Fina opened her eyes slowly, everything was blurry until it cleared.
She looked up to see Mr Walker standing in front of her.
Something vanished into the air when he saw she was awake.
She was awake.
She had chosen to live.
That confuses her extremely because she had chosen death but another voice had talked.
An unfamiliar voice.
The voice had said 'live'.
The other one.
"You are awake" Mr Walker said
Fina couldn't tell if it was relief she read in his eyes.
But it certainly was.
Zo and Shelly rushed out of nowhere and embraced her.
Fina winced from the pain coursing through her body.
The girls removed themselves at once. Tears in their eyes.
"Oh. Sorry. I'm just happy that you are back" Shelly said
Zo held Fina's hand.
"Don't go anywhere without me again"
Fina knew she had scared her.
Xavier, Kit, Bryce and Ozias stepped forward, relief evident on their face.
"Welcome back" Bryce Parker said
"Oh. Here" Zo said "She brought out Fina's vial and opened it.
"Drink it all" She said
Shelly raised her head and poured the vial into her mouth.
Her eyes felt drowsy and in the blink of an eye, she was asleep again.
But not over there.
In a logical dream.
******
Fina opened her eyes to the warmth of the sunlight.
She hadn't had any nightmare at all but she had had a dream.
"Feeling better?"
She turned to see Mr Walker leaning on the wall at a corner.
"Yes, thank you. For everything"
Mr Walker didn't move.
"I didn't do anything. You saved yourself" He said "I'm just not happy with you for not telling me although I did warn you"
"I didn't know how. And you wouldn't even believe me"
"An acceptable excuse" Mr Walker said "Is the pain gone? You looked like you just battled with a million devil"
"Yes. The potion worked. Thanks for the compliment. I'd say the Queen knows" Fina said
"Queen Frida might have known but she must have known she couldn't save you either. That the only way she could save you is by giving you that potion"
"She told me to choose wisely. Perhaps, that meant I shouldn't use the potion just anyhow"
"Perhaps. But you never know her mind. Are you ready to tell me everything that happened? I'm sorry to make you rehash such bad memories but I have to know so that I can protect you"
Protection.
Walker wants to protect her.
The same David Walker who doesn't like her.
So, Fina told him everything.
Everything.
Bryce, Ozias, Xavier, Kit, Shelly and Zo walked in when she was telling Mr Walker what happened.
The boys face were full of anger, shame, betrayal and so many emotions at once it was fascinating.
When Bryce Parker couldn't take it anymore, he squeezed Fina's hand.
"I'm glad you are safe" He said, the hurt evident in their eyes.
Tyrell had hurt them all.
Ozias was mad about Jessica and they were all mad about Coco.
"Thank you" Fina said
Ozias looked like he wanted to say something but kept quiet.
"When did you find out?" Kit asked
"When Xavier confirmed that Xiana was his girlfriend" Shelly replied
"I did?" Xavier asked in confusion.
"Yes." Fina replied slowly. "You were dying and asked us to take you to Mr Walker" She said "We came to know about Xiana because of the trees"
"The talking trees" Kit whispered out loud. "I knew there were talking trees in Elfina but I didn't know which. Trees talk"
"One of the trees was in love with Xiana" Shelly said
"The tree of fog" Bryce Parker said, looking directly at Fina.
"Yes" Fina replied in confusion.
"How did you-?" She asked
"It's always foggy down there. So, it's because a tree is sad that it becomes foggy?" Bryce asked
"A tree in love" Kit corrected "Amazing"
"It said there was a faceless boy. Xiana's boyfriend" Zo said shakily.
Fina wrapped her hands around her tiny one.
"Tyrell uses dark magic to make everyone forget. He uses dark magic to make the trees not to recognize his face" Fina said
"Trees are powerful beings but faces are something they aren't good at. They can recognize scents from afar. They can recognize anything from afar. They are many in the City of Wonder. Talking trees. Strange creatures. Guardian of the City of Wonder, Arnold, makes sure they do not do anything funny" Mr Walker said after a long time.
"City of Wonder. Hmm. I'd love to go there someday. Perhaps after exams?" Kit said, already arranging his schedule in his head.
"The trees told us about Xiana Kangs' name. From there, we started searching about her boyfriend. The School Recording Hall wiped all records of her. It's like she never existed" Fina said.
Bryce Parker looked far away for a moment.
"Xiana was perfect. She aced everything" He said "One day, while we were studying together in the library, she fell asleep and had a nightmare. It was intense. Like she was fighting some demons"