Chapter 2: The Outlooks: Win

AZURA

Making the most out of the moments you go through is the key to living your life to the fullest, the key to being content. Because you never know when in a second you’ll encounter a situation which will turn your life upside down. When in a minute you’ll stumble upon a condition where you’d be forced to choose between yourself and your life; to give up one or the other and all you’d be left with… would be the memories you make. The moments you lived in and the chances you took.

*`*`*

A bright light shined all around that made me squint my eyes. Even when I had a hand covering them, it stung. Soon, however, the light cleared, and I looked around to see that I was standing in the exact middle of some crossroads.

While each road led to the streets of countless and identical houses, I raked my brain to find out why there was a sense of familiarity yet why I couldn’t remember where I was? But I didn’t find the answers to both the questions.

On top of it, there was no sound: no chirping of birds, no thump of footsteps or clunk of heels. Even the wind was still, and that made it – wherever I was – eerily quiet. I thought of walking into one of the streets and look for anything that could tell me where I was, but each one stretched as far–and maybe even more–as the eye could see. It made me question the time it’d take to explore one street, considering that I had three more to discover. And so I used the only trick that could’ve chosen for me.

“Eenie, meenie, miney, mo.” I whispered, and it pointed me towards the street I currently faced, and without wasting another second, I marched off in the direction.

I walked, and I walked, looking to the sides, hoping to see some sort of a clue, but there was nothing. Every driveway, every garden, every fence was the same, and nothing, absolutely nothing was out of order.

It was then that something caught my eye or stung it again. I looked at it but couldn’t make out what it was. Although, as I reached it, something happened, and I wasn’t at the crossroads anymore. Instead, I was in a spacious room with simple but elegant decorations on cream walls that left me in awe.

I did a whole three-sixty degree as I gazed across the room, and when I stopped, I was standing in front of the mirror wearing a fancy dress that fitted me so well, as though it was specially stitched for me. An electric blue dress with red borders on the hem and arms covered my skin as the bottom of it swayed every time the wind blew. I realized I looked… older than before. My features were more prominent, I guessed, as I noticed how my jawline was more defined, and my cheekbones were further popping. The sparkle in my blue eyes was vibrant as well, and I saw how mature I looked.

For a moment, I stared at the reflection of the mirror, wondering if it really was me but, then, someone knocked on the door. I turned my neck a little to see Rose sweeping in wearing a baby pink knee-high frock and golden stilettos as she twirled in front of me, immensely excited, showing me off her dress. She, too, looked older and stunning as I watched her, and that made me speechless, but somehow I heard myself say,

“Oh my God, Ro! That dress is a killer look on you!” I looked back up at her, and she stared at me with pure happiness that made my heart bathe in warmth.

“Oh, I have to tell you something!” I exclaimed, remembering what just happened, and rushed forward to spill it on her. But just when I tried to grab her shoulders, my hands glowed and went through her as though I was a ghost.

Astonished, I stared at myself and saw how my whole body glowed and flickered and how in a minute, my clothes went back to the ordinary ones instead of the elegant yet fancy maxi I was wearing before. Panicked, I lifted my head again just as I heard her say something to me.

“What?” I asked, but then I felt a jolt coursing my veins as Rose stepped forward and walked right through me without even hesitating. I followed her with my gaze and gasped at what I saw.

It was me Rose was talking to! Or someone who looked exactly like me. Only, her features were much more defined, and it was a clear indication that I wasn’t the only Azura there. She happily chirped in her ear as they turned back to stand in front of the mirror, admiring their looks.

“Rose!” I called out, but she didn’t hear me, or maybe she ignored it. Agitated, I called her again, but I couldn’t grasp her attention. Opening my mouth, I thought of trying to call out to her one more time, but then I realized that she didn’t even seem to be aware of my presence, as if I wasn’t even there. It dawned on me that maybe I really wasn’t, and that thought somehow terrorized me.

“Where am I?” I whispered to myself as I looked around the whole room, once again, trying to find something that would give me the answer and failed at it. But then something being said caught my attention.

“It isn’t every day that you fight and defeat a dark lord or whatever, and I mean you even resisted the temptation of the book!” It was Rose who jumped up and down as she exclaimed that to me, or well, a version of me.

“Well, I had help from every one of you. I can’t take all the credit.” The other me replied, flustered as she smiled, looking at the ground, palms on her cheek. I frowned. What was it that they were talking about?

It felt as though they had slid a little afar, so I took a cautious step towards them, leaning in to listen to their conversation, even when I knew they couldn’t see or hear me.

“Be modest all you want, but I know it, and everyone out there knows it. You were a fighter when it came to the situation. You fought when it felt impossible to find a solution. Azura, you gave us hope when we thought it was a lost cause. You deserve every bit of credit.” Rose emphasized, peering into her face as her cheeks darkened into crimson. What had I done to receive such praise?

“You can’t just ignore what you had to go through when the signs began to appear. Like, who even has that much strength to fight not one, but two evils at once? And that too when you’re on the brink of losing your life?” Rose flailed her hands, trying to make her point clear, yet she had more to say.

“Azi, that book may have gotten you far, but even that wasn’t good. And I’m glad you used it enough and got rid of it.” She put a comforting hand on Azura’s shoulder as she beamed at her proudly. It warmed my heart to see her reacting that way for me. She really was a best friend one would be lucky to have.

However, suddenly I noticed how far they seemed again, so I took another step, closing in one more time, but they had started to distort. I tried getting closer, but they both had begun to stretch away as I was left standing, and in another blink, I was swept into the same street I walked into.

Huffing, I looked behind me to see how far I was from the middle of the crossroads. I panted as I calculated my next move. I had to walk all the way back to the middle and then decide what I could do or to where I could walk. Because so far, I only knew that I saw a version of me into a situation, I believed, to be an alternative one where God knew what happened, which might or might not turn into a reality.

And apparently, I was some sort of hero.

Except, instead of filling me with pride or encouragement, all it did was make me want to go back home even more than before. Clearly, I didn’t know where I was, and that made my way back harder.

“Azura.” Someone called me from behind, and I jumped as I turned to see a person wearing a long navy blue robe with black patches in zigzags on the whole cloth, which hid his feet. There was a red cloak that hung behind the person, and the hood on it was raised, which made me unable to see a face, but by guessing from the voice, I interpreted that the person was a male.

“What… who are you?” I asked, startled from the sudden presence and attention as I staggered backward. He wasn’t here before. How did he get here? How could he even see me? Rose couldn’t. Why couldn’t she see me? Why was I even here?

Questions like those created a tornado in my head but seeing this stranger standing in front of me, I hoped to gain some of the answers as I waited for any sort of response from him. He, however, took his sweet time, and after agonizing seconds passing like turtles, he slowly lifted his hands that reached the hood and lightly pushed it back to hang behind his head.

His face wasn’t visible yet, I could only see his bluish-black hair that shimmered underneath the sun, and when he lifted up his arms, the sleeves of the robe traveled down a little. I noticed a burned mark on the left forearm of his plump white skin. I tried looking away because it was rude to stare, but I couldn’t… as though it drew me towards it.

I saw an oval shape with, what I thought was rough skin inside it, and from the edges were spikes pointing out from everywhere. It was as though someone – like a kid – tried to draw a sun from a branding iron and failed. I wanted to touch it so that my assumption of the rough skin would prove true, but before I could do anything my thoughts were interrupted.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Instantly my eyes darted back to the stranger’s face, and I could see that this man was somewhat in his early forties. He had this elderly look in him and, his aura seemed calm and helpful. Hopefully, he could help me figure out where I was and what I was doing here.

I shook my head in an attempt to tell him that he didn’t startle me, which he clearly did, but I was too jumbled to think straight.

“Who are you?” I asked, settling for the obvious question for which I hoped for a clear answer. I thought that maybe answering one question would put me at ease because tons of questions were bubbling inside me, and none were acknowledged.

“I am Rigel, the Beta Orionis.” The man said, folding his arms lightly, as the wide sleeves of his robe swayed due to the movement.

I blinked. “I’m sorry, the what?”

“Rigel.” His lips stretched into a slight curve as he nodded his head, understanding flickering through his eyes.

“Right. And why—” I took a deep breath, pausing to stop myself from snapping at him.

“How are you here, and why am I here?” I asked still rather rudely but then again, I was in some isolated place without any idea about why I was here and how was I going home. So having someone being dropped in wasn’t exactly pleasant unless it was to help me.

“I am here to guide you, so you can go back to your world and don’t fall prey to the temptation.” He said with authority prominent in his voice. I opened my mouth to argue with him, but there wasn’t anything to argue about. I was completely lost here, and it wasn’t his fault, but what he said also got me curious. Even Rose mentioned it to the Azura in the vision I just saw.

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