OCEANIA

XIX

It was like a temple. Different vessels and statues made of gold laid around. The only light was from torches hung on the wall. I came down the stairs. It's not possible that this was in Helen's closet from the beginning. I may or may not have stashed jelly beans here so that no one would have any before me. I didn’t need to turn around; I knew the door was either locked or it had vanished. I counted my steps as I walked deeper inside. I saw a big bowl in the center of what looks like a pond. The water was shielded by white and black stones. The bowl was filed with blue fire. This looks like a ripe place for sacrifices so I’m out.

I hit my head on something strong. I used my hand to hit it but it wouldn’t budge. It was a force field. What the hell is going on here? I asked still hitting the force field a couple times. “Try too much and it starts to shock”. A voice from the dark said. “Well, I’ll take my chances”. I shot. “That is either arrogance or foolishness, child”. The voice said again. “It’s neither”, I said trying to look for the person talking, “how would you feel if you were trapped in a place like this? Filled with gold, has a pond and blue fire? It's creepy as hell”. “You can see the gold?” the woman was shocked.

“Yeah, am I not supposed to?”

“That’s impossible!”

“This was creepy before but now it's getting out of hand”. I said still looking for the figure. A cloak walked out of the shadows. I couldn’t see her face at all, “no one has ever seen the gold” , she said, “except…you’re her!” “If you would be so kind your craziness, may I be excused?” I was getting terrified. The woman moved to the bowl. She poured seaweed into the flames and the color changed to green. She poured some spices and the flames flashed red, orange and yellow before it turned blue again. “Who are you?” I hated that my voice broke when I wanted to act strong. “You fear me yet your abilities are beyond the control of man”. She stated.

I relaxed a bit. She knew things about me. “If you still want to walk away”, the force field faded away, “there’s nothing stopping you”. “What do you know about me?” my voice was sass free, “I’ve been looking for answers”. The fire flared up for a moment then returned to its normal size. The woman was standing some feet away from me. “Tell me young one, what do they call you?” “Wiberly. That’s my name”. I replied. “Not that. The title? The description?”

“I have no idea what you're talking about”.

“Have you not meet the ones who wish to end you?”

“Oh! You mean Algris and his clowns! They haven’t called me anything. To be honest, I don’t think they wanted greetings”.

“Algris is just a pawn in someone else’s game. But I’m afraid he's the least of your problems”. I moved a feet forward, “who’s game?” I asked, “and what problems are we talking about here?” I was more confused than before. How is it possible that Algris isn’t the one calling the shots? What other problems are there? Are my parents the reason? These were the few questions that bothered my mind at the moment. “You want to know the reason why your parents died, right?” I nodded to the question.

“Your father like every other person in Oceania goes to the surface from time to time. His only fault was falling in love with Camilia”, she said, “he came to me for a prediction and I gave him one. I told him to let go of her because she would never be worth the trouble”. “How could you say that about a person?” her words hurt me more than it should. “She was distracting him from his true mission and it was getting too dangerous. And just like you, he didn’t know he had more enemies than one. I got a vision some days before the summer solstice so I summoned him. That was the year you turned five”.

My mind slipped into my memories. It was nighttime. Mom was rushing me out of the house. We were running to the docks to find a boat because she said we needed Dad’s help. “Why are we running Mommy?” I asked. “Listen honey”, she held my face softly, “some really bad men want to hurt us. Only your daddy can help us so I’m going to get him”. Mom put her hands in the water and sang a special song. A heavy downpour fell out of the sky. “Mom!” I screamed. “Remember what I told you?” she asked me. “You said you’d always be here”, I was already crying, “but Mom, I’m scared!” “I know honey”. She hugged me tightly, “daddy will be here soon. I know he will”. Like before, her words echoed me out of the memory.

I balled my hands into fists, “you called even though you knew we were in danger”, I was extremely angry, “you wanted her to die! You wanted…me to die! I feel so furious!” I let out a loud scream. My voice was strange to my ears yet it was filled with anger. What if she’s the reason why Dad was rarely around and she lied to him that he didn’t anymore land legs? I wondered. I could feel lighting flowing through my veins like when I first got my soul back. “Open your eyes child”. The woman's voice was soft.

I obeyed her. The pond was empty. I checked my feet but I was high up in the air since the water was holding me up. All the vessels were floating around in a tornado like form and the blue fire was aimed at the woman. I took in deep breaths like Mom taught me. The water returned back to its hole and I floated down safely. I slowly put my hands down as the vessels returned to their original positions so did the fire. “The main problem here”, the woman paced around me, “is you. You are your greatest enemy”. “And who are you to tell me that?” I asked trying to maintain my cool.

She pulled the hood of the cloak off. She had faded brown hair and soul piercing blue eyes. I have seen those before…it can’t be. My mouth dropped in shock as I asked, “Heather?” “No. Just a split personality”, she smirked, “but everyone calls me Shamita”.