Moonlight Warrior

Chapter1

Lyra's heart raced as the burly men forcefully dragged her to the rooftop of the hospital building.

Her mind was filled with regret for revealing a secret about their boss to the authorities. "Please, spare my life, I promise I won't dare to do it again. Please, I beg you." She pleaded desperately, her voice shaking with fear.

None of the men gave her a listening ear, as they tightened their grip on her arms, pulling her upwards. The sound of fast breathing filling the air, a vast difference to the calm evening sky.

"You should have learned how to shut your mouth when necessary, then you would not be in this mess." One of the men who seemed to be the leader of the others said to her, his voice filled with extreme malice.

"Please, I really need the money for my mother's medication. I had no choice." Lyra gasped, her voice breaking with emotions.

"Don't worry, when we are done with you, we'll send your mother next." Replied the man, with mockery in his tone.

Lyra's world crumbled around her, she really wished there was a medicine for regret, so she could turn back the hands of time and change her decision.

They continued pulling her towards the roof of the hospital building. The cold hard surface seemed to mock her with shame as the men pushed her towards the edge of the building.

"No, please don't! I'll do anything, please, just don't….." Her words were cut off by a shove, as she stumbled towards the edge, her heart beating strongly in her chest.

With a brutal push, they sent her over the edge, and she saw herself falling. Time seemed to have stopped, as she fell to the ground below.

Her whole life flashed before her eyes at that moment.

Her childhood, her parents' smiling faces, and her hard work towards becoming a nurse, all rushed through her mind. Regret filled her thoughts, as she experienced the repercussions of her actions.

The wind blew past her, waving her hair to her face, her thoughts turned to her parents, "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice lost in the air.

As the ground rushed up to meet her, everywhere went dark.

But then, Lyra felt a strange feeling wash over her. It was as if her entire body was being torn apart and fixed back in an instant.

When she opened her eyes, she was expecting to see herself in the familiar room of the white hospital walls, rather she saw herself in a forest, shadows of tall trees casting over her, and the sound of rustling leaves brushing through her ears.

"Where... where am I?" She asked herself in confusion, as she scanned her surroundings.

The forest seemed to extend endlessly, its leaves rustling with the cool breeze.

As she stood up from the cold ground, a huge discomfort settled in her veins, as she tried to find any sign of human relations.

"This actually can't be real. I must be in a dream." She muttered to herself, slapping her cheek and pinching her arms, hoping to wake up from the vivid dream.

But the continued rustling of leaves and the distant singing of birds were all too real to be a dream. She soon realized that she was alone in the middle of the unknown wilderness.

"Hello!" She shouted at the top of her voice, hoping there could be someone closeby who could direct her out of the dense forest.

The last thing she remembered was being dragged to the roof of the building, and shoved over the edge, expecting to fall down to the cold ground of the city.

As she recalled through her thoughts, she suddenly remembered an important memory, "Mother!" She said in a low whisper, her voice filled with fear.

She cowered in fear as she thought of her mother suffering the same terrible fate as her.

She regretted all of her actions, wishing she could go back in time and change all of her decisions.

"I'm sorry mom, I'm really sorry." She sat down on the floor, tears rushing down her eyes.

"Lyra." A voice called out her name. She turned around, trying to find where the voice came from.

As she stopped her eyes towards a particular direction, she saw a man, dressed in a black cloak, coming to where she was.

"Who…who are you?" She asked, with caution in her voice.

"I am a guardian of this place." The man approached her slowly, his footsteps very silent on the forest ground. "Where you are right now is called the Forest of Reflections."

"The Forest of Reflections? But why… why am I here?" She replied with a sniffle, her brows creased in confusion.

The guardian looked at her for a moment before speaking. "That I cannot say Lyra. All I know is, you were brought here for a reason. A reason you must uncover by yourself."

Her mind rushed out with different questions, but before she could voice any of them out, the guardian held up his hand in silence.

"Follow the path ahead, and you will find that which you seek." He instructed her, pointing towards a particular direction with trails ahead, leading deep into the forest.

"But be warned, the journey will never be easy."

As she turned her face to the direction the mysterious guardian pointed at, she was shocked to see a path leading through the forest.

She could have sworn there was nothing there at the time she arrived.

She turned back to look at the mysterious figure, but there was no one there.

Seeing the disbelief going before her eyes, she quickly stood up from the ground and walked forward towards the path, going deeper into the dense forest.

The cool breeze of the forest, rustling leaves of the trees, and the singing voice of the birds, washed her thoughts with comforting calmness.

But as she spiraled back to the memory of the earlier event, she felt a tinge of regret , deep in her bones. She really hoped her mother would be okay.