OCEANIA

XX

“Shamita?” I questioned. Why does that name sound so familiar? I thought as I raised my head to look at her. She looked like Heather surely, but a darker and weaker version. She had pale skin like that of someone dead but Heather looked normal. How is this even possible? The name Shamita continues to ring in my head. The room turns in a spiral and I’m turning with it. I landed face flat on the floor. “What just happened?” I asked standing up. I opened my eyes widely to look around. I’m still in the tent but it's a bit different. The torches on the wall are out and so is the bowl that is supposed to have blue fire. The pond was dry and all the stones around it were gone.

Two figures started to materialize in front of me. It was Shamita and a man. The same man from my memories. “Dad?” I called out but they didn’t hear me. They couldn’t hear me because I wasn’t really here. This is just a clip from the past; of Shamita's memory. “I need to go back there!” Dad yelled, “my wife and daughter need me!” “You can't help them even if you tried”. Shamita’s voice was low and unconcerned. “I don’t have time for your complex words okay?” Dad said in frustration, “my family needs me and unless you help me find a way to the surface, they will die”. “You have used up all your land legs. I'm sorry but I can't help you”.

“Look at this place, Shamita! It's coming down; piece after piece and it's because she’s scared”.

“The price for extra legs could be their doom. I cannot let you frustrate me into agreeing”.

“You vowed to protect me and my choices so why aren’t you helping me?”

Shamita goes quiet for a while. She removed a star shaped necklace from her neck and put it on him. “I wish I didn’t have to resort to this but I hate to see you so angry”. She said. “You didn’t? Right?” Dad asked but she didn’t answer so he continued, “you can never go up”. “It might be for the best”, she showed a weak smile, “besides, you need it more I do. I’m more of a shadow than a person anyways”. Dad hugged her and ran out. The room spun back to normal. “You didn’t tell me you helped him” I said once I was facing Shamita again. “You weren’t supposed to see that”, she had her eyes fixed to the floor, “your powers are getting stronger than…” She suddenly stopped talking like someone else was saying something to her. “You’re needed somewhere else”. She announced. Before I had the time to protest, she huffed a strong wind at me from her mouth.

“No!” I shouted. I noticed that I was in Helen's bed and I just shot up to a sitting position. “Finally! I thought you were gone gone”, she said getting off my body, “you were out for long”. “How long?” I asked holding my head. “Long enough for my parents to come home and get the maintenance guy to fix the light”. She answered. My ears shut out Helen’s voice. I was getting a message but it was faint. The voice was growing and growing. “AH‼” the scream pierced my ears. That was Aunt Shelly’s voice. I looked at Helen then at the window. The pieces were coming together. Someone lured me out of the house using Helen so that they could get to Aunt Shelly and Uncle Martin. I have to go and help them. I looked at the window more closely that is if it’s not too late.

I told Helen that I have to go and I’ll give her a reason later. I rushed into the car. Saying I sped off is an understatement. I think I flew off the road. “Aunt Shelly?” I called out immediately I parked the car. “Uncle Martin?” I continued calling. No answer. “Aunt She…what the freak?!” I was too stunned to move. The place was trashed. The couch was turned upside down. The lamp was scattered and worst of all, Uncle Martin's collection glass pod was broken. Every single bottle was smashed. “Who would do such a thing?” I asked no one in particular. The image of Algris doing his sick laugh filled my mind. I clenched my fists in anger. He’s going to pay for this! I ran up to check my room trying my best to avoid the broken glass.

My room was messy. I'm not a neat freak nor do I have OCD but I hate to see my room in a mess. The box on my bed was still in its place. I poured out its contents on the bed. There were many things insice for a small box. I need to find that necklace. I remember seeing it on my Dad maybe Heather was able to get after the house burnt down. She is Shamita after all. I had searched for minutes now and I was tired. A small glint from the bottom of the pile revealed the necklace. I put it in my shorts pocket. I also got a glimpse of a handwritten note. The paper was a bit burnt so I could tell Mom wrote this just before she died. That thought alone brought tears to my eyes.

I need to find Aunt Shelly first before I open the note. I'm on the way to the general hospital. Hopefully, she’ll be there. I asked a nurse if anybody was rushed to the ER some minutes ago. She said that Aunt Shelly was taken into surgery an hour ago. Helen was right; I did stay with Shamita for long. I rushed to the hallway leading to the theater. Uncle Martin was pacing around impatiently. “Uncle Martin!” I called out as I ran into his arms. “Thank goodness, you’re okay Wiberly”, he said into my hair, “Shelly wouldn’t stop worrying that they attacked you too”. “How is she?” I asked pulling away from him. I wanted to see reaction so that I’ll know how bad it is.

He sighed, “the only thing they told me was that she lost a lot of blood”, he said, “and the glass might have damaged her cranium”. “Oh no!” I used my hand to cover my mouth. “Shh! It's gonna be fine”. He patted my head as I cried into his arms. “It’s all my fault. I should have been home. I shouldn’t have yelled!” He puts me in the chair and continued his pacing. It was then I noticed the blood from the inside of his shirt. “You’re bleeding” I said in a small voice. “I know. I just woke up a while ago”. He answered plainly. “Then who drove you here?” I stood up. “A lady. The lady that brought you to us after the accident”. Another plain answer.

He’s talking about Heather. I ran towards the lobby. If Heather brought them here, it means that Algris was also here. I thought, first my best friend now, it’s my aunt and uncle. Today has not been my day!