Beyond The Realms

Chapter 2

Unnerved I show the text to Naina.

She knows all about my family - future seeing aunt included.  Yup, my best friend is pretty cool if I hadn't mentioned that before I'm mentioning it now.

" Phoenix is a place " She states in a matter-of-fact tone and I would have agreed with her if I weren't so experienced in dealing with my amazing but quirky Aunt and decoding her cryptic words. I grew up around her,  I'm familiar with the way she talks " I don't think Aunt Vic  is trying to warn me off the place" I think in a deep breath knowing what I'm going to say next will absolutely  boggle  Naina's mind " She was talking about the bird "

" Bird? " She repeats skeptically  " Pheonix is a bird of myths and legends. They don't exist in reality " Her voice gains confidence with each word, but I disagree " Aunt Vic is warning me against the bird because a place doesn't have emotions whereas a living being does " I see the bewildered look on  Naina's face but growing up with Aunt Victoria who my mom doesn't care much for as she is far too pragmatic,  but I have always valued my aunt's words no matter how cryptic and mind-boggling they may sound.

" Do you know anything about the bird ?" She asks disbelief and confusion lingering in her tone.

" I don't " I admit pushing my glasses up my nose as we continue our conversation in whispers, least people hear us and label us crazy," Except for the little bit I have seen about them in fantasy movies"

Naina tsks her tongue at me because we both know how reliable movies can be.

It's probably too late to say this now but I don't know what genetic mix had created me because I have a strange ability or rather a very weird quirk.

My vision is perfect but when I get angry my eyes change color, my pupils turns a burning red. Though my mom knows about this thing with my eyes she adamantly refuses to acknowledge this quirk of mine. I don't know why she is so hell-bent on blatantly ignoring the existence of things within me that are beyond the explanation of science or even the most simple questions I ask about my father. She never told me anything much about him, no matter how much I ask she always manages to shut me down and tries her best to convince me that I'm an absolutely 'normal' girl like everyone else around me.

But not everyone is like her because the sad truth is people like judging others far too much and my ordinary brown eyes suddenly turning flame red will make them label me as a freak, so that's when these glasses come into play.

People don't tend to notice your eyes much when you have glasses and even if they accidentally do I can always convince them into believing that it is nothing but a trick of light.

Small blessing.

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It isn't a surprise that I'm on the edge the rest of the time.

Some mythical bird in my near future would come for me and if Aunt Vic's words are to be believed the said mythical bird means me harm.

I don't know much about the bird which I decide is an obvious disadvantage so I make up my mind to gather as much information about it as I can.

There are hardly any people in the library as I take a seat in front of the computer during my spare period.

Though Naina is skeptical about the Pheonix's existence in real life she is very eager to know about the mystical bird but she has Botany this hour so she had begrudgingly allowed me to go to the library alone after I had promised to let her know everything I find about the mystical bird.

Google claims that the bird is ancient and has been a part of various legends. Indian, Persian, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Chinese ....you name it.

All of them state that the bird is immensely powerful, intelligent, and has eyes like gleaming copper along with talons as sharp as knives with an even deadlier beak and plumage that is as brilliant as burning flames.

Throughout different mythologies, the bird has been given various names such as dragon bird, flame wings, and ash riser because apparently the bird lives for a thousand years then burns up and rises from its ashes.

  According to the legends, these birds are solitary creatures but once they find a worthy master they remain fiercely loyal to them. All of the folklores speak about the bird's mastery over the wind and its vicious nature. 

I would be lying if I say I'm not scared.

"Why would a Phoenix of all the birds want to harm me?'

'Unless.....It has a master and he/she wants to harm me!'

I quickly make a mental list of people who are my enemies but come up short because I'm not an ill-tempered person who goes around picking fights, certainly not with people who own a freaking Phoenix.

No matter how much I ponder I can't come up with any potential suspects who would want to attack me with their badass pet bird!

The whole thing seems so far-fetched and absurd, except that I know Aunt Vic's predictions no matter how bizarre they maybe are never wrong.

A bird that is supposed to be the stuff of myths and legends is soon to become a part of my reality, forgive me if I'm not thrilled because this dangerous bird intends to harm me.

I try to remain calm but I realize I haven't been doing a good job of it because as soon as Naina gets one look at my face she asks " What's wrong ?"

I  tell her everything that I have found out about the Pheonix.

The result: We both are equally freaked out.

She insists I should let my mom know about this right away.

Letting out a resigned sigh because I know mom will be upset with me for once again believing in Aunt Vic's visions. I pull out my cell phone from my pocket only to see a text from my mom that had arrived ten minutes ago.

Mom: I finally got promoted !! I'm so excited! ......I can't believe it! Let's celebrate tonight at your favorite diner!

I stare at the screen re-reading the text. Her words along with exclamation marks all over the place let me know that her excitement is through the roof, " Maybe I should tell her about this later, " I say to Naina who gives a small nod of agreement but looks concerned on my behalf.

Mom had been looking forward to this promotion for a long time now and I'm not going to ruin it for her by talking about some mythical bird.

Because staying silent for a single day won't harm me, right?

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