Short Story: Finale

Off to Wonderland! “It seemed as if the time was standing still and moving back and forth in the past and future as if she was living different human lives at one single moment. It was overwhelmingly beautiful.”

As Maeve was drifting through the endless nothing, she could still see Heria. Moreover, she could feel them. They were here for her. Guiding her through the unknown that felt so strangely familiar to her.

But what did Heria tell her? Only humans rely on memories and feelings that were familiar. Making up their existence and basing their understanding of time and space on this. At this moment, nothing else was really clear except for this one thing: Maeve was not human. On the other hand, was there another way to explain that she was able to fly? No it could not be, there was no other clarification for this than that Maeve was not human and she has never been. As this thought formed in her head, it made absolute sense. Strangely enough, everything made sense in a way.

Heria let out a joyous scream just as Maeve had formed that thought. As if they knew, what Maeve was thinking. Was it possible at all?

“Stop thinking like a human, with their tiny little brains that were not made for thinking outside the box even if it is just a little step outside! Maeve you are not one of them, you are not even one. You are many, just as we are!” their voice sounded.

Maeve looked at Heria and realised their mouth was not moving. But how was that possible? Maeve and Heria were having a regular conversation, right?

“MAEVE!” echoed through her mind again, “stop this nonsense!” Heria sounded

mad, and hurt. It was the way the voice changed and trembled for a bit. Like there is disappointment. Disappointment? Why? Why would such a breathtaking creature be disappointed in her? She was just Maeve, a boring human girl. Oh, except she was not just a human, which she, by the way, had just found out by spreading her invisible wings?!

What the heck was happening? Boy, can you imagine how Maeve was freaking out right now… and at the same time, she had to concentrate on flying, or was that even necessary? It just happened as if she hadn’t done anything else in her entire life. Had she even lived that life? Was that her only life? Or was that just a fragment of a lifetime?

So many thoughts flying through her mind, spinning and creating a big storm rumbling around. As if that storm literally manifested, a heavy gust of wind blew and Heria seemed off for a little. Then, as if they were having fun in the danger, they let themselves fall just to be picked up by the wind, gliding in the funniest formations. Maeve heard them squealing in joy, which seemed so unfitting for this magnificent being. Triggered by that reaction, Maeve gave in and let herself fall, fall into a spiral, deeper and deeper and deeper. That funny feeling she still remembered from the fall of the rooftops came back and she felt sick for just a moment. The wind swept her up, just as she was about to feel the tears forming in her eyes. But this was just… It was like… There were simply no words to describe

what she felt, but she knew exactly what it was. No human would ever be able to feel it, understand it or even ever experience it. That was for sure. It went above and beyond everything Maeve had ever known. Right?

Heria’s laugh echoing in her mind; they approached her, grabbing her hand and teleporting Maeve to a beautiful patch of land. She, once again, was unable to find any way of describing it. Was it grass? Was it anything near a thing from Earth? Even in the human realm? For sure, it was not. Why was Ran standing right there, about ten steps away from her? He was human, right. How could he even come here?

Again, Heria screamed at her “Maeve get yourself together! You’re not stupid.. How can you be like this? Are you that hurt that you do not remember? How is this even possible?” The pain and frustration in these words were heartbreaking. Maeve felt those feelings as if they were her own… This was unbelievable… And then it was gone again.

Maeve landed onto something; her feet were standing on the ground even if she saw nothing. Just as she touched the ground, it was like a veil was lifted. Her mind filled with memories, or were those moments happening right now? It seemed as if the time was standing still and moving back and forth in the past and future as if she was living different human lives at one single moment. It was overwhelmingly beautiful. She saw many beautiful places, on earth and in realms, humans would not be able to grasp with their small human minds.

Ran looked at her and saw that she remembered. Her face lit up. His eyes wandering around as if he was seeing something else but not the here and now. Indeed she was. He knew himself how spectacular it was to come back here and to remember occasionally what one already has experienced. But for Ran the forgetting was never as immense as Maeve’s. She has not visited this place since… Wait a minute it was so long ago that he could not even quite say how long. No wonder Heria was so frustrated with her.

He saw the shimmering tear about to

make its way down Maeve’s cheeks; this process was intense after all. As he reached for her hand, she came back into this realm and smiled.

“This… was beautiful… How could I ever forget about all these amazing things, about you Heria and you Ran. And what weighs even heavier, about who I really am?” Maeve asked.

He laughed: “It’s alright Maeve, we all do forget some things, but we will never be lost or alone. That’s what friends are for, right?”

The three of them smiled at each other and for once in a while, Maeve felt at ease. Getting lost in her thoughts again, trusting the grounding feeling that Ran’s hand gave her... she was just about to drift off again as Heria asked excitedly as ever: “Off to wonderland then?”

In unison Maeve and Ran answered: “Off to wonderland” and many other voices seemed to join in as the whole surroundings screamed “OFF TO WONDERLAND!”

Maeve smiled, content with what she just had produced. Her back hurt with this sweet pain of leaning against the big old oak tree all day. The sun was warming up her skin and she closed her eyes just for a second. Then Ran called her from the house: “Dinner is ready!” Did she really spend here all day, in the sun, working on her newest novel? Apparently she did. She quickly hit the save button, closed her laptop and stood up, stretching her body towards the sun, as Ran called for the third time. Oh how beautiful it was that they support her in everything she does! They are so helpful and she knows that Ran enjoyed playing around in the kitchen. It definitely was their territory and Maeve actually never dared to set foot in it, only when they called. Then there was it again, them calling for dinner. “Off to my very own wonderland” she thought, leaving the oak tree behind for today…

• Charly Hermanns