Mystery received many wide-eyed glances as she stood in line at the train depot. Her face had been all over social media and the news after her plane had crashed inside of the giant stone rings. The raccoon sitting at her feet drew even more attention. She stood stiffly, knowing it was only a matter of time before someone started questioning her about Rhapsody and the ring.
"Excuse me," a man in a MultiCam military jacket spoke up next to her.
She stifled a sigh as she turned to face him. His dark eyes studied her intently. He had a mop of dark-brown hair and a tan face that was dominated by a large beak of a nose. He was several inches shorter than her six feet and four inches—most people were.
"Yes?" Mystery answered in her best polite, but preoccupied tone.
"Are you the one who crashed inside of that fairy ring?" the man asked in an eager voice.
All eyes were now on Mystery as a dozen other people watched her raptly.
"Um…would you believe me if I said no?" Mystery asked doubtfully with a half-smile.
He blinked, then grinned conspiratorially. "I won't tell anyone."
Mystery barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she glanced around at all of the other people who would probably also not tell anyone.
"So, I've heard a ton of crazy rumors about what's inside of the rings," he informed her with a questioning look. "Is there really a skeletal demon that harvests souls in there?"
"You mean Harnketi?" Mystery asked with a frown. "She doesn't harvest souls and she's not a demon. She's a Baykok."
"Harnketi?" he repeated the name slowly, seeming to taste it. "What is a Baykok?"
"Harnketi is a Baykok," Mystery replied with a shrug. "Now you know as much as I know about Baykoks. I think Rhapsody said she hunts men who prey on women."
"Is Rhapsody really a demon disguised as a fairy?" another man asked dubiously. "I've heard a lot of places claim she is really a demon in disguise."
Mystery turned to face the middle-aged, balding man. He had a gold tooth and a tattoo of a bullseye on his forehead. "Who puts a bullseye on their own head?"
"Who is claiming she's a demon, and where are they getting their information?" Mystery asked with a scowl. "We were the first humans to enter the rings, so where is this information coming from?"
"Psychics, supposedly," the man shrugged with a wry smile. "I've never had so many psychics popup into my YouTube feed. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it seems a little contrived."
Mystery glanced around at the curious faces watching her, wondering if she should tell them about her ordeal with the NSA and what she had learned. It's not like it would make any difference—nobody would believe them anyway.
"The people in charge didn't like what I told them about Rhapsody," Mystery revealed with a disgusted shake of her head. "They decided it must be a lie and that she was a demon, rather than growing up and accepting the truth, even if it's hard."
"What truth?" he asked intently. You could have heard a pin drop in the large room. Even the clerk was watching her, customers forgotten.
"Rhapsody is a projection of the world tree, Yggdrasil," Mystery answered solemnly. "She's the only thing keeping this planet alive right now, and the timer is ticking. She has a plan to save the world, but it depends on other people."
She sighed dejectedly as she finished. She inspected the suddenly anxious faces watching her and tried to see them as individual people with hopes and dreams, with their own struggles and triumphs. These were the people depending on her to make the right choice, to accept Rhapsody's request to become a world tree.
"I don't understand," a young mother with a toddler said apprehensively. "How is she keeping the planet alive, and why does she need to?"
"It's complicated," Mystery responded wearily. "To keep it short, an opportunistic alien destroyed the other world trees on this planet around a thousand years ago and Rhapsody's the last one. It's getting harder for her to keep the world alive every year. She needs certain people to take on the role of world trees to take the strain off her shoulders. There aren't very many people who can fulfill that role."
"Is that what she wanted you for?" the first man asked shrewdly.
Mystery flinched at the question, her shoulders hunching. She turned away from the man and walked up to the ticket counter, ignoring the line of people watching her.
"I was told you have a ticket waiting for me," Mystery told the young woman expectantly. "Could I please get it now?"
"Mystery Donovan?" the clerk murmured with a slow nod. "I would ask for ID, but I don't think there is anyone who wouldn't recognize you. Here's your ticket. It was nice to meet you."
"Thanks," Mystery took the ticket gratefully and hurried past the silently watching crowd.
Mystery replayed the conversation of the last few minutes over in her head, wishing she had just kept her mouth shut. She couldn't get the image of the young mother's worried expression out of her mind—worried for the future of her child.
She felt her eyes filling up with tears and her throat tighten as she sat down on a bench to wait for her train. She wished more than anything that her brother could be here with her right now. He was an idiot, but he was the only one that had ever been able to walk her through the landmine of her tangled thoughts. She had always been moody. Certain triggers would send her spiraling downward until she could barely function. Something as silly as failing to put a piece of boxed furniture together correctly would send her into a tailspin of self-loathing. She had struggled with suicidal thoughts since her fourteenth birthday. The idea of being trapped in an immortal tree with her melancholy thoughts for millions of years was terrifying. Sometimes she could barely make herself finish out the day. Being stuck in the form of a giant tree for eternity was nightmare material.
She put her face in her hands, trying to hide the tears as they began spilling down her cheeks. She knew the decision should be easy. What did her suffering matter compared to billions of lives? Yet no matter how she framed it, the thought of being trapped in this living hell filled her with stark, unshakable terror. She would become a giant tree, unable to die while she watched as her brother aged and died, leaving her totally alone in this hellscape.
"What made you want to become a pilot?" Azeban asked quietly.
Mystery jumped in surprise when she heard his voice. She had forgotten that he wasn't just a raccoon. She embarrassedly began trying to wipe all evidence of her meltdown away, sniffing loudly as she tried to pull herself together. Azeban just waited patiently, watching her from the chair next to her.
"It was like the ultimate expression of freedom," Mystery muttered, her voice still sounding far too emotional for her taste. "I could just leave the world behind and go anywhere I wanted—no roads or boundaries. It was an indescribable feeling every time I got up into the air and watched the ground shrink below me. All of my cares and worries were left behind on the two-dimensional surface. I could get a playlist of my favorite music going and just lose myself in the freedom of the third dimension."
"Rhapsody told you about spirit walkers, right mate?" Azeban asked, one eyebrow of dark fur raising up in an expression that nearly brought a smile to her lips.
"She told us about a spirit walker that killed the other world trees," Mystery confirmed with a short nod. She wished she had some tissues. The NSA had taken all of her possessions, leaving her without a phone, money, or even her ID. She was glad the clerk had recognized her.
"You may or may not have made the connection when Rhapsody told you about the time that she hunted that spirit walker down," Azeban continued thoughtfully, his eyes staring steadily into her own. "World trees are also spirit walkers. You aren't just a giant tree on planet Earth. You can go to any world you want, unconstrained by things like physics. If you think flying an airplane is amazing, you should try flying through outer space or travelling to the other side of the galaxy, and all of that without a vehicle. There are no boundaries or roads for a spirit walker. In fact, you won't find a being with more freedom than a world tree. Just some food for thought."
Mystery nodded in acknowledgement, still feeling embarrassed at her emotional breakdown in a public place. She looked around discreetly but couldn't see anyone in the distant benches watching her. Maybe she had only made a fool of herself in front of Azeban.
A train pulled into the station, the brakes squealing loudly as it came to a stop. A voice on the PA announced her train had arrived. She stood up, feeling a new sense of embarrassment as she realized she had no luggage. She had no way to get clean clothes or bathe. She was going to be stuck in the same outfit for a week of travel. Maybe she could borrow someone's phone and contact her brother. But what good would that do her? She couldn't have him order clothes and have them shipped to a moving train. She couldn't just get off the train and go shopping either. Sighing, she resigned herself to being progressively stinky and dirty as the week progressed.
She showed them her ticket when she boarded the train and was directed to a cabin several cars down. Maybe she could just stay in her cabin and sleep the whole way back. She blinked as the thought occurred to her. Everything had been so crazy that she hadn't had time to really think about her current situation. She had just been going along with the directions Azeban had given her. She looked around quickly, expecting to see the furry raccoon walking behind her. He was gone. Feeling suddenly more alone than she'd felt in years, she found her way to the cabin on her ticket.
Where was she going anyway? She looked at her ticket for the first time and saw the destination was San Francisco. So, she was going toward Rhapsody. Back to where her life had first started falling apart almost fifteen years ago. She blinked rapidly as tears welled again. A train attendant was walking toward her from the far end of the car. She quickly opened her door and ducked inside before the tears began overflowing in front of someone else and embarrassing the hell out of both of them.
As soon as she was inside of the small cabin, she closed the door and leaned back on it. She slid down to the ground with her back against the door as another wave of emotion opened the valves on her tear ducts. She stared up at the ceiling as her eyes overflowed with tears, unsure of why she was even crying.
"Hello, Mystery," a gentle voice spoke up.
Mystery drew in a startled breath as she looked down, finally noticing her cabin. Rhapsody was standing on the other side of the cabin near the window, a compassionate smile on her perfect face. Mystery inhaled deeply as the fragrance of freshly bloomed flowers in spring filled the air. She walked up to Mystery, her large eyes filled with love and understanding. She walked right up to where Mystery sat against the door and entered her personal space. She pushed Mystery's knees down until her legs were flat on the ground, then knelt down on top of Mystery, her knees straddling her thighs. Mystery's face burned with embarrassment at the level of intimacy. Rhapsody smiled reassuringly and pulled her into a tight embrace. The scent of a spring flower garden intensified, intoxicating.
"You're not alone, Mystery," Rhapsody whispered into her ear. "I'll always be with you. I'll always protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."
Rhapsody's words were like dynamite dropped onto a dam. Mystery let out a wail as she wrapped her arms around the fairy and shook with heart-wrenching sobs. She could feel so much confidence and power exuding out of the fairy, wrapping around her like a shield. She could almost believe Rhapsody was telling the truth—that she really could protect her.
Rhapsody held her comfortingly for over twenty minutes as Mystery finally let her grief, fear, and anxiety be purged from her system. She fought the urge to pull away from Rhapsody. She found it difficult, if not impossible, to trust anyone else with her safety. She had learned long ago that you couldn't trust the people who were meant to protect you to be there when you needed them most. Her thoughts shied away from the memory of her parents as if they were hot coals scorching her mind.
She had pushed herself to become stronger, more independent, more capable, and above all else, untouchable. She would never let her guard down again. There was nobody else that was going to save her—she only had herself to save herself.
"Can I tell you about Harmony's childhood?" Rhapsody asked softly, her mouth near Mystery's ear.
Mystery wrinkled her brows in confusion as her tears finally slowed down. "What about it?"
"I'm going to show you, so that you can really understand what happened to her," Rhapsody spoke in a sad voice. "May I show you?"
Mystery nodded once, feeling an unconscious sense of foreboding. A moment later, images and memories flooded through her consciousness. She gasped as she saw the horrors Harmony had endured for the eighteen months in her father's lab of horrors. It was worse than any horror movie, more terrible than she would have thought possible. How was Harmony so normal? How was she able to take care of her nieces and live a normal life at all with those horrors in her psyche? How could someone be burned alive repeatedly and still have any sanity left to cling to?"
"She thought she had burned her tear ducts out, but as she saw Harmony brutally violated and tortured in her early childhood by her own father, new tears flooded her eyes. She wept for the cheerful, beautiful woman she had briefly met two nights ago. The images didn't stop there. She saw the unending service Harmony dedicated herself to in raising her nieces when her own traumatized sister was too broken to get out of bed. She watched in awe as Harmony took care of her grandmother for the last four years of her life, then in horror as she dealt with the brutal murder of her sister."
"How could anyone endure so much pain? How could they continue waking up in the morning and getting dressed for the day, let alone taking care of everyone around them? Mystery knew she would have ended her own life long ago if she had been dealt the same hand."
"Her favorite author had a character that reminded her of Harmony. A woman that had been through hell and come out the other end with her spirit still burning brightly. Mystery envied that character. She wished her own spirit were so indomitable, so full of inner confidence that the horrors of life could be so deftly overcome."
"Did I ever tell you that Harmony is an author?" Rhapsody asked, a hint of a smile in her voice.
"She is?" Mystery frowned as she thought of the blonde beauty writing novels. "What's her pen name?"
"You already know it," Rhapsody answered, the smile in her voice just short of laughter. "You've been reading her books for the last three years."
Mystery gasped, her eyes growing wide. "No way!"
"Yes way," Rhapsody chuckled, leaning back to look into Mystery's eyes with her huge lavender orbs. "Pretty amazing, right?"
"That is Harmony?" Mystery demanded in disbelief. "But she's so young."
"She might be young in body, but her soul is very old indeed," Rhapsody spoke softly, her eyes full of love. "Just like you, Mystery."
Mystery struggled to reconcile the secretive author she had obsessed over for the last few years with the face of Harmony. She had pictured a middle-aged woman, possibly even older, as the real face behind the pseudonym.
"How old is she?" Mystery asked incredulously. "She can't be over twenty-two."
"Twenty-three, actually," Rhapsody corrected with a dimpled smile. "She published her first novel in high school. I think you saw enough of her life to understand how she could write with such depth of emotion. She's a pretty amazing woman. Pretty and amazing."
Mystery felt her lips twitch at the fairy's playful words. She suddenly became aware of Rhapsody's position on her thighs, their breasts touching as Rhapsody smiled into her eyes from a few inches away.
"Harmony has one more secret for you to figure out when you see her again," Rhapsody informed her with a mischievous smile. "It's a doozy of a secret too. I wish I could time travel so that I could go see your face when you find out—I don't want to wait."
Mystery's lips curved up as she stared at Rhapsody curiously. "What is it?"
"If I told you, it would ruin the fun of watching you figure it out," Rhapsody replied with a snicker. "You're just going to have to be extra observant when you are with her."
Mystery's breath caught as she thought of being with Harmony again. She had liked Harmony before, in a casual kind of way. She had been funny, kind, and beautiful. Knowing she was her favorite author pushed her past the acquaintance zone, straight past the friend zone, and right into the naked desire zone—emphasis on naked.
Rhapsody threw her head back and laughed. It was a sound to make angels envious, warming Mystery's damaged heart. She looked back at Mystery, her face growing serious.
"The reason I showed you Harmony's memories was because I want you to know that you aren't alone in your traumatic past," Rhapsody explained in a gentle voice. "Harmony has dealt with her own demons as a result of her trauma. She puts on a normal face, but she has major self-esteem issues. Until recently, she would unconsciously hold her breath when she felt overwhelmed. She didn't remember the trauma that caused it until recently. When she had medical tubes going into her throat it caused her so much pain to breathe that she would hold her breath as long as she could to avoid the pain."
"The difference between you and Harmony is that she has a loving mother that would cut off her own arm to keep her daughter safe. She's been there for Harmony to help her on the bad days. I know you have your brother, but it's not the same as having a mother's loving care. With Harmony, you'll have someone who understands the kind of hell you have been through. She's someone that will move heaven and earth to make you smile on your bad days. You'll never be alone with Harmony by your side."
"I'll leave you to think over things," Rhapsody said warmly, leaning forward to embrace Mystery again. "There are fresh clothes for you on the bed. Your brother is joining you at the next stop tomorrow morning. He'll be here with you for the rest of your trip to talk things over with."
Mystery almost laughed at the wave of intense relief that washed over her at the revelation that Rhapsody had brought her a fresh change of clothing. And her brother?
"How did my brother get out here?" Mystery asked in surprise. She felt a pang of sadness that Rhapsody was about to leave her. Having her warm body pressed up against her felt good in so many ways.
"I'm teleporting him," Rhapsody answered with a shrug. "He doesn't know about this yet, so make sure to enjoy the look on his face when it happens."
Mystery's shoulders shook as she laughed, bouncing Rhapsody around in a very distracting manner.
"I can't wait to see his face," Mystery declared when her laughter subsided. "Thank you for coming here, Rhapsody. And thanks for the clothing."
"Of course," Rhapsody leaned back, beaming at her. "I know you don't remember right now, but you and I are very close. We've been together for a very long time. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Mystery. You, me, and Harmony go way back, in other lives we've lived. Goodbye for now, Mystery. Get some sleep."
"I would love some sleep," Mystery announced, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. "I have a feeling these beds are going to be too short for me."
"I fixed it for you," Rhapsody assured her with a dimpled smile. The beautiful fairy leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then vanished.
Mystery blinked as the weight left her thighs. She let out a regretful sigh that turned into a huge yawn. Sleep. That's what she needed now. She stood up with a groan. Sitting on the hard floor for that long had not been kind to her tailbone. She walked over to the bed with a curious smile on her face. What had Rhapsody meant when she said she fixed it for her?
She stared in grinning amazement at the end of the bed. Instead of ending at the wall, there was a hole in the air that led to another bed—this one a huge bed. She stared at it thoughtfully. The hole in the air was big enough that she could easily crawl through it and just sleep on the larger bed. Had that been Rhapsody's intent? Or had she just meant for her legs to go through the hole?
She sat down on the small train bed experimentally, frowning at how thin the mattress was. With an adventurous grin, she crawled through the small portal onto the larger bed. She wondered whose bed it was that Rhapsody had attached to her cabin. Whoever it was, they could throw parties on a bed of this size.
She stood up and quickly took her dirty clothes off, hoping Rhapsody's mischievous nature didn't extend to dropping her into some stranger's bed. She crawled under the covers and breathed out a contented sigh. This bed was comfortable. The thought had barely crossed her mind before she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
XXXXX
"No, I will not wait on hold," Michael snarled into the phone. "You've already had me on hold over two dozen times while you transfer me back and forth between departments. I want to speak to somebody higher up the food chain. Let me speak to your supervisor, manager, director, or whoever it is that will talk to me for more than five seconds!"
"I'm sorry sir, you tone is extremely combative," the curt voice of an older woman said with a hint of irritation. "Call back when you have a better handle on your emotions."
"Don't you dare hang up-" Michael let out a scream of rage as the line went dead.
He had been fighting his way through the bureaucracy of the NSA for the last six hours as he tried to find out what they had done with his sister. Her phone immediately went to voicemail every time he called it. He was starting to suspect they had stuffed her in some kind of bunker somewhere, and that she might never see the light of day again.
He was still in her house, where the NSA goons had taken custody of her almost two days ago. He walked over to the coffee maker and started another pot brewing. He hadn't slept since the agents had absconded with Mystery. He was tired enough that his blinks were turning into ten second naps as he forgot to lift his eyelids again.
"Hello, Michael," a musical voice greeted him from the kitchen entrance. "I've got a much better pick-me-up drink than that swill."
Michael whirled around in surprise, then gaped when he saw the lavender-eyed fairy his sister had told him about. She was in a green summer dress that stopped at mid-thigh and left a generous amount of cleavage showing. Long, luscious red hair twisted and cascaded down her shoulders all the way to her waist. She was the fairy-tail princess kind of beauty, with her enormous lavender eyes and pointy ears. Softly glowing wings were visible on her back as she stood watching him with an amused expression. She was holding a large red fruit of a variety he had never seen before.
"Rhapsody?" Michael asked in bemusement. Maybe the lack of sleep was finally getting to him.
"Good guess," Rhapsody smirked as she walked toward him. She twisted the stem of the fruit off, leaving a hole in the top. "Drink this. You can put it in a cup if you don't want to drink it from the fruit."
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.
"Yuccas Fitter," Rhapsody answered as she handed it to him. "It will restore your body to a younger version of you by one week. It also takes care of all of the things that sleep takes care of, so you'll be fresh and alert. It's also ridiculously delicious."
"Do you know where Mystery is?" Michael asked quickly. "The NSA abducted her and I can't get anyone to give me any answers when i call their main office."
"She's on a train headed this way right now," Rhapsody informed him with a reassuring smile. "She needed some time to work through some tough decisions. I was hoping I could take you to her so that she has a friendly face to talk things over with. She really misses you right now."
"How would we get to her if she's on a train?" he asked in confusion.
"Did you forget that I'm magical?" Rhapsody asked dryly. "I'll just teleport you to her."
"Oh," Michael mumbled, nonplussed
"Drink up," Rhapsody commanded him crisply. "She won't be able to talk with you if you are sleeping."
He peered into the top of the fruit suspiciously. Nuclear green liquid sloshed around inside of the large red fruit. "This is safe for humans to drink?"
"Of course," Rhapsody nodded patiently. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have given it to you. It also makes you immortal if you drink it regularly."
He had just taken a swig while she was speaking. As what she said penetrated his sluggish thoughts, he choked and began spraying Yuccas Fitter around the kitchen.
"Way to waste the immortality potion," Rhapsody clapped her hands in a congratulatory manner.
Michael gasped as his taste buds finally sent the right signals to his brain. Eyes wide, he held the fruit up to his lips and began drinking greedily.
"You sound like an obscene phone call," Rhapsody informed him dryly. "I guess ecstasy fruit was a good word for an anagram."
He drained the entire fruit, feeling a sense of regret when he had drained the last drop of the delicious drink. He had never tasted anything even close to as good as this Yuccas Fitter. He felt warmth begin to spread out from his stomach and into the rest of his body. His mood shifted from sleep-deprived edgelord to giddy and wide awake. Everything seemed more colorful and brighter, as if he had been wearing dark sunglasses that washed out the color his whole life.
"Okay, you ready to go solve a Mystery?' Rhapsody asked with a cheeky grin.
"I wouldn't advise making any puns with her name," Michael warned her quickly. "She's heard them all."
"That sounds like a challenge," Rhapsody declared impishly. "Challenge accepted."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Michael said helplessly.
As his mind finally woke up, the reality of his situation pushed its way into his awareness. He was talking to a fairy in Mystery's kitchen! He couldn't stop staring at her in fascination. She was beautiful in an exotic non-human kind of way that went far beyond the normal definition.
He jumped in surprise as a hole in the air opened in front of him. He stared a the inside of a cabin on a train in shock. He could see the ground moving past the window on the side of the train car. The small bed was empty and there was no sign of his sister.
"Here, take this with you," Rhapsody snapped her fingers, and another Yuccas Fitter appeared in her hands. She handed it to him with a severe expression. "This is for her, not you. And watch your head. These trains weren't made with giants in mind."
"Where's Mystery?" Michael asked in confusion as he stared at the empty cabin.
"She's probably on the other side of the portal at the end of the bed," Rhapsody replied with an amused expression. "Just shout through the portal and she'll probably come crawling back to this side—especially if you tell her that you have some Yuccas Fitter."
Michael walked through the portal, ducking his head as he entered the small cabin.
"See you in a couple of days," Rhapsody waved at him cheerfully just before the portal closed.
Michael shook his head, wondering if he had fallen asleep and was having a lucid dream. He walked over to the bed and found the portal Rhapsody had described. His sister was dead to the world in a giant bed. He frowned, wondering if he should leave her asleep. She could probably use the extra sleep. He looked down at the Yuccas Fitter and grinned ruefully. Nope, she wouldn't need any sleep if she had some of this.
"Hey Mystery!" Michael called out through the portal.
His sister jerked awake with a start, then looked down at the end of the bed where the portal opened in surprise.
"Michael?" she asked sleepily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Did Rhapsody bring you here?"
"No, I made my own portal," he replied wryly.
"I deserved that," Mystery chuckled as she finally seemed to wake up all of the way. "Go find something interesting to do in the cabin while I get dressed."
He rolled his eyes and went over to the window. He had never been on a train. It was a lot smoother than a bus or car. They were passing through a rural area with farms surrounding them.
"I've got some Yuccas Fitter for you!" he called out as he watched a line of cars waiting at a train crossing.
He heard the sound of rustling and turned to see her quickly crawling through the portal, her face alight with eagerness. He laughed and handed the fruit over to her. She pulled him into a hug after she took it.
"It's so good to see you, Michael," she told him in a voice on the edge of an emotional meltdown. "Thank you so much for coming."