"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
"You should be on your way."Aria said, looking away from him to the direction of the lagoon where the spaceship-jet was parked. Even though they couldn't see it from distance... or perhaps he could but Alves couldn't. Alves shook his head in argument. "No... not until you tell me what you meant by that."Alves took a quick pause. Aria had dropped his gaze back on him. Alves was acting as though he needed time to think things through. "What did you mean by what you said before the notification...?"Alves kept pushing. He did know that Aria had the answer to his questions, and now to think that Aria would hold the answers back from him? It was something which he would be very reluctant to accept let alone appreciate. Aria's gaze fell on Alve's wrist. The screen which had appeared in his wrist was slowly fading away. "I'm sure you have a means of communication back in the other world. This is the way it works here. It's built into us."Aria seemed quite seamless in changing the top
Her eyes were fiery and tough. She was staring at him as though she would make a hole in his forehead. If it was possible that eyes could turn into a gun, she would had hit a headhsot. OH SHIT, WHY IS SHE GLARING AT ME LIKE MADAM...There were memories being plucked out of the depth of his mind. As though someone was mining in his head. The fear which he used to have for Madam caught up with him, making his legs tremble. But there was something really weird about this feeling...Deep inside of him, he could feel that this wasn't about Madam. It was as though a range of memory was reaching out to be picked, but it seemed distant. But there was a strange register imprinted in his mind, surfacing. As though he had known this woman all his life. And slowly, his mind was replacing every fragment of memories of Madam. Just a deep stare from this woman was causing so much magic that Alves almost dropped on his knees before her. He couldn't really tell what had gotten over him, but he fel
Mia was seated at her work desk when she heard a knock on the door of her office. For a moment, she pretended she didn't hear. Because she didn't want to be distracted by whoever it was. She kept on doing what she had been doing before the random intrusion. Then came the knock again. "Why are you so obstinate, I said I'm not meeting anyone. Not until I'm done with what I'm doing."She called on top of her top, hanging her pen in the air for a while as she glared at the wooden door. She shut her eyes for a while, taking a deep breath. "What an annoying joke."She cussed under her breath. Opening her eyes, she resumed what she was doing. She hadn't worked for a while when the activity came from the door again. But this time, it wasn't a knock. She saw the knob of the door turning in. "I'll surely kill him..."She swore, the glare seeped in her face fanning a wave of embers which fueled the rage. As she kept the long face at the door which turned opened, slowly pushing in. The doo
"Do you love her so much?"Aria asked, staring across the garden, from the top of the sycamore tree. Alves was so tired of staring at the top of the branch that he mumbled as though he was talking to the lawn of greenery beneath his feet. A thud! At his front. When he lifted his head, it was Aria. It seemed that the latter had realised the odds... that was why he made that decision. He walked closer to Alves then sat next to him on the wooden cedar bench carved like a fancy photoshoot hanging chair..."Why should I answer your questions though?"Alves bounced back at Aria. He watched as the tough face of Aria melted into a thin smile. Alves got more offended. "And why the hell do you act this way around me. What to do you think? That we are friends?"Alves snapped, keeping a glare that matched the weight of his words. Aria kept a plain stare at him. "What's that look? Shouldn't you be apologising? Or do you really want me to take out the rage, of what grandma did, on you?"Alves w
"Does he remember anything?"The voice which asked the question was deep, airy and husky. There was a man standing opposite the direction of where the voice had come from. It was the leader of the WHITE group. Seated before him on fluffy yet royally designed seats were about fifteen men of high calibre and sauce. They looked to be of high dignitaries, and their composure was not only royal but intimidating. The leader of the WHITE group bent forward at their front in a quick bow. And as soon as he lifted his body in an upright position, he found his voice,"It's hard to tell. But he is having a great trouble adjusting to the sudden changes."The leader of the WHITE group said. There was a brief silence which was succeeded by a pace of murmur which travelled across the enclosed area. After a while, one of the fifteen dignitaries found his voice,"Keep close eyes on him. We don't want things going out of hand."The leader of the WHITE group watched as all the rest of the men nodded i
Alves was roaming, thinking about the things that the old man had said to him. The man he had been referring to Aria. He wasn't really worried about the name factor, even though he had scoffed most times saying, "How could someone his age not have a name?"Yet he knew what was the most important of his worries. The other information that the old man had hurled at him. "This land does not have its name? How does that make any sense?"He had his doubts, but he wasn't willing to take the risk of throwing everything into thin air. "And after saying all those things he is nowhere to be found! Really?"Alves had searched for the old man throughout the area of the Palace, making sure to visit all the places that his guts told him not to. But no matter how hard he had searched, he couldn't find the old man anywhere. "What was he thinking? That I would come looking for him in the forest again? So I get punished by Grandma again... and lose the remaining bones in my body this time?"He to
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