Chapter 2

There she was, again looking at the empty white sealing. As she had said before I just have a lot to think about,' well she was certainly loosening up.' What was that voice?'' why her?' it was too much for her to handle.

Beep! She turned her head in the direction of the alarm clock. She couldn't see what it read. Maybe because she had nearly slept that night and it seemed she wasn't planning on it. It slowly became vivid. It had been 3 Am.

Instantly, her stomach rumbled. She grabbed her stomach and squeezed it.

"I need more water," she groaned, "but it's late. Ah!

The white-fluffy duvet found itself on the floor. Violeta rushed downstairs, towards the kitchen. She entered. Head down, shoulder to neck and bent down looking at the gleaming glass. Her head ached. Was it the same pain?

Her ears tingled. Quickly it reminded her of the beach incident and the bone-chilling voice. The tap closed. Now all the thoughts of drinking water were flushed away. Instead, she pours the water on her face.

" I shouldn't be focusing on that stupid dream, I should be concentrating on my future as the leader of the Milaje," she told herself, "I am the heir to that position and I need to prove myself worthy, whether I like it or not."

Violeta grabbed a spear. One of her mothers. There was an ever-green bowl of noodleschokeyy itsitovergrownnn branches.  Chikori was a land of rich tradition, it wasn't modernized because its vision was a land of peace. The children loved it there. It was close to the Atlantic Ocean; Deseku forest and the people's passion made everything stick out even more.

Very few tourists visited the place, it

was well hidden. Especially during the time of slave raiding. But those who did visit didn't have a better word

to describe it than idyllic.

The land was first found, by I'chaka

Chikori. His vision for the land was.

exactly what it was in the current day.

A well-hidden Idyllic land.

The forest was a retreat for her. It was

her go-to place whenever she felt the

need to free her mind, escape the world and think. She enjoyed everything about it, the ever-green leaves hiding the sun's rays, the refreshing cool breeze and the sound of the wind leading the leaves to an angelic noise.

Growing up The pressure of being the next greatest thing to happen to Chikori was too much. and think. It slowly crushed her inside. There had been a specific spot in the forest, which she loved to visit.

She pushed the jade leaves that dangled from a large tree in the centre. The tree was extremely big, its aerial roots and leaves dangled from the branches and hid whatever was inside. There was light. As a child, she would capture fireflies in jars and decorate them all over the room.

"It's been a long-time since I was last here," she sighed.

The room was admirable. There had been printed pictures of all her adventures since birth. The majority are with her family and friends. She felt safe. Being the place she loved during such a difficult time. It was the healing her body needed. Almost as if, she had been fighting the longest battle her entire life, with all the responsibility and expectations ponded against her, remorselessly. That tree was her retreat. A place of healing and peace.

She sat down. Her knees were against her chest, arms wrapped around them. Head down.

"This is all too much for me," she spoke out as her voice sounded sobbing," I can't do this anymore."

She sat there for a little longer. A strong wind blew. The branches were pushed into the air. It raised her hair. Things began to scatter all over the ground. The wind stopped.

Her head raised. Intently looking at a bunch of fallen papers lyinonny the dusty floor. She began picking them up one by one.

"what's this," she said.

Then checked the paper. It read 'Zedekiah.'She took another. This time it read 'Elizabeth.'

"what? "

Another one she picked. But this time, it gave a strong sense of Deja Vu.'Ramonda.' Like a mosquito that hovered over her ears, it iterated her. The feeling of knowing but not knowing.

"Where have I heard this name before," she said.

Immediately she three of the rest on the ground and walked to the centre. On the trees bark ironically there was a tree of friendship. And she found all the people there, all but one.

She bluffed, "Forget it."

However, something was drawing her back to it.

"I have to find out," she said, "I need to find out."

The friendship tree. what's that? She noticed something off this time. The picture was oherrr chatting, with herself. Violeta unlocked her inner Sherlock Holmes and was piecing the pieces together. Unlikely her fingers made contact with the picture. Everything went dull. There was a sharp wave of electricity that rushed through her veins. She fell.

Eventually, she woke up. Confused, her eyes scanned the darkness. She picked herself up and examined the room. Her long hair drifted around as her body swing left and then right.

A light flashed.

"Where am l?"Violeta as kAnd" and what's that?"

It was a projector. It showed a little girl. She exhaled sharply with relief as she touched her body. For a second I thought I was dead.

"About time we go down memory lane don't you think?" a familiar voice said, "not fancy about your new look."

Memory lane? The girl was talking to her mother; sadly Violeta couldn't hear anything. The mother was dressed in Milaje-style armour and it seem as if the girl was going to school. Joyfully she received a bow and arrow and layer them on her back. Afterwards, she ran to school. It seemed as if the little girl was having the best time at school. Although it was lunchtime, she didn't eat. In addition, she was cornered by two big boys. Trying not to seem hopeless, she drew her bow and arrow out and aimed it at them. But they kicked it away. Her face read fear as they hit her. Again and again and again. Then they left.

Her face was covered in tears and anger as she looked up at the bow her mother had given her.

"I will never be able to meet anyone's expectations," Violeta read from the girl's mouth. But spoke axe if she knew what was to be said next, "am nothing."

The girl went to the forest and began to shout at what seemed like nothing. It scared Violeta for a while. Thats me.

The girl looked frustrated, she was screaming and hyperventilating when she went through the long aerial roots of a large tree. She threw everything around. The chair, some books and many more. Her hands pressed on her head as she looked at a picture on the floor of her and no one. She threw it away. that me.

"Surprise."

"Ramonda."

"Took you long enough."

"If we were such good friends why did you start pulling stunts on the beach."

"You brought this unto yourself many years ago. You knew what you were doing the day you left me!"

"I refuse to listen to you! You are nothing more than a voice in my head. Leave!"

"It's more than that. This might be your head but it's my domain now. This is my yard."

The projector now showed moments when they would play together.

"The love you showed me, built this other side of yourself. I am part of you. And am not planning on leaving any time soon."

"Huh?"

"I am you! And after what you did that day I will stop at nothing to make sure I drag you into the deepest pits of my mind, show you what loss feels like!:

For a second now, Violeta was afraid. The hyperventilating got worse. She fainted

"This is just the beginning."

                                   *

It was now 2 AM. Owls hoots filled the forest and the falling light was completely gone. The forest was quiet.

Except the sound of the branches waving to the wind.

Violeta woke up. With a heavy heart, she picked herself up slowly. Her face portrayed a confusing expression. It was almost as if she didn't know where she was. Weak arms reached to grab a fallen spear and when they did, she bowed her head, squinting her eyes like a drunk man trying to lose the dizziness.

"I need to get back home," she said to herself while holding the spear to support her balance.

Tiredly pushing vines away, she walked through the forest. Suddenly, she noticed something strange. The atmosphere had changed. Too much. It became warmer the more she walked. What's that?"She gasped, "Chikori."