Chapter 6: White Hair
1287 Words
Talal and Joud walked ahead, carefully avoiding the rumbles on the floor. "Strange. There is not a single person present. Did they evacuate and leave us behind?"
"We were abandoned!" Zain sighed. “Finally, we’re going to die.”
Harun walked behind in silence, watching the floor.
"The path seems long."
"Please, watch out not to fall!"
Harun's gaze softened, seeing a small red flower peeping from the ground. He blinked as Talal stepped on it. "Our safety is a top priority. We cannot afford to get hurt. We don't know if there are any medicines here."
They continued walking.
Blinding light shined upon Shadi's face as he attempted to pull the door first. He took a few steps backwards and fell. "Bright!"
A soft cold breeze sneaked into the hallway where they stood, and light overwhelmed their surroundings.
"It opened easily," Youssef noticed.
Shadi stood up. "Well, I'll go check if there's anyone outside."
"No, WAIT!"
He frowned, feeling himself stepping into nothing and gasped, falling down. He blinked, feeling someone holding his arm. Fahd gritted his teeth. "We're… not on the ground floor! If you fall, you'll die."
Shadi gazed up at him, eyes round. He looked down and saw nothing but an endless layer of greenness extending as far as his eyes could see, and it seemed extremely far from where the cinema was. The others helped and pulled him inside, and he froze on the floor, shocked. "Where are we?" he whispered, "Aren't we in Tunisia? Isn't it 7 PM? Where… Where are we?!"
Youssef grabbed his phone to check the time. He blinked, finding only the year.
1441 FOR THE LOVERS OF THE MOON
"What is this?! I don't get it! The setting is not right. I'm starting to dislike this prank."
"We must find the others," Shadi stood up and walked ahead. "Let's go back for now."
Fahd glanced behind at the open door and stared at the extended green space below them.
They all returned to the starting point and found everyone else confused. The whole cinema was lit up thanks to the five gates that were open.
"We're… trapped?!"
They exchanged nervous glances. "We can't get out… All the doors lead to… the sky?! And the forest down is… so far down! If we jump, we will be a collection of human organs!" Joud started panicking. "What happened? How did we get here?"
"We lost consciousness, so who knows what happened in detail…" Rahma shrugged.
"Don't tell me… WE GOT ISEKAI-ED!" Oussama shouted with stars in his eyes.
Dina grimaced. "Nothing exciting about that. We don't know anything about where we are and how to leave this place. We don't even know if it's safe outside."
"It feels safe." Ahlem smiled, resting a hand on her belly. "Even my child agrees."
"B-By the way…" Jassem scratched the back of his head. "Is it me, or your belly is getting bigger faster than expected?"
"I noticed that too." Joud frowned.
"I noticed that time flows faster here." Youssef attempted to come up with an explanation. "Maybe we travelled in time, or something?"
"That's…"
They sighed and sat down.
"I found something interesting, though," Dina informed. "There are rooms filled with food and water. The supply is just amazing. It's enough for months or many years. I don't know what sort of joke this is, but everything is too convenient."
"At least, we won't have to worry about feeding ourselves." Zain shrugged. "We have more important things to worry about."
They sighed again.
"Well, how about we clean this place up a bit?" Joud suggested. "Since we will be staying here for a while, apparently."
"Good idea."
They all started cleaning and organizing the cinema. They spent days cleaning, and the light would not disappear. They removed the wooden planks that covered the windows and more light shined.
Ahlem walked into the cinema room, where they gathered to watch the movie. She stared at the light penetrating from the hole in the ceiling with curiosity. She stood near the rock and blinked, seeing a man standing behind its shadows. The man had long white hair and snow-white skin. She could almost see him glow, and she could not take her eyes off him.
"E-Excuse me…" she spoke.
The man, who was leaning against the rock with his back, arms crossed, moved his gaze to her. She raised her eyebrows, gazing into his deep pink eyes. "Y-You're the one who guided us here!"
The man straightened and turned to her, and she saw his lips curving into a small smile. "Why did you come back here?"
"I don't know. I feel like this is the only way out." Ahlem pointed at the hole. "We can go out from here."
The white-haired stood in front of her. "Why are you so sure?"
"More importantly, are you injured?" Ahlem held his hand. "You seem so pale. You're so cold! Are you bleeding? You were here when the earthquake happened, weren't you? You had someone else with you!"
The man watched her in silence, and she smiled, feeling uncomfortable. "You seem all right. I see no external injuries."
"You're a pregnant woman," the man started, "For how long have you been pregnant?"
"E-Eight months actually…"
The man lowered his gaze to Ahlem's belly. His long white eyelashes fascinated Ahlem as her hand reached up to poke them. She blinked. "S-Sorry! I like unusual… matters. This might be the first time I see an albino."
The white-haired looked back into her eyes. "Aren't you scared of being here? You're in the middle of nowhere, all alone."
"I'm not alone. My husband is with me. And… all these nice people are–"
"How do you know that they are nice?" The man asked, folding his arms. "Have you seen what they are thinking, what's inside of their hearts?"
"N-No, I haven't. They do seem nice…"
The man slowly nodded. "You have your husband and these nice people with you. What would happen if you were suddenly by yourself? No other humans will be around?"
"I am… I am never by myself." Ahlem frowned. "I have angels with me."
The man did not react to her statement and looked to her right, gazing into space. "I see. How are you so sure that there are angels with you? Have you seen them?"
"No. I will see them, though." Ahlem seemed determined. "I cannot see them because now because I am asleep."
"Are you?" The man tilted his head to the side. "You seem pretty awake to me."
"No! I can't see them now."
The man smiled again. "So you have all these nice humans with you now, and if you were completely alone, then you will have angels with you."
"No." Ahlem seemed frustrated as the man wouldn't understand. "Angels are always with me, not just when I'm alone."
"Why would they always be with you?" The man narrowed his eyes.
"To watch what I do," Ahlem said confidently. "That's why we must always be good."
"So the only reason keeping you from being bad is the supervision of someone else." The man concluded.
"No. Being good feels nice. That's a good reason too." Ahlem frowned. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head?"
The man shook his head. "It was a nice chat. Let's talk again later."
"L-Later?! Wai–"
"Ahlem!" Ahlem blinked, hearing Jassem's voice. Glancing behind her, she saw her husband running towards her, covered in soap and washing powder. "What are you doing here? This room isn't safe!"
"Wait! I was talking to…" Glancing back in front of her, she could no longer see the white-haired man. She fell silent, unable to back up her claims.
They both left the room. The white-haired folded his arms and rested his back against the other side of the tree. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the purple-eyed man standing there too and looking down at a paper. On the paper, a letter was addressed to him.
Dear XXXXXXXXX…
I hope you can read this letter after I die…
The purple-haired shut his eyelids and disappeared in a white flash.
- Writer
