Swan Song – Written by Jennifer Michaud

Cassandra blinked again, unsure if her eyes were open or closed.

She was trying to focus her blurred sight on the returning white vision.

Alas, the foggy veil descended again before she could determine what it was, before she knew whether it was simply imagined or could actually be real.

The nagging thought tapping on her shoulder had again interrupted and chased the beauty away.

She was certain there was something she was forgetting and was trying to remember. If she had indeed forgotten something, it couldn’t have been all that important, could it?

To her, it seemed less important to remember than to regain the image of the white beauty, for it was all she longed for. But it seemed she couldn’t have what she wanted until she remembered.

Resigned, she imagined a spotlight scanning her mind, looking for the lost memory. It was lying in wait, just around the next bend, hidden just beyond her field of vision. She could sense it, knew it was there, but she just couldn’t get to it.

Desperate for the vision calling her, she gave it one final try.

Concentrating, she imagined a young, healthy version of herself running after the memory in her mind. She could only glimpse at its heels running away, far ahead in the dancing spotlight.

Eventually, the feet disappeared and she was left running alone, running after nothing at all.

She smiled weakly. She somehow knew her worries were permanently behind her and that she still had much to look forward to.

She felt nothing mattered much anymore for it would not be long now until the white beauty reappeared. This time, they would be interrupted no more.

So Cassandra let go. She let it all go. There was nothing important here to hold her back.

And she was right.

The apparition returned, brighter and clearer than before. A spectacular white swan of sorts, peaceful and welcoming, beckoned her in a sing-song voice.

“Come, join me. Together we will fly.”

Words: 330