《Awaken》 Prologue - Death *Beep beep beep¡­ ¡°Uhh, it¡¯s morning already. Nowadays the only reason I get up is to get back to bed after long hard day .Same feeling when you wear heels all day and taking it off later. I¡¯m sure ladies understand how I feel.¡± *Woof, woof ¡°Eww stop licking me, I get it, I get it I¡¯m getting up.¡± My dog Sparkle looked at me curiously and wagged its tail. Don¡¯t judge me I think the name Sparkle is really cute. I remember how I found him, back than he was so tiny and adorable puppy. And now he almost reaches my waist. My dog grew up so fast. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s prepare our breakfast¡± Sparkle looked at me and started barking at me, as if saying ¡°FOOOD!¡± , I think breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks are his favorite words. Getting up from bed, she walked through the door and went straight to the kitchen. My lousy dog became too indulgent that he no longer eats dog food. Now he eats from my food. ¡°Ahh it¡¯s already 8:30a.m time to open our shop. Sparkle prepare to receive our first costumer¡± Sparkle barked in return. I run a small flower shop called ¡°Flora¡±, the neighborhood here is calm you don¡¯t see, hear bad things happening here often and the locals are decent people. From the window you can see a park. Every day in the morning people come to the park just to walk, exercise. This park is also famous for its legend. It is said if you confess to your loved one than you¡¯ll happily live together. So that¡¯s why a lot of people come to my shop and buy flowers so they can confess to their loved ones. As you can see I¡¯m pretty content with my life, I love where I live and the business is running smoothly, and most importantly my loved ones live close by. *Ding ding Sound of door opening. An elderly man walked in, his cloths were worn out, sign of wearing them for a long time. But clean and ironed also suggesting that person in question is neat and takes care of himself. His face was round, giving him a soft complexion, his eyes spoke of a person who went through many hardships and obtaining a great wisdom. All in all he was a strange costumer. ¡°Good morning Miss, it¡¯s a lovely day.¡± *Woof woof¡­ Sparkle looked at him curiously. ¡°Good morning to you too. And yes it is nice outside. How can I help you?¡± ¡°Oh actually today my wife and I are celebrating our 40th year anniversary. And I wanted to give her flowers today¡± ¡°That¡¯s great idea. What kind of flowers does she like?¡± ¡°She always admired sunflowers, do you have any?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll prepare it right away¡± A minute later¡­ ¡°Here it is Mr.¡­?¡± ¡°Just call me Oleg, thank you for the flowers I know she¡¯ll love them¡± ¡°Thank you, please come again¡± *Woof woof¡­ Before Oleg walked out of the shop, he stopped and turned around and said: ¡°I don¡¯t want to be rude but have you ever thought of knowing your future?¡± I stood shocked not knowing what to say, and I thought he must be joking. ¡°Mr. Oleg I can see you have a big sense of humor and no, if I did what would be the point of living¡± ¡°That is true¡±,-smiled sadly the elderly men. ¡°Think about it and may gods protect you Miss Leila¡±, and like that Mr. Oleg left. I don¡¯t remember how long I stood there, staring at the door as if hoping it¡¯ll explain what just happened. And when did I ever tell him my name, the more I think about it, more confused I was. What a strange day and its only 8:50 am. *During midday. ¡°Can you believe that monkey actually tried to harass me I¡¯m so filing a complaint. I¡¯m gonna sue his dirty ass. Who does he think he is?! That slimeball who can¡¯t wipe his shit. I¡¯m gonna wipe a floor with his fugly hair!!!¡± said a redhead with fuzzy hair, whoever made her angry is an idiot. Then again she has a really short temper. What can I say; this fearless redhead is my childhood best friend. ¡°Calm down Nina, Tell me what happened?¡± ¡°I¡¯m calm¡­ Sorry for shouting, today is a nightmare. You know I work at IT Company and a week ago our board of Directors decided that we need a new boss, so they promoted this guy, apparently a son of some rich old man. And starting from the 1st day of his arrival things went downhill. Not only is he arrogant, but he gives a shit about anything I do. All day he is in his new office with his new hot secretary. He flatly ignores any project I make, not only that he tried to harass me today¡­ *cries*¡­ So in my rage I hit his front tooth and it broke¡­..¡± When I heard the last part, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.¡°Bwahahahahahahahaha I can¡¯t stop l-laughing. Please tell me you took a picture. Hahhahaha. My stomach hurts¡­¡± After a minute or so laughing non-stop, I looked at my friend who was beat red and super annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s so funny I can¡¯t believe you broke your bosses¡¯ front tooth. Is that why you¡¯re dragging that huge box?¡± ¡°As you can see, obviously, I¡¯m fired. So I can¡¯t pay the rent anymore.¡± Without thinking much I asked her to stay at my house until she finds a new job. Obviously she¡¯s not staying for free. So in exchange it was decided that she¡¯ll help out in the shop. Sparkle also agreed with me, he also liked Nina a lot. Sparkle was licking her face happily, traitor¡­ ¡°Guys I¡¯m gonna go to a nearby store, need anything?¡± ¡°Beer and let¡¯s make a steak for dinner¡± *Woof woof... Sparkle barks in approval when he heard steak. Sigh. I should just call them Hunger squad. Leaving the store I walked down the sidewalk. It really is peaceful day. While watching the street I saw him. He was sitting while leaning the tree. Another book today, I can¡¯t see well. He always sits there every day. His light brown hair gently moves in the wind, when I see that I wanted to touch it, as if it¡¯s teasing me. Sigh. I really am a nerd; he¡¯s way above my level. Suddenly he looks up; my hurt beat accelerated at that moment. I looked at him and without knowing what was in front of me I hit an electric pole. Oh my god, this is so embarrassing, please I wanna dig a hole and hide. Uhh, my nose hurts I think blood is dripping from it. While focusing my vision I saw shadow covering the sunlight. When I looked up I saw him looking down on me with a slight grin on his face. He was holding out his hand, I took it and got up. Without letting go of my hand he asked: ¡°Are you all right? That looked like it hurt a lot¡± ¡°Umm¡­it¡¯s all right. It doesn¡¯t hurt that much.¡± ¡°Are you sure, here.¡± He gives me a tissue; I took the tissue and holded in front of my nose, so I wouldn¡¯t make another blood bath. ¡°By the way my name is John Lawson.¡± And he looked at me expectantly. ¡°Uhh¡­yea¡­My name is Leila Moore. Thank you for the tissue.¡± Only now I realized we were still holding hands. ¡°Ummm¡­ I better go thanks again¡± and I ran without looking back. Damn, he must think I¡¯m a weirdo. Still today¡¯s getting better and better. After reaching the supermarket I bought all that was needed and was about to leave when I heard a gun-shot. *Bang bang bang¡­ ¡°Everybody put your fucking hands up, if you try anything I¡¯ll kill you¡± said a person who covered his head while looking threateningly. There are 4 people with a gun, everybody¡¯s scared, kids are crying. Why, why, why, why god, why is this happening, I just wanted to buy grocery and go back to the shop. I never did anything wrong, I don¡¯t deserve this. While these thoughts were running in my mind, a child close to me started crying non-stop. One of the thieves stopped and started screaming: ¡°Shut the fuck up brat or I¡¯ll put this bullet hole inside your brain, do you get me, eh?¡± said while pointing the gun to a child who looked no older than five. The kid started crying more loudly, the thief looked like he lost his patience and triggered the gun. That moment unconsciously I jumped in front of the child. *Bang Damn, it feels like something is dripping from my stomach. I looked down and saw my clothes slowly getting covered with my blood. Why did I do that, the place became deathly quiet. Time slowed down and I felt myself falling to the ground in slow motion, I could hear another thief screaming at him: ¡°What the hell were you thinking; we were supposed to just get the money and leave¡± ¡°Shut it, the kid wouldn¡¯t stop crying, come on let¡¯s go before police arrives¡± and just like that my vision started to blur and I felt myself slowly drifting away. Strangely my last thoughts were of that mysterious old men Mr. Oleg and his last words before he left. Chapter 1-Waking up at unknown place I can feel the wind slowly blowing my way. What''s this? I''m lying on something soft. It feels hot and warm in my back. She grabbed what was in her hand and slowly opened her eyes. The smell of earth can be felt in her nose. Her head felt like it can be ripped apart, like she had a worse hangover. Slowly getting up she sat while folding her knees. What greeted her was endless green field. And noticed that she grabbed a fist full of grasses. Everywhere you look there is nothing except green field and the sky looked like it was merging itself with the earth. ''Where am I? This doesn''t look like grocery or anyplace I know.'' While assessing her surroundings she suddenly remembered what happened to her. Unconsciously she touched her stomach, her clothes were clean, no traces of evidence. Almost this whole fiasco never happened. But she remembers everything clearly, how she jumped in front of a child and got shot, how she slowly lost her consciousness. ''Does that mean I''m dead? I wonder if this place is heaven. If it is than I''d say it''s quiet plain.'' Pinching her cheeks. ''Nope, I''m definitely alive'' Standing up she decided to walk straight, hopefully she''ll encounter somebody. *Few hours later... "I''m beat. I''m so tired and hungry. I can''t see the end of this god-forsaken place. There is no water, forget about meeting humans, I haven''t even seen a fly pass by" While these thoughts were running through her head, she decided to take a rest. Lying on the grass she slowly drifted to sleep. In her dreams she was in a hospital room and heard her parents crying and she saw her best friend Nina hugging her mom in comfort. What? Why is John here? Not that I''m unhappy. "Mom, Dad I''m all right." When i tried to touch them i went through them. Shocked I tried to talk again, but there was no sign of them hearing. "Mom I''m here! Hear me! Nina look at me, I¡¯m here...." This was unbearable. Tears started welling in her eyes and she felt so lonely. She started to fear what is gonna happen to her. Submerged in her grief, her parents left one by one. While crying and feeling sad for herself, she heard another footstep. When she looked up there he was Mr. Oleg. He looked tired and worn out. He opened his mouth and : "I know you are here and I also know you can hear me. I wanted to tell you, but fate has it''s own humor. This old man has seen a lot, I''ve seen countless people die. No matter how much I try nothing seemed to work. But today I realized I can be of use. Leila listen well, close your eyes and try to feel. This feeling can be best described as a pull of your soul. It is small, so you have to try hard. When you do find that feeling, follow the pull and you''ll find your way home." While telling me this, he bowed slightly and left the room. Leila stood there again, looking at the door as if it can explain everything to her. This is happening second time. Who is Mr. Oleg? ''I probably wont be able to know.'' Trying to understand everything, she tried to make a plan and follow best course of action. Suddenly she felt cold and her surroundings started to distort. Waking up she looked in a daze. ''What just happened? Was everything a dream?'' Ever since that day her life has become a d¨¦j¨¤ vu. So many questions and not a single answer. Standing up she continued her walk, hoping to find human civilization. She remembered what Mr. Oleg said and closed her eyes. If what he said is true and everything was not a dream I''ll try. Since there is nothing better to do. Closing her eyes, she tried to find that mysterious pull but to no vail. Looking disappointed Leila looked at the sky wanting to scream at whoever did this to her and tell her this whole thing is just a bad joke. But nothing, no answer. *Sigh. ''Better move on.'' Before looking down she noticed that ever since she arrived here, the sun hasn''t moved from its original place. It didn''t even budge. Horrible realization dawned on her. ''What the hell? Calm down, I''m probably just imagining ha-ha'' The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.The cruel reality is this place is not Earth. Running at full speed she tried not to think or else she feared her mind will break down. After few minutes... ''Huff huff I''m so tired'' Leila sat on the grass, trying to catch her breath. Calming down she tried to feel that pull again. ''I hope this works'' Closing her eyelids. She imagined herself in an empty space. And looking around carefully she saw a blue string that went on forever. Curious as to what it is she approached slowly and touched it. The knit in her hands went through her and started to move inside her. The string slowly approached her heart and attached itself. ''What the?'' without giving a moment of notice she woke from her trance. Leila felt that strange pull Mr. Oleg spoke of and followed it excitedly. ''Finally I''ll be able to leave this place.'' Not being able to control herself she ran and ran. After running for awhile in the distance she saw a tall tree , probably the tallest tree she has ever seen. It resembled an oak. Arriving at the spot, what greeted her was a small pond near the tree. Looking around hoping to see another person , but to her disappointment there was nobody. Gloomily she approached the pond to drink from it. Seeing her long black hair and blue eyes staring right back at her. She thought I''m alive, I''m alive. In happy mood she jumped, the pond wasn''t deep so no problem of drowning. She left the pond and returned a minute later. Looking at her reflection a small girl with blond hair approached and looked at it. Shocked I turned around , nobody was there. I was still here, alone. But how can i see her. Another person approached the girl and smiled gently. I presume, he is her father. They talked for abit, I couldn''t hear them. Then the girl pointed at me . I was so happy, maybe she can see me. Her dad approached the pond and looked at the direction her daughter pointed. Looking carefully , he looked back at her again and shook his head. He got his hands inside the pond and rummaged through it. Getting what he wanted he pulled out a pink ball and gave it to her. Realization dawned on me. She wasn''t looking at me, she was asking him to get her lost pink ball for her. Sighing deeply* Leila tiredly approached the tree and stared at it. She couldn''t hold it any longer. She started screaming and hitting the tree out of despair. In this god-forsaken place nobody¡¯s here to help her. She sat there for a long time not moving at all. Her eyes reflected that she has given up. Her long black hair gently swayed in the wind. ''I hope it ends soon.'' *Tud. A sound of something soft dropping. She felt a soft object falling on her head. Taking it she saw that it was a fully bloomed flower and it''s center petals slowly opened itself to reveal a marble. ''Huh? Why is there a marble inside a flower'' Curiously she looked up and saw black cloud covering the area. The sky started to turn dark and holes appeared out of nowhere. Her surrounding slowly started disappearing inside that hole. Feeling terror in her every bone, she slowly got up and retreated. ''Is this the end?'' Retreating hastily she tripped and fell to the pond. She started to sink not understanding how the pond became so deep, she tried to swim upwards.But something was pulling her down and she was out breath. That moment the small marble in her hand started to glow and shattered. "Ahhhh. Dad a person is floating in the water." *Splash splash* The tall man swam and dragged both himself and the stranger out of the pond. ''She''s not breathing.'' "Sasha quickly call the doctor" Finally Leila felt she can breath and greedily breathed in and out. *Cough. Opening her eyes she saw a strange man looking at her with worried look. Not having any strength left, she slowly closed her eyes and went to sleep. Chapter 2 Magic exists? Chapter 2 ¡®This soft and warm feeling feels all too familiar to me. I remember I slipped into a pond and ¡­¡¯ Waking up abruptly Leila remembered the past events. How long has it been since she saw a living, breathing person. Even though her stay didn¡¯t last a day . It made her relieved that she finally escaped. Escaped that place where you can only hear your heartbeat, where you feel hopelessness. Everywhere you go there was only silence as if god cursed you to spend rest of your life with only your thoughts to keep you company. That place reminded her of an endless abyss , not that she was there. ¡®Aeternus abyss¡­ What a fitting name. The word Aeternus means endless, a beginning without an end.¡¯ Ending her thoughts she looked around and noticed she was in a simple decorated room. There was a chair and small table beside the window. While touching the bed sheet Leila thought that she unknowingly took advantage of her daily life . Finally understanding she was in a foreign place Leila took a deep breath and slowly approached the door. Holding the door knob she gently turned it. The door made soft *creak sound and opened. Seeing a long corridor she quickened her pace to go outside. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ Eventually she reached her destination and what greeted made her jaw drop, if possible literally. She was in a small town. And this town didn¡¯t have electricity, phone, car, tall buildings¡­Nothing¡­People are wearing medieval clothes. Have I finally gone insane??? Pinching herself she resentfully admitted the reality. She was no longer home, but someplace else. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally awake Miss. Are you feeling fine?¡± Turning around she found herself face-to-face with that stranger who saved her. ¡°Yes, thank you. Who are you? And can you tell me where I am? It seems I got a bit lost.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ That explains a lot. We found you in a pond near to our house. Luckily we decided to go there today and found you. It was all thanks to my daughter Sasha, she¡¯s the one who found you first.¡± ¡°Ummm¡­ You should really learn h-how t-to swim.¡± Said cute girl with curly blond hair . Hiding quickly behind his father back she glanced and smiled shyly. Giving sheepish smile, ¡°Thank you for saving my life, call me Leila Moore, short Leila¡±, gently giving a bow Sasha smiled happily and clapped her hands. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Call me Aland Caldwell, here my daughter Sasha. You must be hungry , come sit with us and have dinner.¡± Thanking them she followed them to dining room. Their house consisted of 5 maids and 1 butler. It seems they are quite rich. Seeing them having maid and butlers. Also their house is simple and elegantly decorated. Not too much and not less as well. Her first meal was really delicious. Not to embarrass herself further she tried to control her appetite. But it seemed to have failed miserable seeing how much they stared at her. *Sigh¡­ Not a good first impression. ¡°It is my first time seeing a person with appetite such as yours. And feel that women should eat more to stay healthy.¡± ¡®She is quite peculiar person. Where did she come from?¡¯ I laughed embarrassingly. After the delicious meal and desserts , they chatted for awhile. ¡°I know I might be asking too much but can you allow me to stay? I won¡¯t stay for free, I¡¯ll earn my keep¡± Leila looked at him with hope and purpose. *Tug, tug¡­ Sasha looked at her dad pleadingly ¡°Can¡¯t you allow her to stay? I like her¡± Seeing her daughters¡¯ face Aland sighed gently and ¡°Ok, now go to your room.¡± Hearing her fathers¡¯ reply Sasha happily got up and left the dining room. ¡°Now Leila Moore I will allow you to stay if you follow certain conditions. They are not cruel of any sort, but for safety measures. You should understand that allowing total strangers to stay is not easy for any person. First I would like to hear your story than sign this paperwork.¡± Looking a bit lost Leila tried to think of a best way to explain herself without making herself look crazy. Maybe she should just lie. Shaking her head Leila decided to tell him. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.¡°Before arriving here I got injured when a group thugs tried to rob a store and lost my consciousness due to my injury, when I woke up I was here¡± Well it is the truth, but he didn¡¯t ask me to say every single detail. While hearing my story Aland looked at me carefully and seemed satisfied with my answer handed me a document . Looking at it I realized I can¡¯t understand the language. Scratch that I¡¯ve never seen this sort of a writing. For a moment I really wanted to ask but decided against it. Pretending to read the whole document while nodding my head I signed my signature at the end of the page and handed it over to the butler. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you Leila Moore. The butler will lead you back to your room and explain further details of your work .¡± While nodding my head Aland got up and turned to leave, when he stopped and looked back at me. Threateningly ¡°If you hurt my daughter it won¡¯t be nice¡± Chill run through my back, dejectedly I followed the butler who led me to the same room I woke up today. *Knock, knock¡­ A male voice could be heard. Who is this so early in the morning? Finally getting up she opened her door gently. ¡°Good morning Miss , today I will further explain your duties and daily tasks. Change your clothes and be ready in ten minutes.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Looking around Leila saw a wardrobe and opened it. There were two pair of clothes and she didn¡¯t like either of them. ¡®No effin way, I¡¯m not gonna wear that.¡± Holding the maid clothes in her hands Leila pondered her way out but found none. Giving up she changed her clothes and left the room in a hurry. Running in a long corridor Leila saw the butler giving instructions to the maids. Looking at his wrist-watch . ¡°11 minutes and 30 seconds. If I remember correctly I asked you to be ready in ten minutes.¡± Dropping her head ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re a newbie, let me assess your skills.¡± Brightening up Leila happily looked at the garden and turned to look at the butler. ¡°Previously I used to run a flower shop. So I am quite knowledgeable about plants. If you let me, I will look after the garden¡± said confidently . Raising his eyebrows ¡°Is that so? I will give you 3 days to make this garden more presentable. You will find the tools not too far from here. Well if you don¡¯t make it in time or fail to do so there are certain punishment that I¡¯m quite sure that is not likeable¡± Reaching the garden Leila encountered another problem she forgot to address. The problem is she¡¯s not from this world that means plants are most likely different. Seeing countless unknown species of plants Leila couldn¡¯t help but think ¡®Did I just landed myself a punishment ¡® Not giving up, she asked a paper and ink from another maid and started observing the plants. The next day Leila almost wrote down all functions and characteristic of each plant. She was also able to know which plant grows in what condition. Gaining new knowledge Leila used it to full advantage. During mid-day ¡°Leilaaa play with me¡± ¡°Do you wanna play hide-and-seek?¡± ¡°Yaay, I¡¯ll hide, count to 10, ok?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll turn back. One, two, three, four, five¡­ten and here I come¡± Looking around the garden she saw a tiny feet peeking out of the tree, pretending not to notice she shouted ¡°Sasha, Where are you??? Should I give up¡­¡± Hearing a giggle Leila quickly runs up to a tree only to find nobody standing there. Confused she looked around more¡­ ¡°Boo! Did I scare you?¡± ¡°You brat, you scared me¡± turning around Leila saw her tiny body floating in the air. ¡°How¡­¡­..you¡­¡­¡­..I¡­¡­¡­??¡± Sasha quizzically pointed at herself ¡°Are you asking me how I¡¯m flying? But everyone can¡± Sasha looked curiously at Leila. ¡®How is this possible?¡¯ ¡°Sasha tell me how¡¯re able to fly?¡± ¡°Why are you asking, everybody knows that you need to use magic in order to fly¡± ¡®Huh, my head feels like it lost one of its gears and stopped working altogether¡¯ ¡®Magic¡­.Unbelievable¡¯