Without wasting a single second, they both raced in the direction of the village. The pitch dark night was stalling their speed, but it couldn't douse their spirit. They ran along the lakeside and then took the path through the forest. Little Eva was getting tired, stumbling every now and then but that fearless little soul didn't pause to calm her haggard breath.
But her struggle didn't go unnoticed by her brother. He himself was scuffling with the acute pain searing throughout his body but he quickly bent down and picked her up in his arms and continued pacing ahead.
"Put me down Morpheous. You will tire yourself."
"Morpheous !!!", yelled little Eva. But he was not a man who would listen. He continued racing ahead with the same rhythm as before.
"Is your hand still hurting Morpheous?"
"No,"
"Are you lying to me?"
"No."
"Why he has to keep clipping his replies," Eva muttered in her head and then asked,
"Then why are you gritting your teeth?"
Without replying anything Morpheous kept walking ahead in a brisk manner. But suddenly the unknown forest started looking familiar to him. He could see the giant flag of the Kingdom of Nubia perched on top of the fort from a distance.
"Is this the forest of the forbidden?" Eva asked with her heart in her mouth.
"I think so." He spoke with a worried tone this time because as per the elders of his village clan, they were supposed to stay away from these forests as it was assumed to be under the forces of the evil. But they had not only wandered inside the forest but had also consumed water from a lake amidst the heart of the forest. Although it tasted normal, just like the water from their village pond, he was worried if something could go wrong afterward.
It was told that the souls of the restless ones, the ones who have a desire that is yet to be completed, traversed through those woods.
Buried in his thought he continued walking fast and soon they reached the outskirts of the forest. There was a fork in front of them but the road to their left looked quite familiar. Laced with the blossoms of plumeria on both sides, that road directly led to a village that was visible to them because of the fire.
But the sight of plumeria sucked the blood out of their veins and Eva shouted,
"Brother run !!!"
Because it was no random village that was on fire. It was their own village - 'Ambracia'.
"This cannot be happening," wondered Eva.
Even though she was a mere twelve-year-old girl, she was way smarter than all the children of her village who were even a couple of years older than her.
She had heard about the concept of traveling in time in various mythological stories which were narrated by the elders, but they were just stories. She couldn't fathom that it was actually happening in front of her and if it was then she still had a chance to save her parents and probably others.
Morpheous ran as fast as he could and as soon as they reached in front of their house, he ran forward to open the main door after putting little Eva down. Gigantic flames had already encapsulated their tiny little house and she could hear the desperate call of help, screams, and wailing of her parents who were trapped inside.
The scene was exactly similar. The night before, her brother and she had gone to their fields to sleep overnight as recently their crops were being attacked by elephants. It was their turn that night to keep banging on the utensils so that the herd of elephants didn't enter their cropland at night. They had seen the same crimson and yellow colored sky that night and had run back towards their village, but it was way too late.
Her breath hitched for a moment as she wasn't ready to relive the pain again.
That night Morpheous had barged in through the main door but once he did, two main pillars fell down and the roof had come collapsing down. Her parents got trapped underneath and succumbed to death. That memory was loud and clear in her head like a fresh gaping wound. So she shouted,
"Not through that door Morpheous."
Saying that she ran and blocked Morpheous from entering inside.
"What are you doing Eva? Don't waste my time," he said and pushed her back.
"The pillars will fall down Morpheous and they will be trapped. Trust me when I say so. Go through the back door Morpheous, I beg off you."
Saying that Eva stood in front of him, blocking his path again.
Morpheous hesitated for a while but then ran towards the back door. Eva followed him and picked up the blanket on the cot in the verandah, which had been kept outside for drying.
"Cover yourself," she said and threw the blanket towards Morpheous and started knocking and pushing the back door vigorously. But alas! It was locked from the inside.
"Move," he said and with one single kick, he burst the door wide open and rushed inside. The heat seared through his flesh even through the blanket. There was dust and smoke everywhere and that completely blinded him. The only thing that could guide him in was the desperate screams of Leonidas and Nefeli who had almost given up the last ounce of hope.
The flames slowly started bursting open the windows and a scared Eva took a step back trying to escape from the howling depths of the fire. The smoke made her impossible to see what was happening inside. She stood there petrified, unable to think or do anything.
The roof was going to collapse soon and she could see that past repeating itself, but now she was scared of losing Morpheous as well. She couldn't scream or utter her prayers. She had never felt this helpless before.
Everything around her was slowly getting reduced to ash and rubble. She knew that soon nothing would be left, apart from the desolate trail of burnt remnants. So getting a hold of herself she screamed,
"MORPHEOUSSSSSSS..... "
"Morpheous come out now....."
But there was no response from him. Slowly her tiny chest started getting filled with dust and smoke. She couldn't shout anymore. Her lungs were giving up.
"Morpheous... I cannot lose you now. Come back... Come..."
Everything started becoming hazy. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. She slumped on the ground. Her house had been completely engulfed in the wrath of fire. Flashes of orange and yellow were all that she saw before closing her eyes.