Unknown
LeiyaI hurriedly sprung to my feet, my heart pounding loud enough to deafen my own ears.“Is someone in there?”I heard the voice again. The voice was definitely owned by a man, young enough but old enough.“Yes!” I yelled.“Please help me out of here.”My voice was raspy from all the crying.“Okay, just, step away from the door.”So it is a door, I mumbled in my head. I did as I was told, cautiously taking a few steps back in the pitch blackness. A moment later, I heard the clicking, clocking sound of locks. My heart was racing even faster than before. Whoever was on the other side of this door, was going to be my saviour or killer. I prayed to my mother's spirit that he would not be the latter.Then the door opened, letting in a large ray of light. My eyes had become accustomed to darkness, the instant exposure to light caused them to sting in pain. I immediately took my arm to my face, shielding my eyes from the sudden exposureJuzarhLeiya“What do you mean it's the only town with just one house?”I asked as he walked towards the corner that looked like the kitchen. “I mean,” he walked to a wooden jug on the table with a cup beside it.“The door you just walked out of is a portal to the place. The only entrance and exit.” he carefully began to pour water into the cup.“And just like a town with growing trees, and houses, it is called Juzarh,” he stopped pouring when the cup was full.“The only difference is, this house,” he picked up the cup and made his way towards me. “My house, is the only house in it.” He said with a smile, his hand stretched out to me with the cup in his hand. “I understand your fears,” he said when I didn't take it from him. He took the cup to his mouth, taking a sip of the water before handing it back to me. “I promise I mean no harm.”He looked to me with eyes that seemed like they could do no harm. I took the cup from him, my t
JuzarhLeiya “So then, how do the trees and plants stay alive?”I asked, unable to comprehend the information he just told me. If there was no day and night, it meant there was no sun and moon, it also meant this town was probably not on our earth.“Honestly,” he used his fingers to rub his chin. “I never asked,” he added with a shrug.My eyes widened in shock. “You’ve been here for,”“All my life.” he interrupted with a smile. My eyes grew wider and my jaw hung half open. All his life, enclosed in this small house with a not so small garden. No sun, no moon, all alone. “All your life?!” I tried not to yell, but I failed. “Yes, all my life since I can remember.”He walked back into the house and I followed. His voice didn't sound as excited as it was when he spoke about the sun and the moon.“If I may,” I started to say calmly, as I took a seat by the table. “How did you end up here?”He took his seat across from me, taki
Juzarh Leiya“But what about someone to keep you company?”“I have books to do so.”He walked to a small shelf beside the door I came out of, filled to the brim with books. There was no way he only had books to read every day of his life. I did so for just a few days, and I could swear I almost lost my mind. “You have to have someone you can speak to.”“You know,” he said with a small chuckle.“You are the first woman I have had a conversation with.”I was stunned into silence. For a moment, I was completely blank, unable to come up with a response, a question or something else. “What about your mother?”Surely he must have had some kind of relationship with her, but to my surprise, he gently shook his head. “The moment the child reaches the age of two, he is brought here to stay with the man he would call father for the rest of his life.”He then lowered his eyes, picking at the body of a book on the shelf. “I have no memory of my
Juzarh Leiya“Nice to meet you Lyle.”I mumbled. He made his way to the table where I sat, taking his seat across from me. “So Leiya,” he looked up at me with warm eyes.“You must be hungry.” The moment he said the words, my stomach rumbled aggressively and loudly. Loud enough for both of us to hear, and for him to laugh at me. “Say no more,” He announced with a wide grin, getting up from his chair. He walked to the pots and pans on the small stove. He lit up the stove, placing a pot of water on it. He started to chop up carrots and other vegetables, as he waited for the water to come to a boil. I had never seen a man cook. I didn't even think they knew how to. It was always the women that were supposed to do so, and that was in the non-royal household. Growing up, my father didn't let Nayla and I go near the kitchen. He said that was the house of the maids and we weren't maids so we had no business there. As a result, I also didn't know how
JuzarhLeiya “Well,”I began, but paused because I didn't know what to say. Was I going to tell the whole story from the very beginning? And where was the beginning? Was it from the point where my parents were murdered or the moment I was taken to Kaltain? “I was trying to practice a teleportation spell but I think I didn't do it right.”“Obviously.” He added and our voices echoed in the air with laughter. “Obviously,” I whispered. He nodded, getting to his feet to check on the pot that was now boiling violently. He took off the lid, taking the spoon to stir it. He took a little bit of the soup on the spoon, bringing it to his lips for a taste. He shut his eyes, nodding his head in approval of the taste. I giggled silently as I watched him act out. He got out a bowl, pouring spoon after spoon of the egg soup until it was filled to the brim. From where I sat, I could see a white looking thing that I assumed was an egg, floating on the surface
Juzarh Leiya “It's okay if you're not comfortable talking about it.”He added quickly when he noticed my silence. “If, based on what you've told me, we're going to spend the rest of our lives in this place,” I paused to let out a small sigh. I wasn't completely happy about it, but I didn't have a choice. “We need to be honest with each other.”He slowly nodded in response. I took in another breath, calculating what part of the truth I was going to tell him. “I was trying to find my sister.” I blurted. His brows furrowed in confusion.“My sister and I have been separated since our parents died, about a year ago, and I was trying to get to the kingdom where I last saw her. Where I was separated from her.”I placed the last piece of bread into my mouth. The plates before me were now empty, and I could already feel the urge to crawl into a bed and sleep.“How did you get access to the teleportation spell that you tried?” he asked af
Juzarh Leiya“Loved him?” I repeated silently.Did I love him? I wanted to feel his fingers in my skin all the time, but was that love? I couldn't wait to hear his voice the moment the sun walked into the sky, but was that love? My cheeks and jaw would hurt from smiling too much whenever he did the littlest things, and I wouldn't stop smiling, but was that love? I wanted to be near him, smell him, his scent was like a signal to my brain that I was safe, but was that love? Whenever he kissed me, it felt like the world had stopped and it was just that moment, the moment where our lips were touching, that was the only moment in existence, but was that love? I could look at his face, become all the expressions it could give, and still be excited each time I watched it, but was that love?“I don't know what it was, Lyle.” I mumbled, looking down at my fingers. I didn't know what love was. I had never asked my mother how she felt about my father and how she knew it w
JuzarhLeiyaMy eyes opened to the realization that I was laid sideways on a bed. I slowly sat up, my eyes scanning where I was. The room was not as small, but it didn't have a lot in it. There was the bed I sat on in a corner. A wooden table and chair by the window. A washroom across from where the bed sat, and another room with a door beside the washroom. Beside the bed was a lamp, a small shelf of more books and a portrait of a slightly older woman, I assumed was his mother. I climbed out of bed, walking towards the door leading out. To the right was a wall housing another small shelf of books. I let out a small sigh, how many books did he even own? To the left was a ray of light, as well as faint bickering and talking. I cautiously made my way towards the voices I was hearing. It didn't sound like Lyle was talking to himself. I could recognize his voice, but the other voice that was responding to him, I couldn't recognize. The closer I got, the more convinced I