Chapter 53Absorbed

I was flying. So high I couldn't even see the earth. If it wasn't for the odd white cloud around me and the sun, I wouldn't even know what way I was going. It was quite nice, actually. The minutest movement of my fingers or toes would change the direction in which I moved. It was pleasantly warm here as well, especially with the sun shining brightly. Besides the rushing wind there was no noise. It was a peaceful silence though. Nothing stopped the sound, there was simply none created. I wasn't entirely sure if I could smell anything. Strangely enough it all seemed so neutral, like nothing had a smell.

Except one tiny hint of sharpness.

The hint of metal in the sky made me look around and notice a darker cloud in the distance. I changed direction easily and headed towards it. Every now and then there was that hint of something different in the air, not metal but sharp nonetheless. The darker cloud was much bigger than I expected. It almost filled the horizon when I got nearer.

Soon I was surrounded by the dark rainclouds and the tinny smell. I suddenly remembered it was very much like that smell you get right after rain. Especially if there had been lightning. The clouds were thick and quite rich in their colors. From darkest purple and blue to a bleak grey at the edges. The sun wasn't able to reach very far in it and soon it felt like I was engulfed by a shadow. My body cooled down a little, but the air was much thicker here and felt almost like a blanket.

I saw something light between the clouds, a lot lower from where I was.

It turned out to be another girl. She was slowly moving her finger through the cloud she sat on, causing swirling patterns to come into being and disappear deep into the cloud. I didn't find it very easy to land, but I managed, somehow. My feet touched the clouds and supported me. At least that made it easier to talk to her.

Four girls? Four sisters?

But the other girl said she only had two sisters.

"Hello, dreamer." The girl looked up at me before I even greeted her.

"Eh, hey. And who are you?"

She looked up. "The drop."

I smiled. "Is that your name?"

She giggles and shook her head. "No, some called me Anat."

I had to ask. "And how many sisters do you have?"

She looked surprised but didn't hesitate to answer. "Two."

I tried to think. "Are you the origin of this storm?"

She thought for a moment. "No, I'm the message of the storm."

It was a strange thing to say and I wasn't exactly sure what it meant. But, she felt much more cooperative than the others. I wondered what she would answer if I asked more direct questions. "What will happen to me?"

She smiled at me. "You still haven't met my other sister."

I blinked. "But I've already met three of you."

She shrugged. "But only one of them was my sister." She then looked up again and smiled. "There it comes."

As I looked up I felt a drop falling on my forehead. It was surprisingly cold. Another drop joined it shortly after and soon I could feel rain falling down all around me. Within moments my clothes were completely drenched and I could feel the warmth of my body fighting against the cold of the water. A small pool formed at my feet that appeared to grow.

It rained some more.

For some reason the pool at my feet actually grew upwards, as if I was in a giant bowl that slowly got filled with water. I tried to move but the water just followed me. It was at my knees, my waist. The wider the pool became, the faster it got filled. The water was quite cold too, it was more like being submerged in ice rather than water. And it got higher and higher. Soon the water was already at my neck. I wanted to swim upwards, to escape the rising drop, but it didn't work. My legs were already too numb from the cold.

It continued to rain.

The level passed my lips, my nose. Soon I could no longer breathe. I felt the intense pain in my head of being submerged in ice cold water. With my ears in the water, I could hear the hundreds of drops drumming on the surface, higher and higher above me. I had closed my eyes when the water got past me, but as I opened them again, I could see the girl looking at me fascinated. She wasn't smiling, just looking.

The cold and lack of air was too much for me.

I fainted.

And woke up.