Flashes and confusion

Layla always has been sleeping alone in her room. She was never scared. Until today. It was the day her mother's sister had passed away mysteriously in her sleep on her 50th birthday.

She was woken up from her sleep. Every cell in her body vibrated at a frequency that could shatter glass. She was in complete paralysis. Only her eyes could move. And on her right side of the bed she sees her newly passed aunt standing and smiling at her. Only it's not the real her, she thinks. Her dead straight black hair were now shoulder length Afro. Her gentle smile was wide with very sharp canines. Her over all appearance screamed scary. She started reciting a prayer and before she realises she falls asleep again only to wake up in the morning. Still shaking from last night.

She told her mother who as usual gave no answers. Deflated she leaves. In the evening at her grandmothers house she sees her mother talking to her uncle in hushed tones. Soon another sister joins them and they continue to talk as quietly as possible. Layla instinctively went at a safe distance pretending to be playing in the surroundings and she heard her mother say: yes I agree she is not in her grave. I too saw it empty. Her uncle offered also she is not the same. She has been turned into something inhuman. Her aunt quickly adds yes I agree for I saw her too. But where is she? To which Layla's mother says she has been taken by some creatures not of this world. Just like that they fall into silence and Layla's mind goes in a frenzy.

Being her happy self Layla soon forgets about it and moves on. She sometimes sees shadows around people who she knows are jinns but continues to ignore.

Her entire childhood till her later teens strange things happen but she keeps pushing them aside and moves on. Untill she can't. As the siblings grow up Layla continues to find it difficult to connect with them. They like other girls want to dress up, gossip and hangout. Layla on the other hand is the only girl to attend college and is on a quest to find herself.

Her main questions and concerns have always been the same. Who am I? What's my purpose? Do I full fill a greater destiny or I'll die without being remembered.

The more she thinks the more confused she grows. All her life she gave excellent exams only to find out either she has failed or barely passed. This disheartened her more then anything because for Layla knowledge was everything! Ultimately she finds her self being looked down upon by her own mother and sisters who label her the odd one. And treat her with least amount of care.

Layla on the other hand couldn't take it anymore. She decides to isolate herself. Having no money of her own no career, as her exam still hasn't been declared clear and she has no degree. She is a prisoner of not only her sisters but her own thoughts which seem to have frozen. Every time she tried to go back to her books it was like she could read but the meaning of the sentence did not traverse her mind.

She had no one to go to. No one to talk to. She prayed every second but no answer or sign came from above.

She decides to give up all her dreams and let go of everything she holds valuable.

She had grown up reading fantasy and having read both mythical and mystical texts she knew things like enlightenment portals parallel universes were not just imaginations of men but a reality. She longed to know more to explore more.

Being desperate she sought refugee in meditation. She had heard the sufis and saints called it maraqba. She decided to find her connection through that. She found a teacher who was willing to help. Layla found her first ray of hope. She started practicing immediately with all her being. Before she knows it she cannot sleep for eleven days straight! Her mind is going crazy. One day while meditating she felt like a booster has been attached to her sacrum and she is levitating. She stayed calm and just saw herself mid air. She ran to her teacher who did not have any answers for her. The most she got out of him was, "these things happen just continue" to Layla's ears it sounded like disinterest. With a heavy heart she stopped meditating. She was back to ground zero.

To pass time she decided to learn more about her heroes and others who walked this earth. What better place then YouTube she thinks to herself. Little did she know her searches were in a pattern she did not realised and soon doors will open for her and her life will be changed forever.