"Damn it...damn it...DAMN IT...DAMN IT!"
"How...could I...have been...this careless...?"
"How coulnd't I have protected her?"
"Didn't I promise?"
"How could I have...let this happen...?"
"WHY DIDN'T IT TAKE ME INSTEAD?"
"I AM RIGHT HERE, TAKE ME INSTEAD! BRING HER BACK..."
"BRING...her...back..."
"I offer you a life for a life..."
"I would do anything to bring her back..."
Aya holds a familiar lifeless body in her bloody hands.
Her pained voice reaches through the sky.
Rain falls...slowly... drop by drop... the water is as cold as her eyes.
Time has stopped.
The pain hasn't. It's slowly eating up Aya's heart.
"No. You can't be gone...stop fooling me...YOU.CAN'T.BE.GONE..."
"MAKE IT STOP.."
"Make...it...stop.
Please..."
(What happened before...?)
[Flashback]
Aya: "C'MON snakey! Catch me!"
"KILL.HER."
The dark voice instructs the snake again.
Aya: "YA HEARD UR BOSS FANG FACE! Over here!"
(Suddenly, the snake stopped moving. It stood...still?)
Aya: "Why is it not... attacking?"
(The snake seems to slither in another direction, Aya's eyes widen.)
Aya: "No- DON'T SLITHER IN TO THE DIRECTION TO THE VILLAGE! STUPID SNAKE! HEY ARE YOU BLIND?! I AM RIGHT HERE!"
Aya's POV:
"I promised Amara I'd distract it away from the village... and protect the people...including Amara. Did it look through my plan? Will I fail to keep my promise...? No, I can't fail. I'd rather die..."
(To Aya's surprise, the snake is not heading into the direction of the village either. It slithers, and stops. Looking behind.)
Aya: "Wait...are you...leading me?"
(Completely lost and confused, Aya glances at the huge, golden snake.)
"Is my mind playing tricks on me?"
(The snake slithers away, looking at Aya, waiting. Aya decides to follow the snake.)
Suddenly, it leads Aya to a lifeless body.
"W...what? T...this..."
And...disappears...
It disappeared.
Aya's eyes widen.
She falls to the ground.
"This...no..."
Aya holds the lifeless body tight to her chest. The body is wet...
Her shaking fingers run through the cold, pale skin of the lifeless body... blood was all over her hand...
She holds it, slowly, carefully...
As if she was touching the most fragile thing in the world.
A mixture of rain and blood, perhaps Aya's tears as well...
"Damn it...Damn it...DAMN IT... NO...YOU CAN'T BE...gone..."
(A loud slam...again...and...again.)
Aya slams her hand against the ground. Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Until the pain has been numbed...
Until there is nothing more to break...
"Break all your bones! You have let this happen!"
Aya's pained voice reaches the sky.
After screaming for what felt like an eternity...
And after the rain has completely hidden Aya's tears...
And after all bones on her hand broke...
Her eyes finally go back to the lifeless body.
"I...will...avenge you...I swear...I will... I will...rip out their hearts...and make them pay...for what...they...did..."
Aya stood up, blood and tears falling off her.
Letting out a numbed scream...
"WHERE ARE YOU!!! SHOW YOURSELF, COME AND GET ME INSTEAD! BRING HER BACK... BRING HER BACK... BRING HER BACK..."
The loud sound of thunder is the only reply Aya got.
Her legs collapsed.
"I OFFER YOU A LIFE FOR A LIFE. COME BACK... NO...COME BACK...!!!"
"Back I said..."
She slammed her already broken hand against the ground.
Again.
Again.
AGAIN.
"Break it until you feel no pain."
"Break it until there is no more."
"You have let this happen, Aya."
"You have killed her, Aya."
"How could you have been this careless, Aya?"
"NO...NO...NO...STOP...STOP IT... STOP!!!"
(Aya screams again, battling her thoughts.)
"I try to do what I can... for these humans..."
"But...I can't...save everyone..."
"I am...not worthy... to save this realm. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ME, WHY? WHY..."
Grandmother Aysha's body is laying peacefully on the ground. Even if blood is all over her, her face still radiates love and dignity, as if she was just in a long, peaceful sleep...
Meanwhile Amara' POV:
Amara: "Is everyone okay?"
(As Amara checks upon the villagers, especially elderly and children, Aya comes up in her head.)
Amara: "Why do I have a bad feeling..."
(One of the girls speak up.)
Layla: "W...what if...it...got her..."
Amara: "I know Aya, she is smart and fast enough to escape it. Besides..."
(Their guardian comes up in Amara's head.)
"Nothing will happen to Aya. Right...?" She asked, doubtfuly...
[Several hours have passed. Amara slams her fist against the table. The time passes slow, and the villagers begin to worry about Aya.)
Amara: ("Where the hell is this girl?!! Hours have passed...she should have been here a long time ago. Is she still trying to escape the snake? Did it...no... Aya can't be. I just know!")
Hours have passed again... and again...and again...
And Aya is still out there, in the rain.
Next to the one who has given her shelter and motherly love.
Lifelessly...on the wet ground...
The thunder exploding in the sky...
Yet Aya's scream was no comparison to the thunder.
Amara's POV: "Thats it, I will find you!"
(Without a word, Amara leaves the villagers and the shelter.)
The rain hasn't stopped since then.
As if time hasn't stopped...since then.
Amara: "AYA! WHERE ARE YOU!"
A thunder is all Amara hears back.
Worries begin to flood her head.
(Suddenly, a familiar soft voice calls out to Amara.)
"My sister, it is raining. A monster is out here. Why are you outside? It is not safe for you. Please go back."
(Amara slowly looks up, a tall figure, with a white robe, and pure face of righteousness looks directly in her eyes.)
Amara: "Yusuf!!!"
Yusuf: "Indeed, it is me. I will walk you back to the village, sister. It is not safe for you here."
Amara: "No!"
(Yusuf's face of concern changes into confusion.)
Amara: "Aya is still out there! She was distracting the monster away from the village in order to protect everyone else... I can not just wait! I have to find her... I have to. And if this is the last thing I shall do."
(Yusuf tries to change Amara's mind...)
Yusuf: "You...will not listen. Amara, please don't be stubborn and let me handle this. I will find Aya myself. Go back."
Amara: "Don't tell me what to do!!!"
(Silence...just silence. Why is it so torturing...?)
Yusuf: "..."
Amara: "Dont stop me from saving my best friend."
Yusuf: "Amara... don't."
(Ignoring his words, Amara keeps on walking, calling out Aya's name.)
Yusuf: "Silly girl...seems like I need to search her alone."
(The man also takes his leave, running across the desert, calling upon Aya's name as well.)
Will they be able to find Aya? What exactly happened? Is grandmother Aysha really...gone? Why did the snake lead Aya to her body?
Coming soon...