My Awe

THE SHADOWS STIR

Chapter Four

The moon hung low that night, its pale glow barely piercing the heavy clouds that smothered the skies above the forest. Zeiya sat cross-legged on her uncle’s porch, her emerald dress pooling around her like a ripple of water. The night was still, but her heart raced. She could not shake the whispers she had begun to hear in her dreams—strange voices warning her, “He searches. He knows.”

Inside, her younger sister Kixa laughed with Mian as they argued over who had caught the largest rabbit earlier in the day. Their voices carried warmth and comfort, yet Zeiya felt like an outsider, her mind drawn elsewhere. Her father, Hiron, ever calm, glanced at her from where he sat polishing a wooden staff. His quiet presence always reassured her, but tonight, even his calm could not silence the unease clawing at her chest.

“Why do you always drift away?” Kixa asked later when she joined Zeiya outside, plopping beside her with youthful carelessness. “You look at the moon as if it holds secrets. Do you… hear things?”

Zeiya turned sharply, startled. Did her sister know? No, Kixa’s eyes still held the innocence of one too young to understand the heavy burdens of their world. “I just think, Kixa,” Zeiya replied softly, brushing her sister’s long dark hair behind her shoulder. “Thinking makes me quiet, that’s all.”

But Kixa was not convinced. She leaned against her sister and whispered, “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, Zeiya. Everyone says it. But sometimes I wonder if beauty is a blessing or a curse for you.” Her voice quivered, as if she already knew the truth.

Zeiya tightened her embrace. Kixa’s beauty was remarkable too, but always overshadowed by her own. The villagers stared, the council whispered, and strangers bowed in awe whenever Zeiya appeared. Her beauty stunned them all, but it was her hidden power that Mama Anavami had sensed that the council feared, that King Dihon craved.

The next morning, the family gathered for a simple meal. Tia, their mother, fussed over the children, ensuring they ate enough before training or chores. Though stricter than Hiron, her discipline came from love. She watched Zeiya closely, as though she feared her daughter might vanish into the mist at any moment.

“Stay close to the woods, all of you,” Tia ordered. “The king’s men search the valleys. And…” She paused, her eyes falling on Zeiya. “Do not draw attention to yourselves. Do you understand?”

Zeiya nodded, but deep inside, she knew she was the very flame that drew moths. No matter how hidden she tried to be, her beauty, her aura, her being called out to the world.

That afternoon, she wandered to the forest’s edge with Mian. Her brother was tall now, broad-shouldered and steady. Unlike Kixa, he rarely spoke of her beauty, though she caught the way his eyes lingered protectively when strangers approached her.

“You know why Father and Mother listen to me, don’t you?” he asked as they walked, his voice low. “It’s because I see things clearer. I knew we had to run to Uncle’s place before anyone else did. I see how people look at you, Zeiya. Not just the council, not just our people-everyone. And that makes you dangerous… or maybe it makes you hope.”

Zeiya stopped walking. “Dangerous?” she asked, her voice sharp.

“Yes,” Mian said firmly. “King Dihon will not rest until he finds you. He fears what he doesn’t control. And the others the witches, the villagers,they fear too. Beauty, power, mystery… it frightens them. You can’t just be our sister anymore. You’re becoming something more. Something bigger.”

Her chest tightened at his words. She wanted to be just Zeiya: daughter, sister, friend. Not a flame, not a weapon. But destiny did not bend to wishes.

Later that night, while the family slept, Zeiya slipped outside. The trees whispered, their leaves trembling with a wind that carried no warmth. She closed her eyes, and there it was again the voice from her dreams.

“He is coming. He will find you.”

Her eyes snapped open, and across the woods, a shadow moved too swift, too deliberate. Her blood chilled. Someone was watching.

For the first time, Zeiya realized hiding might not be enough.