These memories stay with me
Sprite…
“Sprite.”
“Sprite, wake up.”
There was brightness behind her closed eyelids. She could hear whoever that was calling her had their patience running thin. A hazy view of the world met her eyes when she opened them. Rubbing her eyes to wipe away her dreamlike state, she was met with sunlight.
Groaning, she turned to her side.
“Time to wake up sleepyhead. Ajak wants to see you.”
Sprite rolled away and she heard laughter. Laughter, so familiar that it jolted her awake.
Turning back to the person beside her, Sprite saw Gilgamesh in all his glory. He kneeled near the place where she laid before. And he was patiently waiting while Sprite was running her hand over her hair, very tempted to rip them out.
Gilgamesh was here when she knew all too well he had died. She had attended his funeral with her fellow Eternals and had said her goodbyes. Her mind had figured out that this couldn’t possibly be real. But the strong feeling of regret deep in her gut won.
Desperately, she leaped at Gilgamesh, knocking him back slightly so that he sat on the ground.
He didn't reprimand her or tell her she wasn't acting her age, he never did. He stood up and helped her up with a pat on the head and the question, "What's wrong with you today?" Even brushing her clothes to remove the dust that had accumulated after their tumble.
Sprite couldn't believe it when they were both on their feet and hugged him once more. Gilgamesh pried her away from him with a sigh.
“Seriously, is something wrong?” She shook her head.
He didn’t quite believe her but continued. “Ajak wants to see you.”
Another wave of confusion washed over her mind when she heard their Leader's name. It was constantly telling her that none of this was real. But how could it not be when she had just hugged her long-dead brother, who felt solid and real?
“Sprite! Get a move on. She said it was urgent.” Gilgamesh yelled over his shoulder as he walked away.
Ajak.
Her feet moved faster than she ever remembered before as she passed the familiar halls of the domo. Full of life and not like some abandoned sanctuary.
One more corner and she’ll be able to figure out if this was all real. If even Ajak was here then there could be no other explanation than this all being the truth. Unable to stop herself she crashed into someone.
“Woah Sprite where are you going so fast?”
Rubbing her sore head she slowly raised it.
Even more improbable than Ajak was Ikaris being alive, and breathing, and just as the last time she saw him. Her body was hit with a mess of emotions and her mind a mess of thoughts. The Ikaris in her mind fought against their family—but then again so did she—but the Ikaris in front of her was the same Ikaris she remembered long ago when they were all blissfully ignorant and the ones bearing the burden was only Ikaris and-
“Ajak, Sprite’s here.” She turned her head, and just as she expected Ajak stood inside the room Ikaris had exited.
Her surreal view completely disappeared as she wondered selfishly would they had blissfully lived and just died to be reborn again if Ajak and Ikaris had held on to their burden.
“Sprite, come in.” The usual motherly voice she used to hear now sounded awfully haunting to her ears.
She entered, leaving Ikaris. She gasped as she saw the view of the earth from space.
“Weren’t we on earth just a couple of minutes ago, I- I don’t understand. Ajak?” Her ecstasy of seeing Gilgamesh and maybe Ikaris slowly dripped away as everything around her felt more unsettling than before.
Ajak motioned for her to sit beside her while she looked down on the planet below.
She was starting to get frustrated with the sudden flux of emotions she was feeling. “What’s going on Ajak?!”
“We’re about to watch the birth of a celestial. One of many many more to come.”
“What? No. No-“ Sprite looked horrifyingly at the planet below. “-The celestial is dead. Sersi killed it.”
Ajak no longer resembled herself. Her face may have a similar appearance, but nothing about her smile said "Ajak" to Sprite.
She felt a shiver down her spine as Ajak uttered one sentence. “Did she?”
She never felt more relieved as she woke up sweating in her own bed. Even though the loss of some members of her family had happened long ago, it still felt quite recent. Almost a decade has passed since then.
“I thought you said only kids had nightmares.” Druig was leaning on the doorway to her bedroom.
She usually wouldn’t lock her bedroom door since there was no one else in her house other than herself. But she seemed to have forgotten that her older siblings liked to ‘check up’ on her once in a while. Even though she was mentally—and physically now—an adult.
She threw one of her pillows in his direction and it thudded loudly against the door as Druig avoided it. “Get out Druig haven’t you heard of Privacy? And what are you even doing coming here in the night you creep?”
She dragged herself out of bed and walked over to him.
“It’s 3 A.M which means morning and Makkari wanted to celebrate you turning into an adult.”
Oh yeah, it was her birthday today.
“Please tell me she’s not putting up streamers in my house.” Sprite groaned.
“She’s been on it since thirty minutes ago. She’s very invested.”
She eyed the bag of chips he carried in one hand. “And what have you been doing? Thrashing through my food?”
“Yes.” He didn’t even sound apologetic at all.
Shaking her head she made to move past him and tell Makkari to stop decorating. She was physically twenty years old for Gods sake! Well, technically twenty-one now.
Druig stopped her. “On a serious note, how are the nightmares?”
“Still nightmare-y” She replied sweetly.
Druig scoffed and let her go. Before she went downstairs she could hear him yell “And she says she’s not a child.”
At first, there was no sight of Makkari at all, but then the front door opened and Makkari was at the kitchen taking out a birthday cake. Spotting Sprite she froze and looked up the stairs in visible frustration.
‘Druig was supposed to check on you not wake you up!’
Sprite quickly told her “He didn’t wake me up. Woke up by myself-“ she faltered as she realized she didn’t wake up with the usual screams and tears.
Did she wake up by herself?
“She was having nightmares. Woke her up.” Druig sauntered down the stairs and towards them. He seemed to have found her stash of snacks.
Makkari looked at her worriedly. ‘Nightmares again?’
Sprite glared at Druig. “It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s even getting rarer now, it’ll go away soon.”
It used to be a constant companion for her but now she could sleep roughly a week without any.
Etched still in worry, Makkari turned to Druig, who shrugged. He set the snacks on the kitchen counter and talked while signing to Makkari. “Sprite says it's fine, then it's fine. Now, why don’t you and I continue decorating while sleepy head over there can shower or something.”
The nickname that Druig had used made her remember her dream/nightmare. She knew nightmares rarely if ever just went away. But that was what she had made herself believe. If she didn’t believe it, those first few days would’ve been unbearable.
She watched from the corner of her eye the pair which were obviously watching her. Not in an ominous sense but in a fond familial way. They worry, and ironically that made her worry and restless. She could hardly get anything done when she was staying with Kingo. Not saying that he was unbearable to be around—since he was rarely around anyway with his movies and shows—but the way he would almost coddle her because of her humanness. Being human doesn’t exactly change the amount of experience she has had.
After showering she went to her bedroom to at least try to appear like she hadn’t just spent the whole night crying and a mess. Strangely enough, not Makkari nor Druig had checked up on her even once since the early morning. Suspicious, she walked down the stairs expecting there to be more streamers all over the place and even worse, glitter.
Surprisingly there were fewer decorations than before.
Druig and Makkari were lounging on the sofa, in each other’s arms.
Sprite mocked disgust. “Ew, guys get a room. Or better yet buy a house and move in together. And what? You both thrash my place, put up birthday decorations, and not wish me a happy birthday??”
Makkari shook her head and grabbed her phone. After a few seconds of tinkering with her phone, there was a video call mirrored on her TV screen.
Sprite couldn’t help but stare in wonder as one by one her family somewhere all over the globe popped up one by one. Phastos and his family came up first with them all wishing her a happy birthday, and not-so-little Jack announcing that he was planning to go to her college when he graduates high school. She praises him but also silently realizes she’ll probably have to share her house, won’t she? Well, the things she’d do for family.
Kingo appeared next with Karun by his side. Apparently in the set of his next big thing and couldn’t talk long. He ended up staying until the end of the call but Sprite won't call him out on that. He too wished her a happy birthday and her journey into adulthood. And of course, he had to ruin the mood by saying she shouldn’t grow up so fast. As if she could just stop growing.
Sersi appeared last, with Thena by her side. Dane has had some things he had to take care of and Sersi had been lonely so Thena visited her. They both struggled with the phone for a while and Sprite had a good laugh out of that. They gave her her birthday wishes and some wise quotes from Thena. Sprite once thought if she wasn’t the warrior Goddess, Thena would make an enchanting poet.
After hours later they all had to move on with their days and Sprite had the whole day to enjoy. Druig and Makkari had to go back to their journey. They never seemed to stay in one place for too long. She guessed there was a thrill in moving onwards.
Makkari gave her a quick kiss on her cheeks before going out the door and waiting outside. Sprite prepared herself for the long-coming talk she knew Druid would want.
She kept the door open with one hand, hoping Druig would just forget it and walk right past her to the beautiful Makkari who was waiting for him. But he didn’t. He stopped in front of her, and even though she tried her best to keep her gaze anywhere but on him, he waited patiently.
He asked sharply but softly. “Who was it this time?”
“The usual,” She answered just as soft “Gilgamesh, Ikaris…..Ajak.”
“So it was all of them then?” He exchanged a brief look with Makkari. If Sprite didn’t know any better she would say the two of them had a telepathic connection or something.
“Yeah, like usual.”
He still didn’t let it go. “But, something was different?”
“I don’t want to talk about it okay?” She lashed out. “Why don’t you go on your date so I can hang out with my friends? And yes I have friends. My age. Now shoo!”
Hands pushing him out, Druig evaded them and pulled Sprite in for a quick hug. Which left her frozen enough to not talk back.
“Now like I always offered you before, again and again, I can take those nightmares away. Even only for a while- And before you argue I know you wouldn’t want that so instead I’ll say this. Ikaris, Gilgamesh, and Ajak wouldn’t want their memories to be hurting you. Family shouldn’t be the cause of heartbreak. Unfortunately, we both know that’s bullshit, but we are here you know. It’s a waste spending the rest of your years being haunted by family.”
Sprite was shocked to say but she took his words to heart. “That’s a long speech Druig, I’m honored.” She added playfully.
He stared at her making sure his words sunk in. Oh, it did. It meant a lot to her. But she wasn’t ready just yet. “Thank you.”
They both left and Sprite was alone.
Although not for long as the door was knocked not five minutes after she closed it. She opened it, seeing her friends bringing another birthday cake and throwing confetti at her face.
And her nightmares simply slipped from her mind. For now.