According to Aristotle, our plot should be winding down after the incident in the prior story. But I can do what I want, so enjoy.
How mad are they going to be at me? Something tells me that Master Wisp and Master Shade are really angry at me for "betraying" them. Even if they told me that they weren't mad, I could feel it, the villagers feel it too. Well I don't know that, I haven't been outside the inn since that morning.
Besides that, everyone in the village treats me a little bit differently-some glare at me like they used to do back home, others give me a pat on the back, and the rest smile at me. But everyone seems to still be focused on the situation at hand: the missing Wisp from the temple. "Mr. Daniel, did you hear anything about the Wisp everyone's talking about?" I ask when I catch him off-guard heading towards the temple. He has been ignoring me for a while now, and it's only because he still feels bad about tying me up, even though I've already accepted his apology.
"No Mia, nothing at all. But here's what I don't get-if Shade didn't do anything to them, then who did? And why kill that other monk too?" he sighs hopelessly.
"I'm not sure." I haven't been to the temple or the forest in two days, I wonder what's going on between Master Wisp and Master Shade. Hopefully they are no longer at each other's throats. The hall of the temple seems desolate and depressing without the little Wisp floating around, brightening up the hallways. Maybe I should finally talk to Master Wisp and see if I can help her in finding them. That would help me get on her good side and it will make everyone a little bit hopeful.
I stand by the door, summoning the courage to talk to Master Wisp after all that's happened. It has to be done sometime Mia, so just open the door and be polite. Remember to apologize again. Tentatively, my fingers tap on the door, then when I don't hear an answer, I push the door open. "I'm sorry for intruding but…"
The dark, private training room is as empty as the hallway. "Master Wisp?" She is here all the time, I wonder what makes today so different. "Then maybe Master Shade would know something about them?" I probably shouldn't get involved but my gut feeling tells me that I really should. Besides, I spent two days avoiding both of them and I shouldn't be afraid of things that can't hurt me.
"I never would have imagined that you of all spirits would summon me," I remark as I emerge from a tall tree shadow. "I already have a premonition of what this conversation is about."
"With that girl here, you should have realized that we would be coming together," she says. "I've already begun to feel the side effects of her presence, and I can't be the only one."
"You are correct." Day by day, my powers began to deteriorate and I couldn't bring myself to tell her that. "Although I'm sure she is oblivious to her nature."
"Oblivious or not, she is poses as a threat to our existence," she replies sharply, raising her crystal-formed arm to the sky. She lowers it and wistfully adds, "I still can't believe that after all these years-they stayed together for so long."
"That is what love is." Wisp rolls her eyes, leaning against the gate of the village. "And those two were deeply in love. I digress, I do agree with you for once."
"Then how are we to deal with her? The longer she lingers in this world, the weaker we will become. The sooner the better." Her bluntness strikes me as shocking. The only other time she was direct and callous was before the elopement.
"I am confirming everything you're saying to be true, however-"
"Don't tell me you've grown soft. We have to eliminate her Shade, you know that," berates Wisp noisily. "There aren't many options for us to choose from. I know you felt that pang of weakness when Mia interfered the other day-you must be feeling it now."
"I cannot lie and say that I am not," I confess, rubbing my aching wrists, knowing that it will do nothing to cease the pain gradually traveling through my newly-formed body. "She's affecting me right now and we do have to take care of this problem as soon as possible." Talking to Mia like a young adult has made me see her in a different light. I had never thought of her as an abomination and when I do, I curse myself. She has so much of her father's personality within her: naivety, rashness, lack of confidence, and unwavering benevolence-how could anyone hate that?
A soft whimper turns our heads to the fence. Wisp removes herself from it. "Who's there?" I demand while pulling the wooden gate open. Someone eavesdropping-human is not what I need. The teary-eyed girl is not the one I want to see. She shivers when I mention her name, "Mia."
"Mia," Wisp steps toward the pain-stricken youth, ignoring her obvious look of horror. "I presume you heard our discussion. It really bothers me and Shade to this to you."
"This is not-" her frightened eyes tell me that she isn't going to listen to me, or Wisp for that matter. She bites her lip, trying not to sob in front of us-her mother did that. Taking a wary step forward, I ask, "Are you listening?"
"Don't-!" she cries out while she bypasses me and takes off like a fleeting Jinn spirit into the forest.
"Wait!" In an instance the girl is lost in the shadows of the Dark Forest.
I'm not going to let either of them hurt me! Of course they wanted to kill me-I didn't tell either of them the truth and raised my hands to both of them. I thought maybe Master Shade would understand-no, I was wrong. So, so wrong. Is there no one in any world I can trust?
I stopped when I saw the wooden fence from afar. Master Shade was outside and I doubted he really wanted to see me again after that incident. Maybe I should have just turned around and go back inside. "No." My own firmness startled me. If I could seek out-or try to-Master Wisp, I could do this, too. If Seth were here, he'd say something like, "Quit being a chicken and just do it already." With newfound courage, I hurried to the wooden fence and put my hand on it to push it open, but I halted when I heard the familiar voices. At first I assumed it was Michele complaining about my actions the other day, but it became clear that it was a woman speaking.
"Then how are we to deal with her? The longer she lingers in this world, the weaker we will become. The sooner the better." That was Master Wisp's voice, what was she doing outside the village?
"I am confirming everything you're saying to be true, however-" Now Master Shade? They are together? Talking about who? I can't eavesdrop on them, that's simply wrong. Although I do want to know who this girl is-wait, it couldn't have been me? I didn't upset them that much when I stopped them, I couldn't have.
"Don't tell me you've grown soft. We have to eliminate her Shade, you know that," Master Wisp had never sounded more earnest than now. And a little desperate. "There aren't many options for us to choose from. I know you felt that pang of weakness when Mia interfered the other day-you must be feeling it now."
I leaned on the fence for support, fearing I'm going to pass out. It's me. Me. "I cannot lie and say that I am not," admitted Master Shade sadly. "She's affecting me right now and we do have to take care of this problem as soon as possible." An unfamiliar sound from the depths of my chest emerged. It could have been a squeak, a scream, a shout-I didn't know what it was. I immediately cover my mouth. "Who's there?" When the fence door slowly moved toward me, I backed up, coming face-to-face with Master Shade. "Mia?"
At that moment, I wished that wasn't my name. "Mia. I presume you heard our discussion. It really bothers me and Shade to this to you." They were going to end my life, here and now. Am I truly alone in this world? Everyone's voices became muffled and suppressed, overshadowed by my thoughts of infinite loneliness. My parents and my only friend both deserted me. Neither of them wanted me around, just like everyone else. Whatever Master Shade was saying, I blocked it out.
"Don't." Next thing I knew, I ran away.
That's all I'm good for-running away. Since I was a kid, all I did was run away from the people who hated me and wanted me to be sent away. Even after they had cut off my hair, I didn't fight them, I just ran away. I was too scared, like I am now. Everyone's like Seth-they want you to be comfortable around them and they'll treat you kindly but then they want to hurt you until you have too many holes in your heart to harm anymore. My tears roll off my cheeks as the wind buffets my face harshly. Don't stop, don't stop-they'll get you. I have to keep running, that's all I'm good for.
When I reach a clearing without any more trees, I realize that I'm far from the village. I don't even know how far I ran, but I just know I'm out of that sullen forest. I drop to my knees, clutching onto a damp rock and let my tears cascade like torrential waterfalls. I try not to make too much noise, but I can't control myself when I'm alone.
"Do you think she left the Dark Forest?" Wisp wonders, looking down at the piles of unkempt leaves that swallow the ground, the traces of her obvious presence.
"She could run," my memory dives back to eleven years ago for five seconds. Even as a child, she was nimble on her feet. "We should check outside the forest." We hover over the leaves, hurrying to find Mia. I wish that it didn't have to be like this, I want to keep her alive. But that seems impossible at the strength her power is growing. We quickly reach the Eternal Clear; the area named after the legend that if one stares off into the distance, they would see the entire world. In reality, all you can see is the endless horizon. "Something tells me she's stopped here."
"I don't sense her nearby at all Shade. All I sense is your malodorous Darkness."
"All I sense your nauseating Light."