The Lost Paradise

Chapter 5

Dismayed I walked ahead. The tree's branches started glowing in green, which looked spectacular behind the pitch darkness that I was surrounded in. I extended my arms out and showed my zarkis to the tree, which with another glow produced an opening in the center of its trunk.

I walked into the trunk expecting anything but what I saw. A huge gathering hall, with rows and rows of tables, sat right before me. I started to walk right into the hall, but a glowing arrow on the white marble floor caught my attention. I took a quick left from the hall, where the arrow pointed me.

Many turns did I had to take while following the glowing arrow before I finally reached a huge staircase. I climbed up the white marble stairs, quickly. Taking another left I found myself in front of another small tree that stood by the end of the stairs, inside a small circular room. The glowing arrow now shifted away from the floor and moved up settling on the trunk of the tree. I slowly moved ahead and placed my palm on them touching them gently, only for it to disappear soon.

The ground under me just dropped. I fell on my knees to balance myself. It was just for a second or so, but that didn't help with nausea that I developed. A bit disoriented, I now left the room, the glowing arrow appeared again. I could now see a dozen of doors as I passed by, doors on both the side of the gallery. Each and every door was decorated in its own way. Some had beautiful flowers hung outside, and some had posters, paintings stuck at the door. It looked lively.

An excitement started flurrying within me all of sudden. I walked and walked until the arrow finally came to a stop in front of a door. As I approached the door, the arrow disappeared immediately. 'Thank you', I pronounced, smiling to myself.

I opened the door to enter a vast room. There were two beds placed on the two extreme sides of the room. On one of the beds was someone fast asleep. The person had had the blanket covering their entire face so I couldn't see their face at all. There were two study desks each installed by the side of the bed. And there stood two closets by the window, one for each person, I assumed.

I walked towards the window and opened the glass panel to have a peep outside. The moon was high up, illuminating its moonlight on the vast forest cover that covered the entire fields down. The cold breeze entered inside the room, making my roommate wiggle a bit. I immediately closed the window again, not intending to disturb the other person's sleep. I walked back towards my bed and got ready to retire. Sleep enwrapped me almost immediately.

The next morning, I was woken up by someone. "You will get late if you don't wake up", a small voice said. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to get myself up. "Ahh, what?", I asked, stupidly. "They informed me yesterday that I would be getting my roommate", she said in an excited tone. "You knew?", I asked surprised.

"Yes, now get up soon and get ready for the opening speech", she said, dragging me out. I got down from the bed and made myself towards the small bathroom, cleaned myself and came out again. I opened the closet to find myself surprised. There were clothes, clothes which weren't mine. Stunned I turned towards my roommate. "I...I am sorry. These are your belongings right?", I asked her, nervously looking at her closet and then mine.

"No, that's yours", she said and then turned around to do her own work. I stood there baffled for several moments. "But, these are not mine. I do not own any good clothes", I said, running my fingers through a beautiful new skirt. She now turned around and met my eyes. "I know. I didn't own any of these either", she said pointing out towards her own closet. "But this is all a gift from the phoenix. Everything...all of these clothes", she said pointing at the dresses hung inside my closet. "This place. This new life", she said, nodding at me. "Yes", I agreed to her, after a long pause.

We both stood there in that silence for some time. "You know what's even surprising?" she asked me in an excited tone. "what?" I asked her, catching up with her excitement. "This closet", she said, with a bright smile "Is magical. You close the door, like this," she said and closed the closet door. "You just think of the dress you want", she said, closing her eyes and waiting. I assumed she was thinking about something deeply.

"And then..." she opened the door. "See", she said excitedly, pulling out a long black gown from her closet. "You just have to think what you want, and the closet shall give you...It's magical", she declared, smiling broadly at me. I kept staring at the black gown for a while. "Isn't it amazing?" she asked me, sounding a little disappointed by my lack of enthusiasm. "Ye...Yes, it is. It is amazing" I agreed, smiling broadly at her.

"My name is Eliza, Eliza Helton", I extended my hand out. "Vanya Hofstander", she shook my hand. We both exchanged a small smile. "I think we should start to leave now. So better get dressed fast", she said, looking at my undressed state. I quickly got into my uniform. The off-white blouse, a red and black checkered pinafore, and a red tie. I hastily pulled up my black socks and slipped into the black shoe. I combed my long dark hair neatly and placed the beret on my head, getting ready to leave.

Vanya waited for me all the while. We started setting out together. "I have not seen you before in the training hub", I started. "No", she agreed. "Which clan are you from?", She asked me. I was put off-guard by that question. "Which clan?", I repeated her question, perplexed.

"Sovinkin clan. Wait! How many clans are out there banished?", I asked her, puzzled. As far as I knew Sovinkin clan was the only clan that has been banished until now", I told her. "Xuis clan. I shared the same thought before coming here. I didn't know that there were other banished clans too", she answered my doubts. "I learned it upon reaching here", she told me, me a frown.

"So, how many are there?", I repeated my question, curiously. "I don't know", she simply shook her head and kept walking. As we passed by, many doors started opening. More people started sprawling out into the gallery. All dressed in red just like me. Some seemed excited, and some nervous.

I kept walking towards the small tree that stood at the end of the hallway without any expectations. Just like yesterday, as soon as I entered the small room, clustered with various more students now, the tree started moving up, lifting us up from the weights of its roots.

I quickly stepped down once we reached up. The crowd started to disperse all making their way down the stairs. Another long walk followed just like yesterday until we finally reached the huge hall that I saw yesterday. One by one everyone placed their palm on the huge wall that stood opposite to the hall and disappeared into it. When my turn came I followed the same process and in an instant, I was standing outside, on the empty vast dark room once again. Behind me stood the glowing tree through which I had entered in yesterday.

"Come", Vanya said, when she realized that I had stopped.

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