Dark Galaxy

• Milena Di Felice, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2020

The wind brushed back my hair, nipping gently at my face as I cling onto my friend’s waist. I leaned over to look ahead. For as far as I could see, we were swallowed by a dark abyss of space and time. We were the only sign of life around. No one knew how to get out. Yet no one wanted to. It was as if we were in a dream. For this place was a treasure in which we would all hold dear to our hearts. A subtle beating of wings echoed through nothing, the feathers of the humble creature glimmering the purest of white hues. Even though the giant bird could swallow us whole, it honoured us like royalty. The patch on its back shimmered with gold, the luminosity taking our breath away. Every delicate feather of the bird emitted a soft glow, our only light source for miles. The radiance lit up our skin, bouncing off our eyes, making the appearance our eyelashes had little speckles of gold flakes. All we knew is that we had to get to the end of this or our world will perish. It was a race against time.
The bird slowly began to dive down, picking up speed the further we went. I grasped my friend’s shirt even tighter as the air grew thinner. My heart began to race. We didn’t dare scream, thinking that if we did, we’d lose our breath. Deeper and deeper. The further down we went, the darker it seemed to get.
I felt my breath escape me, leaving me behind. I couldn’t breathe. I held whatever breath I had left. Deeper and deeper, further and further. The pain was unbearable. I hold onto the shirt until my knuckles were drained from their colour. Faster and Faster. Tears welled up in my eyes, the drops of water glistening like diamonds in the bird’s light. The last of my breath fled from me. I shut my eyes as I feel my tears fly up into nothing.
Splash! I inhale the rich abundance of air that I now had available. It was as if we entered a whole new dimension. It felt as if we flipped the other way. I look down. Ripples slid across the vast, flat liquid floor that seemed to stretch on forever. The liquid was black and smooth, reflecting the vast emptiness above us.
Without thinking I reached down and skimmed my finger across the surface. As another wave of ripples emerged, something bright and colourful sparked up in the reflection. Ding. The sound of a chime echoed into the darkness. A sky-blue sphere of light pulsed as it came into view, its brilliance catching my eye. Ding. A pink orb of light appeared from the darkness in the reflection, its beauty just as radiant. Ding. Ding. Ding. Suddenly, a whole galaxy of multi-coloured orbs covered the entire reflection of the liquid surface. My breath leaves me again as I’m frozen in awe.