Mira trudged along the empty dirt road, kicking stray rocks and staring down at the ground in front of her, oblivious to the happenings around her. She needn't pay attention anyhow, having traveled the path to Bya's small house many times in the past few days.
The girl blew a strand of her bright orange hair out of her face, but the action did little. The annoying strand of hair simply fell right back into its place – directly in front of her line of vision. She grunted in irritation, finally resorting to removing one hand from the large stack of old history books she was carrying, to tuck the strand of hair back behind her ear. Everything would be so much better if Lexa were still here, she thought miserably for the hundredth time.
Mira's life had changed considerably since that morning of her Talent Gaining. She could still remember it clearly. Lexa, who came before her in alphabetical order, had entered the auditorium, but unlike those before her, she had never exited.
Mira remembered the long, uncomfortable wait after the auditorium door had closed behind her friend. With each second, she'd gotten more anxious. No one's Talent Gaining took that long, something must have gone wrong. Then finally, after fifty million hours, the door had reopened, but to her great dismay, it was not Lexa who had stepped out.
The school director had whispered something in Mrs. Roy's ear, and her teacher's lips had pinched together – an expression Mira had yet to match to an emotion – at this news. As the director had disappeared back through the doorway, Mrs. Roy had gestured for Aluji to follow. And then Mira had been first in line.
After that, everything had happened in a blur. The Globe of Tarahabi had declared her a Seer, eliciting a slightly more enthusiastic round of applause than that for the other students. Seers were important to Mencia, and well respected by the citizens. There were a number of congratulations at the reception after the ceremony, and then, free for the remainder of the day, she went home. Only to be told the terrible truth of Lexa's weird disappearance by her concerned parents.
Her best friend was untalented. Mira would never see her again.
It was like a piece had fallen from her soul. The two girls had been best friends for as long as she could remember. Now that she was simply ... gone, Mira saw no reason to continue being the happy ray of sunshine that most people had come to recognize her as.
The worst part was that everyone in the village just continued on with their lives as if Lexa had never existed in the first place. The only other person who seemed to feel the loss was Mrs. Foote, Lexa's mother. Now that she thought of it, Mira hadn't seen Mrs. Foote in the past day or so.
While the rest of her classmates continued to attend school, Mira's education had been taken over by the village Seer herself. Bya was kind and wise, if a bit old – well, a lot old actually. No one in the village had become a Seer in many years. For so long, there had only been Bya to see into the ominous darkness that was the future. Now there was also Mira.
Her visions had started the very first day her training had begun. She had just about reached the small stone steps leading up to Bya's front door, when suddenly a scene flashed before her eyes. It wasn't huge, just of a large spider sitting in its newly made web in the frame of Bya's kitchen window. But it had shocked her, especially when she turned her head and there was a real spider, sitting its web in Bya's real kitchen window. After much reassuring from the senior Seer that it was completely normal, Mira had finally calmed down and accepted her role as a young Seer.
More visions came. Bya dropping a plate, her mother baking a pie, Aleine waving friendly on her way home. They all had little, if any, importance.
Until now.
Mira rounded a corner and started down the final path to Bya's house. All of a sudden, her thoughts were obscured by a flash of another vision. An obviously terrified girl, in the center of a dark room, her head darting around, searching for the danger hiding in the shadows. Then there was a pair of blood red eyes behind her, and something – a horrible creature – sprung out at the girl with its claws outstretched.
Returning to the present, Mira gasped and dropped her books. She knew exactly who the girl was.
"Lexa!"she squeaked.
YOU ARE READING
Aqua Jewel
خيال (فانتازيا)(Book 1 of The Globe of Tarahabi series) Once a year in Mencia, every thirteen-year-old has a chance to gain a talent. You could have the power to fly, or to become invisible. You might be telepathic, or telekinetic. There's such a wide variety. But...
