#TimeTravelingGhost Part 48: EP 4: 1937 Amelia Earhart.
#Wss366 #MastoPrompt #TimeTravelAuthors 10/11. Saturday excerpt (optional word: most) #Occultober 10. #Nephelomancy #SundayLit Colour
We approached Amelia and the signal fire. Its #blue flames gave off no heat, chilling us instead.
Stopping a few feet from Ms. Earhart. My prepared speech froze in my throat when she spoke.
“See the clouds?” She asked, staring at the sky that rimmed the ocean. “I’ve always loved flying in their midst and wondered what they said. I imagined them whispering their #most guarded secrets: ‘Life is short; soar.’ If there’s a God, surely he must speak through them.”
She raised a ghostly hand and pointed to the mist moving across the moon. “Tonight, they say, there will be an end.”
Her hand dropped, and she turned toward us. “You came to rescue me?”
“No. Just to visit.” I said. The comment was deliberately cryptic. I wanted to draw her in slowly.
“Then I’ll have to wait for a ship,” she said.
Emily spoke next. “There won’t be a ship. Nobody comes for you.”
“Then they’ve given up? Forgotten?” Amelia’s voice was thin. The last word was edged with despair.
“A hundred years from now, they’ll still be searching. You’ll still be inspiring women to be bold. That’s your legacy,” I said.
“Legacy,” her voice now laced with pride.
“Noonan?” she asked.
“He’s dead, too,” I said.
“So this is the end they foretold.” Her hand swept, taking in the sky. “Not a rescue, but death.”
“It’s time to soar. The clouds want to share their secrets with you.” Unlike her usual pragmatic tone, Emily’s voice held deep compassion. It touched me.
“You no longer need wings.” Emily continued. “Let go of the earth and take flight.”
A smile touched Amelia’s face for the first time. “Thank you. I didn’t realize. But I’ll be back. I want to be the first woman in space.”
With that, she faded. #God rays streamed from the moon, illuminating her. Then they were gone, and with them, Amelia Earhart vanished.
All that remained were the #marble-like embers of her fire. #Moon-bright #pellets that winked at us.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #Serial #TimeTravel #NMFic #Spooktober