AISHA: The Cursed Name

Chapter -2 The Journey Into

The Journey Into

The sight she saw was completely different from what she had expected. Although she had expected nothing, her ability to think and reason was lost the moment she lost her identity. Yet there was a vision of being drowned, choking upon cold water, being tied into the hydrous leaves and getting covered in the mosses, lying in the deeps of the water like some old ship, less a boat, a ship was too big for just a lake. However, being frozen to death was the supreme in it.

She was standing in the middle of a road, and all her stuff was kept neatly beside her. What she was seeing was a road, not the kind of roads in the cities, but a mud road, a non-permanent one that led to a port. A simple, isolated and small port. She could see only one boat when her eyes pondered upon her father. Her father stood a few steps away from her, only a shadow visible in the dark. Aisha approached him, saying,
"What place is this? We were in the..."

She was cut off when he kept his hand on her shoulder, saying,
"Home. This is home. My home, your home, home to all like us!"

Aisha had the most perplexed expression when she uttered,
"Will you please explain what you mean by 'people like us'? I mean, I'm done hearing this again and again."

She saw the slightest smile on his face when he said,
"This is a world full of people who possess powers. People who can order nature to curve to their demand. Aisha, you are one of them. I'm one of them. You can also force a natural element to go by your order, like me, as I can control water."

With a sudden movement of his hand, he forced a ball full of glowing water to appear in his hand as Aisha gazed at his face with terror. He looked pale but fair. His normal black hair now had a blue streak of hair curling from his front roots. His eyes were glowing blue when he said,
"Well, you could have known this earlier. I sometimes hope that I could have raised you here itself. But I am forbidden here. I've been banished from this beautiful place. And trust me, it is indeed a beautiful place. There are certain rules that I broke, hence they forbade me from getting inside this world, else I would have brought you here long ago."

Aisha sobbed when she looked ahead, and he continued,
"This world, it's called Mayalok. All living here are Mayavis. I'm a Mayavi, Jal Mayavi, and so are you, yet to discover your powers. This is one of the many worlds with magic. I can't walk with you further. This is the borderline, and if I go ahead, they will know of my existence. I wish I could, but I can't. Go and sit on that boat, you'll be taken to the school. This place is kind, it will serve all your needs. The rest will be handled by her, the headmistress. You are soon to learn a lot."

Aisha looked at the glittering river in front of her. On both her sides was just darkness. It was like a dusty road in the middle of nowhere. The place where her father stood had nothing behind it. She could feel if she'd ever fall off the track she will always and forever keep falling. And, something like this was her wish for now.
She lacked words, so few of them that she couldn't even build up a question. She wiped her tears to look into his eyes when he smiled,
"Go ahead, Aisha! I don't want to say this, but remember what you said, there is nothing before Aisha and nothing after it. You know, this will help us live as a family forever. Let no one know of your past. Be safe and alert, dear. Make the right choice of every path you choose. And, don't let anyone get so close to you that they recognise you. You are more precious than anyone here, but don't let the preciousness glimmer too much. A human might not take away your ability, but magic could. Darkness could. You will understand what I mean. You are soon to know yourself. Now go, take care."

Aisha couldn't say anything but pulled him into her arms before she left. He walked to the boat and helped her luggage while placing the little ball of glowing water in the lantern case to keep her journey enlightened. She held back her tears, not letting them flow. Her deep breaths were audible in the silence around the moving river when she left him and walked ahead. She sat in the little wooden carrier, filling her father's appearance in her eyes. She closed them and turned around to not look back and continue the path her life was taking her on.