Chapter 2 - The Walk

Gasping for air, she woke up from her sleep. Her sister, sleeping in the other bed woke up startled by the noise. 

She gazed around, still in the clutches of sleep. 

'Drink some water and sleep Amira... Don't think of anything else' she said. ' You can tell me the details tomorrow morning' 

She was smiling a bit now, probably seeing the panicked expression on her face. 

'I can't sleep Rima... I just can't. What I saw today... I have not ever seen before.' 

'Shh... It's OK. Sleep. Tomorrow morning, let it be a fresh start' 

Saying this, she returned to bed, curling up. Amira didn't switch off the light, not because of fear of dark, but of what the dark might say to her. 

And a broken night's sleep later, she woke up to a beautiful day. Rima had woken up earlier. 

Her bed made up, all neat and tidy. She hated that. 

And she got up out of bed, left it the way it was, brushed her teeth and combed her hair. 

'Mommy rules suck' she said under her breath. 

She wore her most comfortable pair of denim shorts and a white tank top. 

Went down for breakfast and found an egg Sandwich ready on the marble table top. 

Rima was down in the hall, watching some trashy TV, munching on some chips.

Their parents had already left for work. 

And now came the exciting part. Walking around the town. It was always her favorite part of the day. The warm light... The breeze with the smell of flowers. Her parents had asked her not to go out alone for sightseeing and the excitement of breaking a few rules added to the appeal.

Wearing her sneakers, she bid bye to Rima and walked out from home. Rima had waved back at her from the couch, a concerned expression on her face. But before she could ask her anything, she had closed the door behind her.

This town had always seemed welcoming for her. Almost like her home, safe. The people were nice, the kids cute and not snobby and even the dogs were not afraid of her. Most animals, except for cats,shied away from her usually. Big or small, they seemed afraid of her. The cats however wanted to be close to her. Be it small cats or the big ones. And she had no idea why.
Growing up, her parents had been forced to relocate from town to town, mainly due to her. 

They never said a word, even though she knew they worried. Probably scared even.

Even during school, she was the weird kid. The one girl no one ever wanted anything to do with. They shunned her, didn't talk to her, didn't include her in games and was forced to sit alone, in a corner.  Many stories floated around about her and before it could reach momentum she had usually changed schools.

And she had remained alone for a large portion of her childhood, until she had reached this school, at the threshold of adulthood and a plethora of experiences. 

Still, she maintained her distance, falling back into what was comfortable for her. 

And as it must happen, one guy tried to get smart with her. And that was the day that he saw her red eyes. That incident had shocked her as well, even though she didn't show it at that time. His expression was priceless though. But something had seemed off about..

Suddenly she tripped on a brick, breaking her thoughts. She used her hands to steady herself, almost falling on her face.
'Gotta watch where I'm going' she muttered, bending down to check her shoes.  

She looked around, clearly not recognizing the neighborhood. In the distance, she saw a glittering building. It seemed the odd one out, not at all similar to buildings around it.

Waking towards it, almost as if in a trance, she could feel waves of energy floating off its walls. 

It acted as an amplifier for a power it seemed... The eerie silence was creeping her out. She was about to turn and leave, when she heard chants coming from inside the building. 

It seemed to ebb with a strange power, something that awoke a powerful part in her. 

Walking into the beautiful building past the ornately carved statues and arches, she found herself in a circular lobby of sorts. 

The doors around her were closed. Into them were carved many shapes and figures. It all seemed to be of a person, telling a story. She could see a black door in front of her, plain, open. Something beckoned her, asking her to enter, as if it was waiting for her to arrive.