"I do not want to go back to that place. I hate it there!", Jade complained.
"It's your world, Jade, your home", Bacchus replied.
"It's full of hate, oppression, and suffering", she was close to tears.
Remembering what she had gone through in Cones wasn't easy. Anytime she thought that one day, she'd have to go back, a nervous breakdown was close.
"You've learned a lot... you've grown. Like I told you, you are not that girl you were when you appeared on my doorstep a few years ago. You're stronger now... and you've got to believe that too", Bacchus assured her.
He continued; "Go and help people. The oppression and hardship you explained to me is such a sad and desperate situation. You have acquired the strength and ability to rescue a lot of people. Do you want to keep hiding here? Then what did you obtain this power for? Eh, Jade?"
Deep down in her heart, she knew what Bacchus was saying was the truth. Motivating herself, she mentally prepared her departure. When she told Bacchus that she was ready, he nodded with a sad smile on his face. He would miss her company and all the magic they created together.
A few days later, after they had that discussion, she was ready to leave. She didn't need to carry any of the clothes she wore in Goaz...it wasn't like she would go through dimensions and appear in Cones with clothes in her arms.
She said a heartfelt goodbye to Bacchus, and walked through a portal he had created using a strand of her hair, to get her back to her world, and exact village.
* * *
In Cones...
"Knaxx!"
"Take this lunch to Master Adonis, and tell him a pig just gave birth, and none of her piglets died", Mrs. Pegg told her son.
"Woah! That's some good news Ma, but how about my own lunch? I can hear my intestines complaining", Knaxx said to his mother. As if on cue, his stomach growled.
They both laughed, then she handed him his own pack. At least, he could eat beside Master Adonis on his desk during his break at the printing press. Knaxx liked being around his master. He admired how hard-working and kind his boss was, and wanted to be like him when he was much older.
Arriving at the printing press, he smiled and waved to everyone in the office, and they smiled back allowing him to move freely. Who didn't know Knaxx in the office?
"Master Adonis... your lunch sir", Knaxx said entering his little office.
"I know that voice", Adonis said without looking up at the boy that had just entered his office. He was editing something that was to go in for printing soon.
"Come in, boy. Why do you keep looking around like that anytime you come here?", Adonis asked Knaxx.
"I'm amazed at the workings of this place...printers and all the hustle and bustle".
Adonis studied him. He liked how Knaxx was towards work. Knaxx was just like his mum, hard work didn't scare him, and Adonis liked that.
"Don't worry, after your education, I'll find a spot for you here...to get out of the farm often, and for you to have another source of income you can be saving up for your future from. What do you think about that?"
"That would be great, Master Adonis!". Knaxx was so happy, he could hardly contain himself.
"Sit down, let's eat your mother's irresistible cooking. My mouth started watering as you entered with that meal".
* * *
"One of the girls ran away, boss".
Ajax shot him a look that made him feel retarded.
Joe continued; "I have sent some boys to search for her. Should I bring her to you when she's found?"
Joe was Ajax's number one man. He was a black, tall, and huge man, also known for his cruelty and lack of empathy. He fitted Ajax's world very well.
Ajax didn't answer Joe as he asked the last question.
[sometimes, Joe could ask really stupid questions], Ajax thought.
Ajax didn't dignify his questions with a response. Joe got uncomfortable and said; "Got it boss"... rubbing his chin that carried a scar from an injury inflicted on him by Ajax when he said something out of turn, one day.
Joe resented Ajax but he didn't have an option. He was already involved in the business and he actually liked the job because it gave him liberty, and the covering to commit crimes.
As he walked out of the premises, Joe said to himself, almost growling; "When I find that bitch, she'll pay for trying to be smart...also for making the boss look at me like I'm some dummy. Oh! she'll pay alright". He let out a chuckle and crossed the sidewalk, heading for a bar across the road.
* * *
Jade stepped out of the portal and noticed she was in her old room. The room she had shared with her parents. Suddenly, Jade recalled how they had left her, one after the other. They were both taken from her by the same illness. [Only if we had the funds to treat them properly, maybe they wouldn't have died the way they did], she thought.
"I'm back"
Scanning the room, Jade knew she had been gone for quite a while because it appeared so from the look of things in the room. A thick layer of dust was everywhere on the little furniture she had, one chair and a table. She looked over to her thin mattress akin to a mat and noticed it hadn't yet been devoured by rats. Jade was grateful for little wins.
She walked over to her mother's standing mirror...
"What in the world?"
She had changed visibly. Jade could hardly recognize herself. Yes, she knew she had put on some weight but seeing the changes firsthand left her speechless.
"My eyes," she said. They were now of different colors. The gold eye on the right side had given way for a color that looked like the light that came out of the pendant on her neck.
"How can one be gold and the other purple?"
"I look like a freak"
It was disturbing but it didn't bug her one bit. Jade welcomed all the changes she noticed, knowing that she was stronger now.
She smiled feeling pleased with herself. She was no longer that defenseless little girl that was almost raped a few years ago.
"Hell yeah! I am back and I am coming for you all"
A thought lingered at the back of her mind though. [How would I be received by the people?]
"Had anyone even noticed that I was gone?"
"Snap out of it, Jade"
"It is time to plan your move. It's time to get to work".
Jade left where she was standing, and walked into the little corner she had converted into a bathing space. She had to clean up and clean her little home.
* * *
After about 7 days, the Monday paper came out first thing in the morning. It read;
"STRANGE LADY; LIGHT AT THE END OF YOUR DARK TUNNEL"
Adonis made a mental note to read through this piece his colleague wrote and edited. He hadn't been on sit over the weekend, as he was down with the flu and couldn't make it to work. Working 16 hours every day for 7 days, sometimes took its toll on you.
During supper that evening, he sat on the table and flipped the page open.
"Now, most people of Cones go to someone they call 'The Enchantress'. She seemed to have come out of nowhere, but some people say they remember her from the small market on the outskirts of the village. Apparently, she isn't the person that they knew any longer".
He turned to the next page, and the story continued there...
"This young woman had helped lots of people in a short while-just 7 days- with word of mouth spreading like wildfire. They all say she is kind and did not charge any fee for her services or should we say, help. Women who have been looking for children who have gone in to see her are all visibly pregnant now. family men have found fortune and are able to care for their households after meeting her, something that they were too poor to do beforehand.
All that the people know is, a helper has come to save them from their demise and misfortune".
The article ended there.
* * *
Adonis dropped the paper and his mind couldn't remain calm. He wondered why and found himself wishing that he was in the office when this story was being investigated or getting printed.
His interest was peaked. [Who was this lady? Was she even born here? Why was it Cones she had come to? And suddenly helping people? What was her price for doing all these things?]... too many thoughts.
"Surely, she had a goal"
He was aware that people hardly did things from the 'goodness of their hearts'. [So, what was this one about?]
He made a decision to keep an eye on this...
The fact that he was so interested confused him further.