The wheels hit the tarmac and a metallic staircase was placed in front of the exit, for us to climb down safely. The mansion's building opened into the large garage that spread 100 yards to the left and right, in which we had landed. A plain green grass square was incorporated to the right of the building and held a few rose bushes and plantations to add to the aesthetics of the building and make the entrance more welcoming in the extravagance of the huge garage and the vehicles that stood in it.
The crisp autumn breeze hit my scantily clad, feverish body, as I made my way down the stairs and entered the mansion through the polished dark wood door. The hallway was curved and opened quickly into the lounge, in which the sounds of several people chattering was clearly audible, however the dining table t was empty. I looked upon my left and saw a few young men and women sitting and standing around a middle aged man, with an elegant silver beard, in silk robes, sitting on one of the couches placed around the persian rug.
"You can enter, Amira," he acknowledged me in a deep baritone voice, as we made eye contact.
"You say as if you gave me a choice, old man," I said walking over to the groups of people surrounding the sitting place. Dawood was trailing right behind me, and the person I assumed to be Khan, stood up when he saw him, his grey eyes lighting up in recognition.
"Dawood! You fat old man!" He laughed as the two shared an embrace.
"Your beard is whiter than I last saw it," Demir replied in an equally playful tone. They shared a laugh before turning towards me, where I kept my face stoic and devoid of emotion.
"You can trust us, Amira."
"Yeah, well it's kind of against my instinct. You know, politician blood in my veins?" I said pinching the skin on the back of my hand gesturing to the veins underneath it. "You'd understand, won't you grandpa?"
"Hold up, you never told me you had a granddaughter," a guy in the black t-shirt, sitting right next to him said in an accusatory tone.
"Don't worry, I found out about half an hour ago, too." He looked at me as I spoke, and I instantly recognized him from my dream.
"Amira?!" I heard Salman's voice coming from the stairs.
"Salman?!" He swept me in his infamous bear hug, which never failed to surprise me with its softness especially with those rock hard abs and biceps underneath. "What are you doing here?" I said laughing and hugging him back, relieved to see a familiar face within the horde of strangers.
"Wait, you guys know each other?" A female voice spoke up and I knew I heard that voice somewhere. The doe eyed beauty I saw at the office the other day and every day in my dream, came a little closer.
"Great, now that family reunion is over-"
"Arina, we know you are very dedicated to your work and the best secretary Mr Khan could find, but please don't ruin this moment with your professionalism," Salman said to the red haired girl in the blue skirt suit.
"And who asked your opinion?"
"Is it really a reunion without me?" Another familiar voice spoke up, a voice which I could recognize in sleep.
"Amin?!"
"You little…" I heard Salman cursing under his breath besides me.
"What is happening here?" Ali said, what was running through all our minds at the moment.
"Took you long enough," Khan addressed him, though the mirth could easily be detected in his tone.
"Sorry boss, but the delay could have been prevented if I had just come with Ms Amira."
"Didn't want to ruin the surprise for my only granddaughter."
"Daughter…" The fact that I lost my father mere hours ago hit me hard, the image of my burning house playing in my head all over again. The effects of the liquor must be wearing off, because a sharp pain rose in my head and I felt like throwing up.
"Hey, are you ok?" Arina asked softly, coming by my side and gently putting her hand on my arm.
"Yeah… I'm fine…" I said, trying to get the words out of my mouth, before the ground gave way beneath me and everything went black.
***
The clouds floated below me under my weightless body as I viewed the world from above. I continued to fly higher in the sky and soon, the ground was too far to be visible.
And, who wanted to see the ground, when you were surrounded by the stars? Perhaps, this is what causes the downfall of humanity. We are too quick to forget our origin…
I allowed myself to be devoured by the light as I felt myself being sucked, a free fall that would take me to another dimension.
A higher purpose. The greater good.
***
Both Arina and Jala were sitting near me when I woke up. Jala's gaze was lingering on my lips, perhaps because I had uttered the words in my sleep she sees every night.
"Water," I croaked, after which she got up and handed me the glass of water on the side table.
My brain was filled with visions that I saw with open eyes. Images of my mother's dead body and the symbolic burning of my childhood with my house, flashed before me during the day. At night it was replaced by the uncertain dream that gave me hope. A fool's hope maybe, but hope nonetheless.
One of the faces was sitting right in front of me.
"I'm sorry for your father's loss," she said, after watching me intently, not really meeting my eyes.
Reading people was an integral skill one had to master in politics, and I had learned it enough to know that she said that just because it was the polite thing to do, and not because she meant it.
"Don't be," I replied. Our party had formed government for the third time in history, and had been in politics for the past fifteen years. We had won not only because of the occasional interference of the army and international deals, but also the mandate of the people. They believed in us to make things right, since my father was the only politician who dared to bring a change in the system. It wasn't very obvious, but we were getting there step by step, proposing new rules to the authority. "He wasn't a very good leader, a father much less." I sounded like a spoiled brat, but I don't think the girls expected any less.
The last years of our party's rule had been very difficult, not only for us, but also the people. Their faith was dwindling, they'd had enough. After all, we also formed part of the system they were suffering from.
"Me and Amin saw you at the club, the night before the incident happened," she said, after a questionable glance at me. "Do you think it could have some connection with what happened later on?"
"You and Amin were at the club? Wasn't this the same day I saw you at the office? Wow, you work fast, girl!"
"You went on a date with Amin?" Arina asked, to the poor girl's demise. "That's interesting.."
"Haha, very funny guys" she replied, sarcastically. "Plus it wasn't a date, we were just hanging out."
"Ahan," Arina replied. "Salman told us the definition of 'just hanging out a little earlier,"
"Can you please stop playing politics with me and tell us what happened?"
I remembered the paparazzi flashing their lights at me, waiting to break the big news.
"We saw the pictures… you had signs of blood on your body. What happened that night?" Arina asked this time.
The pure relish I felt after slicing the demon's head coursed through my veins once again, before his words replayed in my head.
This is but a mere illusion.
"Another accident," I said shamefully, looking down at my hands.
"I had a word with Amin," Arina told us. "The news should never have been released. The place that you were hanging out was safe from media, and politicians often visited the club. Someone must have been there, to lead you on."
"But who? My security was by my side the whole time, and like you said the media isn't allowed there."
"Sounds like someone with a personal grudge."