[TWWM] Those Connected by Fate

Location: India

The breeze died with the sunlight that night. The air was as still as death and chilled with dew. Twisted and brittle, vines coiled around each-other, creating a dark and silent tunnel. Beneath the boughs, hiding from the world of pain and sadness she'd found herself thrust into tonight lie Cosette, sobbing pitifully in the darkness. She had nothing, no family, no home, and no purpose. Her studies had been to save her home, and now even her dreams had been shattered. A flicker of hope crossed her mind as she thought of Kaito. But even her new love for him couldn't quell the tremors of fear and pain that shook her now. Tears flowed freely within the vines, parched and dusty soil drinking her sadness eagerly.

Evergreen trees, as parched as the vines stretched towards the sky, dark silhouettes against the moonlight. Twyla had felt the pull, leading her deeper into the frightening looking vines. A sense of sadness pooled below her, a deep painful cry that shook her tiny spirit. What was hiding within these tangled vines? What was hurting so badly? Pushing past fear, Twyla drifted lower, pushing aside the large leaves and dry coils of vine. Digging down through the layers of bramble, she broke through into the tunnel below, bringing a stream of moonlight with her.

The thin beam of silver light splashed against the ground below, revealing the form of a woman, clothed in white, crippled by grief. Her sadness pooled around her, the aura was intensely heavy and painful and it hit Twyla like a wave. She reeled in surprise, both at finding a woman here in the tangled vines, and by the terrible sadness that plagued her. Floating to the ground, Twyla crept carefully towards the weeping woman, concern and empathy bit at her and she held back tears, until... she saw the woman's face.

She froze, unable to even comprehend... it was the lost girl. A web of emotions more tangled than the vines above them burst within the tiny esk. Years of searching, the worry, the wonder, the questions that burned within her. She'd done it, She'd found the girl. But she was so sad, so broken. Twyla's eyes overflowed now too, heavy droplets falling from her wide eyes. Finding words, she stepped closer.

"Why..." she started, but stopped. What do I even say? Why is she so sad? Can humans even see me? She wasn't sure the rules on this, but she'd finally found the girl. She summoned the courage she needed and spoke again, pressing her words into the girl's mind, inaudibly.
"Girl? Why are you sad?" she spoke the only words she felt at the time, even if they weren't the words she'd planned for so very long.

Cosette's breath caught for a moment, had someone spoken? No...it was silent, save for her own crying. She had heard something though... or had she imagined it? It spoke again, directly into her mind it seemed. "Why am I sad?" she thought, blinking hard and wiping the tears from her eyes. Was there a flower...there? in the moonlight? She blinked again, her breath shaking from the sobs she held back. No...not a flower...what was it? As her eyes came into focus, she saw a tiny creature, clothed in petals, a crown of pink circled its face, and two large eyes peered at her expectantly, unblinking. Was she seeing things? Had she gone insane? The creature spoke again, directly into her mind.
"Lost girl? I've searched...so...so very long...please..." Twyla said, hopping forward, her leafy wings drooping sadly behind her, tears catching in the petals below her face.
"Wh...What are you!?" Cosette cried, scooting away from her, away from the moonlight and into the shadows again.
"I'm imagining things!" she cried, rubbing her eyes violently. "You're not real! I'm just tired. This is..." tears continued to fall as her grief and pain intertwined with fear and confusion.

Among Twyla's years of searching and learning the spirit energies, she'd never felt such a terribly deep aura of...lost. The air around the girl throbbed with so many painful things. Grief, pain, fear, confusion, emptiness... such a hollow feeling. Twyla sensed a love within the girl, but even that was smothered by the intense coils of pain that enveloped her, just as the darkness beneath the tunnel of leaves was. Beneath the twisted vines that seemed to mockingly echo the twisting emotions that the girl was trapped amidst.

Twyla's tears fell, she had't known what to expect if she ever found her...but she certainly hadn't expected the lost girl to be like this... she wouldn't even acknowledge her. She scooted away, apparently afraid of her. Afraid...of me? Twyla thought, hurt. I'd never hurt anyone... I just... "I just wanted to find you! To talk to you!" she thought, frustrated at the girl's reaction. "I searched for you for years! I'm so far from home!" she thought, hopping forward, fat tears caught in the corners of her eyes. The girl scooted backwards still,
"Stay out of my head!! You're not real!" she cried, reeling. Nothing felt real anymore, nothing...nothing.