The Last Breath
The silver blade slid between her ribs and Nyra fell forward onto the cold floor of the ruined temple.
Blood filled her mouth and it got harder to breathe for every minute that passed.
The traitor laughed above her, but it was distant, as if he was far away even though she knew he was standing right there.
Nyra had fought for six years after her mother’s disappearance when she was fifteen, and this was how it ended.
The world went completely dark.
She woke up in a small bed, sunlight coming in through the window and warming her face.
She lifted her arm and looked at her hand; her hand which should have been covered in bruises, callouses and blood, but instead it was small, plump and soft.
She jolted up and looked at both her hands, confused.
What’s going on?
She pulled the cover from her and stared in disbelief at her legs, small, chubby and soft as well.
What the hell is going on?!
She crawled out of bed with difficulty and darted to the full-length mirror, staring at her own reflection.
A kid’s face and body; her body from when she was four years old.
She looked around the room, at the door, the children’s drawings on the wall, the closet, the bed and the lamp with a wolf cartoon motive on it and her name.
Did I get reincarnated? To when I was FOUR?!
Nyra stared at her own reflection, panicking, and didn’t notice the door open.
“Are you alright, Nyra?”
Nyra froze as she heard the voice. She knew that voice all too well.
She turned around slowly, now scared this was just a dream, and looked up at the person. Tears filled her eyes instantly and a sob slipped out of her.
“Mom?” she whispered hoarsely as she stared at the woman in front of her, golden eyes like her own, dark brown curly hair and a soft smile.
“What’s wrong, dear?” she asked and walked straight over to Nyra, pulling her into her arms.
The warmth, heartbeat and her smell of lavender hit her all at once.
“Mom,” she sobbed and buried her face in her chest and cried loudly.
The sobs wouldn’t stop even if she tried and her small hands held on tight to her mother’s shirt, afraid she would disappear once more.
Alphaena rocked her gently and stroked her hair while humming.
“It’s alright, Nyra. Mommy’s here,” she whispered reassuringly.
“It was just a bad dream.”
Nyra cried even harder at that.
Her mother had disappeared one day when she turned fifteen. She knew exactly what day it happened.
“Alphaena?”
Nyra looked up through her tears and looked towards the door where the voice came from.
A six-year-old boy stood there watching them.
Dark messy hair and sharp green eyes.
Their eyes met and something changed in his eyes.
He smiled like he had seen something interesting, but it vanished as soon as Alphaena looked at him and changed to the look of someone worried.
A cold shiver went down her spine. That small instant he looked like he had noticed something different about her, but didn’t say anything.
“Give us a minute, Lior,” Alphaena said and turned her attention back to Nyra again.
He nodded and the smile returned, his gaze staying on Nyra as he left, but only out of sight.
She pressed her face back into her mother’s chest and clenched her shirt tight.
The warmth felt like the only safe place left and she was scared it would disappear as soon as she let go.
She knew this was a new start. A new start given to her by the Goddess and she thanked her again and again.
This time she wouldn’t lose her mother.
She would do everything in her power to keep her safe and to stop her from walking away in the future.
She would do it in this four-year-old body; her four-year-old body, but with the wisdom about the future of an adult.
But right now she only wanted to stay here. Be the little girl consoled by her mother from a bad nightmare, feel her warmth and hear her breathing.
The sobs gradually stopped over time and she loosened her grip and looked up at her mother’s smiling face.
The room was warm and quiet, and it felt like it was only her and her mother who existed in this world.
“Mom...”
“It’s alright, sweetheart. I’m right here,” she hushed, still rocking her back and forth and hummed a lullaby Nyra remembered right away.
She remembered sitting on her lap listening to that lullaby as her mother brushed her hair.
Back then she had taken it for granted and just wanted it over with, but now she knew how special these moments were.
Eventually her breathing calmed down and the tears stopped coming.
She stayed curled up against her mother, her eyes closed and listened to her heartbeat.
Alphaena kissed the top of her head and hugged her tight.
“Breakfast is almost ready,” she said and stroked her hair.
Nyra nodded against her chest, but didn’t move. She was not ready to let go yet.
When she finally pulled back a little, Alphaena smiled and wiped the last tears from her cheeks with her thumb.
“You alright now?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” she said, her voice small and like a child’s, catching her off guard.
She had completely forgotten that she was not an adult anymore. She was only a four-year-old child, so of course her voice sounded like that.
Alphaena brushed a strand of hair from her face and stood up, still holding Nyra.
“Let’s get you changed, sweetheart, and then get some breakfast,” she said and walked to the closet, pulling out a small pink dress, a color she never wore as an adult.
Nyra nodded, closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying every minute.
She was finally home once more.
