It's now clear as crystal. The truth is right in front of me. I feel like my questions have been answered, that all of the things that happened to me were worth it after hearing all of it. The kid that I've been looking for turns out to be me all along.
"Mary—... uhm, Amirah?" RJ called.
That name. It sounds like a stranger's name, but not awkward at all.
"It's alright, just call me Mary," I said.
"What is the next step now?" he asked.
"I'm going to meet my mother… Emerald. I can't just let her wander around looking for me, and besides, I need to know how she got back," I said.
They all nodded and did not speak anymore.
I spent the next few hours searching for an update about her, but there was none. The police are also looking for her since she kidnapped someone.
"I have news!" Jad said, catching my attention. "Someone is posting about these ashes forming a trail. It could be her."
I looked at the address, and it was just a few blocks away from here.
"Send me the full address, Jad," I said.
"Why? Don't tell me you're going there?"
"You said it yourself, it could be Emerald. So I'll go check it out," I said as I brought out a small bag and put some things I might need.
"Just you?" Micah spoke.
"Yes. You don't know Emerald. She is out for revenge, and I will not risk your lives."
"So you will risk yours?" Jad said.
"If she learns I am Amirah, she won't hurt me," I said confidently, even if I was unsure of it.
"I thought we were in this together," Micah added.
"We are, Mic. And trust me, you can help me better if you guys stay here so I won't worry anymore."
"No. We've gotten this far, Mary, and we'll go farther."
"I agree with Micah. We're coming with you. I don't care if it's dangerous," RJ spoke.
We walked around looking for clues. The only things we brought were the book, the necklace around my neck, and our determination. As we walked, we noticed the undeniable silence in the alley.
"Guys? Why is it so silent?" Micah suddenly said. "I don't hear anything at all."
Now it was weird. Micah had mastered the magior of hearing things from afar, and if she didn't hear anything at all, it meant there were no people around making noise.
"Where is everybody?" I asked.
"It's just five o'clock, and there's not a single person in the alley," Jad said.
"Micah, is there anything?" I asked.
"Nothing. Just the birds' noises and the air brushing through the leaves," she said.
"By the way, Mary… where are we?"
I looked around only to notice that I didn't know where we were.
"Based on my calculations, we've been walking for at least two hours, forty-seven minutes, and thirty-one seconds."
RJ was right. I was supposed to stop and look around, but my feet wouldn't stop moving.
"Let's stop here for a moment. Let's figure out where we are and why there isn't a single person in this neighborhood."
"I looked at my map. This is Lost Angeles Neighborhood. Strange name," Micah commented.
"Mary, I said let us stop for a moment," RJ called.
I turned around to them, and they were just standing there looking at me.
"G-Guys, I can't," I said, forcing my feet to turn around.
"What? We're not going to stop entirely. Let's just take a moment."
"I said I can't. M-My feet won't stop," I exclaimed.
"What?!" they said in shock.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I just can't help it. It wants to keep walking. Guys, oh gosh!"
Nervousness rushed through me when my walk became more rapid, and I couldn't control it.
"Mary, what is happening?" Micah said.
I looked at her and saw her struggling—not just her, everyone.
"Guys, I don't know. Hold my hand, Mics. You guys hold onto each other."
"It feels like it's swallowing us, shit!"
I held onto them as tightly as I could, but they still ended up slipping through my fingers.
"Mary!"
"Micah!"
I shouted loudly.
"No… no... no, please."
My mind was getting blurry.
"What is happening? Why is this happening?"
My heart was racing, and I couldn't understand any of it. My friends were gone, and I didn't know where.
Holding onto my last piece of hope, I touched the necklace around my neck.
I didn't have the book with me. Micah had it, and now I didn't even know where they were.
"Help me. Get me to Emerald," I said.
I don't know why I decided to look for Emerald instead of going after my friends, but somehow I wanted to know her, as she was my mother—biologically.
I opened my eyes.
I had been teleported to an unknown place.
"Who are you?" somebody asked.
I looked at where that voices came from....
It was Emerald.
"Mother, look! She is the one who stole the necklace!"
I looked toward that familiar voice.
"R-Reina?"
Who was she calling mother?
"So you're the imbecile who stole my daughter's necklace!" Emerald snapped.
What? Daughter?
"Mother, don't be too easy on her. She managed to steal the necklace from me and even use it. She obviously has supernatural magior as well."
Reina clung to Emerald like a leech.
"How dare you—"
I looked at Emerald, hoping she would realize that I was her daughter.
"Emerald," I stated.
"Do not disrespect my mother!"
Reina used a magior against me, and because of instinct, I managed to dodge it using Shield Protective. But I used too much force, causing Reina to get hit and fall.
"Amirah…"
Emerald carefully helped Reina before she fell completely.
"You lying leech! Do not be fooled by her, Emerald. She is not your daugh—"
I was stopped before I could finish when she strangled me using her magior.
I tried to fight it, but I was having a hard time. I couldn't focus on what to think.
"P-please," I said, barely breathing.
I could see her anger toward me, but the way she strangled me felt like she was having conflicting thoughts. For a moment, the grip loosened before becoming tight again.
It's me. You have to know it's me. Y-your daughter.
"M-Mother," I said before giving in and losing all of my strength.
As I lost consciousness, the grip around my neck loosened. But I had no strength left to see what surrounded me. I only felt myself falling, and a few seconds later, I felt my body hit the ground.