The Gift

The Gift

She knew what she had to do, but if she were to possibly explain why it had to be done, all she could say was that it was necessary. The entrance that lead to the realms of the dead, the kingdom of the darkness, was imposing to most, but as the being known as the Light approached it—with crimson gown flowing, gently twisting and unfurling in the wind all she saw was beauty. The mortals who lived in her kingdom, her realm of life, believed this place to be nothing more than a macabre ending to any and all deserving of the darkness. She knew better though and smiled as she gazed up at the frightening carved image that was meant to represent the great darkness that lived beyond its gates.

It had taken her so long to journey to this place for she was not welcome here and to prove herself worthy of facing their wicked master. But the Light was strong and was not easily frightened by the cowering creatures that fed upon mortal’s fears and anger, nor was she impressed or in awe of their poisoned mistress who proclaimed herself as the great lover of the Dark. The Light knew better and with her great blade—decorated with symbols of fertility and justice—she forced the dark mistress to return to her nightmares.

With the banishment of the nightmares, the Dark discovered his companion’s return. The Darkness was as nervous as he was eager to be reunited with his dearest beloved. The gift she had given to him in their first encounter had been a powerful one and in her absence, its weight had taken its toll. The Darkness had never known what it was like to hold the feelings of another’s heart before the Light had given him her own.

The transition had been hard for the being of chaos, but before they parted ways, he offered his own and in her hands, it became a part of something so much greater than anything he could have imagined. In this exchange birthed an opportunity of wisdom and understanding. By embracing the destinies offered to them, the two entities parted ways to taste the life of mortality and to experience love as no god or goddess ever could. Now, after many lives experienced in mortal coils, the time had come for them to see one another as they truly were. The lessons learnt and experienced had taught both of them well, granting Order and Chaos true understanding of one another and the mortals they were meant to guide.

As the Light entered the grand chambers where the Darkness resided, the creature of chaos breathed in deeply taking in the beautiful scent of water flowers that was not permitted to grow here. It was intoxicating and it was not long before he approached her petite form with two crystallized naecea resting between his fangs. Bowing deeply before his queen and love, the great beast of darkness shyly presented the finely crafted jewelled creations. As the beautiful entity Light met the beast’s blue-eyed gaze, her amber eyes softened as she graciously accepted the gift.

As her finger wrapped around the jewelled creations, the stone crumbled away leaving real petals instead of crystal. Placing the blooms into the bloodied pool from which all life passing to the underworld ended, they both watched in silence as the naecea flourished. It filled the pool and the streams of blood transformed into clear water. The soft scent of water flowers soon filled the room, intermingling with the scent of desert spices familiar to the beast of death and chaos.

Without another word spoken the Darkness watched as the Light returned her attentions to him once more. Gently she caressed his cheek and kissed his brow, as in her touch held all the words that only their hearts understood. Though the Light could never truly reside in this realm or Darkness in hers, they were now truly forever bound to one another.

Thus the waters of the damned and fountains of harmony—once mere windows to each other’s realms—became portals ensuring that neither light nor dark, harmony nor chaos, would ever truly be apart.