Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure (Part 2)

(132) TTotSS: Longing for Approval!

Opening his eyes, he was greeted with the black sky and stars hanging above, followed by the cold howling wind. The ground underneath him was rough. Sands, so it seemed.

Jonah slowly got up into a sitting position. His hand reached for his chest slightly tapping it. It didn't hurt even though he was sure something cracked inside of him. So, that means this can't be Scarabia, right?

His suspicion was confirmed when he heard a low grumble. Looking up, slightly feeling stupid for not realizing this first, Jonah saw the giant tiger head made of sand, strikingly similar to the one of his vision. He's back...in wherever this is. He really needs to think of a name or maybe try to find the official name for this place.

Though what wasn't there in the first orb-vision was the sound of a kid yelling.

"Jamil~"

Was that Senior Kalim? Only Kalim would call Senior Viper with that cheerful, slightly high-pitched, but filled with love tone. What is he doing here as well?

Wait. No. This voice sounded more high-pitched than Kalim's usual voice. But the intonation was Kalim's.

Curiosity won again and Jonah stepped closer to the tiger cave - Cave of Wonder, was it? Testing just in case it won't swallow him fully, Jonah climbed to the lip of the tiger. It only let out a low snore. It's safe. There's no way a memory lane would kill him, right.

Cautiously climbing down the stairs, Jonah looked around. The descending stairs were made of solid white blocks unlike sand as he expected. The cave was dark, but there was a light at the end of the stairway. Stalactite and stalagmite were pointy, though he acutely noticed how they kept growing.

Some becoming thicker and joining with others directly below them. It seemed like they were creating pillars. The stairs turning into a floor with a red carpet rolled underneath his feet. The dim-lited cave become brighter and Jonah realized he had been transported in a fancy hallway, gold decorated the walls and ceiling. Jonah stopped his track. It kinda reminded him of Scarabia Dorm.

"Jamil~!"

A white-haired child ran past him toward another child who was walking with two adults by his sides. Compare to the adults who looked startled but immediately bowed their heads, the black-haired child stared at the other with slight annoyance.

"Jamil, let's play!" The first child, who Jonah was sure was little Senior Kalim, laughed, "Today's the day I beat you at board game."

"Again?" The other boy, a young Senior Viper, rolled his eyes and pushed himself out of Kalim's hug. "I'm gonna own you every time." He turned to face him, arms crossed in front of his chest and pouting. "I wanna play something else, too..."

The woman who was with Viper gasped. "Jamil!" She pulled Viper back and flicked his forehead, earning an "ow!" from her son. "How dare you talk to Master Kalim like that!"

The man, who Jonah assumed was Viper's father, bowed his head deeply. "Master Kalim, please forgive my son."

The young master grinned widely. "That's alright, Mister Harun. We can always have a sparring match if Jamil wants that."

The man let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you Master Kalim for always inviting my foolish son to play with you."

Viper's mother also bowed her head with a hand on Viper's head. "We are truly blessed to have such a kind-hearted master."

Viper was still pouting but Kalim didn't seem to bother. The desert wind blew the four figures and the sky behind the big window turned dark.

A creaking sound was heard and a door beside Jonah was opened. It was a vast room, carpeted, and had pillow cushions on some side of the wall. There were only two people in that room though. Viper sat staring at the glowing candle in front of him while his mother sat behind him, gentle braiding his hair right above his ears.