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Description
Darkness held her.
Slimy pond water slipped down her throat, choking her, but she would not rise. Even if she could find the surface, even if the tangling wet weeds did not clutch at her, there was nothing for her above the water. Still, instinct made her struggle as the water burned her lungs.
Soon--it would be over soon, and all suffering would end with her life. Even now her limbs grew heavy, and the darkness pressed more thickly over her.
And then there was light.
Spilling, golden light--and air, precious air as her head broke the surface.
She should be dead, but this, retching pond water from aching lungs, her tired limbs flailing against her will, this was not death.
But when her feet found the shallow end once more, and she dragged her heavy head up to see that the light pouring over her was not from the sun...she reconsidered.
For standing serenely before her--on top of the water--was a glowing divinity.
She brushed away the water dripping into her eyes, gaping. The goddess, all long, golden limbs and earth-rich eyes, draped in amber silk, watched her with a considering gaze.
For a long, stretching moment, they watched each other in silence.
Then the goddess tipped her head, shining, wheat-colored hair flowing over one shoulder. "Are you quite finished dying?"
The girl choked. "Am I dead?" she sputtered, voice as ragged as her waterlogged appearance.
"Mm, yes and no," the deity answered in a song of sunlight. "Of course, if you sought true death, you should have picked a different place."
The girl looked around. This was Solov's Pond. Nothing special about it. She remembered that. She remembered seeking death. But she couldn't remember why...
"And that's the problem with you," the goddess continued, as if privy to her thoughts. "This is my place, and I would make you one of my creatures, but you don't have the heart for it. Or lack of heart." She smiled, amused, and the whole grove seemed to grow brighter. Then, noticing the girl's confusion, she sighed. "I would make you a...rusalka, your people would say. It's perfect, really--the tragic drowning of a young woman...the violence that led you here...and yet..." She lowered dark lashes to regard the girl once more. "You have no hatred in you. No burning desire for vengeance, or even mild disgust. Only...sorrow."
The girl frowned, lifting her hands from the dappled waters. She understood none of this, really. Could not even remember her own name.
"Sorrow, of course," the shining deity continued, "would do well enough. But it seems your fate may lie elsewhere."
The girl looked up.
"Choices, choices," the goddess murmured. "If I release you, my brother will claim you. You may spurn death, or you may serve it, but it will never be yours to claim."
"Please," the girl whispered, without knowing what she was asking for.
The goddess regarded her once more, and her gaze was like a glinting winter sun, bright and sharp. Then her form began to fade around the edges, blurring into her own glow.
The hapless girl moved to reach for her, but suddenly a sleek, black raven was flying between them.
Close--so close she felt the feathers brush her face.
And then everything fell away into a curtain of dark feathers.

My thanks to all the lovely stock providers:

girl [link]
goddess [link]
flowers [link]
raven [link]
background [link]
brushes [link] [link] [link] [link]

As always, my words and my muses belong to me.

Description
Darkness held her.
Slimy pond water slipped down her throat, choking her, but she would not rise. Even if she could find the surface, even if the tangling wet weeds did not clutch at her, there was nothing for her above the water. Still, instinct made her struggle as the water burned her lungs.
Soon--it would be over soon, and all suffering would end with her life. Even now her limbs grew heavy, and the darkness pressed more thickly over her.
And then there was light.
Spilling, golden light--and air, precious air as her head broke the surface.
She should be dead, but this, retching pond water from aching lungs, her tired limbs flailing against her will, this was not death.
But when her feet found the shallow end once more, and she dragged her heavy head up to see that the light pouring over her was not from the sun...she reconsidered.
For standing serenely before her--on top of the water--was a glowing divinity.
She brushed away the water dripping into her eyes, gaping. The goddess, all long, golden limbs and earth-rich eyes, draped in amber silk, watched her with a considering gaze.
For a long, stretching moment, they watched each other in silence.
Then the goddess tipped her head, shining, wheat-colored hair flowing over one shoulder. "Are you quite finished dying?"
The girl choked. "Am I dead?" she sputtered, voice as ragged as her waterlogged appearance.
"Mm, yes and no," the deity answered in a song of sunlight. "Of course, if you sought true death, you should have picked a different place."
The girl looked around. This was Solov's Pond. Nothing special about it. She remembered that. She remembered seeking death. But she couldn't remember why...
"And that's the problem with you," the goddess continued, as if privy to her thoughts. "This is my place, and I would make you one of my creatures, but you don't have the heart for it. Or lack of heart." She smiled, amused, and the whole grove seemed to grow brighter. Then, noticing the girl's confusion, she sighed. "I would make you a...rusalka, your people would say. It's perfect, really--the tragic drowning of a young woman...the violence that led you here...and yet..." She lowered dark lashes to regard the girl once more. "You have no hatred in you. No burning desire for vengeance, or even mild disgust. Only...sorrow."
The girl frowned, lifting her hands from the dappled waters. She understood none of this, really. Could not even remember her own name.
"Sorrow, of course," the shining deity continued, "would do well enough. But it seems your fate may lie elsewhere."
The girl looked up.
"Choices, choices," the goddess murmured. "If I release you, my brother will claim you. You may spurn death, or you may serve it, but it will never be yours to claim."
"Please," the girl whispered, without knowing what she was asking for.
The goddess regarded her once more, and her gaze was like a glinting winter sun, bright and sharp. Then her form began to fade around the edges, blurring into her own glow.
The hapless girl moved to reach for her, but suddenly a sleek, black raven was flying between them.
Close--so close she felt the feathers brush her face.
And then everything fell away into a curtain of dark feathers.

My thanks to all the lovely stock providers:

girl [link]
goddess [link]
flowers [link]
raven [link]
background [link]
brushes [link] [link] [link] [link]

As always, my words and my muses belong to me.