AFIRE: fight for the Earth begins✓

13.1 AIJA

The story so far:

---- Aija is a Volunteer at the Pristine School at Innermost. She works along with Zuri and Ze, who are her friends. Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her soul, next, but he leaves her alive and goes away. Another man finds her, he wants to take her somewhere else - Aija though wary of him agrees. Aija learns of the existence of the aliens – the Ytai. Also, about the R'ies and H'eon, Harvesting and Àvo from Etrie. Etrie tells her that the man, who Harvested Rez (Thieron), will now go after her. He tells her that the spy/kidnapper's name is Luka. Etrie asks her to work along with him. Aija agrees to work along with Etrie on Harvest Stopping Missions.

---- Ze catches Aija returning early in the morning with two unknown men. He worries if she is doing something wrong by dating one of the men she is with. Ze decides to talk to the girls about it. Ze talks to Zuri about Aija – she too has seen Aija with the unknown man. Zuri confronts Aija about the men she'd been out with.

---- Thieron is in the Open. Alton asks to visit him – something he had been avoiding for a long time since he punched Dhor-Wo, and broke his nose and jaw. Alton is not angry with Thieron for hurting Dhor-Wo; he tells Thieron that he will send him to retrieve the Àvo. Thieron finds a photo of his family in the forbidden section of the Mansion. He hears the voices of two women in the forbidden section and wonders who lives there and what secret Alton is hiding.

---- Thieron and Nala check out a new target, and realize that Etrie's team was trailing the same target.

---- Aija's parents tell her that she has received the notice for engagement from The Leadership. She hates the idea of it, but there is no escape.

---- Aija sees that she knows the person The Leadership has selected for her to marry. Rei asks her to give him a chance, and also tells her to let him know if she doesn't want to go ahead with the marriage; that he would help her no matter what.

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****13.1 - Aija****

The early morning light shined on the two pine cones kept on the interior window sill.

It accentuated the crevices with a play of light and shadow.

Aija stared at it still in bed, covered in her blanket. She was in her room at her parents' home. She yawned, thinking about how the pine cone still had dark crevices even though the light shined beautifully, entirely on it.

Was that how life was? Would one still have some dark patches even though one had everything beautiful and amazing that life could offer?

She stretched, feeling the soreness in her muscles. She wasn't physically tired, but she had been having a hard time ever since that night with Etrie and his team; ever since she found out where the food she ate was packed. She had been disturbed; disturbed by the fact that there were people who worked late at night for it and still lived in miserable conditions than she who simply ate the food without thought.

Every night since then, the image of Taylor's friend bleeding on the road had haunted her dreams. All that blood pooling around her....

Aija had wished to know more about the world she lived in. But, this wasn't what she had imagined – finding out that she had a much better life than so many. Finding out that she had assumed everyone lived that way in comfort. It was disconcerting to understand how truly privileged she was.

Her Scroll beeped. It was a text message from Rei.

'Good luck meeting Quinn.'

She groaned, pulling the blanket over her face. She had been dreading the meeting simply because she was scared; scared that she wouldn't connect with Quinn and would have to spend the rest of her life with someone she didn't love and spend her time longing for someone else.

Her Scroll beeped again. It was a text from Zuri.

'Happy Quinn meeting day! You'll be fine. Love you.'

She pulled the blanket away from her face and placed the device on her bedside table.

She had revealed everything to Zuri. There was no use concealing it anymore; Zuri had seen her with Kuna and Ze had seen her with Kuna and Etrie.

Zuri had been astounded to learn of aliens and Harvests. She had scolded Aija for not telling her sooner, but Aija hadn't wanted to involve Zuri in such dangerous situations. Aija had warned Zuri not to talk about it to anyone. Zuri had promised her not to.

"I want to go with you the next time." Zuri had told.

"No, it's dangerous. You might get hurt." Aija had said. You might die; she had thought thinking of Taylor's friend.   

"You are going, knowing it could happen to you too." Zuri had retorted.

Aija had told Zuri not to tell Ze about it, as well. She, however, hadn't mentioned that Etrie had found Ze in the basement the night Rez had been Harvested.

"You really believe me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean about aliens; about Harvesting souls. You really believe everything I just told you?"

"Of course," Zuri had said. "You've been acting strange, and you've been tired. Ze and I both saw you with that guy. I believe you. And I'm going with you the next time."

"Doesn't it scare you?"

"No." Zuri grinned.

Zuri looked excited, not scared. She wouldn't have been if she had been with her the night of Taylor's rescue.

Zuri had told her about Ze admitting to the fact that he didn't reciprocate her feelings. Aija had felt sad, even though somewhere in the corner of her heart she had known.

It should have made meeting Quinn easier, but it had been the opposite.

There was a knock on the door. The door opened and in came Asahi and Avi.

"You're awake," Avi observed.

Her younger brothers crawled into bed next to her; Avi to her right and little Asahi to her left. When they were younger, they would sleep next to each other every other night.

"Ma told us about your plans today." Asahi told his sister. "Will you be marrying Quinn?"

Aija didn't answer.

"Don't get married so soon," Avi whispered, holding onto her arm.

She smiled. No matter how old they would get, they would always remain her little baby brothers. Avi wasn't very open with his love like Asahi, but she knew him very well. He didn't say he loved anyone, directly, he told it in a million different ways.

She stayed in bed with her brothers hugging her. She remembered the times when she was younger and would only fall asleep if she held onto Vaya or Rei. She had grown out of it, but she still missed it. She'd feel safe in their arms.

"Ai, you're going to get late," Addithri said, coming in. "What are you two doing here?"

"Ma, does Ai really have to go?" Avi asked.

Their mother was still youthful; she was young, indeed. She had had Vaya when she was twenty-one. Addithri Rao had warm brown skin, thick black hair, and dark brown eyes. She was beautiful, and Aija wondered if she would ever match her mother's beauty. She looked so much like her mother, but something – that little charm, that little magic in her mother's beauty was missing in her.

Her mother's family had been mixed only once before, until Addithri herself; which was the explanation for Aija's and Asahi's varying eye colors from the rest of the family who had the same brown eyes like their mother. Aija and Asahi had received their great-grandfather Anlon's eyes.

"Yes, Aija has to go." Addithri said, her voice stern, "Now, you boys let go of your sister. Let her get ready."

Avi and Asahi left the room sulking followed by their mother, not before she said, "Hurry up, Aija."

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