Interstice: The Curious, The Cautious, The Hollow (2)

 THE OUTSIDE WORLD
Eden went back to other angels, wondering about the Outside World that she and other angels were forbidden to go to. She sat there with them but her imagination led her to the thoughts of the Outside world and its mysterious, strange attraction. Her friends noticed that her attention was somewhere else, but they didn't say much as they all knew about the warning that Senior angel had given her.

Days went by but Eden's curiosity only grew with time. Whenever she looked at the edge of Heavens, her mind would go back to the thoughts of Outside world. She started feeling anxious and began to  overthink about why the angels were forbidden to go out while their fellow fairies can. Her mind raced with all sorts of questions but all remained unanswered.

Soon her anxiety started to gnaw at her and fogged her mind with uncertainty and hesitations. Everyone around her noticed that her songs had started to sound soulless and her laughter forced and empty. Her face didn't light up when she basked in Sun and even her wings lost their shine. Poor Eden thought she was doing the best job hiding herself, but other angels' eyes told another story every time they looked at her.

"Did you saw her wings-" an angel whispered to another. "Thinning out day by day, and have lost their light. It looks like as if burdened by some unseen weight." The other angel replied "Didn't you notice every time she tries to gaze out of the Heavens the sky becomes a little dull."
Eden cut them off, who knows how long she has been listening to them talk about her. "You shouldn't talk like that, Senior Angel has forbidden us to talk about what happened that day." The angels both looked at Eden and went back to perform their tasks silently, because arguing could make the situation worse than it already is.

One of them said "I hope you find your light back." and turned to walk away. His words may be small but realization hit her. She was slowly losing her light which was the reason of her being. She stood there stared blankly thinking about herself. "What's happened to me?" she thought to herself, "It was not supposed to be like this, I did my best. How can it happen?"
Then she went to the sparkling streams and saw her own reflection in the clear waters. She looked at herself as if trying to recognize if it was truly her. She remained there for a long while, watching her reflection ripple and reform with every small movement. The water mirrored her face, but something about it felt distant, as if she were looking at a version of herself that no longer quite belonged.

Eden straightened and wandered without direction, her steps slow and absent-minded. The Heavens felt quieter the farther she walked, the songs thinning until only the soft hush of air remained. Without realizing it, she found herself standing where the light began to fade.

The edge of the Heavens shimmered faintly before her—not broken, not sealed—just—thinning. The sky beyond it looked unfamiliar, muted, yet unlike anything she had ever seen before. She gazed out, her thoughts unraveling into silence.

Curiosity stirred. She stepped forward. Nothing burned. Nothing stopped her. There was no thunder, no warning, no hand reaching out to pull her back. The light did not resist her, nor did the air change its weight. She felt no pain, no fear—only a strange stillness, as though the world itself had chosen not to notice.

When Eden looked back, the Heavens stood behind her as they always had—whole, radiant, untouched. And yet she was no longer within them.