^{If you missed the first book - Fireflies - you might want to start there. It's here in its completion, written for Steemit. If you enjoy it, feel free to ask to be added to the subscriber list for the sequel, where new chapters are being released daily.}

Entry 23

"Mommy!"

Talia inhaled deeply as if sucking in all the surrounding air would bathe her with her mother's essence. It wasn't good enough. She sprinted into the ocean, unsure of which direction to go, except deeper. She could feel her, everywhere, in everything. It was not enough. She wanted her arms filled with her mother's embrace. She wanted to look into her face. She needed more.

As much as she tried to pull Aria's essence into her, she couldn't quench her need. It was like a saturated sponge trying to draw in more water. It just wasn't possible to pull it all in. There was so much overwhelmingly present, but suspended in a matrix connected to every atom. She couldn't isolate her mother's energy from everything else. It was an intricate framework that was the foundation for everything around her. How had her mother become more than what she was? What exactly was she now? And why couldn't she speak to her?

As if in response to that unspoken question, she heard it again.

"Talia."

Now she knew for certain who that was. It was definitely not her mother. So it had to be -

"Brydger?" She forced the whispered name through vocal cords that wouldn't fully cooperate.

"Bring me back."

"Bryd, can you hear me?" Louder this time, she cried out into the vastness of this world.

Silence. Was her mother summoning both of them?

"Mom, help me! I don't know how to bring him back!" Her desperation increased again as panic raced through her mind. She didn't know how. She couldn't. Where was he? He sounded so far away. How would she search this whole world? Was his voice just on the wind, being pulled to her with her mother's help?

Again, in response to her thoughts, a familiar bird flew by. The same one that had the bright silver aura that signified it was a joint creation of Bryd and Talia's past. She watched it flit through the air, whistling its familiar tune. Her heart was bursting through her chest. Memories flooded her of how she had reached him before. But he had been physically before her, able to hear her. She didn't know what she was doing at the time, and she knew even less now.

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