Adventures in The Esrevinu

Chapter One: Starting Over

"Hey! You can't keep doing this, ersE."

".wonk I"

"Then stop, you can't keep saving these kids."

".deneppah tahw was ouY ?daed meht evael ot em tnaw uoY"

"I did see, but that doesn't mean you can just take them for yourself. What will you do with them anyway?"

".wonk t'nod I..."

"Well help them out, one of them is awake."

...
Who is talking? I hear two voices arguing. Wherever I am, it's too dark to see.

"Hello?"

       Silence. I realize I am laying on my back so I sit up. The floor is smooth and cold. I don't know where I am, but I remember what happened. I'd rather not think about that now. "Hello?" I hear a young girl's voice call out. "Is someone there?" I ask toward the direction I heard the voice.

"Where am I? Where are you? It's too dark to see!"

"I don't know where we are."

       I hear a crawling sound grow louder. Is it the girl? Or something else? I feel something on my leg.

"Ah!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to go back home."

       The girl had crawled up to me. She started to cry. I could tell she was afraid. I pulled her in and comforted her. Hearing what those voices were saying means we both went through something similar, if not the same thing.

"Who's there?" I hear a young boy's voice. I call out to him so he can come to us. I hear rustling and a hand on my back. I get startled but I hold his hand. He sits by me. The girl is still crying.

"He-hello? I can't see anything!" Another boy's voice. He comes to the sound of the young girl crying.

"It's okay, you're safe now." I tell her. I hug her and the two boys join in. We stay like that for a moment until I hear a girl's voice. It was quiet and muffled, but slightly distant. It wasn't the crying girl's voice.

"Is someone else there?" I call out and I hear a voice. "Yes." I hear the girl's voice clearly now.

       She sounds older than the rest of the kids. Everyone is silent. Everything is still dark and quiet except for the young girl's quiet sniffling. There are five of us. We all sat together. Even though we didn't know each other, we were closer now. We all went through something that let us end up here.

"You're all awake. I didn't intend to make your first impression of this place frightening."

       It was one of the voices from before, though this time I understood what they said. The first time I heard the voice, it sounded like they were speaking backwards. The sound of the voice was strange. It didn't seem to be coming from one direction, it almost sounded like it came from every direction. The little girl I am holding is shaking with fear. I try to calm her down but she starts to move.

"I can see you know!" She says.

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

"It's not dark anymore!"

       One by one they started speaking. They sounded happy. They started to chat with each other. The little girl stayed with me but she still talked with the others.

"Hi! I'm Nau." The little girl says. She sounds cheerful now. I hear a boy's voice next.

"I'm Xenon."

"I'm Kausy!"

       The two boys say their names. I hear the older girl say her name next. "My name is Levrai." The girl says. It's quiet after the others speak. I am still panicking. I can feel my heart racing.

"What's your name?" Nau asks me.

       Everyone is silent. "Are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out." She says. I didn't know what to say. I was speechless. Terrified. The voice broke the silence, "You have all suffered enough. It wasn't right for you all to end up like this. I'm sure you all remember what happened." No one says anything. I'm guessing veryone still remembers.

"inU won't let me do much but I will still help you all. First is Nau."

The girl stood up.

"You lost your family and they blamed it all on you. You are the youngest here, only five. The others will be your family now. You will be able to regulate others. You will one day rule the people who have hurt you."

She thanked the voice.

"Xenon."

Xenon stood up.

"You were tortured at school and at home. You are twelve but very brave. You can change who you are, but never change your true self."

"Thank you." He says.

"Kausy, you are now the most powerful."

He stands up.

"Your family always depended on you, too much for that matter. It's not your fault. You are only ten. You have a great imagination and you can create whatever you dream of."

"Thank you." He says, feeling relieved.

"Levrai, you blame yourself for not realizing sooner."

Levrai stands.

"You are only fourteen, it was not your job to care for your family alone. You are more and will not forget."

She thanks the voice.

"Voen."

I stand.

"You did your best to protect the only thing you love and saw them die. You are eighteen and kind. You will lead your new family, the people next to you now. You will know the things around you better than anyone else."

"Thank you."

"Now you will all be taken to your new home: Asnoe. I will meet you there."

The place around us starts to change.

"...Where are we?" Nau asks and walks around.

"Looks like a bookstore." Kausy says.

       The voice said I will know the things around me better than anyone else. I knew what they meant the instant they finished their sentence. I could actually feel everything around me without having touched it. I could sense that it was there. I should be relieved, but I'm not. It would help me a lot but I am still panicking. This whole time, ever since the lights were on in the other place. I remember the last thing I saw before I died and went to that dark place. I can't see anything anymore.

I'm blind now.