Where The Light Touches the Skies

Kala stared at the Moon that was hanging high above him. The sky was clear that night, decorated by millions of stars that twinkled silently in silence. They were so distant, yet so vibrant. The wind brushed against his pale cheeks as if urging him to reach for that distant glow. He could even feel the soft humming of the Planet, calling out to him. His right hand reached out to the brightest star far to the right from the Moon.

A splash of water interrupted his train of thought, and he was back in his forest. The sound of smaller creatures that guard the Dark Forest overtook his hearing, breaking him out of his session. The shadows of the forest trees confined his views again.

A black figure emerged from underneath the waters in front of him. Two pairs of blue neon eyes stared at him. The figure rose higher, and a stream of luminous spectrum of blue and green lit up on its surface. The figure expanded its two massive fins, and its body glowed even brighter in the black waters of the Depth—the lake where the lowest point of the Planet lies.

“Whoa! Easy on the sparks, Glo,” Kala instinctively lifted both hands in front of his eyes. “You know I’m sensitive with all that.”

<Sorry> the creature he called Glo responded. <Force of habit. Besides, I need to make sure it’s really you. You’re the only Nightcrawler I trust.>

Glo had delivered a series of low-frequency audio waves to Kala’s ears that he automatically transcribed to his verbal language. She is a Gleafyn, an ancient creature that guards the Depth—and Nightcrawlers like him are fluent in her language.

Glo decreased the intensity of her glow and swam closer towards the edge of the lake. Kala reached out his long slim fingers to greet her, and she dived straight towards it. He stroked Glo’s wet scales, its pigment illuminates further to every touch. A blue-colored corona outstretched at the top of her head and her fins splashed against the black waters in excitement, sending droplets of water to Kala’s silver hair. Kala fell back and chuckled.

His black dilated pupil darted towards the reflection of the Moon at the center of the lake.

“It’s time.”

Glo’s neon blue eyes stared at Kala in sudden apprehension.

<Are you sure you want to do this?>

Kala nodded at her reassuringly. “We’ve come this far. There’s no going back now.”

Glo swiftly jumped out of the water and landed into the dry surface with her webbed feet. She had the graceful body of a serpent, her fins were a beautiful hue of black, blue and green, outstretching wide like a wing. Her elongated tail swings out of the water in a circular motion, its tip decorated with a pointy caudal fin that radiated the brightest blue glow out of her other body parts. They were both approximately the same age, ten years old, but Glo was twice the size of him.

“How many more minutes before the Equinox?” Kala looked up to match the height of her eyes.

Gleafyns are gifted with natural time instincts. Somehow, they know the exact time when a natural phenomenon will occur in the Dark Realm. That’s why Kala needed Glo to accompany him that night.

<Thirty minutes>

Kala nodded. “We still have some time.”

He reached out to a bag beside him and took out a book. Long ago Nightcrawlers had learned to document their knowledge with symbols and writings made from a glowing ink (extracted from creatures in the Depth). They inscribed those inks to leaf surfaces, then bind them together with tree branches, and it became something they later called books.

Kala opened the book, and the ink painted on the pages glowed to his face. The page was filled with symbols, drawings, and writings of his late father.

—

The Celestial Equilibrium had isolated our world from Light.

For centuries we lived peacefully in Darkness, under the protection of the Moon. Our ancestors taught us about the endless wars that Light had brought to our Planet. The Light had empowered the Daywalkers to destroy and exploit the Planet for themselves, killing Nightcrawlers and pushing other species towards the brink of extinction. But was that what really happened?

—

Discovering his father’s book had changed his life. That passage made him question everything he believed in. He showed the book to Glo one day, hoping that she could help him find answers.

<My mother told me when there was Light, my people lived in fear. The Daywalkers feed on Light and they hunted us. After they were gone along with Light, we could roam around the Depths again without being hunted.>

“So, you believe the stories? That Light brings destruction to the Planet?”

<The Daywalkers were the destroyers. The Light gave them the power to destroy. The Planet was sick at that time. The Universe had to intervene by altering the star alignments, so the Celestial Equilibrium happened. That was when the Moon and the Sun were forever separated. Peaceful beings like us reside with the Moon in the Dark Realm and destructive beings like the Daywalkers resides with the Sun in the Light Lands.>

Kala showed her another passage from his father’s book.

—

It’s been six months since the Blank came. We still haven’t figured out what it is, but it had killed so many of us. I have witnessed Nightcrawlers who suffered from it. Their organs stopped operating. Their brain stopped functioning for no reason. There’s no pattern of how and where it came from.

…The Dark Forest is also suffering. We’re poisoned by an invisible force …

What if Light is the key to the cure?

—

<Your father was looking for Light?>

Kala nodded. He proceeded to show the last pages of his father’s book.

“I think he might’ve found it.”

*****

According to his father’s book, at the heart of the Depth that marks the lowest point of the Planet lies an ancient crater which is the gate to the Planet’s core. The Equinox occurred two times a year, and that was the only time the portal between the two worlds would open at that exact coordinate.

<What if it doesn’t work?>

“Well, we can always resurface again,” Kala grinned. “That’s why you’re here with me, Glo. You can swim faster than any other living being I know.”

Glo dragged him down to the crater and they arrived just in time. With only the guidance of Glo’s scales, they waited and counted down to the Equinox.

They were not prepared for what was about to happen. It was almost impossible to describe it. Kala remembered the crater rumbling and the whole Depth waters shook violently. A blinding white glow radiated from its epicenter, and he felt a powerful force pulled him into a vortex of energy before he completely blacked out.

The moment he regained himself, Kala felt a massive sting in his head. His visions quickly adjusted and blurred figures began to focus in his view.

A pair of curious brown eyes greeted him. It belonged to a face, with a warm color tone that he had never seen before. Her eye shape was similar to his, but it was more rounded, framed by thick curly lashes.

“You’re real!” she exclaimed, followed by a gigantic smile that emphasized her shiny plump cheeks.

Kala winced at the intensity of her voice. He pressed his fingers to his ringing ears. “You speak really loud.”

“I’m sorry,” she hissed frantically, looking apologetic. Then she whispered. “I forgot that you have a very strong sense of hearing.”

Her face immediately lightened up again. She observed him excitedly while jumping and clapping to herself. “This is incredible!”

Kala thought that her body gestures were overly exaggerated. It was as if she had this ball of energy ready to burst out of her body any second.

Seeing Kala’s rather disturbed expression, the girl straightened up her face and cleared her throat.

“Are you… a Nightcrawler?” she whispered softly while trying to minimize her gesture.

“Yes…” Kala answered in confusion. “And you are—?”

“I knew it!” she instantly forgot about the whispers and went back to her normal tone, jumping in pure delight. “I’ve been waiting for you!”

Kala glanced down at his hands, and his eyes widened in surprise. His skin color had somehow changed. It was still pale, but it had a faint shade of pink to it.

He looked around and found himself inside a cave. Everything around him glowed, there were no dark corners. But the glow was different than the glow he had seen in his world. It didn’t come from the objects; it came from someplace else. But Kala couldn’t figure out how these objects could form a spectrum of colors without glowing.

He was sitting at the center of the cave, in a pool of water above a crater. Glo was lying silently next to him, half-submerged in the pool. He recognized her from the shape of her body, but her skin wasn’t glowing and her scales were dark blue instead of black. Her eyes studied her surrounding in confusion and fear.

The color of the water wasn’t black either. It was green but less striking than the green he knew in his world.

The girl shoved her hand at him. “I’m Caya!”

He paused to look at her hand before accepting it. “I’m Kala.”

He felt warmth overflowing through her as their skins touched.

“Nice to meet you, Kala!” she pulled him to stand and shook his hand vigorously.

Kala frowned. “You’ve been waiting for me?”

She nodded, “Today is the Equinox. So, I knew you would come.”

She skipped out of the pool to a corner of the cave and motioned at the walls.

There were more foreign colors on the cave walls. Countless symbols and drawings, similar to the glowing ink in his father’s book.

Kala followed her to the corner and examined the drawings. Several white figures were drawn on one side, surrounded by trees. The figure somehow resembled his kind, the Nightcrawlers. Above them was a round object that glowed in a dark shade. On the other side were figures drawn in Caya’s skin color, surrounded by giant rocks. Above them was a massive round object with this radiant blinding color.

Kala’s eyes widen upon his realization. He stared at Caya.

“You’re a Daywalker?”

Caya’s eyes lit, and she smiled widely. She nodded excitedly.

“But you look—” Kala’s eyes scanned her figure from top to toe. At a glance, she looked so similar to him, as if they belong to the same kind. But his skin was pale white, hers was of that foreign warm color. His hair was silver and straight, hers was dark and curly. For years his people had described the Daywalkers as monsters and a symbol of destruction. But she was—

“Normal?” Caya guessed.

“Beautiful.”

Kala was surprised by his own words. He suddenly felt his throat hoarse, and his cheeks burning.

Caya let out a pleasant sound from her mouth. It was like laughter, but a lot livelier and effeminate. “Thank you!”

Her eyes shifted towards Glo at the crater. “And your friend. She’s a Gleafyn, isn’t she?”

Kala’s eyes widened. “You know about that too?”

“Of course!”

She twirled swiftly in place and stretched her hands out at the cave walls. “We studied all about your world! The Celestial Equilibrium, the Moon, the Dark Realm, the portal, everything!”

She turned and skidded closer towards him. Kala had to jerk back as she leaned her face to his.

“But this is the first time a creature from the Dark Realm crossed the portal! I’ve always wanted to cross it, ever since it was said to have opened at one Equinox. But the Dark Realm was submerged by the black waters of the Depth, and no Daywalker could get out of there alive. So instead, I just waited for a Nightcrawler to come to our Lands instead! And here you are!” 

She grabbed his hand and dragged him closer to her. “Come, I want to show you something!”

<Don’t leave me!>

Glo spoke for the first time since they crossed the portal. She was still cowering awkwardly at the center of the crater pool.

<I can’t leave the water, it’s too hot in here!>

Caya probably felt the audio signal that Glo had emitted, even though she didn’t understand what it meant.

“Sorry Gleafyn, you have to wait here. The Light is too dangerous for you.”

“The Light?! You’re taking me to the—”

Kala didn’t have a chance to panic. Caya had gripped her fingers tightly at Kala’s hand and pulled him with her along the cave corridor.

There was a huge opening at the edge of the cave covered by a blinding white radiance. It grew larger and larger the closer they got. Kala frantically shut his eyes in fear, helplessly dragged by Caya's pull. He was terrified, but somehow, he trusted her. There was also a growing curiosity in him that secretly wanted to find out what Light really is.

They finally halted, and through the slits of his eyelid, Kala could still feel the white radiance. It was even brighter and warmer than before even with his eyes closed. There’s the familiar sensation of the wind, but this one was stronger and louder. Kala instinctively gripped his hand tightly to Caya’s.

“It’s okay, you can open your eyes now,” Caya whispered next to his ear gently. “You’ll be fine.”

Kala swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and dared to open his eyes.

An endless bright blue sky stretched in front of him, covering everything in existence. The blue was soft and calming, a shade of blue that he had never seen in his life. This sky also had clouds, but they were pure white puffs, with silver linings on its edges. His eyes moved downward, and he was surprised to find himself at the edge of a really tall place. He couldn’t see the surface of the land below him. Kala stepped back and hid behind Caya’s shoulder.

Caya giggled. “We’re at the highest point of the Planet. The Peak.”

Kala felt the surging heat above his head, so he looked up. At the center, where the Moon in his skies usually stood, was a massive, powerful ball of glowing energy. The glow was piercing his eyes that Kala screamed painfully and curled himself into a ball.

“Don’t look at it, silly!” Caya laughed hysterically. She turned and pulled him up.

“Is that—”

“Yep,” Caya nodded enthusiastically. “The Sun!”

Kala blinked hard. He was even more confused.

“So… which one is the Light?”

Caya giggled, enjoying Kala's reactions. She looked at him in amusement. His eyes were questioning as he waited for her answer in suspense.

“The Light is everything you see!” she looked up at the Sun with eyes closed, stretching her hands wide. “It’s the life force that the Sun shares with us.”

She turned at him. “It’s what gave everything colors and our ability to see all the beauties of The Planet.”

She leaned closer to him and pressed one of her hands against his chest.

“It’s the source of everything that you feel in here.”

Kala suddenly felt an indescribable burst of energy transferred to his body upon her touch. It wasn’t really transferred, it had always been there, and it was like Caya’s touch had activated something inside of him.

It felt so… alive.

Was this why his father believed the Light could save his people from the Blank?

Caya suddenly jerked up at the direction of the Sun frantically. It had swiftly drifted to a lower part of the sky.

“Oh no! The Equinox is ending soon! You have to hurry!”

She grabbed his hand and began dragging him back into the cave.

“Why?”

“The portal to your world will be shut when the Equinox ends,” she explained as they ran side by side. “You must return now!”

*****

Kala looked at Caya’s warm face and felt his chest heavy. They were back at the crater at the center of the cave, counting down to the Equinox's end.

They’ve just met. He didn’t want to part. Not yet.

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Of course!” Caya smiled radiantly. “I’ll come visit you in the next Equinox! You have to help me get through the Black Waters though!”

She took off a colorful object she had been wearing around her neck. She reached for his hand and wrapped the object around his fingers.

“Keep this. It’s a Dreamcatcher. My people believe it drives away nightmares and fears. This will remind you of my world and the Light.”

She walked closer to him and tiptoed at his side. She planted a gentle peck on his right cheek.

Kala felt something exploded inside him, something he had never felt before. A powerful force was knocking at his chest hard and an intense heat burned his cheeks. Glo witnessed this, and she was surprised to find Kala ‘glowing’.

Caya stepped out of the crater and waved both hands high in the air.

“Goodbye Kala!”

Kala wanted to reach out to her one last time, but the force of the portal had pulled him so quickly, everything whirled into that indescribable sickening vortex again. Memories of the Planet and everything he ever felt in his life collided. A blinding glow intensified until darkness took over.

*****

Kala sat up abruptly. Suddenly he was back at the rocky surface edge of the Depth. He felt like he was sweating profusely, but his entire body was drenched in black water. His skin was back to its natural color.

Had he been dreaming all along?

Glo was lying beside him, her eyes fluttered open. She was also soaked in black water.

He felt something in his hand and there it was. The Dreamcatcher.

“This will remind you of my world and the Light.”

Kala clutched dreamcatcher closely to his chest.

It wasn’t a dream.

He looked up at the stars above him and smiled.

“We’ll meet again.”