Sun Stealer. Hidden Anomaly. (4 page)

             
“No! No!” I cried “This is a lie!”

             
“Is it?” she asked me.

             
“Why would any of my people, my family, whom I adore and love would do that to me?”

             
“Simple, my child” Sia answered “Greediness. That is the answer you were looking for. One simple word. So many complicated consequence.”

             
“Greediness?” I asked.

             
“Your father decided to pass Ko-Ey-Nor’s kingdom to you. Your sister, Emerdi, learned about it and together with Sag, they decided to get rid of you and get a hold of the crown.”

             
“My sister? My own blood?” I cried.

             
“I know you do not wish to believe it, but that was your sister shouting on kingdom square, that was her voice”. she said.

             
I fell on the cold ground, drowning my self in my own tears. The truth was too painful for me to handle. I just cried and cried on Didam valley’s ground. In the background, I could hear Sia saying to me:

             
“First comes lose, then comes sorrow. I will let you grieve, my child. Come to me, when you are ready.”             

             
“How can you steal something, that belongs to nobody?” I whispered with my last strength.

             
“You can not.” she said “There is no such option and there is no sense in it. Sometimes all you need is a belief. It was their belief that imprison you in Didam Valley. It would be your belief, that would release you.” Sia continued “believing in their lie would be believing in yourself. You will convert their lie to the truth and that truth would set you free”.

             
“So how did my sister learned about the sun stealer story?” I frightened Sia with a sudden question. Seven days had passed and I was ready. She did not tell me where to find her and for some reason, she did not have to. I found her. I was ready.  I could not say the same about Sia.

             
“Oh, I do not know what they teach you on Eygra- Rama, my child”. she answered and bowed her head to the ground, as she was looking for something.

             
“How did the sky turned dark?” I asked with no expression on face.

             
“Eclipse” she said “when the moon hides the sun from the human eye. It happens every 370 years. I guess your sister is an excellent student. They do teach that in Eygra- Rama”.

             
I stayed still. Nothing could surprise me anymore. I did not know what was true and what was a lie. I did not care. I was a young girl, who everything she knew, was taken away from her. I had hit rock bottom and from that spot, I could only go up.

             
“Show me the way out” I asked Sia.

I
could see she was a little surprised by my approach, as if she was facing a different person.

             
“You are not ready” she said quietly.

             
“Get me out of here!” I yelled at her.

             
“And where would you go? Back to your kingdom? It is not yours anymore. Once someone noticed you, you would be killed. They do not know you have survived Didam valley.” she said loudly “Let me help you!”.

             
“I do not trust you!” I said angrily.

             
“I can not blame you. But right now, you have no choice. I am your only way out.”

Sia
was right, what else could I have done, so I listened to her plan.

             
“You would learn everything I know about the wild zone.”

             
“Really? And why is that?” I asked

             
“So you can become one of them.” she said. “I will teach you everything: from clothing to way of living. From wild dancing to playing the forbidden rhythm. I will teach you how to mark stories over your body like we do and how to prepare potions.”

             
“Why would I want to become one of them?” I asked her with a weak voice.

             
“When your family becomes your enemy, your enemy becomes your family.” she answered. “You have to bring back, what was stolen from you and you will do it with the help of the wild ones.”

             
“How would I bring back my kingdom? I thought you said, it was not mine anymore. What makes you think, I can do it?” I asked with tears in my eyes.

             
“When somebody steals something, that belongs to another, ones will never own it, only keeps it safe, until the original owner is ready to take it back.” Sia answered quietly. “Ko-Ey-Nor’s kingdom is yours. Your father intended to give it to you. Your sister took something that was not hers to begin with. Your sister is a stealer. But no worry, my child. she is just keeping it safe for you to get it back. when it is time.”              

             
From that moment I did not ask any more questions. From that moment I became a student. A soldier. A hunter. A Wild One.

             
Sia started by teaching the meaning of all marks and symbols that existed on Didam valley’s walls. I understood almost every sign. What it meant and what was the story behind it. The symbol, I was most drawn to, was the one with the cat’s pack. Wild cats, especially tigers, did not live in packs. Tigers were lonely animals and on that symbol, they were all together, creating a circle with their faces heading center. In the middle of the circle there was another mark, I could not recognized. I asked Sia what it was, but she refused to tell me.             

             
Sia realized, she did not have to teach me a lot about the wild dance. I had my experience of dancing from my performances with Shadea. She asked me to think about the valley’s snakes, every time I was dancing. To keep my movements smooth just like a snake motion. What she did teach me was the wild call. This was how the wild ones expressed their happiness, excitement or even a near danger. They made it with their tongues, moving up and down and making a funny loud sound. I had to practice a lot before I could make the right sound.

             
As for marked stories over the skin and potions, I was fascinated by Sia’s knowledge and just wanted to learn more and more about it. The wild ones used to mark stories on their bodies with henna. The purpose of these marks was to remind themselves the legacy of their ancestors. It was their way to tell a story. Every full moon, they would mark back the parts that were erased by sweat and rain. The art of telling stories was allowed in the wild zone. Everybody was free to tell his own story, in any way he wished to: body marks, sand marks, dancing, playing…

             
Potions were prepared in the wild zone just like we used to prepare them in the civilized zone. only they had some dangerous ones, I did not know of. We used to make potions for illness and for that purpose only. The wild ones also prepared potions for the purpose of love, lust and even death.

             
“Now, my child. It is time for you to learn how to face your biggest enemy.” Sia said.

             
“My biggest enemy?”

             
“Your fears” she said and put her hand on her heart.

             
“If you wish to enjoy the good, you’ll have to take the bad with it. I can not keep on teaching you if you have fear in your heart. You will have to release it. Make room for some courage. Are you willing to do so?‘

             
“What do I have to do?” I asked.

             
“Face the dark demons.” she answered. and by demons, she meant the dark cats. Cats from the wild zone were named demons because of their dark color, yellow eyes and brutal nature. Sia knew about my acquaintance with two of the demons. She also knew, I was avoiding them.

              Before I faced my fears, Sia and I discussed the blind mice, that lived in Didam valley- The bats.

             
“bats are blind mammals, they find their ways and avoid obstacles through the sense of hearing. Humans can learn a lot from bats”. she said ’just by observing them”.

             
The following days I stopped hiding every time, the ray of light was gone, and started exploring my pit. Yes, it was my pit now, my tunnel, my Didam valley. I watched bats behavior and tried to imitate them. From their reverse position to their orientation.

             
Every night, while I was studying the valley, I used to take a break and lie down on the ground, just to stare at the top of the valley. Sometimes I thought I saw the moon. There was this small round of light coming out of the valley’s wall. Until one night, I discovered the small, yellow round, I had thought was the moon, turned into two rounds of light. That could not be the moon, I thought to myself. From that night, I used to look up every night, Searching for my rounds of light. It was as if someone was looking at me, taking care of me, following my progress. Proud of me. I amused myself. I was enjoying that feeling.

             
My training period with Sia was coming to it’s end. I had to face Sapron and Narnegi at the last battle before I go handle the biggest battle of my life.

             
Sia took care of my wild outfit. It was a tribal bottom and a tight top, which covered only my breast. A very revealing outfit as opposed to the cloths I was wearing in the civilized zone. I was celebrating eighteen springs and could see my curves very clearly. I was a woman with a mind of a child. Sia marked my body with traditional symbols. She also wore dark stripes to both of my arms, the major sign of a wild one. I was ordered to cover any exposed part of my body with dark mud, so that the wild ones would not recognize my white skin and acknowledged, I was not one of them. She ordered me to loose my long hair down. This was how the wild women acted. Wild and free.

              Sapron and Narnegi came into the valley, looking for me.

             
“I am ready” I said to Sia and showed her my hand.

             
“What are those?” she asked, referring to the sharp stones I had in my hand.

             
“I made those” I told her with pride “These are sharp enough to harm a big cat”.

             
“Put them away” Sia ordered me “You will not need them. Not today. Save those for the right time.”

             
I looked at the big cats. They were looking straight at me. Eager to jump, as if they had so much to tell me. I knew, I was about to receive, everything I was avoiding for so long.

             
“Fight the dark demons!” Sia shouted “fight them!”

             
I did not know how to begin the battle, so I started with what I knew. With what was familiar to me. I started taking big steps of a cat, like I used to do with Shadea. Sapron and Narnegi started to imitate me at first, or maybe it was me imitating them. And then, a roar was made.

             
I noticed the first roar was made by Sapron and he jumped at me. I got my first cut on my right arm. It was painful but it did not stop me. I remembered the bleeding boy, I met on top of that valley, and I knew this was a way for them to express themselves. This was the only way, they knew and they walked that way with no limits.

             
I also remembered, I was the Sun Stealer. I believed it and on that moment, that was my truth.

             
Sapron and Narnegi took turns and jumped at me one after the other. Every jump accompanied with a big roar. Every loud roar lead to another cut on the skin, another bruise on the body. More of the same bleeding. More of the same pain.

             
Suddenly it all stopped. The cats were exhausted and slowed down. I did not mind the cuts anymore and got used to the pain. Sapron and Narnegi were making quiet moans as they were walking towards me with their forehead facing down. This was an act of surrender along with respect.

             
“Now what?” I asked Sia, trying to catch my breath.

             
“Sometimes you need to fight the dark demons. And sometimes… You just need to embrace them”. she said with a quiet voice.               “Use them, my child.”

             
“Help me.” I whispered a cry.

             
“With pleasure, my child. Only, you do not need my help anymore”

             
She was right.

             
My eyes were closed. I was breathing freedom into my lungs, right through my veins. I felt it in every bit of my body and every piece of my soul. I made my first pace out side of Didam valley. Like an infant, taking it’s first step in life. Suddenly, every breath mattered and Every sight moved. The sunbeam on my face felt like a sweet, old memory. That familiar warmth made me drown in the sea of pleasure and guilt. I had found my way, now it was time for me to walk that way fearless, targeted and unrestrained. I would never look back.