"What was that about?"That was the first words that Mia would utter since they made out for the road. They had been driving since quite a while and dead silence had been their neighbour. Asking that question changed everything, as Alves turned slowly to look at her. Her eyes were searching and serious. It was obvious that she wouldn't give him a break until he had answered her question. He took in a deep breath, then looked away from her. After a wave of breeze had swept past the both of them,"Shouldn't the question be where I am taking to?"Alves changed the direction of the question. She plucked her gaze from him for a while. "You don't want me to stop this car by force. But if that's the one choice you give me, I'll do just that."She reached out suddenly to struggle with him, trying to snatch the wheel away from him. "Okay Okay..."Alves couldn't take the risk. WHAT A CRAZY LADY. He cussed within him, then found a place to pull over, by the road side. There was a weird sil
Alves was more eager in getting to know her side of the story, than getting to know the reason why the ALUWA had shown uninvited and out of thin air. Not important. Not at that moment. Every passing minute, his doubts and speculations kept fleshing up into something of great significance. The more he observed, the more he realised that Mia might know more than he had envisaged. On the ordinary, it was hard to say whether or not that was a good thing. The both of them were standing close enough to each other, her hand clutching his. Her eyes were glued on the ALUWA who were still bowing to the earth; knees brushing the dirt, face plung into the dust, in utmost humility. "Did you just mention the ALUWA?"Alves was way too curious to hide it. Though the words were out before he intended them to, yet he never regretted the action. And for a few seconds, as though she was knocked out of her fantasies, Mia plucked her gaze from the ALUWA, throwing a very stern gaze at Alves. Her facia
It was as though Alves had closed his eyes and opened them in a blink. As though he had just shut his eyes after his pupils had been hit by a blinding light. That was how it seemed when he regained his consciousness. It seemed random and natural, as though nothing happened in the first place. But of course he knew that what happened could never be ignored. "Where am I?"Were the first few words his brain could coin. He traced his eyes down his body till they got to his legs. He was standing uprightly. On something which looked like a steep. But that wasn't really the most important thing at that moment. What was more important and interesting at that moment was what he was putting on. "What!"He exclaimed, but it was weakly. He quickly pinched his trouser to feel the texture of the clothing. It wasn't what he used to feel or know. "This can't be true."He muttered again. He wasn't even paying an attention to his language. "What am I wearing? What is this attire?"The more ques
"How can I suddenly appear in the middle of nowhere?"Alves complained as he walked through the tiny path bordered by the assemblies of thick shrubs. "Could the ALUWA or whatever their name is, really lie to me?"He took a sigh. "What would they had gained though? Lying to me that I am the king of an unknown country. What could have been in for them?"He scoffed,"I must be really dumb to have believed what they said."But the more he talked to himself, the deeper his thoughts widened. "If its true that they lied to me, then why did that bird come into the context. Or was the bird also a paid actor?"He chuckled. Then suddenly he heard a sound. He stopped walking. For no reason, he looked down at his shoes. They were funny looking. But that wasn't what to be worried about. While staring at his shoes, he noticed something under one of his soles. He bent down to pick it. He shifted his leg to a side then picked it up. He put it up, a broken twig. "I thought it was something impor
Alves watched in utmost shock as the seven yachts came to a stop at his front, in a horizontal file, at the bank of the lagoon. He was still wondering what was happening, whether or not to be alerted or scared. Suddenly, several men dressed in attires seemed to be made out of wool, yet neat as though they were suits. Super fluffy and professional looking at the same time. He didn't have much time to wonder and ponder on the unique weirdness of the attires, because the men had climbed down the yachts. Each yachts had a file of men. Each group hurrying towards him. At this point, Alves didn't know how to react. For all he knew, they might have come to hurt him or something close to that. Up to that moment, he still had no idea where the hell he was and what he was doing there. He had met a weird man at the lake behind, discovered that he was wearing a weird attire, then encountered a strangely white panther with enormous weight which had led him to this lagoon. And then yachts, the
"You silly brat. You silly brat."The woman kept hitting him. She hit him in the chest, on the arms, pinched him a little bit, hit him again in the chest. Then she started to cry. Hitting him continuously. But the manner at which she hit him, it wasn't as though she was doing it with the intention to hurt him. She cried and cried for a while then hugged him, holding unto him so passionately. With care and want. With desire and joy. Like you hold unto something that you cherish. Something you are just seeing after a very long time?Alves wasn't sure what this was all about. But one thing which he knew for sure. One thing which was quite evident, was the fact that this woman does not possess any trait of Madam. Madam had never come close to him, let alone alone hug him. So tightly as though she would enter through his skin and get absolved. Then if this person is not Madam, then why does she have the face of Madam? That was one of the most important questions he had got to ask himsel
"Why do you keep refusing to come with me?"Alves stood at the bank of the lagoon, staring sternly, with much inquisitiveness at the leader of the WHITE group. The man hardly looked up at him. He would occasionally raise his head to meet Alves' gaze. "He would not stay."The man argued, but his tone was very much convincing. He spoke from an end that was very accurate. "Why wouldn't he want to stay? I mean, was that why he ran away when y'all arrived?"Slowly Alves was getting answers to his questions, even though that seemed to be the less important of the questions. "I will put it that way, His Eminence."The man did a soft bow. Alves kept the stare at the man for another few seconds. He didn't look convinced, yet he did realise that there was nothing he could do. He couldn't possibly force the man to do against his will. But then he was tempted to abuse his power. Since he was revered highly, he could command the man to escort him. But he couldn't find the need to do that. Plu
Following all the heads up that the leader of the WHITE group had given him, Aves didn't want to be rash in his decisions. He knew a couple things, but couldn't be sure how to build on the discoveries. All he could do at that moment was keep staring at the old face of the man seated before him. The wrinkled face was covered in white thick beards, yet with fluffy strands that added beauty to the shape of his jaws. While he stared at the face of the man, Alves couldn't help but wonder in his mind,HOW COULD HE BE THE SAME PERSON AS THE ---An activity happening knocked him out of his thoughts. The realisation came quite early;The man had stood up from where he was and was walking away. Alves jumped on his feet too. He started following the man. "Please wait."He followed the man, conscious of his pace. But the man neither answered him, nor waited for a second. "I came all the way here to talk to you. Don't you think I deserve an audience?"Do not blame Alves, he was quite impatient
News began to spread across Grimmings about the mystery of the newly discovered Dragon King and mysterious Trillionaire. The news started as still and random as the flowing breeze, until there was a twist which made it hostile, raging like a ferocious wind across Grimming Hills. "That can't be true." Someone said to the people who surrounded him. "The dragon King? He is who?" The same person carried on the argument. "You were not listening?! I said that he was the same person as the son-in-law of the Casper mansion!" The lady who was the centre of attention, said. "What!" Almost everyone who was encircled in that group exclaimed at the discovery. "How is that even possible? It does not make any sense." Someone argued passionately. "That was the same thing I thought in the first place, but for no reason, things started to play out." "But we only just discovered that the dragon King is alive. It hadn't even been more than twenty minutes ago since the press meeting ended! How coul
Inside the Casper mansion, there were a couple of people gathered in the living room. They all had their eyes glued to the screen of the TV. Their facial reactions emphasised how absorbed and engulfed they were by whatever was going on on the screen. "Why does it feel like I'll die of curiosity?" Michael muttered, almost falling off his seat. "My heart will be ripped open." Simeon had few of his fingers over his lips in anticipation. "I can't breathe." Their sister was trying to divide her attention between not looking and looking. Madam Casper was seated in her special chair, staring sternly at the screen. Her gaze was locked in as though she would be paid handsomely for the attention squandered. No, invested!On the screen of the TV, there was an explosion at the entrance of the media train, and everyone was waiting, watching with their hearts in their mouths. A man dressed in an entire that wasn't typical of the modern era walked into the media train. There was a black mask on
The Prime Minister walked briskly into the media train. There were all several screens set up. As soon as he stepped into the designated area, all the cameras and lightening whirred in his direction. His face was supplanted in the chain of screens, which looked like a cinema. There was hardly anyone on the media train. The cameras seemed to have the mind of their own, zooming in at intervals on the face and other parts of the Prime Minsiter. "Now you are live." A robotic voice said in the train. The Prime Minister took two steps forward into the stream of limelight. "I'm sure that everyone knows who I am." He started. "I am the Prime Minister of this great country, Grimming Hills." He continued. "There has been a lot happening in this country ever since I assumed the position. Though most of them have been significant changes and growth in the economic sector of the country, some of them have been a little concerning." "At least, so it started in the past few months until recen
Alves was waiting patiently for the arrival of the Prime Minister. No matter how much he tried to dissuade himself from worrying about the punk who had claimed to have his full picture, he just couldn't get the thoughts off his head. He got up from the couch and walked towards the door again. "When did the media get here? I mean, it hasn't even been a minute since the news was broadcast. How could they have arrived here in such a sort space of time?" He murmured, looking through the door. He walked out of the door and headed towards the gate. He was in the compound of the tower. No matter how zealous and intentional the media personnel were, they could never break in. "We are here to meet with the mystery man!" A voice called from outside the compound. "Please, we would love to have a word with you, sir.""Please come answer some of our questions." "We know you are in..."Alves could hear the people calling at him. Leaving the compound premises wouldn't be much of a hassle for h
The flaps of giant wings preceeded the wave of wild wind, which swept across Huthi Farmland. The dragon descended at the front of the two bamboo stalks which served as the portal to the parallel world. "What the hell?" Alves was reluctant to climb down from the back of the dragon. It had been clouds and clouds when they travelled from the place where they left the Supreme Majesty. To suddenly find himself back at Grimming Hills was something he could never have anticipated. "Why did I find myself here? Why didn't I return to the Kingdom? What happened? Is this the doings of the Supreme Majesty?" The dragon pushed its head forward till it touched touched the earth. Alves climbed down from its back. "Did I really fly from like two worlds to Huthi under an hour?" He heard the wings of the dragon flap. The Supreme Majesty had told him that the dragon was his spiritual pet. He still didn't know what that really meant. The dragon lifted itself from the earth, and off it flew, as
"What is sleep?"The Supreme Majesty asked again, waking Alves from his sleep. Alves sat up suddenly. He looked around him. It was as though he was making an effort to understand what was happening."What causes sleep?"The question came again, and he looked in the direction of the voice. Seeing the Supreme Majesty, he looked around him again. He was in a strange area. Clouds surrounded the both of them, yet the earth was rocky beneath him. He slowly got up on his feet. The Supreme Majesty had his back to him. Alves took careful steps towards the divine creature. "Where am I?""Where are we?"Alves asked intermittently. "What is this place?"When he looked to his front again, the Supreme Majesty was no longer there. Alves was neither surprised nor flustered. He had grown to acknowledge wonders like that. "Do not play the word game, Son."The voice came from behind him this time. He turned to look. "Why do you keep asking me what causes sleep? And what does sleep mean?"Alves arg
Warm hands were wrapped around his arm as he was led towards the lake. He couldn't make them stop. He didn't want to. They led him into the water. He took a few steps, pushing the water with his knees. That was how much he had been gobbled up by depth of that part of the lake. When he looked down to see, he could see the depth of the lake so plainly and clearly. The lake was crystal clear. The base of the lake was fine. No stone, no speckle. Just pure white sand. He looked to the front and couldn't find any sort of creature in the lake. No fish, no matter how small. Not even a fingerling. When warm palms glid down his arms and chest, that was when he was knocked back to the reality, which was quickening and pacing. The ladies were rubbing his arms and chest. They were scooping water and washing him. He wanted to argue with them, but then he recalled that it was the man from the hall who must have given them the guts to do that. He decided to go along with whatever they had in mi
"What causes sleep?"A voice zoomed to Alves as soon his eyes opened. He sat up and looked around him. At first, he didn't see who was talking, but when he looked again, there was an old but lanky man standing not far from him. The man had white flowing beards, which were in knots. His hair was snowy white with strands of blacks. "Do you have an idea, dear son?"The man turned away from him and walked towards something that looked like a throne. A shiny throne carved out of red gold. Alves had never seen anything of such elegance and beauty. The sight alone was breathtaking. HE JUST CALLED ME SON?Though Alves' mind was busy admiring the qualities and beauty of the Palace, he didn't trade the important details. Alves watched the old yet young man settle into the thrown. He quickly looked around him if there was any other person in the Palace. There was no one in sight. His only company was the strange old man. DID THOSE WINGED CREATURES BRING ME HERE? IS HE THE SUPREME MAJESTY? MY
"I'll kill you! You are dead!!!"Alves yelled as he kept falling and falling till THUD, his body hit the hot and thick surface of the body of lava. "Oh Lord. Oh God. I'm dead."He started to fight his way, trying to do whatever he could to get out of the thick and sticky body of liquid. "Do something you fucking, Ri. Fucking do something! Where is the hidden weapon I would be able to use in a difficult time?"In the middle of his bickers and yelling, something quite strange hit him. "Huh?"For a moment, he stopped fighting and kicking. "Wait a minute."He pulled one of his hands out of the thick liquid. "What's happening?"He turned the sticky hand to this side and that side. "Nothing is happening. No pain? No scar? No heat?"He couldn't believe his eyes. He tried to move his body in the lava. He turned around and saw how fiery and scary the lava seemed from distance. Moving to this side and that, he felt no pain. It felt like he was drowning in mud. Instead of a lava. "Is thi