The Mausoluem

Once, upon a time when things were good, she was happy. She knew
little of life, but when her grandmother died life remained a distant
thought. To her, it's a pressure too built for a child to accomplish.
No matter the struggle, for her binary mind, life cannot be a failure.
For if you perish at life, you uphold the trophy of death.

     Vedera hoped for strength; a braced desperation to never meet
death clung to her chest. She, like many child, sought be infinite.
Will her family miss her when she's gone? Is relevance a correlation or
causation of time? She wanted to find out. 

     Her grandmother told her stories of The Old. The tales and
stories and lore of unseen worlds. This fixation settled in little
Vedera, always listening with wide eyes and a wild heart. Vedera
mentally reincarnated the prose; characters and settings were entirely
of her design.

     It was this notion that turned Vedera into a thinker. She
pondered about the wizard. Her grandmother said he was an all powerful
being who would grant a wish. Vedera thought, till finally coming a
conclusion; she grabbed her jacket and ran. 

     The forest is a shaded emerald after rainfall. The treetops
shield the sun, with a few slices of light managing its way through.
The soil is darkened by damp dirt and moist leaves. But she wasn't
afraid. Vedera knew the forest was her true home.

     Immersed by the forest, the green below and the black above
catered to Verda's spirit. The same one that drove her here is now
relaxed. The anticipation of curiosity slipped from her small skull.
Her smokey blue eyes looked around. There wasn't noise, but sound. She
heard music. A piano? She followed the notes.

     Thick brush slowed her. Frustration swirled around tapping
feet; why stop now? The music gets louder. She traveled on. The girl
has a place to go. Mud and branches thickened too often. In anguish,
she came to an opening with a thud. The music stopped.

     It was a piano! Wide eyes got larger. Wild hearts beaten faster.
The child observed with an open mouth. Her breathing got heavy as the
piano still played. It rang sweetly, adding a layer of sincerity to the
forest. The piano was bulky, square and sharp in shape. A dark wood
cover and aged keys complimented each other. It wasn't these things that
Vedera noticed. She noticed a symbol embedded on the front.

     She tried to make a distinction of what it was; the loud piano
sang, scaring it listener. Vedera stumbled backwards, and when doing so,
saw something even more peculiar. A statue was behind the piano,
hunched and cradled. Her mind pondered again. Vedera had to answer to
her curiosity.

     The statue seemed sad. The stone from which it was carved from
reflected its emotion. The body was curved over its cupped hands. It
looked down, and Vedera did the same. A pendant? What could a statue
want with a pendant? Something was written on it...but...she couldn't
understand the writing. It's not English? nor Ploish? nor French? What
could it be, she thought.

     Reloux Suneh Caravella io Tuhoux

     "Send endings into darkness," a voice said. The statue! "Hello, child."

     Vedera collapsed. She crawled away
while the statue awoke. With stretched and crackled limbs, the statue
shed it's hard cover. Wide eyes got wider. A wild heart beaten faster.

     "The body is such a horrible thing to waste, so do it quickly," the lively statue said.

     Vedera did nothing. She said nothing. But, she felt so much.

     Once fully uncovered, the statue now
claimed color. "Much, much, better." It's skin was a hue of peach laced
with pine green markings ; it's hair was diamond blue; it's eyes were a
thick moron.  "Child, are you a mute?" it asked lazily.

     Vedera didn't move. She had now become the statue.

     "This always happens," it sighed, "I
guess I'll have to carry the conversation then, won't I? My name is
Sidrio The Faint. And I am at your service, if you are of mine." He
stood with crossed arms, "Don't you speak child?"

     "What are you?"

     "I'm the wizard of the Lost."

     "You're the wizard?"

     "Yes," he said with a brittle tone.

     "You don't seem like one," she confessed.

     "Child, there are things that seem like one thing, but aren't.
Reversely, one thing cannot be but it surely is." He uncrossed his arms,
smiling wide. "Now, before I help you, you must help me. Thus, then, I
can help you." He began to search the mossy floor, "Where is that
pendant..."

     Vedera looked at her hand, "Is this what you need?"

     Sidrio's eyes got shined, "Yes, yes, it is indeed. Please." He extended his thin, lengthy hand.

     She was hesitant, but her body surrendered.

     "Thank you, child," he said as he took the pendant. Sidrio
walked to the piano. He strung a melody together; chords and bars
liquified. The centerpiece of the piano opened like as door. Sidrio
looked back at the child, smiling again. He inserted the pendant into a
glass frame, to which it then retreated back into the piano. The doors
closed, and the pendant now laid brightly center.

     Vedera stared, wide and wild. She got up from the ground,
wanting to subdue her urge. She never cared for jewelry, but a harsh
jolt of curiosity wanted that pendant.

     "So what can I help you with?"

     "I want to never die," she said.

     Sidrio's face expanded, "Oh? Quick to answer? Why, so?"

     "Because I don't want to die,"

     "No, no, why did you answer so quickly? I want to know."

     "Oh," she said confused. "I don't know, it's just what I want."

     Sidrio chuckled with close lips. "Fair enough. Right, so you don't want to die?"

     "Yes, I don't want loved ones to miss me."

     "I see. Luckily I can help you with that. But! You have to help me."

     Sidrio cleverly walked around Vedera.

     "What do you want?" she said.

     He stopped, "It's simple. Just a piece of fruit."

     "Fruit?"

     "Fruit."

     "Okay, where do I get it."

     "Oh, it's not in season."

     "Then how do I get it?"

     "You'll have to grow it, of course."

     "Where do I grow it?"

     "Here," he said as he revealed a porcelin pot.

     "Where did you--"

     "Just grow it in there, it'll be fine."

     Vedera's mind raised more questions than her mouth could pose
them. She stumbled as the inqueries flourished. Determination for
immortality ceased her personal skepiticism, "Where do I go?" Her
expression was tight and sharp.

     A divine grin installed across his face. His head nodded slowly,
"Good, now you ask." Sidrio propped himself on the piano. "You are
going on a quest, child. The four places I am sending you will help you
grow the fruit. You need a seed, droplet, stone, and blade all to help
it grow and prosper." His grin got wider. Her heart beat faster.

     "That's all I have to do? Grow the fruit and give it to you?"

     "Yes, it's that simple."

     "And if I do this, you'll grant me my wish?"

     "Of course, it's my promise. I can only abide if you help me."

     Anxiety was lost, but it crept its voice in between the sounds
of mulish conviction. She thought thoughts, but also of exaggerated
emotions and fiendish fantasies. She could not let her family weep on
her behalf; the torture she would allow them to suffer. A child she may
be, yet a troubled force swelled inside her.

     "I'll do it."

     That smile and those eyes revealed themselves.

     "Sanctuary! We have ourselves a deal," Sidrio said. He slashed
his hand to form an x in the air. The x moved toward Vedera, to which
she stepped back. She held out her left hand to swat the x away. Vedera
shook her hand, but it binded with the skin. "Struggle all you want, but
it's not going to come off. Think of this as motivation: You complete
the task. Or, you receive punishment. It will be nothing severe, but I
don't like when promises aren't kept."

     Frustration ignited in the innocent child. "Fine," she replied. Her reply caused Sidrio's face to open.

     He nodded as he hit some keys on the piano; it was a different
chord that stung her. The centerpiece of the piano opened, lending a
leather satchel. Sidrio grabbed the bag, closing the piano.

     "I can't be mean, so you will need this."

     Vedera took the gift, "What's in it?"

     "Nothing that you don't need."

     She frowned. Vedera half smirked at the bag.

     "Where do I go?" she said.

     Sidrio set the pot atop the piano. He stood behind the piano,
and spun it to have the back face Vedera. "Here." Sidrio moved to the
front of the piano, playing once more. The hardwood casing started to
separate, allowing it to change the pitch of the tune he was playing. A
reformation of the wood made a door frame. Vedera looked awfully. "Your
journey starts now, child."