The Phoenix

Georgia's soul-mate and fiancee, Tom, is dying. Can she save his soul from death?

Georgia sat by her fiancée’s side, never taking her eyes off his face, although her mind was out in the hallway with his parents, listening to their conversation…

“We have to tell her, William,” Eloise said in a hushed tone. William sighed.

“We can’t, Ellie,” he said softly. “It would break her heart…”

“It would break her heart even more if he died without warning!” Eloise snapped.

Georgia came back to herself with a jolt, wiping her eyes automatically, although she hadn’t cried for twenty years. Not since her first Rebirth… She sighed as she watched Tom’s face, wanting a sign he was still alive…nothing. There was only one way she could save him, but it wouldn’t work here. There was no way he would be allowed out of the hospital either, so that wasn’t an option…or was it? Maybe, if they thought he was dead, she could get him out of here. Either that or they just both disappeared and their bodies were never found. But unless she broke both her legs to prove she didn’t kidnap her love from the hospital, when she actually did, there was no way she wouldn’t be under suspicion. Absently she wondered how she could stage it so she could ‘break’ her legs and be cleared of suspicion…

 

Tom’s heartbeat flatlined, and without thinking Georgia started it up again, pumping weakly but steadily as the air moved in and out of his lungs slowly. Then she paused. No, she couldn’t kidnap him without injuring herself unless he was thought dead and buried…could she keep him alive long enough to do that? She rather thought he could, but perhaps he didn’t have to be buried…after all, she was supposed to Rebirth later that night. Perhaps she could pretend to be dead, and then next time Tom’s heart flatlined take him away from the hospital before anyone could check? After all, there weren’t any cameras in his room. Not that she would show up on them so soon after her Rebirth, but still…yes, she could do that. It was only about an hour until her Rebirth, anyways. She could wait that long for him. All she had to do was make sure he stayed alive until then.

 

Half an hour later, her mind still keeping Tom’s heart beating, Georgia went home after saying goodbye to Eloise and William. Soon her house would burn down, and she would be Reborn. All she had to do was make sure no one saw her…that might bring on a few nasty questions. After all, how could she explain away being naked in the middle of the remains of her house, unburnt, with gold eyes? That wouldn’t work very well at all. She would make sure the flames didn’t get to her spare clothes in the back-yard, but she would be Reborn in the middle of a house fire…that would be just fantastic for a movie, but slightly uncomfortable for her to run barefoot over debris to get outside. Making up her mind where she was going to start the fire, Georgia stepped into the middle of the lounge-room and closed her eyes as the final minutes ticked away. Three…two…one…

 

Eloise’s eyes went wide as her almost-daughter-in-law’s house caught on fire, from the inside out. What had happened? And where was Georgia? Was she okay? Why wasn’t she screaming? The house was almost completely consumed, and Eloise could hear William talking quickly on the phone to the fire brigade as the roof began to fall. The fire was fast-burning, very hot, and consuming everything in its way. There was no way Georgia would survive that…Eloise bowed her head and began to pray for the soul of the young woman burnt alive in her own home.

 

The fire was quick; Georgia had to admit, as she rose from her own ashes, looking up at the falling roof. Not that any of it could hurt her in her near-ghost state right now, but if she solidified just a little too swiftly, she could get a slight bump. Taking a small breath she didn’t need, Georgia closed her gold eyes and teleported out of the house as the roof collapsed. She picked up the long, loose dress she had set aside for such an occasion, and then teleported straight to Tom’s room in the hospital. She had to get him out of there…she had to get him to the volcano where she was first Reborn… Grabbing onto her love’s hand, she teleported them both to the lip of the crater into the volcano where she had been born for the second time.

 

It took her a while to prepare his body for it, and she had to find his soul first, but she knew she wouldn’t fail. She knew what she had to do. She had known for twenty years what to do when she met her soul-mate.

“I hope you understand why I did this, Tom,” she whispered, then kissed his lips lightly, her eyes closing. She instantly zoned out and into the white cosmos, searching for his soul. She would find it, bring him back, and they would be together for eternity.

 

She soared through the white space, a red and gold blurred figure. She was neither bird nor human, mortal nor immortal. She was Jasmine, Georgia, Leila, Bianca and the numerous other aliases she had used. She was herself and no one else. She was looking for her lover, lost in these vast cosmos. She was freed from all restraint, but she didn’t fly free in the beautiful whiteness. She had to find Tom…

 

She came across his soul-mind quickly and instantly swooped down to envelop him in her wings/arms. He was still here…that meant he was still alive. He was confused, though, and Georgia quickly prompted his memory. He knew who he was and could remember his last conscious memory, and her, and almost everything else, but not what he was doing in the white place. Georgia told him as much as she could, then made his soul-eyes look into hers.

‘Come back with me, Tom,’ she said sincerely. ‘I need you. Come back…’ he nodded, and looked around.

‘How?’

‘Follow me,’ Georgia replied after a while, then turned and started to fly/walk again.

 

They were hovering, and Georgia was getting a little impatient. She could see herself back in her body, why couldn’t Tom see himself in his? Was there something blocking him, maybe…? Was there a reason he couldn’t come back?

‘Go back without me, Georgia,’ Tom said with a mental smile of reassurance. ‘Just let me go this time. I think it's time for me to move on, not back.’

‘No…Tom, I can’t…not without you…’ she protested, and Tom’s soul-form moved forward to connect with hers lovingly.

‘Yes, you can,’ he said quietly. ‘Please, do this for me. Go back, let me go, and keep living. I'll find my way back to you eventually,’ he promised, and if she could have cried, she would have. This couldn’t be happening… 'Farewell, my little phoenix...'

 

Georgia opened her eyes with an almighty scream.

“Tom!” she looked around frantically, and saw him lying beside her, a small smile on his cold, pale, dead face. Georgia started to cry, real tears, tears of water instead of ash, as the colours again were dimmed. Tom was dead. Her world was dull again. She would never recover.

Author's Note

Okay, so everyone is probably wondering why Georgia is a phoenix... Let me explain. A phoenix (in this) is not a beautiful bird. A phoenix is a young woman who is reborn once a month after self-combusting, each time growing more beautiful and powerful. A phoenix has red hair and brown eyes, but the brown can change to red, gold or red-gold if a powerful emotion takes over their control. All phoenixes are female, and see in dull colours until they meet their soul-mate, who will make the colours return brighter and live for as long as the phoenix does, not including the rebirthing which occurs regularly. Georgia is a phoenix who was born as a girl named Jasmine, but later became a phoenix due to something in her bloodline (don't ask what, I haven't figured it out yet.) All phoenixes have telekinetic powers, and can mess with machinery. They cannot cry normal tears, but when greatly distressed they will cry ash or dust.

I was listening to "My Little Phoenix" by Tarja, and I had to write something. This is the result of that splurge...