Fates intertwined

The sun was setting and disappearing behind the mountains, its rays of light shining from the mountain top giving a great ambience of red and orange, before the night crept all over the land.

Watching this glorious sight was a family having dinner outside a Villa. A tall slender man was sitting at a table set in the front yard. He had a smile on his face and proud look in his brown eyes as he watched his family gathered round him. He glanced at his small dark-haired boy, with the evening sun hitting his blue eyes, like an ocean devouring light. Deep blue, like his mother.

"Don't drink or you will be full like always and won't eat your dinner" the man said, his voice commanding, yet kind.

The boy gave a small smile and put his drink down obediently. Sitting next to him was a little girl who grinned at her older brother. The children shared the ebony hair, but the girl's eyes were round, brown and warm. Just at that moment a woman walked out of the house with a plate of food in her hand.

"Anybody starting to get hungry?", to which the children responded joyfully. She set the plate on the table, and bent to give her husband a small kiss, her fair hair trailing on her shoulders. They gave each other a smile, and it seemed like a picture perfect family.

When the two kids had enough to eat they stood up and ran away from the table with their mother shouting from behind "don't go too far" but as kids go, they ran off without taking heed of her words. When they were out of sight, they reached a clearing so dark that the only thing they could see were the shapes of trees and the huge mountain at the other side gently illuminated by the light of the stars and the crescent moon, like silhouettes. It was very quiet, with just the lonely sound of the wind and nightly creatures. The kids started to get a little scared but they wouldn't show that to each other. They had a dare game; to see whoever could go deeper into the open space.

"Scared?" The boy asked.

The little girl replied "Of course not!" with an indignant voice that failed her because of the visible shiver running through her body. She stared out distractedly in the distance watching the trees moving peacefully with the wind, and in perfect harmony.

"Bwaaaaaaaaaah!!", the boy shouted suddenly and the girl screamed then yelled "Don't do that!! You're just as scared as I am!"

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are"

"No I'm not and I'm gonna prove it!" He stomped off deeper into the void but with secret fear in his heart, ignoring his sister's shouts, "Stop it don't go further or I'm gonna tell mom and dad!!" But he wouldn't listen, he wanted to prove that he wasn't afraid so he kept going deeper and further with his sister trying to keep up from behind, her voice growing fainter, and the ground moving faster beneath his feet, while the wind hit against his face. Then he stopped abruptly when it hit him that he was close to the trees and he was all alone and he couldn't see his sister. Now he was really afraid.

The boy decided that this was enough and he should head back. But as he started walking back, a strong wind picked up and it was pushing against him, raising the dirt from the ground. It made him cover his eyes but it kept growing stronger tripping him over a stone and he fell to the ground. The wind subsided. He sat up to look around, the fear gripping him, but there was nothing unusual, it must've been just a normal wind he thought.

But as if on cue, a very strange spectacle appeared. A horizontal shaped light high above the ground materialized. Then two more dragged from the corners. Soon the rectangular space was filled with the light that it seemed like a shining door was opening. The boy was watching this with amazement and curiosity, overcoming his fear. Three dark figures stepped forward through the lit door, and stood at the entrance.

Three humans, the boy noted, or so they seemed.

He silently observed them. The woman on the left struck him with her bright blue eyes so prominent on her pale face and dark hair. She was clad in black leather and a white cape. His eyes drew to the man on the right. If the woman had not intrigued him, this man's blood red eyes would've caught his attention first. They scared him. The man's short black hair laid on top of a very serious face. He wore similar clothes, but adorned black gloves and no cape. Lastly the man in the middle who was a vision of white; tall broad blue-eyed, and oddly a kind young face despite the long white hair. He wore a white outfit and like the woman, had a white cape.

They were looking around them as if checking the place but the man of white, was looking straight at the boy. He uttered something to the other two, and now they were all looking at the same thing. They started walking towards him, but just as they came close they halted. The woman and bloody-eyed man stared as if stunned, the woman said something that the boy heard clearly but couldn't understand. She continued talking, while the darker man looked on in silence, and the third just smiled.

This was not a language familiar to the boy.

The man of white, stepped towards him, and the boy felt the need to back away. The man knelt down still smiling. He held out his hand and gave him a sincere look so the boy stood up and looked at him and then the other two. What does this man want? Curiosity drove him forward and he looked at the man's extended hand. It was empty. Maybe he wants to shake his hand? Ah yes, and so he did. The man gave another encouraging smile then said something to his companions. The woman shouted, but not angrily so. Was her expression a look of sadness? The other man was looking down. The boy reverted his attention to the man who shook his hand as he started to address him. There it is again, the strange words, nothing seemed to make sense to him, except for the last utterance.

"...Jaraki"

The boy's name. The man of white drew light from his hands, and the last he saw was his ever-present smile before the boy drifted to the darkness of his subconscious.

Jaraki could hear voices above him. It was the sound of a woman crying. His lids opened slowly, and his eyes saw a hazy world at first but then everything started to be clear. He could see the crying woman was his mother, who sat next to him. When she caught sight of him opening his eyes and gaining consciousness she quickly moved towards him and hugged him shouting, "Don't ever do that again!!".

He was still a bit out of it but he could see his father standing looking at him relieved along with his sister.

"What happened out in the field?! Why were you unconscious?" His mother asked looking crazed. He thought for a second and then it hit him, everything that has happened, so he started telling them exactly what happened but after a while before he could finish his mother held him and said "You must've tripped somewhere and hit your head."

"That's some wild dream." His father added, chuckling.

"Guss, please lets get back to the city." His mother was concerned. His father thought for a while.

"Well let's do what we came here to do and then pack our things and head back."

She nodded in consent and took a good look at her son, then stood up. She went into the kitchen and came out with a cake that had 10 candles She sang to Jaraki happy birthday and they all joined in. This seemed to him a different reality, he had forgotten about this. This very normal thing. But soon, 10-year-old Jaraki replaced the odd events of today with a happy memory of celebration. He blew out the candles and his mother kissed him, "Happy birthday honey."

"Okay kids, time for bed." Said his father, after they finished eating some cake. "We have a long journey home tomorrow."

Next morning, before they had finished packing, Jaraki's mind drifted again to what happened the day before. He needed to make sure.

"Just a second I need to go see something, I won't be long", and he ran off. He ran until he reached the field and took a good look, but there was nothing. Have I fell so hard?

"Jaraki, hurry up we're leaving", he heard his mother shouting. He turned and left.