Family Gather

"I'm Yolan," a tall girl, about my height, introduced herself with a friendly smile.

"Aca," said a shorter girl, her voice a bit more reserved.

"I'm Iruneee!" A bubbly girl with long, flowing hair chirped, her enthusiasm infectious.

"And I'm Vill," the last girl said quietly.

She looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. Did she have a child? I couldn't be sure.

"Now that you remember us," Dove said with a playful nudge, "don't you dare forget your own family again."

I nodded sheepishly. "So, um... how do I, you know, unseal my eyes?" I asked, finally getting to the heart of the matter.

Vill spoke up, her voice calm and steady. "Well, the first step is to find the person who sealed your eyes in the first place. That's the most important thing."

"So you mean only the person who sealed my eyes can open them?"

Irune chimed in. "Of course, It's like a locked gate. You need the key to open it, right?"

"I'm not sure who did it," I confessed, feeling a wave of frustration wash over me.

"Who sealed it? It's not like they would have sealed it themselves, would they?" Yolan asked, her voice laced with skepticism.

"Well, I don't know," I replied. "I was just a kid. My mother took me to a local healer..."

"A dukun?" Vill interjected, using the Indonesian term for a traditional shaman or healer.

"Yeah, that's the one," I nodded, a memory of the strange ritual flashing through my mind.

Then Irune asked, "Why is your Harbinger outside?"

"Harbinger...?" I repeated, the word unfamiliar.

"Yeah," she explained, "the creature that's always behind you."

Oh, she's talking about my guardian.

"Why is it called a Harbinger?" I inquired, my curiosity piqued.

"I don't know for sure," Irune admitted. "The book of our ancestors mentions it."

"Our ancestors' book...?" I asked, intrigued.

"First, let's find a more private place to talk," Dove interrupted. "Let's go to my car."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and we followed Dove as she led the way to her vehicle.

Dove's car was a sleek, black SUV, a stark contrast to my uncle's vintage model. We all piled in, me sandwiched between Yolan and Irune in the backseat. Vill took the front passenger seat, while Dove and Aca squeezed into the middle row.

As soon as we were settled, Vill reached back and handed me a worn, leather-bound book.

"Read it," Yolan instructed, her voice a mix of excitement and urgency.

I nodded and opened the book, relieved to find that it had been translated into modern language. I began to read, the words blurring together as my mind struggled to keep up with the unfamiliar terminology and concepts.

"This isn't the original," Dove explained, leaning over the backseat. "The real one was stolen a long time ago."

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes," Vill confirmed, her voice grave. "But this copy contains most of the important information. It should give you a basic understanding of our history and abilities."

"The Great King, once upon a time, made a pact with a devil... and gained a power," I read aloud, the words of the ancient text both intriguing and unsettling. "The devil warned him... not to have a child while possessing this power, or something terrible would happen... but the king ignored the warning and conceived a child anyway. The child inherited the power to see ghosts and other..." I trailed off, my voice filled with wonder and trepidation.

"We were shocked when we found this out too," Dove said, her voice hushed. "To think that our ancestor was actually a great king from long ago."

Is that so...? I pondered the revelation. While I was only half descended from this ancient lineage, it seemed they didn't mind. But what did it all mean for me?

"After those years... we called it The Unveiled because it was a lifting of a veil that once obscured their true sight," I continued reading aloud, my voice echoing in the cramped car. "They could see everything that humans could not, the true nature of reality. They formed a group, but in the end, they all separated and chose to seal their powers in order to live peaceful lives. Except for three of the ancestors, who retained their abilities, until this book was written..." I paused, looking up at the others. "So, this book is just one perspective?"

"The one who wrote it was our ancestor, 400 years ago, before the colonial era," Dove clarified.

"I see..." I mused. "But what's the point of all this?"

Everyone exchanged glances, a somber silence settling over the car.

"There's more," Yolan said softly. "Keep reading."

I nodded, eager to uncover more of my family's secrets.

"The power manifested through the eyes, I, Wali Ra Kian, could control the wind, the rain, and the thunder with a mere glance. Other ancestors also wielded their powers through their eyes... But there was someone, far from our kingdom, who also possessed this power. Their goal was to seal us away. My wife and I fled the kingdom, along with other family members. We sought refuge in a distant village, concealing our true identities and abilities. I learned the art of sealing and eventually sealed my own eyes... I am sorry, my child." The passage ended abruptly.

I looked up at the others, my mind racing with questions.

"This is only a copy," Aca reminded me. "The original was supposed to contain the method for unsealing the eyes."

"Is that true?" I asked, my heart pounding with a mix of hope and trepidation.

Everyone nodded solemnly.

The weight of this revelation hung heavy in the car. The idea that the original book, the one with the answers we sought, was lost to time felt like a devastating blow.

"So... what do we do now?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

A heavy silence settled over the group. We all knew what this meant. Without the original book, our chances of unlocking our full potential, of understanding our true heritage, seemed slim indeed.

Dove broke the silence, her voice filled with a quiet determination. "We don't give up," she declared, her eyes blazing with a newfound fire. "We find another way."

< Chapter 012 > Fin.