasn’t sure how old she was, but she still looked not a day older than twenty. Her mother only ever smiled at her - they barely spoke and when they did it was about how beautiful her mother still was and how much they loved living in Baí Rel with its sparkling towers, intelligent Regent, and incessantly clear skies.

And Secelia really did love her life in this city. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Couldn’t imagine doing anything except relaxing under the sun with her family and everyone else who lived in this modern paradise.

That’s why last night’s nightmare was so… disturbing. In it, she was no longer living in Bai Rel. She was no longer her mother’s daughter. Many things were different, she knew, although she didn’t know exactly how or why.

She was in the center of an extremely large field, surrounded by trees so tall they had to be centuries old. There were people behind her, her family. Her home. She was holding a hand up towards them, wind was flowing from around her… no, from her… around her… to keep them from entering the field. The sky grew darker, the wind whipped around her faster and faster. A figure appeared through the trees in front of her, his suit glittering black, its knife edge pleats and long cape sleeves perfectly still despite his proximity to the wind. Her wind. He was smirking, his amber eyes dark and full of the same hatred and disgust… His hand reached for a flame blazing in his pocket and realization swept over her.

She was going to be the one to burn down the sanctuary behind her with her uncontrolled power. Power… she was controlling the wind. Her fear blended with awe as the man in front of her laughed, recognition creasing his face.

“It’s time to let go, Secelia.” His smile twisted to a contemptuous, menacing frown, amber eyes blazing. “Give in.”

He was so much more powerful. So full of anger and hatred that it threatened to consume her. Tears filled her eyes, and she knew glancing back at her family would give him an opening, but she did it anyway. She needed to see them one more time…

Secelia had woken early this morning with tears in her eyes. It had taken her an hour to shake the dream, and disturbed her so deeply with clouded thoughts that she’d forgotten to take her medicine.

She finally remembered once she was already on Leisure Hill, peering up at the crystal blue sky. Because at the same moment, she noticed the clouds.

And that it was starting to rain.