I’m not dead.

The blue shimmer walked closer until a beautiful girl stopped before me. She stood shorter than I. Her dark black hair had tight box braids decorated with flowers and gemstones; it kissed the ground as she walked. Her icy blue eyes popped against her dark sapphire blue skin that sparkled with cyan. She smiled.

Here, my voice had no effort, and I had no pain. “Who are you?” It slipped out of my consciousness and echoed around us.

She smiled. With no words spoken, I knew. The Goddess Scott told me about nodded.

“Is this heaven?” I wondered. Again, my words bounced around us even without speaking.

She shook her head.

“Did I pass?”

She opened her mouth; a scream cut through my body. I shut my eyes. In the middle of the shout, I recognized two words scrambled together. I couldn’t translate anything, but this felt important.

When I opened my eyes again, I sank lower in the water. Elated that my arms could move, I started thrashing around, trying to reach the light above me. My lungs burned for air. I fought not to suck in the water. Fingers grabbed my wrist, yanking me towards the sand below. I knew if I didn’t fight, I wouldn’t survive. I caught a small, sickly voice under the thrashing of the water, “Come, child. You’re so tired. Rest now.”

I tried to peel the icy bony fingers from my arm. Another clasped on one of my legs. I screamed bubbles, “No!” I kicked at the grip. I yelled with my last breath leaving tiny white spots in my vision. The apparition released me. My body shot up to the surface like a buoy.

I gulped for air the moment my lips escaped. Scott’s arms wrapped around me as I coughed out sparkling blue liquid. The water became little jewels dripped from my hair and skin. I looked around the lake disappeared, leaving a dusty divot in the cave floor and a single ornate clay jar with a dimming blue light.

I stood on wobbly legs. I couldn’t stop the tears of relief. I am standing on my own two feet! I turned and threw my arms around Scott to give him a tight hug.

“Sunshine. You did great.” Scott whispered in my ear. His voice cracked. We didn’t move for a while; I felt protected in his hug. I wanted to tell him my thanks- to tell him so many things like what occurred just now. But before I could, Dr. Frost interrupted us.

“Thank Goddess, she stands.” Dr. Frost said. She shoved her way past the group of people blocking the doorway. “Come closer, dear. I need to check some vitals.” Scott held my hand; my leaden legs moved. I smiled. She muttered to herself as she checked. “What about your voice? Can you tell us your name?”

I opened my mouth. My pain disappeared, and I didn’t notice until just now. Therefore, I expected my voice to come back, but the words didn’t follow my thoughts. I furrowed my brows and looked at Scott; his face had confusion all over it as well.

“Dang. I suppose we don’t really need to communicate with speech in the grand scheme of things. We can teach you sign language, and you can always write.” Dr. Frost gave me another smile.

She also placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder again, but her smile wavered.

I cocked my head at the gesture.
“Dr. Frost is my aunt on my dad’s side by marriage,” Scott explained.

They sat me down and proceeded to peel the bandages from my legs. I choked on air, seeing silver scars etched into simmering blue skin.

“Maybe the Goddess gave you new skin since your old skin melted off?” Scott surmised.

I pointed to my throat and opened my mouth.

“Woah. Blue as well. Do you think it is possible?” Scott’s eyes went to Dr. Frost.

What’s possible?

Dr. Frost cocked her head from left to right as if saying ‘maybe’ then aloud said, “Let’s just be thankful she made it through the baptism.”

While on the ground, I tried moving the dust around to write my name, but a breeze kept sweeping it before a letter finished.

“Well, I suppose the Goddess doesn’t want you to write. Let’s get going. Nightfall waits for no one, and I need to talk to the other healers, and you need to take her to the Goddess’ Hut to meet with the Alphas.” Dr. Frost turned almost immediately.

Scott nodded. “Want to visit my homevillage now that you can walk?”

I nodded in return. Scott helped me up. Just getting up, I realized how much my body had changed. What was heavy and numb now felt like electricity fueled my veins.


I kept up with Scott’s fast pace with ease. “This is the Aporia Maze. Some say mythical creatures wander it at night protecting Lake Pandora and another very important secret. We are almost there.” He smiled wide. We exited the cavern into the main hall tunnel. The group and Dr. Frost turned left while we went right. I have a decent memory and sense of direction, but the sheer number of twists and turns helped me be out of sorts. I kept looking around, expecting a beast to jump out around a corner. My heart beat wildly as we approached each blind wall. We walked the long, tedious maze before stopping in front of a dead end. “Do you trust me?” Scott asked suddenly.

I nodded. Of course, I did.

“This is the way. It looks like a wall, but a safety protection spell keeps humans from stumbling across our territory. Close your eyes. Hold your breath no matter what until I tell you to open them. Can you do that for me?”

I nodded. Scott’s rough hands tilted my head up and surprised me with two light kisses over my eyelids. My breath hitched. He pulled me towards the wall. I wanted to brace for the impact knowing the solid wall stood guard. Whether it be nerves or resignation, I needed to trust him. He hasn’t let me down yet.

A texture like jello surrounded me; it squeezed my body until I had no breath as if I were dough in a noodle press.

The pressure dissipated. “Open your eyes, Sunshine.”

I opened my eyes to the bright sun. Outside? To the left of us, the mountainside littered with rocks towered over a forest of strange-looking trees of different shades of purple. A trail intersected a forest. I looked around for creatures and other potential dangers, but silence engulfed us. I needed to be ready just in case. I steadied my mind keeping it alert.

Scott watched my face. “We are safe here. The Goddess protects this whole place. Welcome to Pith. Well, soon.” He pointed to huts in the distance. “Just a bit further.”

We walked the small game trail. The towering mountainside mocked me in defiance when I looked back to determine where we came out. No evidence. Not even an indention or symbol etched in the side.

We walked a languid pace down the trail. The cool air caressed my skin, giving me chill bumps. I was even tempted to touch the soft emerald-colored grass but thought better of it when I noticed the sun getting close to the horizon. Both Scott and Dr. Frost spoke about nightfall. My mom used to tell me to be home by dusk when I was out playing to make sure I was home by a decent time. Somehow, I felt that wasn’t the case here. I also noticed the grass changed colors depending on what direction you saw it.  When I was above it, the grass looked dark green, and when looking back, it was a dark purple like an eggplant.

As the first dots of thatched beige huts appeared, Scott broke the silence. “My aunt will follow us. No humans have seen the inside of the Goddess’ hut, and well, you’ll see.” He gave a tilted smirk. We passed the first two huts, squared, efficient buildings made by hand with impressive fine details etched into the doorways. Beautiful clay pots of various sizes, colors, and shapes decorated the edges outside the homes. One had several bunches of lavender-like flowering plants in front of the sides.

Scott continued. “There, you will meet our Alphas who decide everyone’s place in the village. They can be... I’m going to ask you again for a bit of trust. You may hear and see things that you probably never imagined. This place is nothing like the city on the human side. My tribe is unique and traditional in our own culture. However, no guests are permitted to speak in the Goddess’ hut unless a tribe member speaks to you first. This goes for nodding and shaking your head. They will direct their questions to me, especially since you can’t speak right now.”

The trail widened to a small road lined with huts. I would have expected people bustling around, not silence. Occasionally, I thought I saw the residents’ eyes trying to sneak a peek from a window or darken doorway. Still, it was more of a feeling in my gut than actually seeing anyone. The village appeared empty of people. My ears picked up our feet on the dirt road, my breathing, a chirp from birds, bark or growl from a canine may be, and the wind through the trees and plants. I smelt pine and sweet flowers in the wind. My tension unraveled with each breath as we neared the biggest hut standing tall in the center.

“The villagers are very wary of strangers. Humans don’t have the best track record when it comes to outsiders. The Alphas ask the people to stay in their huts until tomorrow for my people’s protection and peace of mind. Not that I think you are a danger, but sometimes caution is the best if nothing else but calm the nerves of others.” He pointed to a circular hut. “That’s the healer’s hut where you will find my aunt, and I guess me since I’m back. I haven’t been here since I was sixteen. It looks and feels the same.” His eyes smiled at a memory.

All worn paths came to the front of the largest hut. At first, I thought two gigantic statues of wolves blocked our way. But as we walked near, I gasped. The air moved the silver and black coats and on the tips of their ears. A deep growl started to rumble. Scott chuckled. “Don’t worry. They only bite if you are a danger to the village.” I grabbed Scott’s arm tighter. The two wolves moved to allow us passage. Their amber eyes trained on me the entire time. I didn’t even want to breathe lest I piss them off.

Scott squeezed my hand. We entered the building where again, I lost my breath.