THE FIFTH REALM: TURQUOISE — The gift of speech

She wanted to travel through it once more. She visited the places where she had learned to listen, the paths where she had let her attention wander, and those that had shown her what her distraction had caused. She thanked the silfis and spent a long while beneath the cherry tree.

She could still lose herself in a thought, but now she knew how to return. Whenever her attention slipped, she repeated the words she had heard so often:

‘It’s a process.’

On her last night, she dreamed that she spoke and birds of many colors came out of her mouth. Their songs traveled far. Skyblue couldn’t see all the beings who heard them, but she sensed that some were lifting their heads, as though they had just remembered something important.

When she woke, Helio spoke from her heart:

“The Turquoise Realm has entrusted you with the gift of speech. Your voice will be able to inspire other beings to begin their journeys. Care for it as you have learned to care for your fire.”

Skyblue wept with emotion.

She had left her village carrying questions she didn’t dare say aloud. Now she was discovering that she had something to offer, and that she could share it without ceasing to be herself.

She hugged the cherry tree. She thanked him for the shelter, for the cherries, for Ernesto’s voice that had reached her through his branches. Then she picked up her satchel and set out.

She traveled toward the Indigo Realm with all her senses awake. She wanted to drink in every moment.