Ayria

It was a rainy night in November when I was struck by lightening. The water flowed five inches off the concrete as I stepped off the bus. Twas a short walk to my house, approximately 25 paces. Not that I’ve counted. It was a home of the middle-class, covered in a golden brown paint, within the village of Waikoloa on the Big Island of the Hawaiian chain.

The rain was beautiful, small droplets dotting my skin and the clothes that covered it, giving me a refreshed feeling. As I stood there with my head heavenwards, my eyes open and my mouth agape, I saw a purple steak across the clouded sky colored in gray. It didn’t occur to me to run home, or to at least move my feet. I was fascinated with the electric color of the lightening bolt, as it made it’s way across the sky like veins in the body, branching out and disappearing all at once.

However, I did not stand there for long. A second later a purple bolt of lightening made it’s way for my direction, hitting me with such power I was knocked into unconsciousness, my scream echoing in the street, disturbing no one. Now know this, I was too afraid to move, and it was not the cause of my stupidity that I was struck.

It must have been hours later that I awoke, for stars littered the sky, and it was as clear as my eyes in a mirror’s reflection. I sat up in bewilderment, and briefly looked around; for nothing looked familiar. At first, I was puzzled as to how I ended up there. Then, I remembered the lightening.

I stood up quickly in a panic, but fell down again as pain washed over me. There were slight burns on my exposed skin, my red hair was slightly singed, and my clothes, which were a black tank top, jeans, and converse shoes, were burnt at the edges. Not too bad, I thought, At least I’m still alive.

I once again looked at my surroundings, this time not as fleetingly. I was on a grassy clearing in the middle of a forest, or at least that is what I thought it to be; the plants were nothing like what I had seen before. The colors seemed awkward. The plants and trees were of a yellowish hue, with blue undertones. The grass itself was reversed from the plants and trees, being of a bluish hue and yellow undertones. They were of the same shape and sizes of the normal plants I had seen back home, but not with the intensity of these colors.

I sat there for a while, until I thought I would be able to move. This time I sat up slowly, the burns stretching painfully on my skin and making my face contort in pain. I was finally on my own two feet and I took a shaky step forward, and then another.

The first thing on my priority list was to find a source of water. I trudged through the grass and low plants blindly, not knowing where I was going. I stopped however, when I heard a noise. It was the soft drips of liquid. I followed the sound hopefully, not caring about being cautious. In front of me emerged a waterfall from the trees. I stood there with my mouth open in horror. The liquid that fell from the top of the waterfall did not have the same characteristics as the water back home.

This water…was red. So red, it seemed as if it were blood. I crept closer to investigate as my heart thudded loudly in my chest, nearing the bank and dipping my hand in. The liquid was cold and refreshing and I lifted a handful to my lips. Relief overcame me as I sipped. It tasted like water.

I could hear footsteps behind me and I turned with fear clenching my gut. I wiped the red water from my lips and ran behind the closest form big enough to hide me, which was a giant boulder by the water’s edge. I hid behind it, my eyes just peeking over the side in wonder as the footsteps came louder.

Two figures entered the clearing around the waterfall, and a small gasp escaped my mouth. What beautiful creatures! The first one to near the water appeared to be male. He looked like a hybrid of a unicorn and a human walking elegantly on two legs, his long silvery hair flowing down his tan back, a proud horn stood atop his forehead like a spear, and a matching silvery tail protruding from his lower back. His skin was a creamy tan color, glistening with sweat under the star’s gaze. The second with him had the ears of a cat, his shoulder-length black hair cascading around his face and his little black ears stood erect. He was a bit shorter than the Unicorn-man(as I will now refer to him as), and was more of a medium build with pale skin and a black bushy tail.

I blushed, as I realized they wore no clothes. But I couldn’t look away, as I was captivated by such unique beauty. I did pull my head back from he side when my foot accidentally slipped on a stone and it landed in the water with a splash.

Immediately, the unicorn-man bolted towards my hiding place and I covered my head with my hands and crouched low, praying he just couldn’t see me. He did though, and I was roughly pulled to my feet, to come face to face with his penetrating gaze. His eyes were as bright as gold, and I stared without meaning to. I was scared, and yet I wasn’t. I could never describe the feeling I had then.

The Unicorn-man broke our gaze and pulled me up off my feet by the collar of my shirt, and I squeaked, trying to pull myself from his grip, but he was too strong. I became terrified then and screamed loudly while thrashing about. He got the message to put me down and dropped me on my backside. He was quite a bit taller than me, perhaps by about a foot, but it still hurt.
He called over his companion in a language I couldn’t understand. But one word I did pick out while they conversed above me, pointing to me and saying the word “Ayria”(eye-ree-ah), which happened to be my name! I was astounded. Perhaps my name meant strange? They were looking at me as I looked at them, like something foreign and unfamiliar.

Suddenly the black cat lifted me up and gave me to the Unicorn-man who put me over his back, and I just relaxed and let him carry me, for fear he’ll drop me again. They walked for some time, my legs and upper body swaying side to side with the Unicorn-man’s movement, lulling me to sleep.

I awoke hours later to the Sun in my eyes. I squinted and sat up. I wasn’t at home. I was still in this odd place. I sighed and lay back down. I was amazed to find my skin didn’t hurt anymore. I heard a noise to my right and opened my eyes wider, looking around the room I was in. It looked to be a grass hut, of the same colors as I mentioned before. I was lying on a bed made of soft fabric that I couldn’t tell what it was, but it felt good on my skin.

The noise was in fact the Unicorn-man from earlier, still just as naked, which noticed with embarrassment. He sat cross-legged on the grass-floor and looked at me in silence. I figured I’d try to communicate with him. So first, I tried to get his name. “I am Ayria” I said and pointed to myself, and repeated “Ayria” again to make sure he understood. Then I pointed to him with a questioning look. It took a few tries for him to get it, but finally, he replied, “Fenaer” (fen-ae-air).

I clapped happily but then cringed and grasped my arms, which began to turn red. Apparently my burns were not healed as fast as I had thought. Fenaer looked at me with the first emotion I had seen on his face, which seemed to be concern. He reached to the side of him, which a wooden bowl was set, and dipped two fingers in. When he removed them, a green water-like substance coated his fingers. He leaned forward and dotted it on my skin, to which I hissed at first, but gradually I calmed down as my skin started to feel better.

Then, he did something surprising. He leaned his face down and nuzzled my cheek, almost affectionately. I was shocked, and I blushed a deep red color, too embarrassed to do anything. He continued this act upon my cheek and moved to my neck. I stiffened. What was I to do? I let him continue for a few more seconds until he stopped and made this cute face, which made me want to hug him.

As I stared into the childish face he made, I wondered, how old was he? He didn’t look a day over 20. For some reason, I began to hear voices. Voices I could actually understand. And I stood up; not realizing these creatures had stripped me bare, and looked heavenwards, my eyes open and my mouth agape.

“She opened her eyes!! Honey get the doctor!!!” a woman yelled as I opened my eyes groggily and looked around. “Mon…?” I asked weakly and she rushed to my aid, hugging me tightly with tears in her eyes. “Oh sweetheart I thought we would lose you!” she said and sobbed into my red hair, while running her fingers through it.

My father chose that time to come in, tears threatening to fall as he came to my bedside in the hospital, brushing back my hair with his hand and covering his face as tears fell. “I’m so happy you’re alive,” he whispered. I was bewildered as to how I got to the hospital with my parents. Wasn’t I with Fenaer? I thought to myself. It couldn’t have been a dream…could it?

The doctor came in and led my parents out and I was left there in my hospital room alone. I saw a mirror hanging on the opposite wall and looked at it, seeing myself. I looked just as I did when I awoke in that confusing land. I was a little disappointed. Was everything just a dream? Even Fenaer?

A person walked in and I looked up from the mirror. My eyes widened as I glimpsed the person who moved to sit next to me on the bed. He looked almost exactly like Fenaer! The difference though, was he lacked the characteristics of a unicorn and has platinum blonde hair reaching to his lower back, which he kept in a tidy braid, and bright golden eyes. He was dressed in the uniform of a private school, of the colors of blue with undertones of yellow.

“Who…” I asked softly, and he replied. “I’m Raenef. I found you on the street and brought you here. They used your wallet to identify you and notify your parents.” He said. He leaned forward, and my eyes looked into his. I felt the same feeling I did when I first met Fenaer. “Did you know…you were in a coma for three days?” he whispered and I shook my head.

It was then that my parents came back in, and stood behind Raenef. “Thank you for saving our daughter young man.” my father said with respect. “Feel welcome to visit us anytime.” My mother added and smiled warmly at Raenef, who in turn smiled. “Visit?” I asked. “He just moved next door.” My mom replied and I looked at Raenef. Something told me there were more surprises to come. I smiled at Raenef as he turned to leave. “Thank you.” I mouthed and he smiled back. But before he left me with my parents, one word escaped his lips. “Ayria.”

I thought about his name for a while, after I was able to return home. It puzzled me. I was not able to think of a place where someone would have such a name as Raenef. But when I began to get a little silly, and compared Raenef to Fenaer, I realized that they were the same name reversed.

With that name, I walked out of my house and into the Raenef’s yard, where I saw him tending to some exotic-looking plants. “Fenaer.” I said and he suddenly stood up straight. “I knew you’d remember.” He said. I stood there in shock as he gave me a sly smile.


Author: Thank you for reading this. If anyone wants me to continue, please feel free to let me know and I shall.