THE SEVENTH REALM: AMETHYST — All this time

She was still smiling when she woke.

“It was him,” she told the orange tree. “All this time, it was him.”

She wanted to get up, spread her wings, and fly straight back to the village. She needed to hug Ernesto, rest her face against his bark, tell him she had finally recognized him.

“I’m with you,” she heard, like a whisper among the leaves.

Skyblue closed her eyes. Her joy was no less for the distance between them.

She greeted him, thanked her host, and went out to welcome the day.

Helio had told her she must wait before entering the Amethyst Realm. Skyblue didn’t understand why, but that morning the waiting didn’t weigh on her.