Age Recommendation: 16+
Death is just the beginning.
When Canary died, she did not just find a new life for herself, but she became the catalyst for forces that would shake the foundations of the entire world.
She fell to the ground, coughing weakly. Too weak to raise her arm to scrabble at the wall of the cave in again, not that any of that mattered. She was trapped here, and now she was dying here.
Her eyes drifted tiredly shut, and she stopped breathing altogether.
"Huh?"
Canary fell, drifting head over heels, tumbling in the dark. Lost to the endless abyss. She didn't know when it would end, or if it would. Strangely enough, despite the warped reality, she felt comforted, rather than confused.
Accepting.
"Oi. Wake up. Can't sleep here. Don't even know how you got in here..."
Canary opened her eyes slowly. The ground still felt like it was becoming staircases, but she could see it now, and it was solid. Had she just fallen asleep? She should be dead right about now.
She took a slow breath, and spluttered into coughing, leaning up weakly on all fours as she blew dust into her face and made the hacking even worse. It wasn't mining dust, though. It was rougher than that. Just the general build up from things being old.
"Ew! It breathes! Gross! Gross! Stop breathing on everything!"
Canary looked up blearily to the voice, "What's... With the... Shouting?"
A green haired girl was staring at her from behind a pot-plant, also covered in dust. Not just staring... Cowering? Canary knew that she was the least intimidating person that she knew. Why would anyone be afraid of her?
Canary rubbed her head, feeling the ache. She sat down slowly on the ground and looked around. It looked like she'd woken up in grandma's house two decades after grandma had expired. Pot-plants, books, and even that weird hard candy that nobody ever actually liked to eat.
"Where am I?"
The green-haired girl stared at her, "What... Are you?"
"Uh... Canary." She shrugged, "Last thing I remember was... There was a cave-in. Are you a nurse?"
"What is a nurse? Are you a nurse?"
Canary shook her head, "No. A miner. How do you not know what a nurse is?"
"How are you here!?" The girl exploded angrily, aggravating her headache.
Canary rubbed her temples, "Could you... Not do that? My head is killing me. I don't know how I got here or even where here is."
"Then hurry up and expire, organic!"
Canary stared in shock, "Did... Did you just... Tell me to die?"
The girl stared back at her fearfully, "No... No... What are you doing?"
Canary sniffed.
The girl recoiled behind her plant.
She sniffed again, trying to keep the flood waters back. She was lost and confused and her head hurt and she thought she was about to die and... And the dam broke. The tears came flooding down, and she began to warble.
"No! No!" The girl came running out from behind the plant, "Stop that! Stop moisturising! Please! I hate it."
"I hate you." Canary cried, rubbing at her eyes, "I don't know where I am!"
The green girl knelt in front of her, hands moving cautiously, attempting to touch her without actually... Touching. "Oh, stop it. Please? I didn't mean to make you... Do this. Ew. So much ew."
"Shut up!" Canary yelled and pushed her, knocking the girl onto her back with a crack to her skull that echoed in the room. She stopped crying, and breathed in sharply, "Are you okay?"
"I am undamaged." The girl replied sitting up and rubbing her head, "No, wait. A bump. Ew. I'm swelling."
"Can... Can we start over? My name is Canary." She smiled weakly, "I'm a miner. I dig for shiny things."
The green-haired girl looked at her, with a frown, "Well. Canary the Miner... I don't know how you got here. This room... Is my world. The people who whisper to me call me Amber. I suppose that's as good a name as any."
"Amber?" Canary smiled, and wiped her cheek, "That's a pretty name."
The green-haired girl shifted uncomfortably, "Um... Thanks. You're not moisturising anymore. Does that mean you feel better?"
"Do you mean crying? I'm sorry. I cry a lot." Canary took a shuddering breath, "I get picked on for it. But the world is so big and scary... And I've always been alone. My family died when I was little. I don't cope with things so well."
Amber cocked her head, "What is... Family?"
"My mum and dad. Big sister." Canary smiled sadly, a tear running down her cheek as she remembered them, freaking out the girl again. She wiped her face and took a deep breath, "Where are your parents?"
"Parents... Mum... Dad... Sister..." Amber shook her head, "Sorry. I don't know what any of those things are. But they sound important. I'm sorry you lost them. Please don't leak."
Canary smiled, "I'll try. This is your world? You ever been outside your room?"
"No..." Amber said slowly, "Why would I? This is my world. I can do whatever I want here. And no organic has ever managed to sneak in before."
"I didn't sneak." Canary glared, "I woke up here. If you weren't so freaked out by basic things like crying, I'd accuse you of kidnapping me. So... Any way I can leave the room?"
Amber stood up and scratched her head, "Leave...? I've never really thought about that before. Hmm. I suppose it might be possible to turn the room inside out. That will return you to wherever you were... But, no. No I don't like that."
Canary sighed, "Isn't there a door?"
"What's a door?"
She stood up and looked around the room. There wasn't a door. Or windows. Or even light sources. Yet, she could see everything easily. Where was the light coming from? "I... Guess you don't have one."
Amber sighed, "Eugh. Fine. I'll be gross and see the picture in your head. Better than wrecking my room. Hold still."
Canary went bright red and froze still in confusion as Amber planted a peck on her cheek. She turned slowly, eyes wide, "What was that?"
The green-haired girl was too busy wiping her mouth and spitting to hear her. "Gross! Gross! Gross! Organics."
"You kissed me."
Amber glared at her, "I formed a psychic bond so I could peek inside that gooey fleshsack you call a brain. Ew. Anyways... Door. That's the square thing that opens and shuts, right? To form a connecting pathway between two places."
The girl snapped her fingers and pointed. Canary looked over and stared at the door. "Uh... Why is my bedroom door suddenly here? And how? Are you magic?"
"Magic... Don't know that word either. And not peeking inside your squishy thing again." Amber shook her head, "Goodbye, Canary."
She smiled weakly at the strange girl and crossed to the door and opened it slowly. She stepped through it and stared in confusion. The door fell shut as she looked around her bedroom. She turned around and opened the door again, and saw the hallway.
Canary walked out of her house, dumbfounded, and stared as she saw the town. She could hear the bells as the town ran to deal with the mine collapse. So that really had happened.
Had she... Died?
"C... Canary?"
She looked over at the surprised man standing in the street, "What... Happened?"
© Copyright 2024, James Milne