The moon shone above Haya as the leaves of the trees covering the view of the night sky rustled with the cold wind of the night.
She heaved desperately for air while she lay down cold on the ground.
Haya had never felt so tired in her entire life. Her dress was drenched in blood and sweat. She was nowhere, and an unexpected encounter could put all her suffering to waste. She knew that her body couldn’t make it.
Haya helped herself up, convinced that she needed to go a little further to find the lake before she could totally surrender to rest.
But running was impossible with her overwhelming exhaustion.
“You should make it. For Avin.” Haya muttered. “But... I'm so tired.” She broke down. And she started sobbing again.
For minutes, she stayed there on her knees, crying.
Until a rustling sound woke Haya’s senses and used up all her remaining energy to run.
After a couple miles of running and an insane amount of bleeding, not far ahead, crystal blue waters sparkled as the light of the moon hit its surface.
Haya felt relieved.
It felt like an eternity.
Limping in her worn-out dress, Haya pulled herself towards the lake. She wanted nothing but to get in the water and get a good soaking.
But she was too tired, and her body started passing out.
The next thing she knew, she was moving. With her eyes half-opened, she peered up the blurry sky.
'I’m being lifted? By who?’  Haya thought.
Haya tried with all her might to struggle, but she couldn’t move away from the strong arms holding her.
“Bring me down,” Haya said between her breaths.
Then, after some moments of struggling, she felt the water wrap around her, slowly reviving her strength.
Haya felt at ease, letting her guard down for the very first time. She floated and stared at the sky as her wounds all over her body slowly healed.
But then, a voice startled her from having her good time.
“A pure soul.” A deep male voice said something, coming from beside her.
Haya stood up instantly, positioning herself for a fight. She never considered dying without even landing a single punch to the enemy. Standing half-naked as she buried her right foot in the lake’s sand underwater, she prepared herself.
Just a yard from where she stood, a figure of a male with a perfectly muscular body showed out from the dark shades of the trees. His features locked Haya’s gaze in awe. He was wearing pure white pants that complement his bare chestiness.
“Who are you?” Haya asked, trying to keep her sane.
“Stay still,” the male responded, walking slowly in the water towards Haya.
Haya stormed off nevertheless, as she was Haya after all, gathering all her strength to throw a punch.
The male though, caught her hand swiftly to stop her and formed an unusual expression that felt strangely calming for Haya.
“Who are you?” Haya repeated but this time, her voice was at ease.
Haya didn’t receive a response, but what shocked her was that this male, standing in front of her, stared at her, mesmerized.
No one looked at her that way.
Never did she remember anyone having ever made her feel worthy of such admiration.
“Why are you…wait! What’s happening?” Haya jolted from their touch as she got astounded by the glimmering pale blue and white glowing lights that started swarming simultaneously in a spiral motion all over her body.
“I have no idea what is happening. All I know is that this might be the answer to my prayers.” The male answered.
The male dove into the water and examined every inch of Haya’s body as the glowing lights turned brighter, illuminating the wholeness of Haya.
“Stop! What are you doing?” Haya found the male’s action uncomfortable.
Haya then dove underwater and tried to seize the male from what he was doing, but she was taken by surprise when the male grabbed her.
Woozy and muddled at the moment, Haya found herself several feet above the ground. The cold wind pressed on her bare skin, the moonlight grew nearer, the lake looked so small yet it glowed beautifully underneath, and Haya knew that she had succumbed to this male’s mesmerizing deep blue eyes.
The next morning felt very warm. The cold breeze gently blew, filling the small space where Haya laid peacefully on a strong, comfortable arm. It is a great morning, with the sound of leaves rustling gently and the birds chirping happily.
Haya seemed to be enjoying her dream of meeting a male of her preference. A male that made her feel at ease. A male that made her feel safe.
She had never felt so rested in her whole life. Everything felt so good, even better when there was laughter everywhere.
‘Wait! Birds? Laughter? And since when did Avin have such strong arms?' Haya argued in her thoughts, trying to decide whether to wake up from this dream or let herself drown more.
“Will you wake up now?” a deep male voice asked, which sounded so familiar yet not.
Haya immediately opened her eyes and found herself clinging dearly to this magnificent creature who lay next to her like an inch apart.
“It’s not a dream." Haya mumbled, still a little hazy from her sleep.
“Of course not. So, if you would please let me go now, I believe you already got the sleep you needed,” the male said while pushing her arm and leg away, which were tightly clung to his body.
“Wait! If this is not a dream, how could I not remember anything?” Haya refused to let go of his grip.
“Of course you wouldn’t remember anything. Now let go!”
“No, I want to know what happened,” Haya insisted.
“Then I’ll have to break your bones if you keep on insisting."
“You’re cruel!” Haya surrendered while losing her grip willingly.
The male stood up hurriedly, and Haya followed.
“Wait! Answer me!” Haya begged from behind.
“You really want to know what happened? Fine then. After acting wildly back at the lake, you just dropped down to sleep. I even thought you were dead. For three whole weeks of our travel, you only did one thing: sleep. Pestering me to get a good cuddle every night. So, I am asking now for forgiveness if I happened to hit you a few times because you wouldn’t let go of me even if it was already late in the morning. It took us a long time to get here, but at least we made it. I stopped myself from making you sleep forever.”
Haya frowned.
“What an interesting story. But I couldn’t really think of a reason why I would go with you in the first place.” Haya still unconvinced.
“Oh, that you mentioned. Before you took your slumber, you told me that you wanted to meet the Creator.”
“And?”
“And I said, I’m your only way to achieve that.”
“Really? And what’s something in return?”
“I will use you for my endeavors. So, you may not like to stay here, but you have no choice. You’ll either try to cope up here, or you’ll live as a captive.”
The male’s expression turned dark as Haya felt unsteady from the things she heard.
“Avin,” Haya said, feeling more helpless as memories started rushing in.
And she started tearing up.