Paradise

What do you do when you wake up in a world where everything seems so perfect. My family as well as most of the women who live on this land are descendants of the greek God Posethion. She was and still is the God of nature. Without her, there would be no form of habitat, water, trees, animals and not even the air that we breathe. She is the one who brought our world into existence. Without her we are nothing. We exist because she allowed us to.

Her story of how she created this world has always been captivating to me. She was a woman of extreme strength and courage. She saved some of our people from the Amanites centuries ago in a galaxy called Smithsoniam. The Amanites were an army which consisted primarily of free floating spirits whose main priority was to deplete the environment of all its natural resources. They were known to walk around surrounded by flames and evoking such a high heat source that it could burn and destroy everything in sight more than a mile away. They killed almost every one in sight but Posethion was able to take a few of the women and children with her to safety. Due to her bravery, the Gods awarded her the gift of nature. She was then able to create this environment that we now call home. Her statue stands still at the top of the hill. She will never be forgotten and the way we pay respect is by protecting this land.

I sat gazing at the sunrise. This was the first thing I did every morning before I started my day.

My mom Meera came out and sat beside me.

"Are you ready Sara?” She asked.

“Yes mother, I am.”

I’ve been waiting for what seemed like forever for this moment and trained night and day. To be entered into our Elite Sapphire League, I had to pass a series of tests. I have been preparing for them for a period of time. It was now my turn and I was ready.

I got dressed and headed to the pantheon. All the other women and children were present and they were all cheering me on. There were a series of hurdles that I had to pass. They were all simulations. I would be placed into an environment similar to the one that Posethion was in. My goal was to rescue the women and the children. My goal was to stay alive. That simulation lasted for a two hour period. I vowed to myself that I would conquer it.

As I stood in the pantheon, the cheering voices of all the women and children went away. I now stood outside the ring of fire and needed to cross over into Smithsoniam. I thankfully made it through and all I saw was chaos. Everyone was screaming. People were running in all directions. I can see the Amanites and they were destroying it all. They showed no mercy. There was so much hatred and anger.

“For what reason?” I thought.

Then I saw a woman carrying her baby towards me. She already lost an eye and her baby was covered in blood. This is when I realized that it was real and I couldn’t just stand there. I was there for a purpose. My goal was to save as many women and children as possible. I placed my shield over my face and ran out. I was carrying with me not only the armor but also the strength of Posethion.

I found a secret underwater pathway. While the Amanites were busy destroying the east side of the galaxy, I directed as many women and children through the tunnel.

It wasn’t long before the Amanites saw us. I encouraged everyone to keep running as fast as they could. I suddenly felt the backs of my legs heat up. I had to create a barrier.

“Just keep running!” I yelled.

On the other side of this tunnel stood freedom. The Amanites could not survive in that universe and I just needed to ensure that no more lives would be lost.

I used the blue gem on my finger that my mother had given to me. This allowed me to call upon our God Posethion and ask her to raise up the waters all around us and create that barrier that we need to push the Amanites away. The water around the tunnel exploded inwards and created such a current that I was almost swept away. I could see the Amanites fading in the distance. I was growing weary and couldn’t hold for much longer. As the current began to increase I got swept up for a bit but I regained my footing. I stood up and ran through the rest of the tunnel. As I made it through the tunnel, the under water bridge collapsed behind me.

I made it to the women and children!

I passed the test!

I fell to my knees and the roaring voices of the women and children were there again. I survived the challenge. I was now a woman and part of the Elite Sapphire League.

All I wanted to do was rest but we had to celebrate.

“There was no time to rest!” Yelled mother. “It’s time to celebrate your victory.”

The evening was spent in festivities. There was so much to eat and drink. We sang and we told stories of the life before ours. It was a joyous occasion.

As a new member of the Elite Sapphire League, I was tasked with the responsibility of finding food the next morning along with the other women in the league.

We ran through the forest..some of us jumped into the ocean in search of food for everyone. We returned with plenty of fruits, vegetables, fish and other meats. With all of this food, we would be able to feed everyone for the next few days.

Everything seemed normal until that morning. I awoke at my normal hour to watch the sunrise but this time was different. I couldn’t see the sun but a band of smoke and it seemed like everything was being destroyed. I called out using our code call for emergencies on the top of the mountain. We were under attack.

My mom screamed out, “get as many women and children and head to the other side of our compound!”

There was an underground basement that we had built equipped with food and water. I began to do so but there were so many balls of fire descending upon us. I knew that the Amanites were back again.

“How did they find us?”

I couldn’t stand by and watch our Elite Sapphire League go into battle alone. I had to defend our people. That was my main purpose.

As I looked around I saw so many of our people dead. Their bodies were burned.

The rest of us were tired and I could barely breathe from the smoke. The last thing I remembered was me running towards a child who stood in the path of a fire bomb. It all went dark after that.

I woke up to someone pouring water over my face and asking if I was ok. This person wasn’t a member of our community. It wasn’t a woman but a man. He stared down at me with hazel eyes. I looked around and I was in a room.

“Are you ok?” He asked

I got up immediately.

“Who are you?”

“Where am I?”

“Where are my people?”

He stretched out his hands and calmly said, “My name is Jason and I found you near the water. I wasn’t sure if you were ok but I brought you over here so I could take care of you.”

I moved away from him and suddenly collapsed. My vision became blurry and I fell to the floor.

I woke up suddenly and jumped out of bed a second time.

“Welcome back,” he said.

I said nothing and stared at him.

“Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat.”

“I need to find me people..I can’t eat until I do.”

“Where am I?”

“You’re in my house. I live near the water. Are you ok?"

“I’m fine", I said…"My people are in danger. They need me.”

I proceeded to walk out the door but I collapsed again. I could see him running towards me while my eyes closed slowly.

I am not sure how long I’ve been asleep but I woke up to what seemed like the third time. My memories were blurred and I was confused.

“I know that you want to find your people but you are too weak. You need to heal. I promise I will help you find them once you’re better.”

“I need to find them now!” I exclaimed.

I began to walk towards the door. I didn’t make it very far because my whole body ached.

All I could think of was how I betrayed my people. My heart ached and the uncertainty was daunting. I didn’t even know I was crying until the cold tears touched my face. I don’t think I had ever experienced such sadness.

I told Jason that I would stay around for a few days but as soon as I was well enough I would be gone.

Jason had taken the opportunity to place bandages over my wounds. I also had second degree burns and a concussion among other things. Jason persuaded me to get some sleep but I found it difficult to. I was being taunted by the cries of my people as I slept. I needed to find them.

I remembered that our ancestors taught us how to use a Moravian plant near the water to quickly heal wounds. I would be back to normal in three days. I just needed to find it.

I got up and headed to wards the door .

“I don’t know where you’re going but I am going with you. You can’t be out here by yourself,”he said.

“I need to find this plant”.

The more I walked the more pain I felt especially in my head.

“Tell me what you need and I’ll go find it. Just stay here and rest.”

I reluctantly gave in.

Jason returned with the plant. I told him how to make the concoction. I would be back to my normal self soon.

I often looked up at the sky searching for a way to connect with them. I wanted to leave and at times I directed my pain and anger towards Jason.

Jason doesn’t deserve this. He was actually really nice and as time went by, I began to open up to him. He’s had a pretty tough and lonely life. I didn’t fully trust him as yet but he had saved my life. The more we spent time together, I realized that he wasn’t so bad after all.

He made us dinner on my final night. He served it with a glass of wine which he called Jetbird. I had never drank wine before and was fascinated by it.

“Is this what they called a date?” I asked.

Jason grinned then said “Maybe.”

I was actually growing fond of him but I knew I couldn’t stay. I had a mission that needed to be accomplished. I had to do it alone.