I found myself standing at what seems to be a circular greenhouse. At the center was a marble statue of a woman that stood luminous and radiant under the moonlight that had escaped from the transparent glass roof. Her face leaned gently upon a flower that was clasped by her slender hands, her long wavy hair was sculpted so perfectly and naturally that it made her look as real as a human. I lifted my head more as I marveled at the still figure, so full of grace and beauty.
Is this it? Was I supposed to find the owner of the voice here? There was no one here but me.
My head throbbed for the last time, and when I opened my eyes I wasn't where I was before. It was so bright… so full of hues. Did I subconsciously teleport to somewhere else?
The scene became much more vivid. I looked around me, and wherever my eyes went, all I could see was an endless sea of flowers. The ground was all green grass and wild flowers. The sky was bright blue with clouds of thick texture like cotton. A strong wind that carried petals collided with my face.
I inhaled the sweet fruity scent of the place, not feeling any sense of panic that I may have been spirited away to another realm. I was calm, like all my burdens were all but gone. I didn't think of anything else.
What is this place?
"My daughter." said a soft voice from behind me.
The reply came out naturally as I faced the owner of the voice. "Mother?"
What was I talking about? My mother couldn't be here. It was impossible. She was in a different world, possibly tending to the flower shop.
Then I saw her, long and vibrant white hair, eyes lighter and more translucent than the blue sky. A flower crown rested upon her head. She wore a sleeveless plain white gown with a golden belt—it hugged her godly figure and flowed seamlessly like a waterfall. There were thin ropes acting as vines that crawled from the tip of her middle finger up until her forearm. The woman glowed like she was a walking light source.
Despite what I had previously called her, I asked, "Who are you?"
And who am I? And why are the sides of my eyes heating up? My chest felt tight, my feelings were raging into unknown forms.
The woman's perfectly-formed lips curled into a peaceful smile. She walked towards me. Now that she stood only inches away, tears ran down my face uncontrollably. The woman raised her hand and cupped my cheek. My hands moved on their own, they caressed hers and pressed it more against my skin.
Before I knew it, I was already whimpering. I couldn't stop my shoulders from shaking so hardly.
"W-why am I feeling this way?" I lifted my tear-filled eyes to meet hers, her eyes that shared the exact same shade of light-blue as my own. I continued to sob. "Please… answer me."
The woman rested her forehead on mine. I closed my eyes, feeling the need to savor this moment. But I didn't know why I needed to.
"My daughter… forgive me," The woman's voice was full of sorrow. "Forgive me."
"Forgive you for what?" I dropped my hands along with hers, but I still held it tight. "And why are you calling me your daughter? I… I'm not from here. I'm from a different world."
The truth came out so casually. As if I didn't agonize about the fact, as if it didn't really mean much to me.
The woman's free hand went on top of mine that still held the other. She closed her eyes before speaking.
"It's my fault… I sent you to a very faraway place without your permission." Then the woman opened her eyes, the grief and sadness now much more evident. The strange thing was that I felt them too. "But my daughter, I needed to. I needed to… or else they would have killed you too."
All the alien feelings kept piling up, any moment and my heart might really explode from the pain.
"What… what do you mean? I don't understand anything you're saying." I just kept sniffling and sniffling. "Please… just please… for once, make me understand."
"Calla, my daughter…"
Her answers were becoming more unclear.
I shook my head. "Why call me that name? Why do you keep calling me your daughter?"
My real name was Mai. But why? Why do I feel like never letting go of this woman's hand? Why do I have the strong urge to hug her, to hold her tight? Why am I so afraid that she might disappear?
As if she read my mind, she said, "Mai… your earthen name. But here… you are Calla. Daughter of Kaia… Daughter of Khloris."