14 THE JOURNEY

Red and Nana left the same night she had hugged her friends goodbye.

It was unfair to them that they were spared the explanation, but Red couldn't simply find the words to tell them.

Instead of a verbal explanation, she opted into a written one. She had sneakily put two separate personal letters addressed to Maureen and Andrew into their respective bags during their bonding time when they were not looking.

She wondered if she got the letter-writing skill from her father.

That night, she cried her eyes out in Nana's arms.

Andrew followed suit and knocked at their apartment's door helplessly. He almost banged the door. "Red, Red, what do you mean? Can we please talk some more? Please?" His pleading voice went too soft, contrary to his intensified knocking.

Red was still sobbing in Nana's arm and could not make herself answer the door. She could not face Duru. She glanced at her Nana's direction and instantly, Nana knew what to do.

Nana answered the door and told him to go home. Andrew stealthily looked over Nana's shoulder, attempting too hard to have a glimpse of Red, but for naught. He had not been this distraught his entire life.

Since Nana asked him to leave, he complied without any qualms. He just felt terrible for not being able to get the answers he's seeking from Red. He went home bowed down with his face crumpled.

When he left, Nana and Red climbed up to the rooftop where Mr. Barry had already been waiting.

For the last time, Red looked around their neighborhood, saving in her memory the habitat she thrived in for the last seventeen years of her life. Although everything was at bird's eyes view, she scanned the whole area and pointed out in her mind the location of where she had frequented while growing up – the school, the chapel, the market where she and Nana enjoyed taking a stroll all around the stores while they bought fresh produce here and there every week. She saw the municipal hall near the center, and the East Sechoia County Central Square where the boutiques and stores were located. It was also the place where all three of them had fun just a few hours ago that day.

She heaved a deep breath, and muttered, "Goodbye, East Sechoia County. I hope I can still go back here one day, even for just a visit."

She carried not much personal stuff with her as they climbed into the carriage. She only brought with her the important things – her treasures – and essentials like clothes, toiletries, and medicine. On her lap, she protectively hugged two boxes – one was her box of treasures, and the other was the D&D box. She would never have parted with it whatever reason there may be.

Nana couldn't believe her eyes at first when the carriage departed and floated in the air. "Meredith! We're flying!"

"Yep, Nana. Please don't get too excited. I don't know what might happen to your health."

"I'm alright, Meredith!" She stroked her granddaughter's cheek lovingly, "I must have given you quite a scare, darling. I'm sorry."

"Just promise to stay healthy, Nana." She leaned her cheek against her Nana's soft warm palm, like how cats would with their master.

"But… Where are we going?" Nana inquired. She was just told about some vague explanations.

"To Aempleforth, Ma'am." Mr. Barry answered from the head of the coach.

"Oh, just call me Esther." She chuckled her grandmotherly laugh as she whipped the air in front of her.

Mr. Barry recalled the first time they met Red and how her Nana had said something similar. He grinned. 'They're alike.'

The white horses galloped in great speed. They had been ascending and ascending.

"Are we going up to heaven, Mr. Barry?" Eyebrows arched, Red curiously asked when she had taken a break from her moping.

Mr. Barry could not help but chortle at her naïve question. "We will reach Aempleforth first before we reach heaven. I believe heaven is where you will be when you die. So we can't go there yet."

"Are we escaping the planet? Going to another galaxy? I see, that's why the carriage always came from the sky when you visit." She shifted in her seat nervously, "Excuse me, Mr. Barry, can you tell us, what are the kind of people who live in Aempleforth? I mean, are they still humans or some sort of mystical beings?"

'Coz right now, anything is possible. I thought it's only possible in the novels and comics I read late at night.'

After experiencing first-hand some of the extraordinary things she only read in literature, she could attest that anything was possible.

Internally she was asking some more questions. 'Am I a half-ling? What kind of half-half am I? That explains my blue hair then! Perhaps…'

They passed across the huge yellow-silver cheese-like full moon's mesmerizing beauty. Both Nana and Red gasped in amazement.

It distracted her from her questions.

"Humans. We're also humans. Like you." Mr. Barry answered.

"What?!" Red's surprise emanated from her shrill voice. "I mean…"

Mr. Barry only laughed at her shock. "We're humans, Lady Red."

"But… You can fly… and there's magic… and you live in the sky…" She mumbled audibly so Mr. Barry could still hear her clearly. She added, "I mean, how could you do all that?"

"Meredith, I know you are full of questions. But you should give Mr. Barry a break. He needs to concentrate on his driving." Nana scolded kindly. Nana still treats Red as if she's a helpless little kid even if she's almost a fully grown woman.

Out of respect, she listened to her Nana's words of reminder. "Yes, Nana. Sorry, Mr. Barry. I must have been quite a nuisance to you."

"It's alright, Lady Red. It's just that we were isolated from the rest of the human population at the realm on the ground and so our ancestors' traditions were left intact. The ascent of the empires from the ground was due to the sorcerers' abilities. It started off peacefully but the balance was tinkered by the overwhelming influence of the sorcerers. The world that was built out of peace crumbled. The war arose and for years, blood spilled. But it all happened years ago, Lady Red. Peace has ensued again."

"It is a story that is common to all inhabitants of Aempleforth and the adjacent kingdoms." Mr. Barry's voice ended.

Red's heart drummed so fast when she heard the history of this another realm. There's excitement mixed with her apprehension. All she wanted was to keep her Nana safe and healthy. In Mr. Barry's story, the sorcerers seemed like terrible, ill-fated beings.

"How can humans win against sorcerers?" She mumbled but Mr. Barry still heard it.

"Through a play of wits."

"While the dark sorcerers fight on the battlefield, the other sorcerers and fighters loyal to the empire concentrated in locking out Halivaara, the kingdom where the dark magic was prevalent. In the end, Halivaara, the land that was densely populated by the sorcerers were cast away with a spell. All the trade routes to and from there were cut off. All the people inside were trapped. No one could go out of Halivaara. They were cursed to perish within."

"When the land was cut off, the sorcerers on the battlefield had allegedly lost their strength and fell on their knees. The battle was won."

Mr. Barry finished the famous story of the great battle years back but his passengers had remained silent. So far, they had been traveling up in the air for almost an hour and a half. "We'll be landing shortly."

Not even another thirty minutes had passed when the four galloping stallions entered a barrier of what seemed to be a magnetic field. Red felt ripples of electrifying energy passed through her.

With a soft thud, the carriage landed on the unfamiliar land and continued on solid ground.

They had not gone far when Red ordered in urgency with a shaky soft voice, "Stop the carriage!"

Mr. Barry obediently pulled over. Red ran in haste outside the carriage and puked all her stomach's content into the ground beside a nearby tree that looked so similar to an oak tree but with curcier branches. The vertical lines that ran on its trunk also exhibited this curvy design. More prominent curls were on the end-most tips of the branches.

Meredith had not noticed any of the intricate details of the three aside from the fact that it was deep in the night, and illumination was scarce, she's also more concerned by her somersaulting stomach inside her core.

She leaned her palm on the tree for support while her mouth was busy throwing up.

Nana ran after her in full anxiety, and immediately rubbed her back soothingly while she continued to puke. Nana cried out in sheer concern, "Meredith! How are you feeling? What's going on, dear?"

Her breathing felt heavy like her lungs had gotten filled with thick air – or some other equivalent fluid. Something seemed to click and snap inside her head, and then after that, her mind shut down completely. Everything fell into darkness.