Sheila's Pov
You know a lot about me already.
Going over it once more would probably bore you.
When I'd gone over to Shay's home (the name Shay was given to her by Ryan, and it became sweeter each time another called her so) on her request that I stop by.
I'd often wonder why Shay was so different. I had begun to think of her as a feminist. She never liked boys even as she grew up. There were worse-case scenarios where whenever Leila, my friend visited with her son, Keith, she would become a tyrant on the poor boy.
Leila was my neighbor next door, she was a single mother whose husband was late. Keith her son grew up to be a fine lad, but Shay never got to like him even as they were younger.
She would pull at his hair when they were younger, muttering and uttering her dislike for boys. That attitude grew with her. She got into constant conflicts with the boys in her class who seemed bossy and disrespectful.
Surprisingly, she never had a boyfriend even when Keith had proposed his humble feelings to her, she had made him quite an embarrassment.
"Maybe, she is never meant to have a home. Never meant to love but I believe there is a vacant void in her wanting love as much I do," Keith had said before he left town.
He had later found himself a sweet lady and settled down a mile from home.
Shay was my daughter and I did know her well. Falling in love was never part of her plan. She was an independent woman who wanted no man involved in the affairs of her life.
Strangely, she was well attached to her father. She loved him. We had to sit her down and question her view of men. Sadly, she was bent on her choice, and she was never going back.
Funnily, Shay explained to me how she got a lengthy, long mirror situated in the far center of her room. Someone had sent it anonymously as a present or gift from my mother.
That piqued me off but I'd easily laughed it off. My mother never kept relics, never kept artifacts neither was she an archeologist.
How on Earth would she have kept that away from me?
Shay lived with her in the time pass, so she should know better. That aside, my mother never studied any other particular or strange language that she alone would know of.
The mirror itself was spectacular, its edges embroidered in a funny, ancient way. I told Shay to return it to whatever company had sent it to her but she had never gotten across to me about it.
One morning, I suddenly had a funny feeling while I was in bed. It felt as if I was suffocating from lack of air. I rushed out of bed to open the windows, and I drank a cup of cold water.
The air was cold, winter was coming yet I felt suddenly hot and suffocated. How else was I to explain it?
I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. Then, I rang up Shay. She wasn't picking.
Maybe, she was fast asleep, I reasoned.
The feeling went on until after an hour. I was pushed to the thought of ringing up Ryan. But I never did. I never wanted to call him although he was her father.
The feeling suddenly stopped as suddenly as it had started.
Kai's POV
My name translated the powerful one.
I am the son of the great king of Siuan, the famous King Gayatri of the land of Siuan. Siuan, the land of the great Beyonds, the land that any proud Siuan would never leave for.
I represent the people of Siuan, my father believed me to be a gift from the gods, and I never doubted that of him.
I worked better under the guidance of my father but when he fell into a state of coma, I was devasted. I was forced to take on responsibilities that I wouldn't want to.
I wanted to be a simple man, an ordinary man of the Siuan. Being forced into such a situation has compelled me to have a different view of life.
Our Sikeka had spoken of one that would be a help to me, one that would further guide me from the chaos of my choice. I had found it quite baffling that I, Kai, the powerful one would have the luxury of falling in love.
Oh yes, I do love women but that wasn't my priority. I needed to restore my father's health. Himu found me most times often by my father's side. She was still young to be a widow.
Most days found me yet away. My warriors would beseech me to come with them and search for food as it were the role of the men to bring in meat to the settlement.
That was when I found the cave. It was on the outskirts of the Siuan settlement, much closer to the path that led to the Tar'kish settlement.
To be found on the outskirts of the Siuan settlement even by the enemy was trouble but I knew that I could take care of myself.
I was a warrior, but being careful was better than being alone.
We the Siuans believed that being in the company of your brothers was better than being alone.
There were other tribes in the valleys but the Tar'kish had always been our bordering enemy. We were once at peace but that was a very long time ago.
That cave where I found peace seemed to me like a mythical place. One or twice, a whirlwind medium was created and I would view in the other world objects made out of wood and cotton.
It felt surreal.
The next time, the medium opened, it showcased a ravishing beauty. Her sense of clothing was awkward to me. Sikeka had said something about this style of dressing at one time.
The lady too had seemed shocked to see me. The way we touched each other but yet not touching made me want to meet her.
When I tried to say something, she couldn't possibly hear me.
I wanted to meet her, I wanted to know her.
Seeing her there had me intrigued.
I had never felt such overwhelming emotion for a woman before.
I got to see her over and over again. She was interesting. But a prince had other delicate matters to attend to. So, I left a cowry from my hair in the place of our meeting point. When I returned to the place, the cowry was gone and I knew something was wrong.
(Author's note: Himu means mother in the Siuan's language. Shikeka means a woman shaman in the Siuan's language. )