ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 39

Brenda took out a bottle of water from inside her bag and slowly sipped it. Just then she realized that it was no ordinary water but wine. When she was about to place it back in her bag, Sussan appeared out of the dome.

“Hey… What’s that? Water? I want some,” Sussan said and walked close to Brenda with unsteady steps.

Brenda extended her hands and gave the bottle to her and then said, “It’s not water but wine. You are free to drink as much as you want. I am sure you need something strong to steady your mind and feelings.”

Sussan did not deny her and took the bottle from her. She only took a sip before giving it back to Brenda.

“It’s too strong for my taste,” Sussan commented and sat next to Brenda.

“So, how much did you remember?” Brenda asked with curious eyes. 

She wanted to know if her guess about her kid's father was true or not. She stared into Sussan’s eyes which had a blank expression.

"I saw that plant you mentioned earlier with the Ashes lord. How could I have missed remembering that? Moreover, why was that memory masked? Or maybe I forgot about it because my brain considered it as insufficient information to store,” Sussan said.

Even though she did not hear the answer she was waiting for, Brenda patted her back and said, “Cheer up… Now that my mother had started to work on you, I am certain that you would remember all the lost memories sooner.”

“I actually don’t know if I want to remember it or not anymore,” Sussan sighed and leaned on Brenda’s shoulders.

She then said, “Last time when I went to collect Asran's dust, I saw him and that plant followed him everywhere he went.”

She lifted her head suddenly and asked Brenda, “What if the plant which we saw near the border was not the Hygewlnewl plant instead it was actually the Ginnewl plant from the Ashes planet?” 

“How is that possible?” Brenda wondered as the Ashes lord never leaves the planet that easily.

Also, even the two times he went to Asran was almost like a miracle. Brenda felt that she was missing some important point but she could not pinpoint what that was! She quietly listened to what Sussan was saying to her.

“Doesn’t that mean even the Ashes lord is also here? If he is here, then all he needs to do is summon the plant and it would be with him in no time." Sussan declared with a smiling face.

Brenda looked at her beaming face with an uncertain expression. ‘Why was she concerned about that plant not being with Ashes lord? Doesn’t she have to worry about such a devil plant being with their sons?’ Brenda thought.

"If you say that it never left him, then why was it alone when you saw it before. No… Actually, didn’t we even see the guardian of the plant when Nameless contacted Robert? Also, why would a devil plant need a guardian?" Brenda asked her.

“No! When we contacted Robert, didn’t he say that he was trying to make a deal with a tiny man? What if the Tiny man stole the plant from the Ashes planet? Also, we even saw that plant shrink its body before entering the portal created by Robert in the border.” Sussan told her.

“Doesn’t the Hygewlnewl plant never shrink its body?" Brenda asked Sussan as she was excited that it was her who found this useful information by reading that book in her husband, James’s library.

"So, do you even know about this information? I always thought you hated to read books. But looks like you can be somewhat useful too once in a while... Hmph… Hmph..." Cathy mocked her daughter Brenda.

When she woke up a few seconds ago, she noticed that Sussan was not inside the dome. So, she came out only to hear their conversation about that plant.

‘Did she not remember anything useful other than one silly shrinking plant?’ Cathy wondered and pouted her mouth.

‘Here, I am thinking that she had recalled something more important which could save their planet.’ She sighed and shook her head in disappointment.

“Mom, why are you staring at me so keenly? Is there something on my face?” Brenda asked her.

“No! I am just wondering if I even manage to remove at least one layer of the memory mask in Sussan or not. It seemed like she still does not remember anything important yet,” Cathy hummed a little while checking Sussan’s head with her hands.

She still found that even one layer of the blocking was not completely removed.

‘How is that possible? No one is an expert in memory masking on this planet.’ Cathy thought and looked at Sussan with astonishment.

Just then she noticed the bottle in Brenda’s hand and asked her, “Is that water in your hands? I am thirsty, give me some…”

Brenda blinked her eyes and tried to hide the bottle behind her back. She then looked at Sussan and intended to change the topic.

“If the Ginnewl is across the border and it is away from the Ashes Lord, then does it mean that he might be injured very badly. What if he is here on our planet and he instructed the plant to get you to treat him? Anyway, there is no healer like you in the whole of this universe who is the best and has adequate knowledge of all the planets,” Brenda exclaimed and ignored meeting Cathy’s eyes which were roaming near the bottle.

“Why are you hiding the bottle behind your back?” Cathy asked Brenda.

Brenda once again ignored Cathy and asked Sussan, “Still, why did the plant cross you and went to Peter? Does that mean Peter holds something which you do not? Or does the Ashes Lord think that Peter could cure him?”

“I cannot say anything for sure but I know one thing, you might better tell your mother the truth. Or else, we both will get into trouble,” Sussan said and signaled to her that her mother, Cathy, had already found the bottle and lifted it from the ground.

After taking a sip, Cathy scrunched her face but then she did not stop drinking the liquid from the bottle.

“Mom!” Brenda cried out in despair but she knows that there is no stopping her mother from getting drunk.

“You should have never hidden such a tasty wine from me…” Cathy licked her lips and complained.

“I didn't mean to. First of all, I didn’t even know that it was wine until I drank it a few minutes ago,” Brenda said in a whispering tone.

After finishing the whole bottle, Cathy sat next to Sussan and Brenda and said, “After listening to your conversation, I think the first thing we need to do is to find the Ashes Lord before anyone else does; that is if he is really here. Also, we need to find out whether he is seriously injured, then it might mean that even his planet might be in a war just like ours.”

“But if the Ashes planet is also having a war then does it mean that our upcoming days are not going to end well even if we keep running away from the borders. People are going to hunt us down in no time if they actually start their search more seriously,” Brenda said with a worry-filled voice.

“Then let us fight them! We are one of the strongest powers if we all are united,” Sussan declared.

“It is not only about fighting. First, we need to find out about who we are going to fight against and also their skills. Moreover, will anyone believe us if we tell them about our theoretical discovery of Ashes Lord?” Cathy informed them.

“Also, I feel like it is going to be our own kin and friends, will you have the heart to hurt any one of them?” Brenda asked her as she recalled her husband, James’s face in her mind.

Sussan immediately regretted suggesting a fight against the militants without thinking it through on that topic. She could never imagine hurting all of those people whom she was once close with before leaving her home. If she had the heart to fight them then she would have not suggested fleeing from there.