mercury's eyes were not always the likeness of early morning fog. once they were saturated with robin's egg blue, filled with the joy of color. it was naivety and desire for the unknown that brought forth the unfortunate loss - and gain - of mercury's eyes.
it was a cold winter day, colder than all the rest. the sun even forgot to shine on the misty birch forest in which mercury resided. on this day so fateful and blistery, she decided to go out on an adventure, despite her caretaker's warnings.
"The winters in this forest are unusual and unforgiving in more ways than one," she'd said.
mercury, of course, did not give it a second thought, as she strung her pack in a harness-like tie and quietly made her way out to the center of the clearing not far from her cave. she padded on through the dark leaves and light snow that had begun to fall. the wind was like a thousand icy needles piercing her proverbial soul, making her doubt.
just as mercury was turning to avoid a thicket, when turning back seemed imperative, a beautiful white glow softly bounced off the trees now in front of her; she could see it was coming from some source a few paces from her but lower in between a small quarry of black marble rocks.
as she climbed over the boulders and through to the center, the white glow turned into a luminescent shine as she looked down on a river of liquid - it was white, mostly, but with thousands of tints of blue, green, pink and yellow, like a holographic cloud had melted and laid here for a thousand years. all sounds of the outside world were stolen by the intense beauty of the discovery.
mercury tingled with disbelief, sending a hopeful shiver up her spine.
the young kalon was inches away from dipping her large paw into the current when a cold voice rung in her head, knocking the stupor of the river's wonder out of her eyes.
"It is marvelous, isn't it?"
mercury didn't respond, only stared at the black and white swirls of rock in front of her as she focused on a possible explanation for the intrusive presence in her head.
"I'll give you the information you need. Nothing more."
this was even more chilling than the first appearance of the voice, and she slowly backed away from the river, controlled desire still burning in her blue eyes.
"The Moon River has certain ... effects. Some of which you are experiencing now - impossible heat in a snow storm, desire for something unknown to you, etcetera. There are other effects of this great gift as well, should you choose to take it.
You need to make a choice, Mercury. Walk away from the river, and always wonder what could've happened this night, or take a chance with mystery and see where it takes you. "
it seemed an undecidable choice, to one so young and unknowing. mercury looked back at the slowly flowing liquid, feeling her heart sink yet quicken with the possibility of regret. either way, regret could be inevitable - how could she decide?
a glistening bead of sweat made its way down the side of mercury's face despite the formidable cold.
then, something inside her stirred. a rush of memories flooded her metaphorical eyes, reminding her of all the regrets she has - all the time she did nothing instead of something.
this would be different. this time, she would do something.
before she could stop herself, mercury dipped her paw into the gushing liquid. immediately, a burning cold overcame her wholly, and she could feel her body giving into the pain.
she stood in the snow, wavering, fighting with all her will against the unbearable cold that seemed to simultaneously burn like fire.
then, she fell.
she fell into the glowing river, consumed by somethingness and nothingness, consumed by pitch black and pure white.
the last thing mercury hears is the voice inside her head, as distant and haunting yet cutting as the wind.
"Goodnight, my dear Mercury."