ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 37

Brenda moved close to Sussan as she did not want anyone to hear her what she was going to say next. She looked around her with cautious eyes and said in a hushed tone,

“There is no exact cure for this poison but its symptoms could be reduced with a little bit of 'Ashes' dust mixed with the only plant grown in Ashes planet 'Ginnewl'.”

Sussan blinked her eyes and wondered why she had never come across such a book before. She hardly knew anything about the Ashes planet other than the lord who rules the planet.

At that same time, Brenda continued to shower her knowledge on that topic to Sussan. She then said,

“The plant looks exactly like the 'Hygelnewl' plant we have on our planet. But the only difference is that it can alter and adjust to any temperature or atmosphere to survive. Even the guardians of this plant have the same ability and could almost adapt to their surroundings easily and quickly,'' Brenda informed Sussan.

“Oh!” Sussan with one word finished that conversation.

Brenda astonishingly looked at her as she had thought that Sussan would be interested in reading that book at once. But her one-word reaction brought some uncertainty to her mind.

“Don’t tell me you already knew about all these things and even saw one here… on this planet. Or perhaps, you saw a Ginnewl plant here but then you let it go?” Brenda asked her impatiently.

Sussan opened her mouth to say that she did not see the Ginnewl plant but the Hygelnewl plant. But Brenda did not let her speak and closed Sussan’s mouth with her hands.

“No, I don’t want to hear anything! No… No... No…” Brenda shook her head and then closed her eyes.

Cathy ignored Brenda's foolish behavior and asked Sussan, "When and where did you see that plant? How was it looking? After hearing what Brenda said, I am now interested in that plant."

At that moment, David finished his chats with his friends and came near them. Before Sussan could answer the question, he said, "We saw that plant when we went to find Peter near the border"

David's answer made Sussan blink her eyes. ‘When did we see the Ginnewl plant? Did David get confused and thought that the plant we were discussing was about the miracle plant?’ Sussan wondered and looked at him with a probing gaze.

As he saw her glance at him, David sat next to Sussan and circled his arm around her shoulders. He then asked her, “What happened? Did I say something wrong? I thought you were discussing the miracle plant we saw near the border. Am I wrong?”

“...” Sussan blankly looked at her and did not respond to him.

“You saw the Ginnewl plant here? That too near our country’s border?” Brenda exclaimed and checked her surroundings to see if there were any more such weird-looking plants near them.

“Ginnewl plant? NO! I am talking about the Hygelnewl plant. We met that plant at the border and Sussan even fed some meat to it. So, in turn, it gave us the golden flower which we used to make a bridge on top of the lava and then also it helped to keep Name…” Before David could finish his sentence, Sussan hurriedly interfered and said, 

“Yes! Brenda, you too saw the flower, right? Wait, I have a few more petals left in that flower. I will show you,” Sussan said and then sent signals to David with her eyes to not mention Nameless in front of anyone.

She then opened her infinite bag and pulled out a half flower to show it to Brenda and Cathy. The minute Cathy’s eyes laid on the flower, she jumped up and took it from Sussan’s hands.

“These…. These… I have heard stories about men going after some golden flower and losing their lives.” Cathy mumbled while staring at the flower in her hand intensely. 

She then looked at Brenda and said, “Your father used to say that there were so many people who tried to get their hands on this miracle flower but none of them returned. If Sussan was able to get one then it means that something big is going to happen soon.”

Cathy swiftly gave the flower back to Sussan and said, “Hide it well! Do not let anyone see this flower. I know you are kind-hearted but if this flower falls into wrong hands then we cannot say what they would do with it.”

Sussan kept the flower safely back into her bag. When she lifted her head, she suddenly recalled seeing a similar-looking plant somewhere before. 

‘Where did I see it?’ Sussan wondered and a cloud of images appeared in front of her eyes.

But then it disappeared before she could grasp those memories. She closed her eyes and tried to remember it but she was unable to recall it.

“What happened? Why are you sweating a lot?” Brenda asked Sussan with concern and helped wipe the sweat from her forehead with her magical cloth.

“I… I think I have seen some plants similar to Hygelnewl before. Something flashed in my memory but when I tried to recall it, I forgot about it once again,” Sussan told her.

Brenda came near Sussan and examined her. After checking her for some time, Brenda said, “You have a memory mask placed on you! Why did I miss seeing it before?”

“What?” Sussan was shocked to hear that.

“Why would I have a memory mask? I remember everything that had happened in my life,” Sussan informed her.

“No, there is definitely a memory mask placed on you,” Cathy too studied her and told her.

“It’s impossible…” Sussan shook her head and looked at David.

“I don’t know anything about that… I am also equally surprised that someone would place a memory mask on you. But who could that be and why would they do that?” David asked her.

“...” Sussan then wondered, ‘If it’s not him then who would be so interested in my mental health and could place a memory mask on me?’

After noticing her uncertain expression, Brenda came forward and informed her, “If you want I can ask my mom to unlock those memories for you.”

“Hey, wait! When did I agree to do that?” Cathy asked Brenda and made her angry.

“Mom, how can we ignore this after we found out about it? We need to help her regain her memories.” Brenda argued with her mother, Cathy.

“What if she placed it on herself to prevent her from remembering some bad memories?” Cathy questioned her.

“Mom, Sussan would never do it. She would never covet away from anything and I am sure, it all because of someone’s foul play,” Brenda stated with confidence.

“I think we should let Sussan decide if she wants to remember those memories or not,” David interfered and said after seeing the spat between the mother and daughter.

“Yes, he is correct.” Cathy agreed with him instantly and looked at Sussan and asked her, “What do you think? Do you want to remember those memories?”

“I… I …” Sussan stuttered and could not make a decision. 

She was very much confident about one thing. She would never place a memory mask on herself as she does not have a weak heart that would need masking. She’s brave enough to face any sort of trouble with a clear mind and courageously.

“Sussan, if it’s troublesome then let’s not do it. Whatever makes you happy is more important,” David rubbed her shoulders and told her.

“No! I want to remember! I want to recall everything that had been hidden or forgotten by me. Who knows those memories could even help us find a solution to our problems,” Sussan said with determination and nodded her head to Cathy.

“Very well then! I will try to remove one layer of the memory mask for now. I don’t want you to remember everything at one go as that would be too painful for anyone to bear,” Cathy said and placed her hands on top of Sussan’s head.

Sussan closed her and tried to keep her mind calm. David and Brenda held either one of her hands to give her support. Sussan took a deep breath and was now able to calm her mind.