From the Ends of the World

     It started in the Garden of Oblivion…
…and ended at the Ocean of Faith.

     Things had become confused, muddled and fuzzy. Aura no longer knew what she was doing, if she was in the right or the wrong.
     From above, the Morningstar looked down, and sighed in his melodramatic fashion. His companion the Garden of Eden was nearing its end, just as Eden had. It was, in the end, merely a minor inconvenience and nothing more, but he had come to like Aura and Era. It was disappointing to see his creations reaching their crescendo so soon.

     Aura smiled, her features lighting up like the sun from the expression. The kitten mewed pitifully at her, eyes locked as she lifted it gently in front of her face.
     “For me, brother?” She asked Era.
     “For you,” Era affirmed.
     They had lived in the Garden for as long as they had existed, and knew nothing of the world beyond their garden. It was full of things that slithered and crawled, but they had never met a mammal before, and this little ball of fur had already stolen Aura’s heart.
     Era knew better than to take strays into the Garden. The Morningstar had told him plenty of times before not to. The breaking of this rule was the herald of the end.

     “But why? Have we not done as you’ve wanted, Master?” Aura asked, her eyes filling with tears as the Morningstar looked at her, apathy on his face. However, being faced with a woman’s tears was a new experience for him, and he was finding it difficult to maintain his carefully constructed façade of indifference.
     “Your brother has not.” He eventually answered, once he regained his composure.
     “What?” Aura’s eyes moved from his to Era’s, the tears now steadily streaming. “What does he mean, Era? What happened?”
     The kitten meowed from its place on her foot.
     “The cat, Aura,” the Morningstar answered. “I told your brother, no strays. This cat is a stray. Its presence has disrupted the Garden, and now I must ask you to leave. Well, I say ask, but I’ll force you if I must.”
     With these words, Aura took her brother’s hand, and lifted her kitten to her shoulder. Then, after the kitten attained balance, Aura walked out of the garden, fingers entwined with Era’s. The Morningstar watched, more than a little impressed. A sort of sadness descended on him. He had rather liked his creation, the one named Aura. Her attitude, her strength, they were qualities he admired, and he wasn’t even sure how exactly he had given them to her. What he did know is that she would have made a wonderful demon.

     The land was barren, gray and dark. The soil, ruinous. It was a mixture of clay and silt, entirely devoid of an ability for growing. So the siblings wandered. Their stomachs rumbled, hollowing out, ribs growing prominent. The kitten cried. Aura took to catching the small lizards they came across, and quickly killing them. Then, she fed the kitten. Sometimes, she would give the lizards to Era. She, however, did not eat. She sacrificed the shine of her hair and the softness of her skin for her brother and kitten.
     Era did all he could to get her to eat, but until they left the wasteland place, she steadfastly refused. They needed it more than she did.
     The Morningstar watched, and grew angry.

     “What are you asking?”
     “You know what I’m asking. Please, allow them to reach the Ocean.”
     “How could you ask this of me? We are opposites, you and I. Your creations, anathema to
mine. I will not allow them to pollute my own vassals.”
     “Oh, the vassals you purposefully manipulated into failure so that you could continue your great plan?”
     “I cannot do this.”
     “Do I ask much of you? No. I’m playing your universe’s villain, you’d think you could do me this one favor after I agreed to perpetuate the enemy.”
     “Fine.”

     Their feet had long ago become raw, then calloused. Their bodies stained with dust, the only clean one the kitten, whom Aura had taken to calling “Mea”. Era had gone from sad, to distraught, to his current state of numb. He numbly accepted everything about their situation, following Aura like a zombie. It was his fault, he knew, and he hated that.
When the taste of the wind became salty, he opened his mouth wider. The numb acceptance faded to be replaced by curiosity, and he deftly took the lead.
      He led them to the Ocean, and it was there they found their new home. Already, a family lived there, but they were welcoming enough to the new arrivals. A man and wife, two children…
     Yes, a new home indeed.