Chapter 40 - 41. Falak
Time drifted very slowly when waiting was the only I could do, and the view of that iron walls was the only I could enjoy. I could count the numbers of iron bars of my cage, where the rusts were located, and even the different colors it was caused. It was really boring.
On the other side, the only person who did not mind 'waiting' for me to die any time any minute when I was asleep while Falak was coming was Antonie.
"Tha, sit down please! And stop walking back and forth!" His sounding upset voice distracted me.
"I am thinking about how to get out of here," I said curtly. He responded me with his mocking laugh. Hearing his laugh made me even more annoyed. "I have life out there, my job in the florist, my need-revising final assignment. They will not be done with my being locked up here. I don't care with all annoying things here! I just want to go back to Zie until whatever locking his spirit in that doll disappears. As simple as that! Nothing more! Can anyone understand that??!" I was obviously out of control. This frustrated situation really tortured me. I yelled at Antonie even though I knew he had nothing to do with my problems.
"Tha, are you still thinking such stuffs in this place?" Antonie stared at me with serious look. "Don't you know that you can lose your life any time if you make wrong steps." It did sound make sense for me, but I was still confused with the choice that I had to take. "What you are facing now are not the buyers at your florist nor your final report. Azalea will give no shit on it. She only knows that she has to stand at the front row at the war against the witches who break the rules, black magic, killing, death, and danger."
"What am I supposed to do then? Can I do either one that you just told me? I am not a wizard and no wars in my world—well there might be wars somewhere else, but my city is a peaceful one. I am trying to understand this. But believe me, I just don't understand why she took me here and asked me to join with her." It was so tiring talking with these two people who did not understand me.
"My advice is to take her offer," Ridiculous. He said it without a burden, sounded easy for me. "Didn't she promise your freedom and be with your friends again? Just think that by administering her you will both have mutual benefits."
The last words he said sounded make sense, "but, how if I fail? I am no one here. Even in my own world I am just whuuzz. " I imitated how the wind blew. "Don't you understand? No one think I am important, not even my family. Let alone in your world, BANGG! Many non sense and crazy things happen at once, any time!" I spoke like someone losing his mind, a total insane person. Perhaps it was caused by my worries. "I imagine if I fail, Azalea will not only hang me in this cage, but also throw me to Falak and…. I am done!" After bringing out all burdening my mind, I heard Antonie chuckled in his cage.
Despite the annoying response I got from Antonie, I felt so much relieved to have spoken out my worries and fear. "Leave it! You never understand," I gave up.
While we were busily arguing, I saw Falak was crawling up. He checked every cage in the room. Although I had seen it several times, I still could not get myself accept this weird scene as normal. That snake still so horrifying and weirdly I could not get my eyes off him.
The time when he oppened his mouth and swalowed his preys was well recorded in my memory. I was sitting so still and my eyes were locked on him.
"Tha,"
"Tha!,"
"THA!,"
A shout woke me up. It was from Antonie. "What are you looking at?" he was curious.
"A snake," I said softly. "That is him." My finger pointed to that snake that was gliding down slowly to the bottom floor of this room.
"Can you see that?" Antonie looked shocked and disbelief.
I nodded, but I still could not take my eyes off Falak that moved in spiral movement.
I turned my eyes quickly to him and saw him smiling back at me. The smile was like laughing at my stupidity. "Tha,you are funny, very funny," What did he mean? "You have 'that'," He gestured it to my face. "Yes, but you are not aware of that, yet". It sounded ambiguous. "For me Falak looks not more than a cloud of clear liquid creeping up and swallow every cage. I wonder if Azalea can also see that creature in complete look clearly.
I could not say anything. This was too much confusing. I really thought he could have seen the real look of Falak because he knew when that creature came.
"Does Falak look like this?" He showed me a book of a snake picture of half human.
"No," I corrected it. "Only the head part is a bit like a man face, but not his body. He has no arms like us. His mouth is big, eyes are big bluish green." I was trying to describe Falak to Antonie.
"You are funny Tha," after a while his laughter subsided along with the book in his hand disappeared in one blink. "Now I know why Azalea badly want you. You have got very beautiful eyes."
His words sounded like filthy words of a boy to my ears. Somehow, I still did not understand it all. I got more confused.
I took a deep breath and breathed it out slowly. 'Why all creatures I met think differently from what I have in my mind? I really don't understand all this matter'
…
Today was the day Azalea would come to visit me. She stood on my cage arrogantly. "How is it? Have you thought over the answer to my offer?" She looked at me with her great interest. "I am sure something is really hungry here and is ready for you if you refuse my offer." Her words made me afraid. She cornered me to push me to join her no matter what the reasons were.
"Take her along with you!" Antonie spoke up. My eyes flickered to him sharply as if to say 'Do you want to make die faster?' I know that with your help she will be a very great person," He definitely exaggerated things.
"What are you talking about?" I cut him. "I have not said 'yes'!" I still needed more time to think it over again.
"Okay, let us take it this way," Azalea spoke up. "You come with me, and I will hide your friend somewhere until the spells are gone from him. Meanwhile, you can also see him," She made another offer. "Do you know that the hiding place of your friend in between dimension has been known by those who want him?. I am sure that he is with that fussy tea maker and the Lichen, isn't he?!" I was just speechless. I wondered how they could find Zie I hid him there secretly. "Answer me 'yes', and this afternoon I will send my people to drag him here." It was a serious threat. Her gaze was intimidating me, too.
I gave up. I could not imagine Mickey and Kerberos if she did it to them, especially to Zie. Hopefully with the decision I made, they would be fine. "Alright" I gave her soft reply. I had no other choice but taking the offer.
…
Azalea took me out of that cage. Meanwhile, Antonie waved at me and looked so happy. "I pray that you will never come here again. To the truth, you are very noisy." Antonie grinned.
I ignored him, and walked silently behind Azalea. She had terrifying aura. I felt my body trembled while I was walking behind her.
We walked out of the room, walking along narrow path with dim light. My short=sighted eyes due to the exposure of computer screen, needed to work extra hard to walk carefully. It was worsened by the missing of my spectacles Mickey had broken them few days ago and right now they were being repaired. And I thought that contact lens simply did not approve me.
"We will start with the basic training." Her words were firm.
I simply said yes because she had promise to hide Zie from other black witches.
We went into a small room. There were two long wooden tables with two chairs on each of them. Azalea ordered me to sit and gave me a piece of paper, asked me to read the letters written there. But I was an illiterate, did not know what kind of syllables written there. None of the letters I recognized so I just saw it.
"Read it loudly!" She said firmly.
I kept looking at that paper, hesitated. "I don't know what letters are these," I told her softly.
"Baaamm!," she knocked the table very loudly. My heart was about to jump out. azalea looked furious.
But I tried to stay calm, until I heard a small creature was chuckling seeing me being scolded. Its body was like a bird, but with two human hands and human head.
"Don't turn your head away when I am teaching you." She shouted.. That creature quickly went away and I was back to my lesson.