I'm a little girl again, cuddled up in a ball inside of a fire pit. The monster can't see me. That's what mom said. It can't see me here, hidden under some reeds.
I'm keeping my eyes shut tight. Mom tolled me not to move. I don't think I could, even if I tried. I'm not even shaking anymore. I'm paralyzed. There are shouts and loud bangs and cries all around me.
Mom tolled me it'll all be okay, I just have to wait for her to come back.
Mom will soon be here.
I remember one of the songs aunt Yasmin would sing when mom and dad were working. It's nicer than the screams, so I try to remember the lyrics.
Mama zamanha gaya
Gaya baedeh shiwaya,
Gayba al'ab wa hagat
Gayba maha shanta
Fiha wezza wa bata
Bi ta'mel
The screams stop. The explosion are gone, too.
Someone is yelling now, but it sounds more like orders, rather than panic.
"Is anyone here?" yells a man.
I'm too afraid to answer, too afraid to move. Footsteps come closer.
Old, almost ancient looking, hands reach out and help me up from under the reeds. Iskandar smiles and I hug him, all grown up now.
"My dear girl," he says still smiling.
It's okay. I'm okay. Iskandar is here.
Then, a red lighting strikes from the sky. It strikes Iskandar in the hearth. He gasps, staggers backwards, then crumbles to dust.
A voice echoes, so powerful it shakes the ground beneath my feet.
"All your fault. All because of you."