7 days

The tide floods my Sahara mouth, and I sit up and rest on my hands. I squint through the salt, my forehead smarting. Clogged sand travels between my splayed fingers and my naked body begins to sink. I raise my arms above my head and unknown hands gently lift me to my sodden feet.

I gingerly step forward onto the water and it holds. The steady charged thrum supporting my weight. It ebbs and flows beneath a sky of crimson.

A flick of a finger and the sea water swirls around me, enclosing me into a powerful screaming cyclone. Another flick disperses the water into fluffy spheres of white far above. Their soft exteriors welcome me.

I touch down, and the sand is replaced with soft jade blades that tickle my toes. Yellow circles with white petals and green stems overwhelm the field. I tear the white petals between my teeth. They taste of dry mud, ripping themselves apart on my sandpaper tongue. I fashion them into a crown above my head. An echo of my future children.

I fly upwards again, zooming past the clouds through cobalt to ink. I reach perfect darkness, before she turns and burning white ignites my eyes. She is hesitant at first, before letting go. The intensity pitches me forward, imploding my body with light, it gushes through every cell and fingernail.

I rest, and flowers bloom in my eyes, shooting through blue irises and threading vines through thick eyebrows. My bare collarbones ensnared in a field of cerulean and russet. My legs catch in soft black cotton. I cough once and stand once more. I find frozen mountains, punching a hole through and diving deep into a tomb of brilliant gold. He is there already. The hair rises on my arms and neck. Stolen whispers dart through my bones. He is younger than I was told to expect, his horns mere brambles through his brow, his hooves smooth and unspoiled on the charred rocks. We nod, uncertainty in both sets. I leave.

7 days

I dive into the sea and steam rises upon my entry. A laugh escapes my lips, cascading into bubbles. My hands brush along slime and rock. A creature darts through my hair. I thrash back with rigidness. I thrash back in awe.

I am the muddy green force residing in the centre of everything, smelling of burnt sage and magic. Speak to the creatures hidden in jars and they will tell you how to find me.