WINNER

The Daughter Of Life

By Ayesha Tauhid

There was something about him. Something about the way he watched me. I shivered and picked up my pace, my black boots clicking across the sidewalk. I looked back and he was gone. I sighed in relief and looked up at the Cimmerian heavens above me, sprinkled with small pinpoints of light. The sky was reassuring that night. It’s too bad everything else wasn’t. I continued walking home when I was pulled into a dark alleyway by a hidden figure. I knew at once that it was him. He stepped towards me and looked me straight in the eye, his sharp cobalt eyes piercing straight through me. “What do you want from me?” I pleaded. “Well, Miss Anita Fernandez, you could say that I need a favour from you,” he said, pulling a gun out of his pocket and fiddling about with it mindlessly. “It has something to do with your scar.” My eyes widened. Nobody knew about that scar. No one. He snickered at my terrified expression and continued. “I’m sure you remember that day, don’t you?”

“Uno, dos, tres...” my friend Emilia counted, her hands folded over her tightly closed eyes. I ran into the forest and made towards an ash tree, ready to start climbing when a tall guy dressed in black grabbed my arm and pushed me down to the ground. I tried to escape, but my wriggling body was no match for the man’s apparent muscle. He pulled a bottle of translucent liquid from his coat pocket and poured its contents into my mouth, which he had forced open. I screamed and writhed in pain as I felt a surge of power course through my body. I held my hands up and threw them in front of me, watching in terror as a green light shot out and charred the ground before me. “It-It wasn’t supposed to, it should’ve-” sputtered the man. He pulled a knife from his belt and dragged it across my back before retreating into the wood. I winced and suddenly felt a cool breeze surround me, lifting me onto my feet and soothing my wound. Emilia stumbled in a minute later, her expression disturbed. “Where did you go?” she questioned. “I looked all over for you, but you weren’t anywhere.” I got to my feet and smiled. “I was in the tree. Let’s go, I’m hungry.”

Emilia sighed and took my hand. “Okay.”

“What about it?” I snapped. “My life in Spain doesn’t matter anymore. I’m here. That part of my life is over.” The man chuckled and pressed the muzzle of the gun against my forehead.

“The thing is, it’s not. You’re different, you’re…” I laughed and crossed my arms.

“What? Special? An ‘otherworldly being’? The Chosen One? We’re not in some superhero movie, that crap won’t work on me.” He sighed and pulled his hood back, revealing his features. I gasped upon seeing a forlorn young guy, around 20 (like me), with pasty skin, dark straight hair and large bags under his eyes. “I need your help,” he whispered appallingly. “My home is in danger, you’re the only one that can save me. Us.” My gaze flitted around our surroundings. The streets were devoid of life and light. “Okay, fine,” I said compliantly. “Where do you live?” The man smirked and pulled a remote out of his pocket. “Do exactly as I say,” he ordered as he held out the remote and pressed a button, causing a portal to materialize on the wall. “You have got to be kidding me.” I groaned, running a hand through my wavy locks.

“Just shut up, alright?” he spat.

“What’s your name?”

“What?”

“Your name. What is it?”

“It’s weird.”

“Just tell me so I don’t have to call you Mr. Dark Hair.”

“..Peros.”

The portal began to glow and Peros stuck the remote in his pocket. “Let’s go,” he said, stretching his gloved hand out towards me. I hesitantly took it and he ran directly into the portal, dragging me along with him.

“Peros what are you- AH! What was that? Peros? Pero-OooOooOh!!!” I shrieked as I tumbled into an endless black pit. After what felt like forever, I landed on a patch of pebbly turf. “Ow!! Goddamnit!” I swore under my breath. I heard a thump and looked up to see Peros land perfectly on the ground. He smirked. “Need a hand?” I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up. “Juro por Dios que voy a matarte.” I hissed between my teeth. We walked through the catacombs we had landed in and came to a curtain of shrivelled vines. Peros pushed past it and brought us into the light. “Anita Fernandez, welcome to Elemento.” I was speechless. A vibrant landscape was spread before me like a feast, with untouched woodland and lush green meadows. A sparkling azure lake lay in the middle of this paradise with a castle protruding from its depths. “This is beautiful…” I whispered. Peros gently sat down on the bouldered terrain and I sat down beside him. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t we sitting on the grass-”

“Just listen.” he interrupted, his gaze never leaving the majestic castle before us. He took a deep breath and began. “You’ve probably realized that Elemento means element in Spanish. This place is actually called Elementia. There is no Spanish word for it. Anyways, I knew your mother.” I gasped.

“But Dad said she died giving birth-”

“He had to hide the truth from you. Her real name was Vita. She was so full of life, energetic, curious about the world. She was...everything to me.” I frowned and he hurriedly added, “She was my best friend. Centuris, the ruler of Elementia, agreed to let her go and see the world. That’s when she met your father. They fell in love, got married and when they found out you were coming, they were overjoyed. Once you were born, Vita knew she had to return to Elementia. She was devastated. She confided in me and I comforted her as best I could. Then, I-” Peros gulped and continued. “One night, she was talking to me, telling me how much she missed your father, and how badly she wanted to see her little ángel. I felt so bad, I just reached over and hugged her, and just like that-” His voice cracked and tears began to stream down his face. “I-I didn’t mean to, she was just so heartbroken.” He took a long, shuddering breath and continued. “After that, I panicked. Everything started to die and shrivel up, and I was to be executed the next day. I approached Centuris and begged him to give me another chance, to find some way to fix it and bring her back before everything disappeared.” He looked at me and said something I will never forget. “You are the daughter of Life.”

To Be Continued...