Chapter 21
A dull, painless thump and Kyla pushed herself off the floor. She was cold, she realized, and her body began to tremble. As she looked around, she saw why. She seemed to be in a forest covered with the white magic that winter brought with it. The wind that caressed her body was icy. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and rose on shaky legs.
She carefully checked if she could walk. When it worked, she had to use her weight to resist the oncoming blizzard and walked ahead with her eyes closed.
When Kyla felt the wind drop, she dared to look up. Before her stretches an endless lake. The ice glittered in the sunlight. Kyla was amazed. Even though it was cold, the place was just gorgeous. She hesitantly approached the shore and looked around. Behind her was the forest, the trees and the ground covered with snow. Her footprints were no longer visible.
Kyla felt her legs begin to tremble. Not from the cold, but rather from lack of strength. She dropped to her knees and stared ahead. What should she do now? How did she get here?
Should she return to the forest where the blizzard was still raging? Or should she try to cross the ice?
Since Kyla has always been a person who would rather look ahead than back, she forced herself to mobilize her reserves of strength and stood up. She would cross the damn ice. At some point it had to end.
After the first steps onto the ice, she saw something flash in front of her. She dropped back to her knees and began brushing the light snow off the ice with the palm of her hand. What was staring at her almost took her breath away.
A woman was frozen under the ice. It seemed like she was sleeping. Her hands were clasped together across her stomach and her long white hair caressed her body. "Am I dreaming?" she asked herself.
Kyla began brushing away the remaining snow. She stared at the woman below, still amazed. She needed something to get her out of there, but what?
Kyla heard that rumble again. She turned her gaze back to the forest it came from and saw the black wave rolling towards her, threatening to swallow her again.
Just before the darkness rolled over Kyla again, she rose to her feet. She jutted her chin out defiantly because otherwise she had nothing to oppose except her pride and the will to not give up. The rumble died away and the darkness settled just before her. It began to condense and a shadowy body loomed.
Kyla got goosebumps. Nevertheless, she carefully reached out to this being and as her skin touched the shadow she felt that loneliness again, that hatred and yet there was something else. Something sad, she realized.
Kyla cocked her head to the side. This deep sorrow that spread through her body almost seemed to tear her heart apart. Tears pooled in her eyes, ran down her face. When they reached the bottom, they were nothing more than small, frozen drops.
Kyla turned and looked at the person trapped under the ice. She knew who that was there and yet she wasn't able to help. The sadness wouldn't go away and tears were still streaming down her face. When she turned back to the forest, the shadow had disappeared and a green meadow stretched out before her. The sun was shining brightly and a pleasantly warm wind was blowing against it. The ice beneath their feet had given way to lush green grass.
Kyla closed her eyes. It couldn't all be true. Surely she was only dreaming. But if it really was a dream, then she could wake up too. Kyla tried the tried and tested remedy and pinched herself.