Rana was asleep. It was past midnight on her digital alarm clock. Her head was lying comfortably on the pillow while her back was flat on the bed with the blanket covering her entire body. She stirred a little but was still deeply soundly asleep.
She was walking along an empty road. But it wasn't so dark; she felt the light cast by the moon above. She could feel the chill in the air. Reflexively, she checked her black leather vintage wristwatch. It was midnight.
Where could she be? She looked everywhere around her.
The place was unfamiliar to her eyes. A thin fog has descended the road and everything around her. She felt the cold breeze as a slow wind blew past her. She was dressed in her current day working clothes—a yellow top and a pair of black jeans and her favorite brown boots but her sleeves were short. She felt goosebumps on her skin when the chilly air touched her skin. She blew a breath and saw smoke coming out of her mouth.
She averted her gaze to the side and saw trees that grew by the sides covered in darkness, their shadows a casted slant by the light of the bright full moon. She looked up the sky and saw the moon round and shining like a white diamond in the black canvass sky. Dots of stars could be seen and they were scattered and distanced apart from one another. Clumps of clouds floated to the side of the horizon.
She's never been in this place. Where could she be? She thought again wondering at the question. Everywhere was quiet. She kept walking ahead.
Then, she heard the sound of flowing water ahead. She followed the sound keeping her pace as she walked forward heading to where it might come from. She stopped by the stream of the river.
Under the light of the moon, she could see the water. It was very clear and clean flowing in serene beauty. A clear glass of stream. She was caught by the sight she almost wanted to scoop a cup on her hand to drink it but resisted the temptation.
Rana veered her sight to the sound of the flowing water and saw the water freely flowing from the mountain height. It painted a wonderful sight under the moon sky. Red flowers could be seen jutting out of the sides of the waterfall where the water didn't directly hit them. They grew abundantly to the side. Tall trees shadowed by darkness grew at the top of the edge.
She saw a bird flying in the sky disappearing among the black trees covered in shadows.
Must be an owl on its nightly prey back to return on its perch, she thought.
Rana then heard the rustling of the leaves and the sounds of light footsteps approaching.
The ground became dark as passing clouds covered the sky.
She only saw silhouettes of two people at the other side of the stream. The other form was walking faster than the one behind her.
"I have to go, Ethiara." A young girl said in a strong determined voice.
The other form stretched her arms and hands grabbing the other girl by her arms.
"You can't stop me." The young girl said tightly.
"Don't be stubborn," said the other female. Her voice was a bit deeper, more mature. "You don't even know where you're going."
"It's none of your business."
The young girl snapped at the older girl.
"Of course it's my business, sister. It's my business to stop you."
The older sister said concern traced in her voice.
"Make me, Ethiara."
The young girl said in a stubborn but fierce tone.
"I'll go with you instead. I'll help you find him."
The older girl said.
The young girl laughed.
"You?" she said in a high voice. "You will help me find Enos?" she asked in a jeer. "As if, sister." She removed her arm from her sister's hands.
"Stop trying to stop me, sister." She said in a cold voice.
"You don't know where you're going." The older girl said with her worried voice insistent to stop the younger girl.
"I know where I'm going. I'm going to find Enos."
Replied the young girl coolly.
"Do you know where he is?" She asked her. Her question challenged the younger girl.
The younger girl didn't reply.
"See? You're so insistent in finding him, yet you don't even know where to find him."
She said with a flat tone.
"All I have to do is pass the moon portal," argued the younger girl turning her head to look at the moon.
"Do you have any idea where it will lead you?" the older girl asked, her voice full of doubt.
She answered with a shrug.
"Then, stop right now, Enara." She said in a firm voice. "You will not find him."
The young woman released a harsh derisive laugh.
"And simply stay here when I can actually find him over there?" She said pointing her arms to the bright white moon.
"You don't make sense, big sister."
"Still you will not find him." The older girl said insistently. "You will only lose yourself in the process."
"Still you cannot stop me." The younger girl said stubbornly.
The older girl heaved a sigh.
"You're making this more difficult."
The younger girl crossed her arms.
"You're making it more difficult, big sister Ethiara."
"Mom and dad will surely punish you if they find you still out at this hour."
The older sister said sounding a threat to her little sister. The younger girl kept walking.
"Why don't you go back home, sis?" she jeered back at her older sister. "Then, you won't be punished for being out so late at night."
"You're not making sense," said the older girl, her voice already defeated.
She stopped walking and looked back at the older girl.
"I'm making sense. I'm making much more sense than I've ever done in my life."
"YOU WILL NOT FIND HIM!" the older girl raised her voice shouting at the younger girl.
"I WILL FIND HIM!" she shouted back.
"He's been gone for over a decade now. How do you think he will return? Through the portal…?"
The older sister argued back.
"He could even be dead."
She muttered to herself.
"NO! Don't say it like that, Ethiara," said the younger girl in a weak voice. "I don't believe it. I won't even believe it for one second. He's still alive."
Her voice tightened saying it.
"I know he's still alive."
She said with conviction.
"You really love him, don't you?" her sister asked her gently this time.
"I do." She answered truthfully. "That's why I'm going to find him and bring him back here, Ethiara."
"I envy your love for Enos. Ethos doesn't even see me that way the way Enos saw you."
"It's your unluck, sister." The younger girl said emotionless.
When she saw that her older sister was looking at the ground, she jumped up the ground to go to the cliff where the waterfalls were. But something fast slashed across her left arms. She fell down the river with a splash.
"ETHOS!!!!!" the young girl hissed angrily as she got up from the water.
Another form appeared from the shadows. He walked so lightly Rana couldn't even feel him if the younger girl didn't shout his name in anger.
"Get out of the water and fight me if you wish to get out of Lunara."
A deep baritone voice said sending shivers to the younger girl. She didn't want to fear the boy. She knew him too well. But whenever his temper rose when he saw her, she had to suffer from his rough treatment.
The young girl got out of the water. Her hair and her clothes were drenched and were dropping with water. This time Rana was surprised to see tails coming out of her back. They curled and swayed behind her.
The older boy walked towards her.
The younger girl raised her legs to kick the boy on the face but was easily deflected with his arm. The younger girl crouched on the ground and kicked him again close to his ankles but once again the boy easily skipped off it and jumped away from her.
The younger girl rose from the ground and dashed towards the boy and bent her right arm and stretched it against him when she reached close to his face. But once again, he blocked it with his left arm. Frustrated, the young girl swirled from her right making a full turn going to the left, and by surprise kicked the older boy with all her strength to his chest.
The older boy dropped to the ground with a thud.
"You—!" he exclaimed holding his chest as he tried to rise.
"Ethos!" exclaimed the older girl running towards him and dropping herself on the ground.
The clouds cleared the sky revealing the moon. Once again the night was illuminated by the full round moon in white light.
"Take care of him, sister."
The younger girl said in a very flat voice. She jumped high on the ground reaching the cliff and jumped higher again towards the moon disappearing as she got closed to it.
The two remained on the ground. The older girl helped the young man to stand up. Then, they jumped into the sky.
Rana saw the remaining two forms floating in the sky. Then she saw that their tails came out of their backs moving and swishing behind them.