AlphaQueen

Astropos

I awoke shouting ‘Wait!’ with my right hand stretched out, just like it has been happening for months now. The first dream had come on the eve of my twenty-first birthday, which was when I first began to have the dreams.

A dream of a voice, a familiar voice calling out for help, calling consistently on a name for help. Only, it was not my name she always called. Zenoah, also known as Zenobia. That is the name the familiar voice always called out to. But sadly, I am always the only one around, in what looked like a wilderness with only one building, a building so high it disappeared into the sky. And the voice of a girl came from there.

When I first had this dream, I had walked slowly while always looking around until I got to the only door the building had. But as soon as I unlocked the door and was about to step in, a woman dressed in white with her entire face hidden except her eyes would always stop me from entering, saying ‘You are not ready!’, before slamming the door at my face, and as soon as she did that, I would wake up, and I will be back in my room.

After some months passed, and I kept having the same dream ending at that same point, I decided that maybe I could not get it because I was too slow at getting to the door. So the next time I had a dream, I ran until I got to the door, but the ending never changed. She still always slammed the door at my face after saying the same words. The ending was always the same no matter how fast I ran, just like a few minutes ago.

Desperate to get an understanding of what was happening or who the voice was always crying out for, I had checked the net for help. When I checked up the name Zenoah, I found nothing. Then I decided to check for a relative name to it, and then I found the name ‘Zenobia.’ The only mention of the name Zenobia on the net dated back to 260 AD.

A queen, a warrior queen who had been so powerful and married to a man named Odaenathus, king of the Palmyrene Empire, she had borne him a so named Vaballathus. After her husband was killed by a relative named Maeonius, Zenobia’s son Vaballathus had inherited the throe with Zenobia as Empress Regent.

Zenobia had ruled successfully until she was defeated in a battle with a man named Aurelian, an emperor with a stronger force at the battle of Immae, known as one of the greatest and darkest battles in history.

Some said that Zenobia had been captured and taken to Aurelian, who paraded her throughout the streets in chains in his celebration of triumph. Others say she never made it to Aurelian’s camp, having poisoned herself on the way. But some others say she had successfully fled and eventually married a wealthy Roman man and lived out the rest of her life in a comfortable villa by the Tiber river.

That was all I had found out about this name. Could she be the one the voice has been calling out to? And why was I having dreams about it?

Eager for more information, I had searched for the name Astropos more than a hundred times with no tangible answer. I had given up trying to find out who it was after a year. I just kept receiving the money and waiting for the day we would finally meet.

Sighing, I wiped away the perspiration from my forehead that must have gathered while I was sleeping. That was when I heard the noise in the kitchen.

“Josh!” I called, stepping out of bed, but I heard no response.

Josh is now at Wayne State University. He had a house close to school, but came home some days. I called one more time but still heard no response, yet the noise continued. I picked up my hair and dryer and tiptoed off to the kitchen.

I was about to slam the dryer on the hooded head of the person bending inside my food locker to get something when the head finally came up and I screamed. He screamed too, raising both hands up.

“Josh!” I called when I finally recognize it was him.

He puts down the can of meat and takes off his headset. “Do not shoot!” he teased, both his hands raised up again.

I rolled my eyes, putting down the dryer. “What are you doing here? You scared me!”

“I am sorry, I was just hungry.”

Leaning on the table, “When did you come home?”

“A few minutes ago,” he says, turning back to the food on the fire.

“Josh, what do I always say about night travels?” I asked, folding my hands.

“It is risky and dangerous. But nothing happened, Abby.”

“Nothing happens until something happens one day. Remember Dad was –

“Abby!” he calls, turning to face me. “I know what happened to Dad, and I will try not to let it happen to me. But I am not Dad. I am Josh, your brother. Nothing is ever going to happen to me. Okay?”

“Fine! What are you making?” I asked.

“Noodles. You want some?” I nodded. “I did not expect to have you waking up anytime soon.” He said, returning to his cooking.

I sighed, jumping on the food locker. “I had a dream,” I said, shoving some hair behind my ear..

He turns back to look at me. “You are still having those dreams?” I nod. “Exact dream?” he asks.

“The same thing, the same time of the night every month.” I said, sighing.

“Maybe you should see one of your doctors.”

“I tried that the first few months, but it all turned negative. They all say I am perfectly fine.”

“Salt.” He demanded, his hands stretched out.

I picked up the jar of salt from behind me and threw it at him. He catches it, adds it to the pot of boiling food and throws it back at me.

“The marks, are they still there?” Josh asks.

I pull up the hand of my nightwear, revealing the moon marks on my left hand. Josh moves closer and takes a look at them.

“Does it keep disappearing after you wake up from the dream?” Josh asks, returning to his cooking.

“Yeah, it does.”

“Maybe it is trying to say something.” I look up at Josh. “How many do you have left?” he asks.

“Four.”

“And in four months’ time you will be twenty-two. It happens every twenty-third of the month, at midnight.” He points the spoon in his hand at me. “By twenty-third midnight four months from now, you will be twenty-two. The last moon will disappear after you wake up on your twenty-second birthday. Don’t you find that … puzzling?”

I sighed. “I do not know, but now you are saying it, it makes perfect sense. Do you think I should be worried?” I asked, eyes on him.

He smiles. “Of course not. I am sure nothing will happen.” He turns and adds some vegetables into the pot. “What is the plan for your birthday this year?”

“The usual. Spend half the day in day care with Mum, hang out with you in the evening.”

“You do realize ladies usually hang out with their boyfriends on their birthday and not their brother, right?”

“Shut up!” I said, jumping off the locker and heading for the fridge. I take out a bottle of water and drink.

“You seriously need a man in your life, Abby. A man other than me. You are young, beautiful, and even rich thanks to all the money Dad left us.”

Yeah. I had told him I had finally found our father’s will, and it turned out he had left us lots and lots of money, which is why we are living the luxury life now. I lied. Crucify me! But I bet even you would not tell your brother you got money by pledging to become someone else or the entire weird situation.

“Argh!” I squeaked, bending over. Suddenly, my back hurt so much. Josh was beside me in no time.

“Are you okay, Abby?” he asked, bending down too.

“My back, it hurts. Check if I have a bruise or something.” I urged him, pointing at a spot on my back.

Standing up, he pulls down the neckline of my night wear until he got to where I was pointing, and he uncovers it.

“Jeez, Abby! Now, when did you get a tattoo?”

I turned to look at him, “What tattoo?” I asked, wincing in pain.

“A moon, just like the one on your arm, but this one is bigger and white. Plus, it has three stars next to it. That is cool!”

“A moon and three stars?” I questioned.

“Yeah, right here, where you say you are having pains.” Josh says.

I quickly walked over to the mirror in the kitchen and turned my back. “Show me.” I told Josh.

He helped me pull down my nightwear again until even I saw it. He was right, I had a half white moon on my back with three stars next to it.

“Try to see if you can clean it, Josh.” I said to him.

Josh walks away and returns minutes later with a wet towel. He began to scrub that part of my skin with it, but just like I had expected, it was not coming off.

Three stars and a white half moon. I thought to myself. Where had I seen that symbol before? That was when I recalled I had seen it on one of the rare paintings of Zenobia on the internet. She had it on her right shoulder.

“Zenoah!” I whispered almost inaudibly. The name the voice always called out to in my dreams.

The next two months were not ordinary either. Lots of strange things were beginning to happen. One of them was taking a short nap in my office at the hospital and waking up in my bed at the house, feeling all tired and worn out, with no idea how I had gotten home.

The first few times it had happened, I had thought my colleagues must have brought me home, but when I asked the very next day at work, all of them said I had gone home myself. Now, the problem is, I always have no memory of doing so. My memory always stops at where I have rested my head on my table or on the chair.

Now I tried stopping myself from always taking those rests, but I could not, even if I had an emergency, or was in the operating room, I always found myself going back to my office and taking that rest as though someone was controlling me. At first, I had expected to receive a query from the hospital management, but nothing of that sort happened. It was almost as if nothing had been going wrong or happening.

That was not all!

Last month, after waking up due to the dream, I decided to take a shower. I was bathing when I felt that sharp pain in my back again. Looking at my back through the mirror on the wall, I discovered I now had an eye, the size of an apple drawn on my back. Another mark!

Two days ago, I had that dream again, followed by the drawing of fire right under where the eye was. What is happening to me? What have I gotten myself into?

I now felt different, lighter I would say, but felt more strength in my hands. Like yesterday when I squeezed my phone into broken pieces because I held it a bit too tight. I break things easily now, almost as if I could not control the strength in my hands.

What is going on?

And why do I feel like this is the calm before the storm?

What is going to happen on my twenty-second birthday after the moon in my arms is all gone?

What is going to happen to me?

Astropos!

Are you coming for me?