Eva’s Journey

Part 1

Eva stirred as a foreign light suddenly poured into her room through the window. The rays pierced through the darkness of her slumber. Quickly she rose, terrified of what was happening, and ran to close the blinds, lurching through the objects in the way. As she reached for the pull cord, she tripped over an object, slamming her head into the window sill. She saw blood stream onto the floor under her, as everything slowly faded to black.

Eva slowly began to regain consciousness, opening her right eye as the left remained closed, being covered with blood. She pulled herself up and looked around the now-dark room through bleary eyes. Noting the usual dark, musky room which contrasted enormously with the sight she had just been awakened to, her eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out. Not able to clearly perceive the details of the room through the shadowy ambience, Eva stumbled through the perimeter of the room, groping the wall in her search for a door. Unsuccessful, she turned and gazed at the window that was back to being obscured and dark. Her eyes darted to the bed. Frozen in place, Eva closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and drifted toward the decrepit window.

The window was stuck; dust rained into Eva’s right eye as she attempted to shove it open. Her right hand slipped and scrapped across some of the disfigured metal lining the window, causing a small amount of blood to splatter onto it. She grimaced and hunched down, holding the new wound with her left hand which already contained blood from the earlier blow to her head. Bent over, she spotted a long, solid object on the floor. Desperately, she picked it up and repeatedly smashed the window, ramming at the remaining jagged fragments until the entire bottom pane was sufficiently breached. Eva clumsily pulled herself through the broken window, awkwardly landing on the ground just outside it, which was enveloped by a cold, dusky air.

Looking up, Eva saw a distant glimmer of light, slowly being engulfed by the dark that now surrounded her. She began stumbling toward the faint light, a stumble that quickly turned into a dash. Remarkably, the light began to grow less faint, seeming to hold the darkness at bay. Suddenly, Eva’s foot struck an object on the ground, and she plummeted down a ravine, landing on her back in a shallow stream of cold water.

Dazed and lying on her back, Eva scanned the sky. This was the first time she had left the house since she was a child. She tried to remember those early days of her life, but they seemed too obscure and unfamiliar. She recalled the ease in venturing around the world, needing no house or store of food, trusting all would be taken care of. And others…there had been others. Other children who played with her, who danced with her, who hid when the storms began. Eva sat up slowly, pulling herself out of the shallow stream of water. Grunting from the various injuries she had sustained, she searched the horizon for that distant light. Was that the same light that had faded when the storms had come, when the other children began to scatter, never to be seen again?

A few of the remaining beams of light reflected off the stream of water Eva had landed in. Creeping forward, she peered into the stream and saw her reflection. She had never seen her own face before. It was badly bruised and bloodied from her many falls. Her face was sallow and pitted, wrinkles that seemed to weigh upon those features. And then there was her eye. The mangled, scarred remnants of her left eye. This reflection differed vastly from the bright, carefree faces she recalled from her childhood. She spent some time examining her reflection, touching her maimed eye, slowly remembering what had happened when the storms had come.

That day, which felt like an eternity ago, shaped up into her memory, and she was returned to her childhood. The children had gone out in search for the boy who had gone missing. They wandered into an area they had never been before. It was a dense forest, almost impossible to traverse. The light was blocked by the trees that were tightly packed together, making it darker and darker as they wandered in the forest in search of the lost boy. “Here he is!” yelled another boy. The others came running and abruptly stopped as they came upon a large object made of wood and rock. The object was foreign to them, and they hesitantly investigated it, circling what seemed like four walls. “Leave!” shouted an older boy inside the object.

“What’s that?” yelled a girl who had found a hole to peer through. “What are you holding?”

“I told you to leave!” replied the boy.

“Why did you hide here? Come back with us and play!” said another girl.

“Play is for children. I don’t want to play in your silly world. I want to build my own, and I can do it without you!”

Eva remembered at that moment peeking through a small hole in the walled object and seeing a figure larger than the boy she had formerly known. His voice had also changed. Suddenly a stick was thrusted through the small hole, spearing her eye. She screamed in pain, collapsing backwards. The other children came over to help her.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard in the sky. The wind began blowing through the leaves, whipping up dirt from the ground. The children looked around nervously, covering their eyes from the debris. More of the loud cracks pierced the sky and rain started pouring down. As this happened, the children saw the older boy inside the object lifting up a roof and placing it over himself, which combined with the walls to shield himself from the elements. The other children scattered frantically in different directions, ignoring Eva who laid writhing on the ground.

That was the last time Eva had seen the other children. She had staggered away alone, and found a small patch of trees similar to the one where they found the older boy. She quickly found some larger branches and propped them up against a tree to make a refuge against the worsening storms. She trembled within, cold, hurt; her unscathed eye flooding with tears. Everything after that was a blur. She remembered feeling something she never felt before: anger and loneliness. She felt something had broken within her.

Part 2

Regaining her composure, Eva stood up and leapt across the shallow stream to the other side of the ravine and climbed up the short cliff. She could hardly discern the light that had brought her here. Fearful, she yearned to return to the familiar and turned back around to the house. But where she had come from, there was now nothing. Where had her house gone? She knew now that her life was inexplicably linked to this fading source of light. She turned back to the dying light and began walking steadily towards it.

Where had the others gone? wondered Eva. What really happened that day in the forest? In the fog of time since that day, she had never truly ruminated on that which had radically changed her life.

After some time of journeying, Eva happened upon another thicket, similar to her own. Around it ran a solid rock wall adorned with sharp sticks, preventing anything from coming inside. She took note of a sign pinned to the top of a door that read Trespassers will die.

Suddenly a man peaked up over the top of the wall and yelled “Stay back!”. Eva recoiled, looking up at the top half of a man holding a large object, similar to that which had mutilated Eva’s left eye. “What do you want?” said the older man. Nervously, Eva replied “My house is gone, and my only way is to follow that fading light in the horizon.”

Turning to his left, the man glared into the horizon at the fading light. “What, that? I know not what that is, but I dare not leave my kingdom to pursue it. I may be waylaid by one of the Others.”

“Who are the Others?” asked Eva.

“Do you not know? The Others live around here in their own kingdoms. They have always threatened me and would kill me if they could.”

“Are they the children with which we use to play?” asked Eva. Through careful study of this man’s face, she came to recognize him as one of the other children from before that day. But his face was quite hardened, jaunted, and menacing. “I have not seen them since that day.”

“What are you speaking of? What are children? These are others that look like me, who pursue me relentlessly” responded the man. He looked back at the fading light quizzically. “Yet that light I do not think I know.”

Mournfully, Eva cried “Don’t you remember me? And what happened to my left eye on the day the light disappeared and the storms came?” She felt her left eye throb at the memory.

The man stared thoughtfully at Eva, a stare that slowly increased in intensity. A few moments later, his gaze softened, and he began to lower his weapon. His complexion turned gloomy.

“My name is Eva, what is yours?”

“Rudolf. My name is Rudolf.

Eva tilter her head slightly to the side and replied “Don’t you remember before the storms, when there was only light? And all of us children played and never worried about food?”

Peering again at the waning light, Rudolf turned his head back down and began to move out of sight from Eva. She heard him walking down what sounded like stairs to the front door. She heard a mixture of harsh noises, which sounded like attempts to open the door. Finally, the door came crashing down.

There stood a desperate-looking Rudolf, panting from his efforts. “I cannot say I remember that day you mentioned, but when you spoke of it, my heart cried out like I’ve never felt before. So now my fate is bound up with yours”. He slowly walked up to Eva, looking into her eyes. “I am sorry for what happened to your eye” he said sorrowfully.

Together, they turned toward the light. Eva took the first step, and they began walking on the same path, a path which did not look as unforgiving as before. And that faraway light did not seem so far now.

Part 3

Having walked together for a while, they came upon a large hill that was surrounded by a tall, solid wall of stone, much larger than the one Rudolph had lived behind. Scattered across the slopes of the hill were small, dilapidated houses. At the top stood an imposing fortress, dominating everything below it. Oddly, no sound emanated from this hill which was obviously packed with people and dwellings. No movement could be spotted, either. Eva and Rudolf slowly moved toward a section of the wall with an imposing gate.

When they were several hundred feet away, they heard a harsh yell inside the wall. Suddenly, the gate opened, revealing around ten soldiers on horseback galloping towards them, spears extended. Eva and Rudolf cowered backwards with a look of horror on their faces. Eva closed her eye, certain she would not open it again. “Halt!” yelled the lead rider, only twenty feet away. The soldiers surrounded them with spears pointed. “Declare your allegiance immediately!”

“We have no enemies, please don’t hurt us!” whimpered Eva.

“I said declare your allegiance! Are you a servant of the king?”

“I don’t know who the king is, but we do not mean any harm” yelped Rudolf.

“An unlikely story. You are certainly spies of the enemy. Take them away!” Two of the soldiers jumped off their horse and bashed Eva and Rudolf over their heads with the butt of the spears, knocking them out. They were bound and draped over two horses, and led back to the fortress. Stunned, but still barely conscious, Eva gazed at the ground as the horse trotted back to the fortress. Tilting her head slightly up, she saw a sign over the gate that read Enemies will die. At this moment, again, all faded to black.

“Wake up!” Eva and Rudolf both felt powerful blows across their faces, a horribly abrupt awakening from their previous state of unconsciousness. As she regained awareness, Eva realized she was in a large hall illuminated by artificial lights, producing that discordant humming she just heard outside. She was strapped to a standing table, all her limbs tied and stretched in different directions. There was a terrible pain in her head, compounded by the earlier injury from the window. She looked to her right and saw Rudolf still limped over in his constraints, not yet conscious. In front of them, up a short flight of wide steps sat a bloated, ugly man on a great throne, adorned with shining jewels set upon a glittering gold crown; his eyes bulged from their sockets, desperate yet threatening. He breathed heavily and his enlarged, ugly left hand kept twitching.

“What was your plan of attack?” bellowed the man on the throne, evidently the king, in a deep, hoarse voice. “Answer me!”

“We simply seek the light in the horizon. We are poor, simple travelers who no longer seek anything from here” replied Eva. “And we have left everything for this final journey”.

A frightening tremor tore across the king’s face. Eva noticed his left hand briefly relaxed, although it twitched along with his face. Suddenly the king started hacking violently; out poured a dust-looking substance that stained the floor in front of him. The king looked at the floor ruefully, his forehead deeply wrinkled from what looked to be a battle raging interiorly. He looked up again at Eva, a look that revealed a fatigue long accumulated.

After a long pause, the king murmured “So, you have finally come. After all this time, I thought I was doomed to wander this world eternally.” He again looked down at his left hand, studying the features for some time. “But a price will need to be paid.”

“You are one of the boys that we use to play with, aren’t you? Julius, that was your name once” remarked Eva. “I remember on the day the storm came, when the lost boy pierced my eye with his spear; you were the first one that ran to protect me from further harm.” Tears began to emerge from Eva’s right eye, and through a broken voice she said “Through all the pain and suffering that have crushed me since that day, that small act of love, the existence of that briefest of instinct, has been what kept me from collapsing into the abyss.”

A dramatic change came over the king. Weeping, Julius leapt toward Eva and Rudolf, quickly unbinding them and falling at their knees. He let out a long and deep groan; the soldiers in the hall turned to him with apprehension. Slowly rising, Julius again looked at his hand for a long time. His face shifted in mood, becoming humble but resolute. Determinedly, he walked towards the door to the great hall, opened it and stepped outside. Eva and Rudolf slowly followed, limping as they went along.

The king gave a great shout to his kingdom below “Come! Today is the day this account must be settled.” Looking around, Eva saw a crowd of twenty dismal, tired people walk up the hill towards the king. Suddenly, Eva saw a quick movement in the corner of her eye, and the king let out a blood-curling scream; looking over she saw his severed hand fall to the ground. The king writhed in pain; his crown had fallen from his head and tumbled down to the bottom of the hill, shattering into pieces along the way. Going into shock, he fell onto his side, whimpering, much like a little boy.

Eva looked back at the crowd of people, which was joined by the soldiers that had been inside the hall. They were grimacing in pain along with the king; some cried quietly. Seeing a change come over their faces, Eva became aware that these people were the boys and girls she had played with in the beginning. Rachel, one of the girls Eva recognized, walked up to the former king. “We must find the older boy who did this to you. And then we must leave this world.” Looking over to Eva, she whispered “I remember you.” Gazing at her disfigured eye, Rachel fell silent for some time. “After Julius ran to protect you, he tried smashing a wall of the older boy’s house to stop him. The older boy viciously speared his left hand. It is a wound that he has carried with him since, a wound that drove him to this state. We had forgotten his name until you came; thank you for bringing him, and all of us, back.”

Eva nodded gently, feeling a great burning within her heart. At that moment, she noticed her right eye was squinting, and looking up she saw that great light, almost as splendid as when it first awoke her. Even though her body was broken and diminishing, her spirit felt like it grew wings. A sense of nostalgia and longing flashed deep within her.

“Come friends, we now know this world is not the one we were made for. The time has come to return. But there is one thing we must do.” The others slowly walked up to Julius, and carrying him gently, laid him in a cart pulled by two horses. After bandaging his arm, they all marched solemnly down the hill to the gate, softly guiding the cart along with them.

Rachel, walking next to Eva and Rudolf, took a deep breath, and exhaling, said “Do you think this time will be different?” Without looking, Eva replied “I don’t know. But I do know we cannot return until all is set right."

Part 4

After three days of slow travel, the ragtag group came to a stop at a dark, tangled forest. The light had steady strengthened during their journey, but after coming upon the forest, the group felt crushed by a sudden thrust of impending doom. All that could be seen was dimly illuminated by what seemed to be a dying sun. Black birds encircled this failing source of light; darkness overwhelmed it. Some members of the group collapsed on the ground in despair; others wailed in dread.

Eva’s left eye throbbed horribly, sending her to one knee in great pain. She pulled herself up and hobbled to the forest. Navigating the dense undergrowth, it felt like ages before she finally came to an opening. She stood silently, gazing at what was before her. This was the place where it all began. And she knew there was no going back this time.

“Hello Eva” sounded a strange voice. Looking around, she saw a strange, foreign structure. A door opened, but she saw no one. “Come inside, away from that world you know to be forsaken”. Eva knew she had no other option; she walked up to the opening and inside, noting the sign above the door that read Oppressors will die.

She was met by something utterly strange; sounds, sights, smells she had never known. The place seemed enormous, significantly larger than the structure she had observed from the outside. Sitting in front of her was something alien; a figure she could not understand. It seemed to be a large person with a bizarre outfit, donned with a grotesque mask. But she couldn’t tell if it was a human or not.

“What you see sitting in front of you must shock you. I am far past the childish play that use to occupy our days. I have become that which frees us from such nonsense. I have become a world unto myself. You walk now in a new creation, different from the pain out there.”

Eva took a step forward. “Addis. What happened that day, long ago?”

“That is not my name. That name was given me, but I do not accept it. You may call me Hara.” Studying Eva, a wide smile came across his face “How is your eye, my love?” Eva noticed the creature holding something sharp in his left hand. She remained silent.

“Why have you bothered coming here with the Others? Did you not learn from last time? You choose to wallow in the ruins of a dead kingdom. I have chosen to live in a new one, eternally free.” His hand griped the object even tighter.

Eva touched her eye again, feeling a strange sensation. Suddenly, she felt it opening up; the pain ceased, and she could see from it. In one moment, everything changed, everything transfigured. With a look of shock on the face of Addis, she walked purposefully towards him.

“Stand back! Leave or I will kill you!” yelled Addis. But Eva kept moving towards him. Addis let out a desperate cry and thrust the spear through Eva’s chest, falling away terrified.

Eva stood there stunned; she glanced down at the spear that pierced her. She felt a rush of pain, but this was overshadowed by a strange peace. As she sank down, she reached for Addis’ mask, pulling it gently off, revealing a scared, trembling face. Falling to her side, still darkness enveloped her. Hearing a quiet sobbing from next to her, she looked up at what use to be the ceiling and smiled.

Part 5

“Eva, come play!” Eva opened her eyes to a young Rudolf and Rachel running over to her with beaming smiles. They took her hands and skipped back to the others with her. Awaiting her was a cheerful-looking Julius who ran up to Eva and gave her a big hug. All around her beautiful and serene.

Watching them play was another child who sat to the side. His eyes were red from crying, but a smile still illuminated his face. He was using some object to make toys the kids could play with. He glanced up at Eva; standing up, he walked slowly over to Eva. Stopping close to Eva, he handed her one of the toys he had made her. As he shyly turned back around, he suddenly stopped; turning back towards Eva, he embraced her, picked her up and spun her around, laughing and signing.

Finally putting her down, Addis looked into Eva’s eyes. “You’ve changed everything, Eva. What you did has transformed everything. Not only did you rescue this fantastic world, you’ve ushered in a new one.” Kissing her left eye, Addis finished “You will be our queen, for we owe you our lives.”

After a while of talking and giggling, the rest of the children saw some beautiful flowers and skipped off to take a closer look. Eva followed them, but let herself fall a little behind. She looked all around, grateful to see all her friends back. She felt different, though, then when they all had played long ago. She no longer wanted to just play with her friends. She wanted to live with them. To truly love them. Looking at them play, she could still see the subtle markings of the injuries they all had sustained. At that moment she understood this new world. It was a world in which they needed each other.

She looked around, and for the first time in her life, she saw the world as it was meant to be. And she smiled.