Nya had returned home with her arms laden with fish and vegetables.
A tall, pale-skinned woman sat in the courtyard, sipping tea with Nya's mother. Nya arched a confused eyebrow at the strange sight. The village she lived in was small, and as the blacksmith, Nya knew the names and faces of everyone. The townspeople had round faces, upturned noses and hair dark as a carrion crow, while this woman's face was long, gaunt and pale as a ghost, with wide lips and a nose that resembled an eagle's beak. This peculiar face was framed with hair as gold as the sun and long as the branches of a weeping willow.
Travellers and visitors were rare, coming in the forms of the odd performance group or a young adventurer. The lady was at least her mother's age, if not a couple decades more. She was dressed too finely to be a performer, and sipped tea so nonchalantly that she could not be on a quest.
Nya stood awkwardly near the gates, pushing them shut with an elbow. She smiled a bit nervously at the tea-sipping duo, before placing her groceries down under the verandah.
"Ah, if this isn't Nya!" the tall woman turned to Nya, her mouth curling in a friendly smile. "I thought it would be good for me to visit. We have important news to discuss."
"Important news?" asked Nya, pulling out a chair, and seating herself down on the courtyard table.
"Indeed." The woman snapped her fingers. The porcelain kettle hovered in the air, pouring a stream of jasmine tea into a clean teacup for Nya.
Nya's eyes widened at the hovering teapot. This woman was a sorceress, or some magical spirit, something that was certainly more interesting than an average traveller. If her mother was willing to have tea with her, then the sorceress surely had to be benevolent. "Magical users don't come here often," she said. "What brings you to our house?"
"This lady has come to talk to you," Nya's mother replied, taking the teapot and pouring herself another round. "She believes you have a destiny to fulfill."
A destiny? Now that was something. Nya straightened up in her seat. "I have a destiny?" she said. The words felt weird in her mouth.
"Of course!" the lady beamed down at her. "Everyone has a destiny, from the richest emperor to the loneliest pauper! Your one is particularly spectacular, I might add."
Nya smiled. She hadn't considered much of the concept of destiny, thinking that she would spend her whole life running her late father's blacksmith shop. "That's comforting to hear," she said.
"I'll leave you two to discuss this alone," Nya's mother rose from her seat, picking up the teapot.
Turning to the sorceress, Nya asked, "So, what am I actually going to do with my life?"
"I have no idea. That's your destiny. I don't know where you end, I don't know all the details in the middle, but I do know what you're supposed to do," the sorceress inspected her nails, before facing Nya directly. "I'm your godmother, benefactor, whatever people call us these days," she said. "I've been with you since the week you were born, and the day you lost your brother."
At the mention of her brother, Nya grimaced. She never remembered Kai. He had been missing for 18 years, much to the dismay of the townspeople. Even almost two decades later, Nya would hear other talk of an energetic young boy, and what a shame it was to lose him.
"It's my fault for his disappearance, isn't it?" Nya said, covering her mouth with a palm. "That's why they say."
The townspeople talked to Nya as little as possible – a difficult feat when she ran the only blacksmith shop for miles. It's a shame that she's so plain, they would chime amongst themselves. For her birth brought forth her brother's demise.
The sorceress did not reply. Instead, she sighed, tracing the edge of her teacup with a perfectly manicured finger.
Nya looked at the sorceress blankly.
"Your brother was cursed into a bird when he disappeared. None of it was your fault."
"Thank the gods," Nya said, relieved.
"You were a week old. Week old babies aren't able to do magic as complex as the spell placed on your brother. Don't flatter yourself and pretend you have innate magical abilities when you don't."
Instead of looking insulted, Nya looked even more relieved. Finally, she had some evidence against those asinine gossipers!
The sorceress did not meet Nya's eyes. "But your family's still responsible. It was your father who cursed your brother and forced me to transform him."
"But why would he do that?" Nya asked. Her father expressed nothing but sorrow every time her brother was mentioned. Her mother told her that her father loved Kai the most, and that he always hoped for Kai to run his business when older. On his deathbed, her father asked not for Nya, but for Kai. Eighteen years without him, but Kai was still his favourite child.
"Typical save-a-witch, gain-a-wish scenario," the sorceress said, her eyes travelling to the sky. "He rescued me from a weeping willow when I was a stag, and got a wish." At that, the sorceress paused, lowering her glance onto Nya. "Listen, Nya. One day you might be given a wish. It's a popular gift from witches, you see. Be careful of your words, because your father wasn't. Being emotional and losing control of your words can lead to a lost life."
Nya nodded, as if to say 'go on'.
"So, I turned him into a bird. Nothing major. I kept him in a cage, and he would sing. Kai's bird form was a nightingale, after all. They're beautiful birds, with beautiful voices." The sorceress sighed. "I kept him safe, and I treated him like my son."
"The reason for my visit is your brother," now, the sorceress' tone of voice sounded pained, as if she felt guilty about something. "He's disappeared once more. I opened his cage to let him stretch his wings, and he was swept by wind currents to the north-west. I was highly concerned, following him to ensure his safety, but I got to him too late."
Nya's hands tightened into a fist. What a disappointment, she thought. She was hoping to meet his brother sometime soon once she learnt he was alive and that she was destined for something great, and now that hope was shattered.
The sorceress noticed Nya's glare. "Oh no! Nya, sweetie, please don't be too concerned for your brother. He's not dead."
"He's still gone," Nya said, bitter. She thought of a small nightingale being swept by the winds, shot down by hunters or imprisoned by Middle Kingdom emperors. Would Kai being dead have been any different to Kai being alive? Nya never knew him. She never thought to have any sort of emotional connection to him.
But Kai… he was still a part of her life, wasn't he? He was her burden. His recklessness, his disappearance, he was the reason for the guilt Nya carried.
The sorceress reached into her bag, pulling out a golden bracelet, with a red stone set in it. The stone pulsed, glowing brighter almost every second. "He's alive," she said. "If he were dead, then this bracelet would have stopped pulsing. So either your brother is lost, or he's been taken."
The sorceress unrolled a map from her bag. She placed teacups on the corners to weigh it down, before pointing to a circled location. It was completely isolated, with no sign of humanity for miles.
"There," she said. "That was where I last saw him."
Nya looked at the map, studying it thoughtfully. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "That's… near the North."
"Precisely."
"It's snow-covered and cold," she said. "How on earth could a nightingale survive?"
The sorceress grinned, as if this was all a game. "That's for you to work out, and for you to tell me if you survive!"
"Oh, thanks," Nya said.
"You're welcome!" the sorceress smiled. "Nothing to do with your brother has been your fault, but it's still your destiny is rescue that chap!"
"Oh."
"You must talk to the sun. It was in the daytime when he was lost. If the sun does not respond, ask the moon, she sees what he does not."
Nya opened her mouth to ask how on earth she was supposed to talk to celestial objects, but closed it again. She knew that the sorceress would just reprimand her again, telling her to work it out herself.
"People have talked to the sun and moon for centuries," the sorceress added. "Why, I knew this girl who had her pet lark to fly upwards and ask the sun about the whereabouts of her husband!"
"Oh."
"Rescusing one's brother or husband is so common amongst adventurers in this world," the sorceress said. "Don't you want to be like one of the brave girls you've always admired?"
Nya nodded. "Of course I have. This… it all just feels so sudden, you know? You're kicking me out of my house, telling me to rescue a brother who I've never known…"
"It's your destiny."
"But, what is destiny? Why do I have to comply with it?"
The sorceress opened her mouth, as if to answer, but no words to come out. "… I don't know," she said. "But you're supposed to rescue your brother and break his curse."
Nya slouched in her chair. "Fine. I'll do it. But how do I carry out this destiny, persay? Break his curse, get him into a human form."
The sorceress rolled her eyes, and slumped across the table, frustrated. "Why must every single legacy ask this question?" she said, throwing her hands up. "I don't know! None of us know! You probably won't even know, but somehow, you'll know what to do!"
"That makes no sense!"
"It's your destiny, I say that you listen to your heart. Guide yourself with your moral compass, act on instinct, et cetera, et cetera."
"That's a lot to take in," Nya said with a frown, watching the sorceress rise from her seat to prepare to leave.
"And don't be afraid to ask for help! The world looks kindly on fairytale adventurers," the sorceress swung her bag over her shoulders. "Be nice to people and animals! They'll usually reward you later, if they aren't jerkasses."
"Oh, thanks," Nya said. "It's not like treating things kindly wasn't a thought that occurred to me before."
"Don't give me that attitude," the sorceress snapped her fingers. "Now, turn around. I must cut your hair."
"What?"
"I said, I must c–"
Nya sighed. "I'm sorry, Auntie*, but are you suggesting that this adventure, destiny-thing, means kicking me out of the village?"
"Oh, no, not the slightest! I mean, of course, perhaps a little, since you may never return and live your life elsewhere," the lady stammered, lowering her hands.
"…"
"… but I do apologise, most severely! I meant no harm by forgetting the implications of hair-cutting in this day and age."
"…"
"…"
"It's alright," Nya said, with a sigh. "Feel free to cut my hair."
"Thank you! Thank you!" the sorceress smiled. "There's not much to cut, but I hear long hair has been such a burden now. I do recall talking to some mermaids a few months ago, who cut their hair. Said that hair's selling at such a high price on the fairy black market!"
Nya nodded, taking in the sorceress' every word. If she were to go on some magnificent adventure, street knowledge was always handy.
"Such a shame that your hair is already so short, I won't be able to get anything too remarkable from it," the sorceress sighed, and snapped her fingers. Instantly, as if it were sliced with an invisible knife, locks of Nya's hair fell from its strands, and hovered upwards. The sorceress opened up a little pouch, and each lock floated in the pouch. "Perfect!" she said, satisfied. "You look great! The splitting image of a beginning adventurer."
"I would agree with you, if I had a mirror," Nya said. "I don't have a mirror, but I'm going to agree with you anyway. I look great all the time."
"That's the spirit! Now, go forth, and inspire people!"
Nya laughed, fiddling with the ends of her hair. "And rescue my brother?"
"Most definitely. I didn't come here to be your hairdresser. I'm your benefactor and your brother's godmother. Everything I do will be in your best interest. Now, have you considered when to leave?"
"A week at the most, I would say," said a voice from across the courtyard. Nya's mother leaned again the doorframe, holding a fresh pot of tea. "Nya, you look beautiful. I'm sure that short hair will come in handy one day." Walking over to the duo, she added. "As much as I would love for you to rescue our Kai as soon as possible, we must keep the blacksmith business running. I can manage the finances fine, but we'll have to find someone to craft the goods. And of course, there's still the issue of ensuring we send you on your adventure enough resources to keep you going."
The sorceress smiled warmly at her. "Lovely, lovely!" she said, clasping her arms together. "Looks like you two have the other destiny-shenanigans sorted. Now, I must honestly be going. I have a meeting with a few enchantresses. They need some expert advice on how to turn their stepsons into birds. Goodbye!"
Before Nya could even open her mouth to wish the sorceress farewell, the sorceress spun around, her skirts sweeping the ground, before vanishing. The only trace of the sorceress left in the room was the glowing red bracelet, and the map, full of doodles and notes.
Nya ran her hand over the border of the map, rolling it up. Kai, she thought, clutching the map. We mightn't be close, but I'm still coming to rescue you.
Author Notes:
*In East-Asian cultures, it's polite to call people who are your grandparent's age "grandma" or "grandpa", and people who are your parent's ages "auntie" or "uncle".