CHAPTER 2: EMPORIUM – CITY OF GOLD

HANA’S Point of View

“VINCENT, stop. Your tickling me!” He kissed me softly with his pink-soft rose lips.

Vincent and I slept together. I stand up detaching my white blanket. I was naked walking through the massive mirror beside the wooden bed where we made love and sit down on a wooden chair. I looked myself in the mirror seeing my flawless pinkish white skin as I conceiving what happened in that horrific real nightmare as I can think of that night. I was very afraid that dark night.

The heaven covered by dark gray thick smoke coming from the flame of a burning house. When my father tried to lock the door–pushing it from the inside with all his almighty force, but it seems his strength was not enough. Then, an ugly scary pirate pushes the door from the outside that made the door opened forcibly; broke in half. My mother quickly hides me under the bookshelves where there’s a hole beneath it. The hole where I’m hiding was very quiet with an infinite darkness.

A loud noise of gun fire broke the silence under the floor.

“Hana, are you alright?”

And I woke up from a conceiving that unforgettable horror of that night.

“Hana, are you alright?” Vincent asked me while holding my shaking shoulder.

“I am okay, Vince. Wait, how did you know my name?” I astonished–my two spare black eyebrows met in the middle, asking him how he knew my name.

He sharply stared at my begging eyes, asking him to tell me how he knew. But he just turned back and get his all-black underwear placed on the floor beside the bed and walked through out the door. He stops for a minute, approximately, and continue his walk. I know there’s something he is hiding. Now, he just proves it to me that I can’t trust him anymore.

THE rays of bloody melting yellow sunlight that is visible from the glassy window turns into completely darken all over the place, where my left feet standing straight while my other feet fold into forty-five degree watching the darkness triumphant conquered the peaceful light.

When everything goes comport in silence and the only thing you can hear is the tone of the insects from the outside. I tied up my brown mid-straight curly ended hair. I slowly and quietly sneak out my room downstairs as I take the stair softly took steps to avoid Vincent from waking him up. My crystal-clear sweat run off my neck from my forehead and my heart violently producing blood rapidly.

When I reach off the affluent siren carve on the wooden door. I quickly took the doorknob and open it instantly. When I’m standing little far away miles from the huge old house. I took a few sights and then I turned my back continuously walk straight-away the house. There’s no turning back now. Bye Vincent.

EMPORIUM – CITY OF GOLD

FOUR days of fighting the sand windstorm. I strongly still standing and walking straight forward to nowhere. I can’t see clearly, why the sandy road is blurry and the surrounding is circulating? And I fell deeply. I took a few visions of my surrounding and sighted a small city few miles from me and I completely lost consciousness.

When I woke up, my eyes slowly seeing things that is unfamiliar to my sight. The ceiling was full of long thin hairy legs spider’s web and dust. Curtains on the windows are battled curl and dirty because of the collection of dust on it. The dark room, even the ticking had a relaxed feeling, as if it was a heartbeat at rest. I felt as if the air moved like cool water and the aroma of vegetables scented deliciously infused me far more deeply than it did in the light of day.

“Father, she’s awake!” A male voice coming from outside of the room.

“Did you wake her up, Chen?” said his . . . father, I think.

Then the door slowly opened with the golden light walks through inside. An old man wearing a long, white-cottoned dress along with a cute trustworthy look of a man that is holding a clay cup with his two hands. He smiles like an angel from the old book that my father used to read it for me when I’m about to sleep when I was a kid as I can picture out.

“Are you okay, my dear?” The old man asked me serene while putting the cup on the wooden square-shaped from the man holding it a while ago.

“I am fine, s-sir,” as I reply him uncomfortably while slowly founding with a little bit of dizziness.

“Slowly dear. Relax. What are you doing out of nowhere in the stormy desert?” he asked sounded concern about me.

But I chose not to reply his question for I can’t trust anyone from what happened between Vincent and me.

“Okay dear. I’ll leave you alone for enough time to make you feel comfortable.”

So, he closed the door but leaving it with a small space for a small light, with his son. I tardily go back, laid on the hard-wooden bed and I close my eyes without thinking anything. I just want to get full enough time to rest.

A cold fog from the door slowly crawling to under the bed occupying the whole dark room. I look on the window for an exit, but it also blackens by the midst fog from the outside. So, I slowly founding my back to the headboard looking for a way out. Until the fogs already on the top of my white-thick blanket. I tried to stand up to run outside but it shocks me because I can’t move my body. I tried many times but it still no use. I’m freaking out and trying to relax myself. And suddenly, a structure of a long black hair and a half naked shadow of a woman hiding from the fogs just in front of me.

The woman structure slowly appearing from the fogs and a flowing water moves ahead to my bed with the fogs from the where the woman sitting on a big rock. A white-skinned long dark-red hair and a white glowing small blazing pearl attached on her fish tail on her belly button. A gladiatorial beauty, pinkish cheek, and wreath of shining greenish pearls.

Wait, what? A mermaid? I was very shocked the time I saw her complete appearance. She smiled and said, “The middle of the city flows on harmony by the sword of a true prince and it will show you the way of power.”

“Wake up, wake up . . . wake up!”

I woke up winded while sweat flows all over my body and saw a concerned face of a cute-innocent man holding my right and left shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” I told him and got his hands off of me. I can’t trust anyone and fell to a man’s charm. The last time I’ve met a man was looked like a goddess.

“Okay. I’m Chen by the way. If you need something, just call me. I’m just outside.

            He came out without me, giving care about him.

EARLY in the morning where the king of divine light still sleeping. I woke up. While fixing my bed, Chen walks inside and told me. “My father and I will go to the market to sale our vegetable, and if you want to come with us, you can help us bring some of the sack with vegetables in it.”

But I refused to come with them. Then, Chen closed the door and smile to me to show it is just okay not to come. I just can’t understand why people are so good at me. But I just can’t stop myself from trusting people that easily. When I go out in the room while walking inside the house. The house was made of bricks and it has very simple design. I saw the sacks of vegetable, lying on the floor near the door of the house. Now, I realized that the room I was slept was a storage room and they just put the vegetable outside to kept me warm inside.

After I looked the whole place of the house, I’d decided to come after Chen and his father. While heading to the market, I saw a beggar abused by a curly messed blonde hair, wearing teared muddy dress, and dirty beard drunk man. I turned my feet and walks toward from where the beggar is and disturb the drunk man’s business.

“Hey, is there any problem here, sire?” I said with a huge voice, trying to stop the man from striking the poor beggar.

“Oh, look what we got here. A young flawless beautiful lady.” The drunk ugly man licking out his own upper dried lips. Staring full of lust. Walking around me and change out our position.

I step backward as I wanted not to get close from the drunk man, slowly walking towards me. Until I reach the corner of the wall. I look for a way out, but there’s no way out. I wanted to run but before I can take just one step, the drunk man already captured me, putting his left arm on the left side of my head and his right arm place on the other side.

“There’s no way-out young lady!”

But I didn’t do anything to harm myself and I told the beggar to run, shouting.

The old poor beggar shakes slowly stand and the water from above starting to fall on the earth surface. The old beggar take-off his gray wet hood and look to my eyes. The beggar slowly takes his step to face me and the raindrops from the ground slowly rising directing to the old man’s hand. The raindrops starting to form a weapon, a knife made of water.

Then the old man walks slowly but aggressive towards the drunk man and stop right on the back of the man who tries to kiss my nick. I can’t stop the drunk man from mugging me because he’s too strong. Suddenly, the drunk man’s eyes get bigger as it was being shocked and slowly falling on the ground, and the blood from his stomach starting to flow out.

The drunk man falls on the muddy ground and the fresh blood flowed mix in the water flows coming from the raindrops that washed out the blood. I look the old beggar and were both stare each other’s eye. I look him as I was inquisitive of what I just saw. But then before I ask him anything, he walked and leave me without anything happen.

I follow him secretly. Taking silent careful steps so he won’t hear or wonder that someone is following him. He keeps on walking mazy, and I am starting to doubt on his action. I think he knows that I am following him. Flashily, he turned way left so did I. I stop standing on the ground fully wet and rotating in place but there’s no sign of the old beggar. I am perplexed how he did all those things happen. Now, I am starting to believe those fairytales about magic staff about what papa used to tell me every night before I sleep.

So, I go back on the way to the market, but I lost my way. I can’t find the way and, I don’t know exactly where the market is. Instead, I tour myself on crowded noisy stinky city. Animals and people are exchanging goods. Until I found myself on a fountain decorated with a siren carve all around the body of the fountain. The water is obviously transparent. You can see your reflection clearly, it’s like you’re really seeing yourself in a mirror.

While perceiving the harmony of looking my reflection. The surrounding starts to hushed and only the movement of the living things are only seeing whenever I look while sitting on the bench of the fountain.

“Hey, what are you doing here? How did you get here?” Chen asked me, wondering, while holding a small golden color handle of a pointed sharp knife.

“Ah, I’ve just got here. I wanted to come over with you, but I wasn’t able to reach you, so I lost my way and here I am.”

I was attracted to the knife that Chen was holding on and I tried to get it to have a touch, but Chen refused to give it to me, even a single touch on the knife.

“Chen, can I hold it?”

“No, you can’t!” he answered without any hesitation.

“Please just a single touch.” As I’m trying to get it from Chen’s hand.

“Then get it!” While Chen raising it on the air and giggling as he was happy seeing me wanted to cut in.

Chen raised the knife on the air and the sun rays strikes the skin of the knife that made a straight light onto the fountains water circling around the middle source of the water inside it.

Me and Chen looked at the rays on the water. They were surprisingly speechless of what they are seeing. Lots of gold coins and treasure seductively twinkling giving an attraction to the eyes. And I saw the old beggar scoop a cup of water on the fountain. The old beggar drinks the water from the fountain and a blink of an eye, he disappeared.