3 Chapter 3: A messed up room

That night Epoh made chicken steak for dinner. And as it turned out that I could never fill my stomach no matter how much I ate, although I could taste them, I ate a lot. God, she makes really delicious food!

"It seems you're the only resident in this area. Where do you get these ingredients to cook from?" I asked her with my mouth filled with her delicious steak.

"You haven't noticed that I have my own farms just behind this cottage!" She said proudly. "And you are going to help me there starting from tomorrow!" She added excitedly.

That didn't sound fun. Is she always so cheerful or is it because she has a companion now?

"Where do your parents live? Don't you feel lonely here?" I couldn't resist myself from asking that question, even though knowing it might be a sensitive topic for her.

"My parents are super busy. They live in a different realm. In fact, they are present everywhere! Sometimes they do come here to pay me a visit."

"Your parents are omnipresent? Sounds like they are god!" I teased her.

"Yes, they are."

"What?" I almost choked on my food.

"Is it that shocking to you?"

"We all are God's children, if that what you meant…."

"That's true, but my direct parents are God." She smiled.

She was created by God and then abandoned in a place like this where she is living alone for thousands of years! God must be cruel!

We remained quiet for the rest of the dinner time. After that, I helped her with the dishes. Before coming back to my room, Epoh said, "Call me in case you need something. I'll be here downstairs." Then she wished me 'Good Night' and left. I came back to my room, lied down on the cozy bed and closed my eyes. She said her parents are God. Who is she really?

Even after struggling on the bed for an hour, I couldn't sleep. Numerous thoughts were crowding inside my mind and it was bothering me as hell. So, I got up and decided to take a stroll instead. I slept for the last five days. It won't hurt if I miss a night's sleep I guess.

When I came downstairs, it was dark except for a small room at the end of the corridor. That must be her bedroom. What is she doing now? Should I go and check on her? Maybe she is busy in some private work. I shouldn't disturb her then. I opened the front door, sneaked out and closed it back as quietly as possible. There standing on the porch, I stretched my lazy arms and looked up at the sky. I never realized night could be so beautiful. What a mesmerizing sight! I have never seen so many stars at once before in my life…. or have I?

The starlit garden in front looked so mystical! As far as I could see, not a single habitat was visible around. In the middle of a vast green land stretched beyond the horizon, it was just me and Epoh. Somewhere beyond that horizon there lied a tunnel of nightmare which I could thankfully escape. The silence of the night was unnerving. I took a quick stroll along the garden and then decided to sit on the stairs leading up to the porch. Resting my face on both of my arms, I kept staring up at the stars. Look at them sparkling so cheerfully! It's like thousands of pearls are floating in a black sea.

"Whatcha doin' boy?"

"Oh, my goodness!" I jumped out of shock. "Stop appearing out of nowhere like that! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Can't do boy, it's fun to watch you jump like that." She smirked and sat down besides me.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

"Nope. What about you?"

"I don't usually sleep. Actually, I don't need to sleep."

"What do you mean?"

"The thing is I never get tired. Every day I work from morning to night, but all my lost stamina get replenished as soon as I finish my jobs. It's a gift from my parents."

Basically, they want you to work all day long without getting rest. What a horrible parent you got!

"All I do take naps sometimes." She continued. "But I can't fall asleep unless Oneiri sings some lullaby to me."

"Oneiri? Who's that now?"

"My closest friend. We're living together for a long time."

"So, you do have a companion here?"

"Yes. She is a lovely young girl. Although she looks like someone who is in her early twenties, she's actually around my age. We are siblings technically. The room you're staying in for now actually belongs to her."

"Where is she now?"

"I'll tell you about it…. when the time comes."

Oneiri? People here sure have some weird names.

Then she became silent for a while. And for the first time, I saw a hint of sadness on her face.

This girl named Oneiri must be really close to her. She said they are siblings. Did something bad happen to her? Or did she leave her for some reason?

I was lost in those thoughts about the mysterious girl called Oneiri when suddenly I heard a very familiar voice.

"Let me teach about the stars tonight. You should at least be familiar with the common ones." I looked towards Epoh, but that little girl was gone. In her place there was sitting a middle-aged woman. Dark circles traced under her gloomy eyes, hairs tied into a bun.

"Mom!" I whispered.

"Now listen carefully. Do you see that small bright star I'm pointing at; that's Polaris. That's one of the most important stars in the night sky. In ancient times, people used to use that star as a reference for directions as it always points towards the North. That's why it is also called 'North star'. It maintains a fixed position throughout the year. Now face towards the South-East. See those three stars in a row, they form the 'belt of Orion'. Now shift your gaze slowly towards the upper-left direction, you see that really bright star; that's Betelgeuse. It's one of the brightest stars in the night sky."

She is so cool! She knows so much about stars!

She also drew some imaginary lines on the sky with her index finger and told me to imagine a human figure called 'Orion'. But from that jungle of stars, it was too hard for me to make out the figure of a hunter.

"You know so much about stars!" A childish voice came out of my mouth automatically. That's not my voice! I looked down to find out a body of a little kid. Is this the younger version of me?

"I do." She replied. "When I was at your age, I got so fascinated about the stars that I wanted to reach them, to touch them. But soon I realized that would be impossible. My dad used to tell me all sorts of stories about the stars. That's how I got to know about them. He even gifted me a huge book about stars on my sixteenth birthday."

"Will you tell me those stories?"

"Sure." She threw me a warm smile.

"Will you turn into a star when you die?"

"Why?" She laughed.

"My friend told me that when someone dies, God turn that person into a star so that he can always watch over the people who are dearest to him."

"Well, then I might. You know what, technically we all are made of star dusts."

"We were born from stars?"

"Technically yes."

"Wow, that's awesome!"

"I know." She smiled, running her fingers through my hairs. A breeze came fluttering the hair strands fallen over her forehead.

"Hey…. you okay? Hello?"

"Huh…. What?" Epoh's voice brought me back to the reality.

"What happened? You just suddenly zoned out!"

"Um…. Nothing really. I'm fine"

What was that now! Was that a piece of my memory? Did I just look into my past? Maybe I should tell her about the strange experience I just had.

"Get up, tomorrow you have lots to do. It's late in the night. You should go back to your room and try to have some sleep."

"I'll try."

I went back to my room hoping that I could get some sleep before the sun came out. But all I could do was thinking about the weird flashback that happened to me. I couldn't even tell Epoh about what I witnessed. Also, what happened to that girl called Oneiri? As expected, I didn't get a decent sleep that night.

* * *

The next morning Epoh had to forcefully wake me up.

"Wake up…. wake up, you lazy ass….!"

"Ahhh…. what's the time?"

"It's 8 O' clock in the morning! How long do you think you're going to sleep?"

"Only 8! It's not yet morning! Let me sleep for two more hours."

"Wake up…. for God's sake!" She shouted and then poured a glass of water all over my face. After that I had no other choice but to wake up.

"See, what a terrible thing you have done to the pretty bedsheet!"

"That was you." I said bluntly.

"But you forced me to do it." She shrugged. "So, it's your fault."

"You are the worst!"

"I know. Now get out of the bed and freshen up. I'll be waiting downstairs. We have loads to do." She climbed down the stairs whistling some unknown tone.

Behind her cottage, there was a poultry, a dairy, fields where she grew several different crops. A piece of land was solely dedicated to fruits. It was like a snapshot taken from the countryside.

"How do you manage all these?" I was curious.

"It's kind of necessary to have them when you're living in a place like this alone. It's really fun though living like this. Also, I don't have much to do here anyway." Then she paused for a while and said, "Usually, Oneiri helps me with the farming."

Oh, right. Oneiri, how can I forget about her! She mentioned it last night.

I was just going to ask her more about Oneiri, but somehow I controlled myself.

Together we cleaned the dairy, fed the animals and the birds, removed the weeds growing alongside the crops. Farming is not an easy job I must tell you, not like those games where you tap on the screen and things magically happen. But as Epoh mentioned, it was surprisingly fun! Here you can't rely on others, there's no market or such sort of place. In Afterland, you have to sustain by yourself. She was humming an unfamiliar song the entire time we were working, with a pleasant smile on her face.

We were taking a break while enjoying some freshly picked tomatoes, when suddenly she said, "I think it's time for you to see the room."

"The room? What room?" I was confused.

"The room in the attic."

She got up on her feet immediately, grabbed my arm and started dragging me along with her. "Come on, let's go. I need to show you something."

For a short stature as her, she was surprisingly strong and walking really fast. I struggled to keep up with her pace.

"Stop pulling me and slow down please. You're hurting my arm." I protested.

"Shut up! Stop whining like a baby and keep moving."

We reached the attic in no time. It was a bit dark inside, so Epoh went ahead and opened the windows it had on both sides. The room instantaneously got illuminated by incoming rays of light, which made it easier to visualize the room. There was a small cot at one side, two racks on the walls. The room was awfully untidy though; lots of stuff scattered throughout the room, things piled up here and there carelessly. It was a total mess to be honest. Fair amount of dust had been accumulated also. I also spotted some cobwebs at the corners.

"What is this place?" I asked while covering my nose and mouth.

"This room is very close to you."

Very close to me? I don't recall this room from the very few memories I have retained. Wait…. If this room was really close to me, then maybe I had lots of memories associated with this room. This room can be the key to bring my precious memories back.

"Actually, you have no memory about this room." She read my mind again! "But this room is where you store your memories."

"What do you mean?" I was puzzled.

"Okay, last hint: It's a part of you."

"A part of me? I don't understand."

"Boy, you're really bad at riddles." She pouted. "This room is inside of your head, you thickhead! And look, it's so messed up!"