Chasing Death

Chapter 41

"Every moment could be a test that changes the course of your life. Think through things before jumping on impulses."

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The cave wasn't rocky at all. I felt soft grass under my feet, like a carpet of dark green. The vines climbed up the walls and covered the roof. Little silvery flowers bloomed on the stems, like little beads of pearl on a necklace. The flowers shimmered and sparkled. I reached out to touch one, and it scattered into silvery powder in my hand. And the cave wasn't still. It seemed to be growing and forming, recreating itself.

I heard the sound of sea waves and the twittering of birds. The shrill cry of a cicada mixed with the unmistakable ancient melody soothed my soul as I walked on. There was darkness behind me and darkness in front. Wherever I stepped, the rocks glowed in a million little scintillations. I could go on moving for decades in this space, but I had a destination.

"Where are you, Tora?" Mrithun's voice boomed in my head so suddenly that my heart virtually jumped out of my throat.

So, he finally knew I was missing. A smile crept upon my lips, seeing his frustration. He wasn't the dictator of my life. My hand travelled instinctively to the earrings I was wearing.

"Tell me where you are and I will find you." His voice was softer now, almost begging.

I felt my steely resolve melting.

"Please," he whispered, and my heart did a double-take. I had a sudden desire to run back into his arms and forget everything.

"I can protect you."

And that broke the magic of the moment. I wasn't weak, and I certainly didn't require protection. He had made me believe in my strength, just hours before he had tried to control my life. And I hated double standards.

"I don't need your protection," I hissed, quickly taking off the earrings.

I took one look at the gold hoops and threw them away. They vanished into the dark with a tinny sound of metal hitting rock. My heart started to weep, but my brain was saner.

I closed my eyes again and tried to focus on an image I remembered from the last time I had been to that place. Steely grey walls and concrete floors, passages branching off like spokes of a wheel. My throat went dry even at the thought of being there. It was akin to walking into a lion's mouth on purpose, but at that point, I didn't care. I needed answers.

The image was crystal clear in my mind as I took a few steps forward. And then I opened my eyes. The stark white industrial light almost blinded me and I had to close my eyes to escape the sudden pain. In front of me, the golden plate gleamed with black cursive letters: MAYA'S RETREAT.

My feet shuffled ahead in the thirst for information, while my body was on high alert for danger. The passages were empty, for now.

I moved faster and faster, practically running. It felt like running through a huge vortex. There was no path. I was almost walking on air. Pink and violet plasma swirled all around me, floating in the ethereal nothingness. Maybe this was what the universe was like before the big bang happened and it all clumped into planets. The same ancient music that has been ringing in my soul was here, too. It sounded so familiar and yet so distant. I really needed to know what was my connection with that eternal song.

A sturdy wooden door appeared in front of me. Bright silvery light shone from under the door. There was nowhere else to go, so I knocked lightly on the door. I waited for a few seconds before knocking again, this time louder. The door creaked open and a milky light flooded me. I didn't know why I had expected a robot or some machine, but I was surprised to see a little old lady in a spotless ivory gown with Grecian sleeves. I blinked, wondering if I had come to the wrong door.

She didn't say anything. Her heavily lidded eyes just kept on staring at me from the cover of her wrinkled skin.

"Can I meet Maya?" I asked softly, bending down to her level out of courtesy. She simply peered at me, blinking. Not responding at all.

"Please, is Maya in there?" I tried to look over her shoulders. It was a posh office with white flower motifs on purple walls. A desk made of polished marble, topped with ground glass sat in front of a revolving chair with deep plum leather seats.

The old woman still didn't budge.

"Maya, is she here?" I raised my voice, wondering if there was anyone else in the office who could hear me. Waiting out here was really dangerous. Somehow I felt Maya's place would be a safe place and they couldn't catch me as long as I was in there. The lady, nevertheless, didn't move. I was getting impatient, but I remembered my manners and bent down one more time, almost shouting in her ears.

"Yes," she said simply, opening the door wider and making a gesture to follow her.

She was just hard of hearing. Thank heavens! What would I have done if she didn't understand my language at all?

"Are you her assistant?" I asked, slowly edging into the room.

"No, I don't pay rent," she muttered, giving me a strange look.

"I meant, do you work here?" I said a bit more clearly.

"I don't shirk responsibilities like you young ones. I earn my living honestly," she shrugged, going to the other side of the room and comfortably settling on Maya's chair. I just prayed Maya didn't arrive in a bad mood and evaporate the poor thing for sitting in her chair. But if she was that deaf, how did Maya even keep her?

"For how long have you been here?" I asked, wondering why I was trying to make a conversation with her at all.

"My eyesight is not that strong. I'm sorry." She picked up the mouse and started fidgeting on the big computer sitting on the desk.

"Are you messing with me?" I laughed suddenly, in spite of the tension in my mind.

"I definitely am," she said, without sparing a glance at me.

"But why would you do that?" I asked, still amused at this little old lady. Her tufts of frizzy hair blew in the non-existent wind and she almost looked like a primal goddess, old and ancient, like a seraph.

She stopped clicking on the mouse and looked straight at me. Her eyes were icy blue, almost white. It chilled me. I wasn't sitting in front of a mere immortal worker; she was something else, someone much more powerful than any creature I had met till now.

The purple walls and the office floor disappeared from my sight. I was standing in the bosom of the sky. A thousand constellations were gleaming in their own places. Galaxies swirled and twisted like little disks and collided soundlessly. I was seeing the universe unfold before my eyes.

"Who are you," I choked, fear making my throat dry.

"Can't you feel my power channelling through everything in this place? I am the creator of this realm..."

"Maya!" I whispered.

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Author's Note : What do you think happens next? P. S I miss my readers 😭