Aiden tightened the grip on his wand. He kept looking back his shoulder every now and then. He had no idea where he was right now. When he and Charlie heard that Natalie was missing, they had split ways and went in search of her in different directions.
An eerie feeling crept in through his skin. It was noon, but the sunlight hardly entered that place. The area was secluded by enormous giant trees. A strange object zoomed past him. Aiden gulped and raised his wand. He shifted towards his right to make out what the creature was but it whizzed just past by his left shoulder, sending a jolt up his spine. Just as he was about to proceed further, his eyes got the glimpse of a long limbless silvery creature with wings which advanced right at him, sliding it's tongue out, hissing.
"Impedimenta" he shouted flicking his wand. The spell hit the creature. The creature shifted wildly as it fell on the ground hissing. Just then, another one attacked him from behind. He was fighting the flying snakes which he never realized existed till now. The one on the ground sank its fangs deep into Aiden's legs. He felt the surroundings twirl around him. His vision turned blurry, slowly fading away. He lost the grip on his wand and it fell to the ground, followed by an unconscious Aiden.
I wish I could see the world out there
I'm chained to the mountains oh it's so unfair
I want to feel their pain
And try to keep them sane
And heal those broken hearts
And mend those shattered parts
I wish I could see the world out there
I'm chained to the mountains oh it's so unfair
Aiden snapped his eyes open wide, his eye balls shifting left and right in panic. He jolted up wiping the sweat off his forehead. A sweet voice had summoned his consciousness back. He had no idea where he was or what he was doing on the ground. He got to his feet, grabbing his wand.
"Zdravo" Someone said in sweet voice. Aiden looked around but the place was completely deserted.
"Ovde Ovde" the sweet voice spoke to him again. He shifted his eyes up to find a white figure sitting on the branch of the tree. He blinked his eyes adjusting his vision. A young girl with reddish blond hair, wearing a long white dress smiled back at him. For a moment he thought he was staring at an ethereal being for her beauty was incredible and incomparable. She jumped down in front of him without a warning, which made him take a few steps backwards. Her long curls bouncing behind her. "I won't hurt you" she talked to him in a soothing voice, sensing the apprehension in his eyes.
She walked towards him "Your wound has been healed" she said, locking her eyes with him. Her hazel eyes were veiling an untold mystery of some sort.
"Wound?"
"You were bitten by a Volare" she said.
"Volare?"
"Yes volares. Snakes that can fly" she explained. Suddenly it hit him. The memory of the past event flashed through his mind. He had been standing face to face with a silvery flying creature and he had used the impediment jinx on it. It had bitten him on his leg. Suddenly he averted his eyes from her to his leg. She crouched down and inched his sock downwards. Two holes were gauged on his right leg just above the ankle. He looked up at her "It's a rather venomous creature" she mused "Female, the more aggressive ones" she added.
"Why am I still alive then?" He was totally confused.
"I found you just in time. You were going into a shock"
"Thank you" he said. If it wasn't for this unknown girl, he would have been dead by now and no one would have ever known.
"What are you?" he bluntly asked her.
"Human" she said, laughing. It was angelic, the way she laughed throwing her head back. "Aren't we all the same?" she asked.
"Yes but you have powers"
"That doesn't mean that we are different from the others, does it?"
"Are you a witch?"
"Yes I am. I belong to the magjat tribe" she explained.
"Tribe? So they still exist?" Aiden sounded utterly surprised at the mention of tribe.
"What do you mean still exist? There are a lot of us and the other tribes as well on these mountains" she told him.
"Well no witch or wizard, I mean no outsider who has explored these mountain ranges have seen one" he clarified.
"Yeah that may be partly true. We, well the tribe I hail from believes that the outside world is cruel, corrupt, selfish and they exploit the powers bestowed upon us by nature" she said.
"Partly true?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah we do not reveal ourselves to outsides. Our dwellings are jinxed to make it unapproachable to outsiders. And if at all we are seen by someone their memory will be wiped away"
"I'm sorry, I should have asked this earlier, but what's your name?"
"It's Alzena" she said.
"And I am Aiden" he said, suppressing the urge to shake hands with her for he didn't know how the tribes greeted each other.
"Would like to eat some fruits Aiden? You are hungry" she said.
"How could you possibly know that?" He was surprised beyond words. He hadn't told her he was hungry neither was he searching for food. Did she just assume?
"I have the power to feel and heal" she said, extending her hands forward. A dozen apples fell right into her palms.
"How did you do that without a wand?" he asked, grabbing a handful of apples and taking a bite from one eagerly.
"Wand?"
"Yes, this" he said, taking the wand out of his pocket and showing it to her. She inspected it carefully "Without a wand, a wizard or a witch has minimal powers" he said.
"Says who?" she asked, smilingly. "Magic comes from within. It manifests the whole universe. Relying on a piece of stick.. "
"Wand" he corrected her.
"Yes, wand, we are limiting the infinite power residing within us"
"It's deep thinking"
"Not really if you think about it" she said. "Let's sit by the lake, shall we?" she asked. He shrugged and followed her.
They sat on a big old branch which had stooped so law that it seemed like it was embracing the lake. Alzena trailed her legs through the water making their reflections obscure. "So..." she said, breaking the silence lingering between them "How's the world outside?"
"Cruel? Corrupt? Selfish? Exploitative?" he chuckled, making her laugh as well.
"No. Seriously! I want to know"
"You have never been outside to the real world before?" he asked.
"Real world? So do you mean to say this is all unreal? The mountains, my tribe? The creatures dwelling here? Everything?"
"No.. I didn't ... I don't even know what I just said" he said, smacking his own head. "Well... The outside world is different. It's progressive, materialistic if you ask me and like your people say, there the people are power hungry, bit selfish" he admitted.
"Who isn't selfish in this world?"
"Am I supposed to answer that?" he thought out loud.
"If you have got a self, you are selfish. You are selfish. So am I. There is nothing wrong in being selfish" she said. He just shrugged to her comment.
"I wish I could see that world, be there, meet new people, and learn different things ..." she trailed off, sighing to herself. He didn't know what to say
"So this power of yours to feel and heal..." he began.
"Yeah I can feel what others are feeling" she explained
"You can read minds?"
"No. No. that's a totally different power. I can only feel the other person's emotions. If you are feeling sad I would sense that but I won't be able to know why exactly"
"And you are a natural healer?" he asked. She nodded. "That's how you healed me?"
"We are all born with different powers"
"By we, you mean your people?"
"No by we, I mean we, us... all of us" she corrected "The power manifests throughout us from the moment we are born or even before that but the key is to recognize and embrace it. Many of us fail to do that. To follow our inner call"
"Wait hey" he said, suddenly when it struck him late "If you have always been in these mountains, speaking your language how come you speak fluent English?"
"Well, that isn't that hard as you think. When you look into my eyes, and I look into yours can you see anything else?"
"No" he admitted.
"Our souls communicate with each other. My thoughts transcend into yours and the other way around. Language isn't a barrier at all" she said.
"Whatever you just said is beyond my comprehension" he said, raising his hands up laughing to himself.
"So can I see the other people of your tribe?" he looked at her expectantly.
"Do you really want to? I mean, do you want your memory to be modified?" she asked, locking her eyes with his. Her hazel eyes were pulling him further into its depth. "Not after meeting you" he said, his cheeks flushing. Her already rosy cheeks gained a brighter shade. He sat there staring into a distance, reality slowly dawning on him "I guess I should go back before its dark" he said, without looking at her.
"My friends would be looking for me" he told her.
"Friends? I hope to meet them someday" she said.
"Of course, I will bring them" he said, making the corners of her lips twitch upwards. He didn't even realize how she was slowly becoming a reason for him to come back to these mountains. They have only known each other for an hour but he felt that they had developed a special bond and he didn't know what kind of bond it was. Maybe she would know, he thought to himself.
"How are you planning to go back wherever that is you came from?" she asked curiously.
"I guess I would just disapparate from here" he shrugged.
"Anti apparation jinx prevails in these mountain region" she said "Here hold this" she said taking off the chain which was hanging on her neck. "It will show you the way to your destination and protect you from harmful creatures" she placed it on his palm. Aiden carefully got up and walked on the branch, balancing himself and landed on the ground, Alzena trailing behind him.
"I guess I should go now" he told her, hesitantly.
"Yes, probably. I hope to meet you again" she smiled at him
"And our hopes will design a scheme for us to meet" he said.
"Now we are talking" she said, smiling from ear to ear.
"Good bye Aiden" she walked backwards, still facing him. He stood there, his feet glued to the ground not wanting the moment to pass but then she disappeared.