We've been walking for a while. I am starting to get tired and extremely restless. I think my brain is trying hard to keep up with the latest happenings in my life but is failing to do so.
There are demons after us, I was given a magical silver coin, inviting me to the Order of the Crux. I met an altar boy called Manuchar, who has a scar running down his face. He's taking me to the magical monk I met nine days ago. People with powers are real and could be anywhere, someone wants Manuchar, and possibly also me, dead.
Manuchar is in his own world. I think at some point he even forgot I was there. He starts whisper-arguing to himself and even pushes away something invisible in front of him.
I catch the words: "I can't do that" and "she's kinda annoying…"
"Excuse me?! Who is annoying? Me?" I ask him.
Manuchar is startled by my question.
"No one…" He answers sheepishly.
He seems trustworthy and shady at the same time. I don't know how that even works.
"Who were you talking to, anyway?" I ask him nonchalantly.
He doesn't answer.
"We ARE going to the headquarters of the order, right?" I am getting extremely suspicious.
"Yeah, we are. Chill, little girl."
"I am chill!.. How old are you?"
"18."
"Ha! We are close in age! Why are you calling me a little girl?"
"Gosh, I'm just joking."
I scratch my head in confusion. Is that how male friends tease you? I've never had one before.
"Manuchar, you know, If we become friends, you will be my first male friend. I could never get close to the boys in my class. I did try but they seemed so rude, or weird, or awkward. There's this one guy called Giorgi, he has this creepy laugh…"
Manuchar sighs loudly, interrupting me.
"Please, don't jump ahead yet. We may not even see each other again after today."
"I see…"
I slowly fall behind. I'll understand if he doesn't want to be friends with me, but he can still be a little nicer to me, considering I saved his life…
I open my mouth to tell him just that when, out of nowhere, a strange man appears, his face is flickering between a normal human face and a squirrel-lizard hybrid monstrosity with front teeth coming down to its chin.
He is crossing the street from the opposite side, coming towards us.
Manuchar grabs my arm and squeezes hard, indicating that I should keep quiet.
We wait until the man passes us by and disappears from our sight.
"I felt his presence when he came close. He's pretending to be human…" He whispers to me.
"Yeah, I know! I saw his real face, it was mad ugly. Who was he, a demon?"
"Worse… he's a Reptilian and THEY are the ones who summon the demons. They've lived among us since the dawn of humanity. Waiting, observing… They're very patient but lately their patience has been running thin."
"A Reptilian? What does that even mean?" I ask him.
Manuchar shrugs.
"I don't know the full picture but they're definitely our enemies, that's all you need to know right now. So what did he look like?"
"Like a love child of a squirrel and a lizard."
Manuchar scrunches up his nose, clearly dissatisfied with the mental image.
"Nia, this is not a joke. We need to be on high alert. Do you know why he passed us by so nonchalantly? You think that was accidental? Nope. He was checking our powers! He wants to know if we can see him or sense him in any way. They've been after our Order lately. Observing and stalking the members, they want to know exactly how strong we are and what we're capable of. Today, they attacked me, it means they're making a move. This is dangerous Nia. It means they're losing patience, they're becoming reckless."
"That's creepy."
"Exactly. Be very, very careful."
"How do I even fight them off? What scares them?" I ask him.
"Well, luckily they can't kill humans directly. They have made a deal with the Cosmic Brotherhood long, long ago that they wouldn't kill humans. They have to keep the promise, otherwise they will be kicked out of the solar system. But they've been trying to harm us indirectly for several millennia. The wars, the diseases, the hatred, poverty, all the shit going on in the world… They've been stirring the pot, hiding among us and awakening the worst side of humanity, leading us into hell."
"Why do they hate us so much?"
"They hate us because we are standing between the Reptilians and something they've desired for a long, long time."
"Which is?.."
"Something that's hidden deep underground… They've been dying to access it. I don't know the details either, they will reveal the truth to me step-by-step when I advance higher on the ladder. Now I'm just a Yellow Duckling, the lowest rank."
"Damn…"
"Actually I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this. Father Seraphim is the one who gives you this information once you are accepted in the order… I'm an idiot. Please act like it's your first time hearing this when the time comes."
"Okay, don't worry. I'm quite a good actress."
"Are you? It will come handy in this line of work." He smiles at me for the first time and turns left, bringing us to a beautiful, towering archway that leads to an empty street with tiny shops. Suddenly the sound of traffic diminishes and I get a peculiar feeling of being observed.
Manuchar steps into the archway and motions me to follow him. A distinct smell of cinnamon hits my nose, making me sneeze.
"God bless you." Says Manuchar without turning back.
We walk through the deserted, narrow street. I feel uneasy, but also curious and excited to finally meet the monk.
Finally, Manuchar stops in front of an antique shop that blends a little too well with the other buildings. It is easy to miss unless you're specifically looking for that particular place.
He takes out a key from his pocket, thoroughly scans the surroundings and then sneakily opens the door, letting me in.
"Hurry, hurry!" He runs after me and immediately locks the door, as if someone is going to burst inside the shop in a millisecond.
He peeks out of the curtain, attentively inspecting the street.
My nose becomes extremely itchy and I sneeze three more times.
"This place needs serious dusting." I say and sneeze the fourth time.
Manuchar turns around with a confused expression.
"Dusting? Hmm, maybe you're right. But we never got around hiring a cleaner for this place, since we only use it to enter and exit the headquarters."
"You can easily do it yourself but I guess a bunch of monks don't feel obliged to clean."
Manuchar squints at me.
"We have more pressing matters than to clean the abandoned front shop of the order."
I shrug.
"Okay, whatever you say."
"Follow me, Nia."
Manuchar walks deeper into the shop, disappearing in the dark. I follow slowly, examining the products on the way - furniture, glassware, old books, ceramics… They are gorgeous, just need a little dusting.
Manuchar is waiting for me beside a huge painting that covers the whole wall. He turns the flashlight on his phone, illuminating the horrifying imagery depicted in the drawing.
It is a scene from hell.
Human beings are burning in the eternal inferno. The skin is melting off their bones, scorched bodies are hanging upside down, people are boiling in huge cauldrons, while being stabbed by laughing demons. Their faces are twisted in agony and remorse over the sins they have committed during their earthly lives. The red paint is gleaming like real blood under the light.
I shudder. I want to immediately get down on my knees and pray fervently. I will do anything not to end up in the terrible version of hell depicted in the drawing.
Manuchar patiently waits for me to take the whole painting in. After several minutes, he takes a long inhale and blows air onto the art piece.
The picture slowly starts to change. The fire is extinguished, the demons disappear, the people slowly start to smile as if they have been saved from damnation. A heavenly light descends on the scene. I am observing the change while holding my breath.
It is glorious.
When the painting fully morphs into a scene from paradise, a pleasant bell sound fills the room. The canvas swings wide open, revealing a dark entrance behind it.
A cold, fresh air blows in my face.
"After you." Says Manuchar.
I suddenly get suspicious. I don't want to step in some weird, dark hole that leads to God knows where.
Manuchar notices my hesitation and nudges my shoulder.
"Move your ass."
"My ass?! You bitch!" I try to hit his arm but he jumps away, laughing."
I sigh and step into the hole, Manuchar following close behind. His flashlight is illuminating the eerie narrow tunnel in front of me.
The ceiling is low, so Manuchar has to crouch a little to be able to pass through. I see his bent shadow falling on the walls, advancing slowly.
"What kind of magic did you use back there, when you blew at the painting? Are you an air bender or something?" My voice sounds unnaturally loud to my ears.
"It's not me, it's the painting, made with some kind of ancient magic. We don't possess its secrets, unfortunately. We just inherited some artifacts from another civilization…"
I slip on something, Manuchar catches my arm in time.
"Careful, there are some pebbles on the ground."
I guess our friendship was NOT off to a rocky start after all.
Ha ha ha …
____
The tunnel abruptly ends at a wooden door, a sliver of golden light is seeping from under it.
I can hear a distant, heavenly chanting through it. It is calling to me like a siren calls to sailors at the sea. I open the door and am met with the most beautiful and breathtaking hall I've ever seen, standing tall, with gorgeous cathedral ceilings and slightly faded murals on the stone walls.
It feels like stepping into a fairytale.
I squint my eyes against the gorgeous colored windows that depict scenes from some unknown stories - A man dressed in violet robes with smoke coming out of his head, a two-headed beast flying down from the sky, a beautiful warrior holding a fire-sword, his white hair floating around him.
The stained glass shoots colorful beams on the stone floor, engulfing me in warmth and mystery.
On the other side of the hall, four men dressed in all black are huddled together, singing like angels.
I freeze in place, listening to the godly chanting, forgetting everything else. It is impossible to move, every cell in my body is filled with happiness and peace. As long as they keep singing, everything will be alright.
After a long time of floating in this blissful state, some dark object moves in the corner of my eye and I see him, the monk I've been looking for all this time, the monk who gave me the silver coin! Father Seraphim.
He is leaning onto a windowsill, close to the choir. His eyes shoot open when I look at him, as if he feels my gaze. He turns toward me with an unreadable expression. The choir members also notice me and immediately cut off their angelic chanting.
Slowly, very very slowly, Father Seraphim's kind features morph into anger.
He raises his hand and points his index finger at me.
"YOU! HOW DARE YOU COME HERE?!" His deep, powerful voice thunders and echoes through the hall.
Even the windows vibrate.
"GET OUT OF HERE AND NEVER EVER COME BACK! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" The blood vessels on his face threaten to pop.
Everyone is staring at me.
I want to say something, to defend myself somehow, but my mouth goes dry, I can't say a word.
After what seems like an eternity, I turn around and run back through the tunnel, tears blurring my vision.
I think Manuchar shouts something after me but I'm already too far gone.
____
I don't know how, but after spending the whole night sobbing into my pillow, my mind is somehow very calm and clear the next morning.
I have a plan.
I will be accepted in the Order of the Crux even if I have to fight my way in. This will be the main focus of my life starting from today!
After school I go back to the antique shop. Same as yesterday, the street is completely deserted and the doors are locked. I try to peek inside, but the shop is so dark, I can only make out the gloomy outlines of the items inside.
I bang on the door and look through the glass again, hoping someone will emerge from behind the painting of "Eternal Damnation." Well, at least that's what I call that creepy painting of hell which magically transforms into paradise after someone blows air on it.
I even try to open the door by force. I wiggle the door handle so hard I break a nail. It isn't budging. The dead silence of the shop is deafening.
I loiter outside the shop for three hours, freezing my ass off, until it is time to go home. Soon mom will be back from work and she will wonder where I am.
I am also starving.
I sigh and start walking towards the bus stop. As I am massaging my frozen hands, I swear that I will be back again and again and again.
____
I have been floating face down in the water for a long time.
If you float long enough, your body becomes completely numb, your brain becomes weightless and you forget who you are.
And then IT happens.
Well, at least that's the moment when IT happened for me.
The pool is basically empty except for that one bald guy who is jumping in the pool every five minutes, splashing water everywhere and breaking my concentration.
I am concentrating on my newfound power by the way.
No, I'm not talking about Seeing. I discovered a new, nameless power while I was swimming in the pool.
I noticed something strange when I arrived at my weekly swimming session at the fancy, neighborhood swimming pool (using my mom's entrance card of course).
Not to brag, but two years ago I used to be a captain of the middle school girls' swim team in my town.
Anyway, as I told you, I accidentally discovered something strange and exciting when I submerged my head in the water. The moment I completely relaxed my body, my ears popped and I started hearing distant voices, as if a radio was playing in another room.
Two people were arguing, a girl and an older woman. I couldn't make out much, only that the woman was impatient and wanted to act fast, the girl was trying to calm her down.
The woman kept calling the girl "your highness."
So, over the past hours I've been trying to listen to these voices, trying to understand the content of their conversation.
When I run out of oxygen, I begrudgingly raise my head out of the water, take a lungful of air and quickly submerge in water again, forcing my body to relax quickly, so that I can continue eavesdropping on the conversation.
I guess I look like I am drowning or already dead, because several people nudge me, asking if I am alright. I get annoyed at their interruption, but it is understandable. I am floating face-down in the water and it probably looks really creepy from the outside.
But I don't care.
Ever since the monk kicked me out of the Crux headquarters, I am determined to discover and train my gifts and prove to them that I am an invaluable asset with a lot of different talents.
I'm sure, soon they will come back crawling and pleading with me to give them another chance.
Why not?! Manuchar himself was surprised that I had the gift of Seeing. He himself only had Sensitivity or whatever his stupid power was called. I CAN LITERALLY SEE BEYOND THE VEIL. I AM BETTER THAN HIM!
I smile at that thought. Especially when I imagine Manuchar personally begging me to come back.
"We need you so much, Nia! Your abilities are one of a kind! You are so special! We suck, don't you see?! We are losing without you!"
Someone nudges me again.
"I'm not dead, I'm trying to think!" I snap at the bald man - the last remaining person in the pool.
"Ok, jeez, I was just checking if you were alive." He swims away, splashing angrily.
Why is he pissed? Shouldn't he be happy I'm not dead?
I shrug and submerge my head in the water again. My ears pop and suddenly, to my amazement, for the first time, I hear the two voices loud and clear, as if they are conversing right next to me.
"Nia Nelia," says the woman.
"Nia Nelia?" repeats the girl with her deep, husky voice.
"Yes, Nia Nelia, she just turned 17."
"Who is this girl? Where did she even come from suddenly? I don't like this…"
"I'm gonna rip her throat out with my teeth if she tries something funny." Says the woman.
"Wow, that's intense. But yeah, if she doesn't plan on protecting us, we will have to deal with her before she deals with us." Says the girl.
"Of course she won't protect us! She will betray us! She's just starting now, probably doesn't even know anything yet, but she will! She's a Seer! A power so rare for a mere human to have! Something big is going to be revealed soon, I just know it." Says the woman.
"Let's just wait. Don't be too rash, grandma, it never led us to good." Says the girl.
The woman mutters something in agreement but I can't hear the rest. I am interrupted again. Someone is calling me.
I emerge from the water.
The lights in the pool are partially off which gives the place an ominous vibe. I am shivering, either from cold or fright. I'm not sure.
The cleaning lady is asking me to leave the pool.
The pool is closed and the woman has just now noticed me floating around.
"You scared me, girl. I thought you were…"
"Dead." I finish her sentence with a nervous laugh.
The voices were talking about someone called Nia Nelia.
Damn…
Nia Nelia is me!