Zali
In a world where fantasy is reality, how does one begin to imagine the unimaginable? Describing the indescribable seems like only a problem in a world far away from one where one doesn’t have to dream to see magic. Simply from this, many would assume my life is a fairytale. But I am no ordinary person, and this is no ordinary story. No, this tale you are about to hear is no fairytale. This is something far beyond the stretch of the imagination, of fear beyond words and horrors too great to name. Even now, as I recall the event in question, my hands tremble. It was so long ago, and yet, I can’t get the image of it out of my head. Chills still run down my arms and spine as the memories come rushing back of it all. Of that thing. Of them. Of that one person who made it somewhat bearable. If only a little.
It was early morning, the sky still dark when I heard a voice urging me to get up. It was sweet, something I remember wanting to protect although I couldn’t begin to explain why. Then I opened my eyes to find my younger sister bouncing on the end of my bed, her eyes sparkling with barely contained delight.
“Come on, you have to get up! You’re gonna miss it!” She squealed, reminding me a little of a kitten who had just tried catnip.
Those few words reminded me of what I had marked on my calendar weeks before, only to have my younger sister find out and get excited about it as well. I smiled, putting a finger to my lips as I sat up, and whispered to her with a smile, not unlike hers.
“Quiet, Zali. You’ll wake Mom and Dad.” With those words, her excitement, while still buzzing no doubt, became whispers of a simmering elation. I climbed out of bed slowly, shaking the dredges of sleep from my bones, and grabbed a jacket as my nightgown released itself from its tangles, and slipped shoes onto my bare feet. The gentle silk of my nightgown tickled the back of my legs as I walked to the window of the second-story home, my sister bouncing along behind me. Making sure no one would hear us, I quietly unlatched the window at the opposite end of my room and opened it, the gentle breeze lifting my curtains.
Today was the day the sunrise would awaken the spring. The frost would melt, flowers would bloom in the dampened ground, and animals of every kind would awaken from their deep slumber to welcome the warmth of the world and the light after months of dark winter. I gently crawled out the window onto the roof, helping my sister follow behind me and holding her close as she got on the roof, taking care to keep her safe. I laid down with her in my arms, cuddling close, and together, we watched the light creep into the sky, the pink soft, mingling with orange in a blissful splash of light and warmth that melted the snow and opened the roses, fading into a soft blue that gently aroused the animals. With these colors, the world felt alive. Warmth burst into the air as I held her to me, she breathed slowly, her heart beating evenly, the wind wafting the scent of her cherry-blossom shampoo into my nose.
How I had missed the days when she was close enough for me to smell that. When I used to pick her up and hold her close and promise I would never let go of that little girl. That hadn’t changed as she grew. I still never wanted to let go of that little girl, not in a thousand years, not even when the sun burned out and we could no longer find warmth. My little sister, no matter how much she grew, would always be precious to me.
She would always be my angel. My light. My Zali.
