33 MY DANCE PARTNER IS THE WIND

"Have you heard? There's been rumors of this angel flying across campus."

"An angel? Where."

Dilf was not an angel.

He sat, perched on a building's ledge like a gargoyle. His ripped jeans tightly gripped his legs. Bare feet. His arms and hands were holding onto the edge of the building. His eyes looked at something in the distance. 

Today, it wasn't going to rain. Yesterday, it did though. It rained… 

A puddle. A pond encased in a ring of even smaller dots. Maybe a drink. A little spot. 

Of course, he had been there that day. When the rain came, and then disappeared for a week after. He had been there the night Rain had been taken away.

Why were they trying to find Rain now?

* * *

"Why am I… running… with this… bell?" Steven gasped, his breath staggering from exhaustion. 

Ahead, the treacherous path kept twisting and turning, but there was no losing the spiked wall relentlessly pursuing him. A splatter of red caught his eye. Blo-? His heart raced faster. No, he reassured himself, just paint. R-right?

"What's the purpose… AH!" A close call made Steven push his limits, speeding up. "Of this?"

On the sidelines, Zero uttered, "You're not bad at running."

Why did he sound disappointed? 

Mayo, fluttering around Steven with—were those… wings?—chimed in, "Relax, Steven! Zero and I have got this planned out. That bell? It's going to let you move in a way that makes you almost... invisible. Your enemies won't know what hit them! But here's the catch…"

"You need to run." Zero interrupted, the smallest smirk playing on his lips as he observed Steven's struggling form.

Glancing at the bracelet and the dangling bell, Steven wondered how it even worked. Then—

A loud chime…

For a second… the bracelet made Steven's form ripple…

…Like disturbed water. Like a leaky faucet, and a stupefied drop, leaving a faint afterimage. It was a glimpse, an illusory power. It was the skill he had been trying to tap into.

Seeing this, Mayo's eyes beamed. "That's it! Just a bit more," She encouraged.

But Steven's legs felt like lead, and his chest tightened. His head was spinning. The constant chimes, the chasing wall, and the pressure to harness a new ability made him feel like a rotisserie chicken. 

Suddenly, the ground vibrated and with a metallic groan, the spiked wall halted, retracting as if held back by some unseen force. Steven, not expecting the sudden stop, stumbled forward, panting heavily.

"Alright," Mayo declared from above, "You've had enough for today."

"No," Zero complained softly, "My entertainment."

Mayo fluttered down, her opaque wings shimmering. "See? Not so bad, right?"

Steven gave her a weary look. "Speak for yourself. And what? How did you get wings, again?"

"Magic." Mayo shrugged, shimmering her hands. Her translucent wings disappeared into the sunlight. 

Zero approached, his steps silent and deliberate. "Now, watch closely." He began to move in a unique manner. Every step he took left a blurred trail, as if multiple Zeros overlapped for a brief moment before converging back. It was mesmerizing, like watching a dance where the dancer existed in multiple places at once.

"It's a Qi-less technique." Zero added as he stopped. 

"Cool, cheese-less," Steven said, beginning to walk away.

"I'll buy you pizza," the white-haired boy bargained. "If you do it correctly." 

Begrudgingly, Steven followed along. (It was pizza, how could he not?)

Once again, Zero guided him through the steps at a slower, easier pace. Taking a deep breath, Steven attempted to emulate the movements. But instead of the graceful afterimages Zero left behind, his attempts resulted in awkward jerks, stumbles… 

…and a fall. 

"It's okay," Mayo comforted, offering him a hand. "You'll get it. It's just your first try."

Zero nodded in agreement. "Feel the rhythm of the bell." He walked closer, lightly punching Steven's chest. "Feel your heartbeat. Let them guide your movements. You're not just… running, Steven."

Steven stretched his leg. He tried to emulate Zero's steps over and over again, but with each attempt, he felt clumsy, dumb, like his legs were made out of butter. It was a stark contrast to Zero's fluidity.

"Ding…" 

The faint chimes of the bell on his wrist almost seemed to taunt him. 

Zero and Mayo, standing at a distance, had immersed themselves in a conversation, occasionally casting glances his way. They seemed engrossed in their own world, discussing intricate glyphs that Mayo drew in the air with her fingers. Each symbol sparkled and dissipated, like fireflies fading into the dusk.

Setting around him, the sun bathed the entire clearing in hues of gold and amber. Around him, tall autumn trees stood sentinel, their leaves in brilliant shades of crimson, ochre, and brown. A gentle gust whispered through the branches, causing the leaves to rustle and dance in a celestial waltz. The scenery seemed to vibrate with an ancient energy that spoke timelessly… a deep-rooted wisdom. Steven could feel it in his bones - the pulse of nature, the heartbeat of the earth.

One, by one, the leaves fell. He watched as another leaf dropped down, fluttering on the wind, and landing on top of his finger.

The wind.

Drawn by the sedative rhythm of the leaves, Steven's frustrations began to melt. The weight of his failure lightened as he closed his eyes, attuning himself to the world around him. The distant chime of the bell merged with the soft rustling of the leaves, creating a melody that both made him feel grounded…

…and afloat. Like,

A single leaf.

Wind. The very element that was gentle enough to carry the whispers of lovers yet powerful enough to uproot mighty trees. 

In many ancient texts, it was described as the breath of the world. And leaves, with their delicate structure and inherent connection to the trees, danced on the whims of this… wind.

In his mind's eye, he visualized himself as one with the wind, flowing, drifting, and soaring. His legs began to move, not thinking, but feeling. Every step, every turn, every motion mirrored the unpredictable yet harmonious dance of the leaves in the breeze. 

He could feel it, now—the energy of the wind, the pulse of nature, the rhythm of the bell—all converging within him, guiding him… 

…like it was saying: "You want to dance with the universe? Go with the flow." 

The wind swirled around him, lifting the leaves like a spiral staircase. And as Steven moved, he left behind blurred afterimages, not dissimilar to Zero's. But now, it wasn't an emulation.

"Go…"

He embodied the steps through the wind.

"... With the flow."

A breathless breath.

Slowly, his dance stopped, the world returning to its natural rhythm, and as he opened his eyes, he found both Mayo and Zero staring at him. Staring? 

Zero, always quite unreadable, was the first to break the silence. "You did it."

Mayo clapped, picking off a leaf that was in his hair, "That was amazing, Steven!"

Catching his breath, Steven looked at the autumn trees around him, their leaves gently floating down. He felt a connection to them, an understanding that he'd never felt before. He thanked them… the wind and the leaves, as they smiled and went away.