Terin opens his eyes. The gleaming of the cave seems different. He blinks, clearing more of the haze from his vision. The dark black has been altered to a lighter shade, almost blue? The shining stone that reflected his fire also seemed to have faded. But wouldn't the fire have gone out by now? Another blink. It takes effort to get into a seated position. The cave floor hadn't been any easier to sleep on lately.
What was left of the fire sat smoldering next to him. The grass around it untouched by the flames.
Grass? Terin reached out automatically to feel what he thought to be thick blades of green grass he hadn't seen for months. It felt crisp and also supple. Not like dried blades that had been exposed to long hours of heat.
The air was clean. Almost automatically Terin closed his eyes and took a long deep breath in. Dirt. But not the dirty remnants of animals and worn stone. This was soil. Earth. As he sat with his eyes closed he heard he soft twitterings of finches. Their calm and cheerful serenade lightening his shoulders.
Somehow he had freed himself of the cave system. He didn't know how and at the moment he couldn't be bothered to care. He'd spent months in those dank walls and had almost given up hope he'd ever see the sky again. Every so often he would meet a figure or animal that would accompany him for an hour, a day and then would inevitably disappear. In many ways it seemed like a cruel punishment. Had he deserved to wander the caves? Was there something he needed to do or learn? There were still no answers. And for the moment, none of that mattered.
He lifted his head and with another great breath he opened his eyes to view the lightening of the sky at dawn. The deep blacks and purples were just beginning to blend into lighter hues of blue and pink. Somehow he'd managed it, finally.
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The trek had all but left Terin exhausted. In his enthusiasm he had indulged himself on berries, squirrel and handfuls upon handfuls of clean stream water. He could still feel the cooling sensation it left down his throat. It was like he had been reborn, experiencing life for the firt time. Everywhere he looked reminded him of life and things he had taken for granted. Somehow it seemed magical. Like the same things had been given new contexts and meaning. It was so much to take in that for the first several hours of the day he spent speeding off to each bush and stone, gasping to reacquaint himself. Until of course a swarm of wasps made their presence known and clearly expressed their wish to not be aquatinted with Terin.
While Terin was trying to find a comfortable place to rest for the night he heard a strange noise. Something he was unfamiliar with. He couldn't quite make out what it was so he stopped and stood patiently in the forest. Was something singing? It almost sounded like words coming from the south. Slowly he walked in that direction, curious as I what he might find.
The trees parted ways and before him was a sight he'd never seen. A vast chasm. Sharp ridges lined a dangerous drop straight down. Terin couldn't tell how far it had descended before having to pull his head back until his swimming vertigo cleared. But the song was clearly coming from somewhere in the chasm, it's echoes sending the song deep into the surrounding forest. However the words to whatever was being sung were still unclear.
"HELLO?" Terin shouted down, half expecting the sad serenade to continue without interruption.
Silence.
Wind moved through the trees all around him and suddenly he wished he hadn't disturbed whatever was creating that song. Another few beats of his heart and he began to pick up the soft murmurings again. Okay, he had only momentarily startled it. That was all right.
Terin found himself enjoying the music. The last thing he wanted to do was cause it to stop, whatever it was. For some reason he didn't feel so alone listening at the edge of the cliff. So with that Terin made his bed for the night. The sun was beginning to set and he would need time to gather wood for a fire.
Leftover berries and squirrel satisfied him immensely as he sat next to the warm flames. His spirit hadn't been so light in as long as he can remember. Somehow the time in the caves had cleansed him. Altered him. He wasn't sure how long this beautiful feeling would last but for right now he would enjoy it. As he laid down on the pallet he automatically called out to the chasm "Goodnight!"
The song stopped again, though only briefly. With little hesitation it continued on into the darkness.
What a sad song, was the last thought that floated through his mind as he drifted to sleep.
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