Ayra was little taken back by their suspicious gazes. She didn’t even know was it okay to tell them that she wasn’t dead yet. Her soul had just left the body to converse with Enchantress in this world. She mentally struggled to find a suitable answer, lowering her eyes down on earth. The other woman assumed that she was sad or was killed in a horrible incident. Hence, she offered her a sweet smile, stopping the guy who was going to question him more,

” Leave it. She must be very new here. We were talking about the infamous witch, Enchantress. She has been put in new prison to repay her sins.”

Ayra snapped her head up hopefully. That was the answer that she needed from them. She appeared a little surprised in front of them as if it was her first time knowing Enchantress. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity as she asked them slowly,

” Enchantress? I heard about that witch a lot. Which prison she is staying now? I had a wishful desire to see her once.”

She spoke and bit her lips together tightly. The woman and guy looked down at her in dismay. 

Who on earth would like to meet a sinful soul like Enchantress?

Ayra noticed the way the two turned silent with awful glare sending at her. She battled to appear casual and after a long pause, the woman muttered looking around to look for someone,

” What a weird soul are you! Hold on a second! There should be someone to take you to her.”

The other guy protested giving her a knowing look,

” But she is in dark prison. What..if..”

The woman shrugged, still looking around to find someone else to send her off to Enchantress’s prison,

” She isn’t that fierce anymore. This woman has a wishful desire in soul land. We must help her in fulfilling them. Who knows what she had to injure in living world?”

Ayra was grateful to the woman eternally. She appreciated her kind gesture but unfortunately, it was her who needed to fake everything in order to reach Enchantress. The woman suddenly called by a name in distance,

” Nora, come over here!”

Ayra followed her eyes, spotting a teen in distance. The woman at younger age came over to them elegantly. Upon coming closer, Ayra noticed that she was around seventeen years old. Because of her veil around her face, half of her face couldn’t be seen clearly and she had her one eyes glowing outside. The girl named Nora seemed to hide something from everyone.

The woman who called Nora spoke to her, pointing at Ayra who couldn’t stop staring at Nora curiously,

” This girl wants to see that witch. Guide her to the dark prison and let her see Enchantress once. You know, it is a great blessing for us if we help any soul to accomplish her desire.”

Nora didn’t reply anything, only bowed at response and began to walk on the road which could lead Enchantress’s prison. After thanking the two politely, Ayra began to trail Nora closely. After few minutes walk from their original place, Ayra noticed that Nora didn’t like talking. During their entire time of walking, she didn’t even spare her any glance and only continued walking into the deeper part of this land.

Out of her curiosity, Ayra questioned walking behind her closely,

” How old are you, Nora?”

The walking soul didn’t answer instantly. After a brief silence, she replied to her shortly,

” Seventeen!”

Ayra nodded with understanding and wondered what could have possibly gone wrong in this young girl’s life. Most of the souls here seemed old in her eyes except Nora who looked like a blooming flower who didn’t even enter in her youth yet. After a moment of hesitation, Ayra finally found the courage to question further,

” How…how did you die, Nora? You look too young.”

Her question stopped Nora in her track. Ayra also paused behind her back immediately and looked a little nervous, wondering if she had asked too much. After all, they just met and she had no right to ask her anything personal.

Finally, Nora turned around to face her, her eyes crawling down to her wrist slowly. Without answering to her question, she asked back, looking dull in her eyes,

” You were sent by Master Ambert, isn’t it? You aren’t dead yet.”

Her response shocked Ayra who couldn’t understand how did she find about her. Wondering about own response, she began to suture nervously,

” I mean..No..I was.. just..”

“Everyone gets that red badge when they are sent by Master Ambert.”, came the straight response from Nora who pointed at Ayra’s wrist with a weak smile. Ayra was stunned before looking down at her own wrist to find a red badge around it. She didn’t know how she got this one but Nora seemed to know a lot about Master Ambert.

Ayra was embarrassed a little as she was caught red handed in lying to a 17 years old girl. She cleared her throat awkwardly to question her back,

” How..how do you know so much?”

Nora smiled sadly and Ayra’s eyes subconsciously crawled down to fell on Nora’s wrist. She gasped in shock and surprise that Nora had also the same red batch like her. Then, what was she doing here still? Why didn’t she return to the mortal world if she didn’t die like her and only came to travel in this world?

Ayra stepped forward, closing the gap between them and spoke looking into her covered eyes deeply,

” Nora, why didn’t you return then? I am sorry if I am asking too much. But I am really worried about you. You still have a blissful life ahead.”

Nora smiled back at Ayra elegantly. Though she was covering half of her face, Ayra could tell that she was smiling without any remorse or fear in her expression. Nora replied sighing and turning around numbly,

” Because I chose to stay on my own.”

” Why?”, Ayra blurted, stepping closer to know her thoughts. She never heard such wierd wishes before. A living woman wanted to live in soul land without spending her life in mortal world didn’t seem normal. Anybody would have chosen mortal life over death.

Nora turned around to reply to her,

” You don’t have to feel sorry for me. I am here because I want this. I am here for love.”

Ayra stared into her eyes blankly. Having her eyes on her, Nora began to uncover her face slowly. After a slight effort, her veil was pushed onto other side and Ayra gasped staggering backward. Half of Nora’s face was burnt from the other side and it still looked so fresh and frightening that Ayra couldn’t stop her tears. She couldn’t assume that how much painful it could feel to someone’s skin.

Nora began to speak again with a smile,

” I am Master Ambert’s banished daughter. That’s why, I was able to recognize you easily. Since you are already here, I wanted to reveal my identity to you because I want you to do something for me.”

Ayra murmured sucking a raw breath painfully,

” What happened to you? Are you trapped here? I can help you.”

Nora shook her head smiling and began to narrate her own story shortly,

” I fell in love with an elder man. My father found about us and called in adultery. I asked him to breakup with me as I knew what was my father capable of. But I never knew that he was so deep in love with me. He commission suicide the other day and gave me a permanent pain in my life. I begged my father to let me meeting his soul and that’s how I ended up here.”

Ayra muttered tearing up again,

” And then…You never returned to your body? For him?”

Nora looked down in guilt. She knew that her father might be waiting for her but if she left this world for second, he wouldn’t let her return again.

After all, who want to loose his own child?

Nora replied keeping her eyes on her feet,

” Yes, I want you to take my red badge back with you so that my father won’t wait for me anymore. Can you do this for me?”

Ayra nodded with understanding. The perception of love had once again changed in her life. Some people still capable of finding love through this painful life just like Nora who left the chance of living in a beautiful world just because of her guilt and love. Ayra promised her with a smile and spoke looking around,

“Can I ask you something more? Have you talked with Enchantress before? How is she doing now? Can she remember anything from her past life?”

Nora’s face changed color after she reffered about Enchantress. She pointed at an iron door in distance and replied unsurely,

” Maybe you should look into yourselves.”

***************

Hello everyone~ Fighting with COVID symptoms were pretty hard for me for the past 15 days. Finally, I am feeling okay from today and decided to dedicate my time into this book now. I am working hard to stay on track from this month.. Hope, I won’t disappoint you guys anymore.