Lyra Onyx Tsaoussis lazily stumbled around the soil, hoping to reach the willow tree before the moon signalled nightfall. Lyra always beheld the tree as magical, with its long drooping branches dipping into the hazy lake water, and the leaves that shimmered during the rainy afternoon she was amid was pure enchantment.
Lyra found solace in wasting her afternoons by the willow tree. It became one of her favourite pastimes to convey once she’d left her home to live by the lake. She found an evil pleasure in defying her parent’s wishes, particularly their rule to stay inside during rainstorms. The mystery of it, the secrets that lay deep beneath the lake’s reflection, only added to her intrigue.
Lyra could only think to believe that something terrible had happened to her parents during the rain a long time ago. After all, she couldn’t see the harm in a bit of water pattering against her skin. In fact, it was exhilarating to feel after having been left cooped up in a dimly lit home for her entire childhood.
She stopped by the edge of the lake, instinctively reaching her hands out to a drooping branch. She wrapped her arms around it before pulling herself up. Skilfully, she stepped across the branch and over to the tree’s crown. There, she slid down the trunk.
It was an action Lyra always went through despite a bridge connecting the tree to the mainland. In her eyes, it was merely more fun to act like a child for a few short moments of the day.
Lyra sat herself down at the edge of the lake. The leaves of the willow hid her from the touch of rain. She gazed into the disrupted water, which glistened in an array of colours resembling an Aurora Borealis, a sight unlike anything she’d ever seen. The beauty of the lake captivated her, drawing her in like the enigmatic spell her love used to practice.
She focused on the blends of purple she could see. Yet she couldn’t help but notice a subtle figure beneath it. Her attention became more intent, and she slowly recognised the figure.
Lyra stared back at the woman she believed she’d never see again. The plum-dyed hair she wanted to forget, those cerulean eyes she tried to hate more than anything. Venus, her lost love, the one who’d left her heart to shatter into a million pieces, was sitting before her. Venus’s hand was reaching out into the water. And Lyra swore she saw a glint in her eyes.
It felt like a hallucination seeing Venus so clearly. It’s as though she’d never left the confines of Lyra’s mind.
It’s like she never left at all.
Lyra despised dreaming about her Venus. It always filled her with so much sorrow. The knowledge that Venus would leave would always crush every happy memory. She would always go.
Still, Lyra couldn’t help but reach her hand out to Venus’s image in the lake. Her hand met the surface, the water rippled from her action, and for a second, Lyra thought she’d felt a faint pull against her hand.
Then, she felt it again, firmer. And before her mind could even register what was happening, her body slipped into the lake. Her lungs flooded with water, suffocating her. Even so, she still felt the chokehold around her wrist, tugging her further into the lake. Pressure drowned her ears. Her senses were fading away.
Lyra caught a deep breath before her world turned dark.
Air flooded back into her being. Lyra slowly but surely could feel the rain patter against her skin again. However, her fingertips felt frosted, like she’d let them lie in the cold overnight.
She forced her eyes open. They met with snow. Lyra flipped around in a panic, trying to gaze at her home. It was no longer there. She inched backwards, her back slamming against the willow tree. However, once she looked at it, she saw it was no longer a willow. It wasn’t even a tree anymore. Lyra couldn’t even tell what it was. All she knew was that it resembled a sort of bonsai, though the bark felt metallic against her skin, and the leaves looked made of glass. The sudden change in her surroundings left her in a state of shock.
“I was wondering when you’d arrive here.” Venus’s voice called out. Lyra did not doubt it. It had to have been her. “Odd perspective, isn’t it? Takes a while to get used to it, I can say.” She reached out a hand.
“What is this place.” Lyra breathed out, grabbing Venus’s hand.
“I haven’t quite figured out yet. I’ve found it acts like a mirror dimension. It gives you another perspective of things.” Her cerulean eyes bore holes into Lyra. She found the lack of life in them odd. Venus had always been full of life. Yet now she looked buried.
“Do you want to go exploring it with me?”
“I’d love nothing more.”
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