Journey Called Life

7

"Hello sister!" Ashley chirped, with happiness. The girl looked at her, shrinking her eyes, as if to observe who Ashley was.

"Um... I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I've no sister. She's dead. Long back." She says, as she claps, making the arrows go away from the three. She then proceeds to shut the door, when Ashley rushes and stops her from doing so. 

"It's me, Ashley. You sister." Ashley gives a small smile, while going forward to hug her sister. Her sister stops her, touches her face, and wipes the tears from her cheeks. "It is you." She whispers, and comes closer to give a hug, but then goes back.

"Where have you been?" She asks, with a monotonous voice. Ashley looks at her, confused, and tries to speak, but her sister continues. "Where were you when we needed you? Where were you when I needed you? I thought we were sisters, who never failed to be in each other's presence no matter the circumstances. You left me alone with Ma and Pa." She scoffs, "Now, they left me too. And I have to live here, all alone." 

Ashley stares at her sister in shock. She was speechless. "I... I'm sorry sis. I never knew I had a sister until a few days back. I.. Didn't know mum and Dad were lost. I'm very sorry."

"What do you mean you didn't know you had a sister?" Her sister shrieked. Jason and Claire, clearly sensing the tension, decided to let them speak alone to attract unwanted attention. "How about we take it inside, Amanda dear. It's Jason, in case you don't recognize me. This is her friend Claire. I'll show Claire around here, and you two can chat inside. Yeah?" Jason spoke up. Amanda nodded, and took Ashley inside her house, while Jason and Claire set out to explore the kingdom.

"Ok, so you're telling me that you didn't know you had a sister?" Amanda asks, as they enter. Ashley nods her head and says, "I never even knew that my parents were alive. I was in the library the other day with Claire, when I came across a shiny book. I opened it, and found a note." She says, showing the book and the note to her sister. Amanda takes it, and immediately gasps. 

"H-how did y-you get it? This w-was supposed to be dest-troyed, long a-ago!" Amanda said, trembling.

Ashley looks at her in confusion and says, "But it showed me the path to you. Why are you looking scared, sis?" 

Amanda just keeps shaking her head from left to right continuously and mutters 'No, it can't be possible!' She looks at Ashley, as if she were scared of her. Ashley knew that her sister was hiding something from her, but she just couldn't figure out what. She tried consoling Amanda, when she looked deeply into her eyes. She could see a hint of pain and a suppressing feeling. She tried to figure out more, but Amanda let go of her grasp. 

"Sis, you're freaking out for no reason. I have no idea what's going on right now, but you need to stop and calm down. I promise you! We will find out what's going on," Ashley said, holding Amanda's hand in hers. "Together."

    Meanwhile, Claire and Jason were taking a stroll nearby, when Jason transformed himself back into a human. "Ahh!" Claire shrieked. "You scared me there! You can shape-shift?" Jason chuckled and replied, "Welcome to Orindoth, Claire! Here, you can be anything! We'll, actually not.. What I mean is- Oh, god, how do I-" Jason struggles to find words, but then continues, "We, the people of Orindoth, are given a certain speciality or power. Now, I got shape-shifting! I mean, how cool is that?!" He says, jumping.

Claire laughs, but then gets quiet. "What's wrong?" Jason asks. "I just- I'm scared of what might happen next." 

"What do you mean?" Jason asks. Claire sighed and continued, "I don't know Jason. Amanda looked like she didn't know Ashley. I'm worried for her. She's a great being and an amazing friend! I have no idea why, but I really feel that something terrible is going to happen soon. Real soon."

Jason just listens to her, eyes-wide. "Hang on, where did you say you were born again? I mean back from where we came, or do you know any other place?"

"I didn't." Claire replied. "I was born back on Earth. Why do you ask?"

"Did you ever feel like you could predict something?" Jason continues, ignoring Claire's question. Claire nodded. Jason looked like he had made a new discovery, and he had indeed! "I think you have a magical power. Like how I can shape-shift, I think you have the ability to feel the upcoming events in the future. Maybe you can't predict it all, but you know the result."

Claire was flabbergasted. "Wait, really!? But how could I have powers, when I was born back on Earth?" She paused for a second and continued, "Or what if I wasn't?"

 It was soon dusk, and Jason thought it would be best if they found a place to rest. Amanda had offered for them to rest there. The others were surprised at her act. "I may be totally confused about what's going on, but I definitely am not someone who isn't kind enough to let you all rest." She said with a warm smile. "Get rest now. We have a lot to figure out tomorrow."