CHAPTER 3: The Trance.

That same evening....

After worrying so much about where her suicide note went, Mae Li beats up, crying herself to sleep as she hoped for a breakthrough.

She was fast asleep but was somehow awake, mysteriously finds herself dressed in a night robe, barefooted as she wandered in the dark with a lantern. She held up the lantern, following a trail that produces a continuous series of short, bright flashes of light.

Mae shivered in the bone-chilling darkness, uncertain which part she should try next. The sound of the leaves shifting against each other as the foreboding wind blew made her feel on edge, she ran into a hollow cave. She raised her lantern higher when something snapped.

"Hello... (Hello.. hello....)"

Her voice echoed as she called out. She froze, pressing herself against the cold, wet stone, her gaze flicking across the unyielding darkness of the cave. A fist of stone poked her in the back as she leaned against the wall, bumping her head on a low ceiling, sweeping aside debris and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The sound of water dripping from the rocks and insects whirring traveled down the cave.

She crawled in the cave, covering her nose with her arm. The air was thick with humidity and it was difficult to breathe with rotting vegetation and decaying animals staling the atmosphere. She coughed, dusting off cobwebs shrouding her face.

"Ew!" she felt disgusted, taking off a leach glued to her skin.

Her knee crushed some dried old bones sustaining bruises as she crept out of the cave. She held up the lantern shrieking when a cloud of bats flew over her head.

"What is this place?" she became unduly curious to know where she was.

"Am I dreaming?" she thought, pinching hard on her skin.

"Ouch! It hurts. (Ouch (ouch!) It hurts (hurts)). her voice echoed across the hollow cave.

"No way... this is real", she said to herself, looking over her head as she exited to a large chamber in the cave.

She turned around to see she had left foot and hand prints in the hollow part of the cave.

Wind shrieked through the hollows and gaps of the cave like banshees haunting a graveyard.

A figure cast a darker silhouette against the darkness. She witnessed a shadow move past her briskly.

"Stop right there!" she said, chasing after it.

It hastened its gait, but she could get a clue of the figure covered in black attire, with a bow in one hand and an archery quiver bag hung on one shoulder.

The light she had been trailing started to twinkle again in the cavern. She lost focus and decided to follow the light for it seemed to be calling her.

She walked through the cave and came to a stop, protecting her eyes against the bright light as she lowers her lantern. Her jaw dropped on seeing a purple crystal stone suspending in the air as it rotates, emitting rays of luminous light.

Her spirit was lifted to see the Amethyst alas. She moved closer, gradually towards the purple crystal stone.

"I had always thought it was a myth when grandma told those stories" she pondered.

"Don't wake me up..." she mumbled as she drooled over the crystal stone, stretching out her hand on a closer approach.

An arrow was fired and she drifted her hand away from the purple crystal stone to dodge the arrow.

He somersaulted at her, coming up on one knee with his arrow already pointed steadily at her left eye, he said.. "Take one step closer and I promise you, I won't miss this time".

Her heart raced as she raised up her hands to surrender, taking a few steps backward, she looked closely at his face.

His head was wrapped in a black mask, revealing only his siren eyes. He has sparkling gold flecks in his grey eyes.

"Who are you…" she pried in her mind.

His ears twitched in his mask as he listened to her thought.

"Who are you?" He spoke in a smoky voice, still pointing his arrow at her as he takes few steps forward.

"If you want answers, then you should reconsider pointing your arrow at me 'cause at this point, I might pee in my pants" she replied, cautiously dropping her hands down gradually as he held back his bow and put his arrow in the quiver bag hanging behind his shoulder.

She reached halfway towards him with her thumb extended upwards and her fingers pressed together. "I am Mae, and you?" She said with a cheeky smile.

He looked down at her palm and looked up at her, drawing out an arrow from his quiver bag, as he takes a step backward to gain balance.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy…" she said, trying to calm him down. "Not so friendly eh?" She smacked her lips.

"I'm not here to make friends" he said in a dead tone.

"Very well then, Why did you come here? In fact, how did I get here? I could remember sleeping in my room. Like where is this place even? Are we dead?" She paused to get a response from him. He looked blankly at her without uttering a word. Then she rambled more.

"I think this is the Amethyst right?… right??" Her grin faded when he still wasn't talking to her.

He raised an eyebrow "Of course, even a blind person would recognize the crystal stone" he said in his thought.

"Not so chatty eh? I get it, no I get it." Sounding so disappointing, she had to try again. "Why are you here? Well, I need the Amethyst to make me look cool. I heard it has great powers, is that right?"

He rolled his eyes and said in his thought "For centuries, people fought and died to possess this stone and this girl only wants to be cool?" He slapped his palm against his forehead.

"Well, my grandma said…"

He shot an arrow over her head. "One more word from you and you will be drowning in blood" he boiled inside of him as she was becoming annoying.

She halted when her heart almost jumped out of her chest. "Phew!" She sighed in relief.

Walking towards the floating Amethyst… he stopped to glance at it "So this is it…" he said in his thought.

He reached out slowly, slobbering over the shiny crystal stone.

Mae ran to touch the crystal stone before he could get his hands on it. "I'm sorry, I was here before you" she said.

Immediately the atmosphere turned foggy and there was an earthquake destroying the walls of the cave as the ground shook.

Mae ran for cover, holding unto a rock with her back resting on the wall of the cavern. A rock cracked and the sharp edge bruised her arm, drawing out blood. She applied pressure on her skin, not knowing where to go as the place was collapsing.

"Ahhh!!!" She cried out in pain when a hefty rock hit her on the foot. With blood rushing out of her big toe, she managed to push the rock aside, groaning in pain.

A rapidly rotating funnel of air extending groundward from a cumulonimbus cloud moved toward Mae, howling and swallowing her up into thin air.

She found herself floating in a void space. She looked around but could not find the boy she was chatting with.

"Hello…" she called out. "Ninja?? Is anyone there? Hello???"

The space got brighter almost blinding her sight. Momentarily, she saw a figure walking towards her from the light.

"Am I in paradise?" She wondered.

The figure walked out of the bright light towards her. "My beloved daughter" he wailed with teary eyes.

"Dad? Is that you?" She looked closely to see his face. He was wearing a white robe with a sword by his side.

She approached him, limping and holding unto her injured arm. He welcomed her into his arms, she cries feebly.

He placed her head on his chest, stroking her hair "Oh dear Mae" he shut his eyelid, allowing tears to roll down his cheeks.

"Dad..." she called. "Why is my life so difficult, why does everyone hate me so much. Do you think I am ugly? They call me a freak dad, they say I'm weird...". She sniffs in the mucus running in her nose, whimpering even more.

"Oh no dear. Nobody hates you and you are as pretty as your mother, okay?" he held on her shoulders, making eye contact as he lowered his height to her level.

"What does mother look like?" she asked, wiping through her nose with her arm as she sniffled.

Her cheeks turned red as she sniffed in repeated, listening to her father talking.

"Well.. Let's see... Your mother was divinely incomparable. The irresistible pulchritude of her bewitching eyes captivates me. She was the most beautiful exotic rose I have ever seen. Her euphonious voice flows like spring water. Oh... and that radiant smile she gives when the sun rises. Your mother was a strong woman".

Mae couldn't help but cry more, covering her face with her palms as she muttered. "Why am I different from her? She seemed to be happy. I feel like my life is jinxed".

He smiled, holding out her hand as he placed his sword in it, curling her fingers to hold a firm grip. Then he said; "You must know that Earth is the only safe place for you. Before you could teleport to Earth, there is a sacrifice to make. I wish I could turn back the hands of time but the deed is already done. Yes, you feel miserable... but it's your decision now to make since the Amethyst is in your possession. Nonetheless, it follows great consequences.

With an endearing smile, he stoked her hair away from her eyes "Beloved, the crystal stone has always been with you. Now that you are ready, all things will fall in place soon."

"B-but dad.." she stuttered as she opened her palm, gazing at the sword in her hands.

"Mae, it's time" he said with a radiant smile.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"You will soon find out. You must go now, save everyone…" He said, fading into thin air.

"Dad, Dad? Oh no no no, no!" Anxiety grew as her body began to break into small particles, then vanished at the speed of light.