"Camellia..."
While jumping where I was with the sound I heard, my body hit Raven behind me. When I looked at him over my shoulder, he was looking at me as if he knew what was going on. She put her fingers on my back and prodded me fairly lightly. Having his fingers on my body didn't repeat the nausea from last time. I just felt a tingling. As I continued walking through the dark tunnel, our light was none other than the girl in the white dress in front of me. The tunnel was dark but not narrow. The floor below us was also concrete.
"Camellia has arrived..."
"Who is Camellia?"
Whispers from two different voices rang in my ears as they continued.
"Arturh's daughter."
"Ian's daughter."
"No, Arthur's daughter!"
I was unaware that I was standing still as the whisper of a woman with a thin hissing voice was announcing in my brain. What was this? Ian was my father's name. Arthur was also my father. What about the word they said... Ah, Camellia... It was a word my father used to say to me all the time.
"Are the shadows whispering?" asked the Samara girl who noticed that I was standing still. (This girl should definitely have acted in The Ring.) A smile formed on her thin cherry-bruised lips, and her black eyes were looking at me lovingly.
"Yes," I said in a whisper. Then the whispers started again.
"The girl knows her father's name as Ian..."
"She knows who you are, now that you're here, fool. She's the Neva girl!"
"Oh, that's right. Sometimes this brain stops me."
"How will the nonexistent thing stop, you dummy."
"Hey!"
When the angry whispers stopped, I looked at the girl in front of me with a wide expression in my eyes. When he saw my eyes, he broke out into a big laugh. I squinted at her as her exotic voice rang and echoed in the dark tunnel. She certainly didn't have a beautiful smile and laughter.
"What are they saying?" he asked with a chuckle. I didn't get any reaction when I cast a questioning look at Raven, who was studying my face beside me.
"They seem to be arguing…" I muttered. The whispers seemed to have stopped.
"Oh, what did they say? Did they say your name?" he asked as he turned and kept walking this time.
"There's already one step. Matilda," I said, confused.
"Neva girls don't take these names. Flowers only take names. They must have called you by a flower name. The shadows must have whispered that to you," he said, and I stood where I was, with the meaning of the name they called me, and looked at the boy standing behind me.
"They called me Camellia..." I muttered as I continued to glare at Raven.
"So you're Camellia. It's a beautiful flower. And it suits you well. Welcome aboard, Camellia," replied the strange girl whose name I don't know as she continued to advance me.
"Thank you, I'm welcome," I said thoughtfully. I guess that's why Raven kept calling me Camellia... When I looked at her over my shoulder, she quickly turned to me with a feeling.
His black eyes held a thousand meanings. I hadn't yet figured out what their look meant. He continued to look at me as well. I averted my eyes and took quick steps towards the scary girl in white who continued to walk without realizing the distance I had opened between us.
"What the hell was that in that park? Why did people pass out?" I asked, suddenly remembering. The distance between us had closed. I was walking close enough to smell the rose scent coming from him. The girl was walking sluggishly slowly and I was struggling not to bump into her.
"When I open the door between the shadows, there is a burst of power and non-fireboys will pass out for two minutes. This is to see and observe if there is a fireboy who does not faint. After two minutes, they will be back to their normal state and continue as if nothing had happened," he said. .
"Okay. What's your name?" I asked as I continued to walk the endless tunnel. Maybe if that silly girl walked a little faster, we'd be halfway through the tunnel.
"My name? Rosa," the girl said, slowing her steps even more as if possible. "It means rose," she added. While I was breathing hard to avoid hitting him, Raven seemed to be trying not to bump into me. His body hitting my back constantly and then pulling back quickly, hitting it again and continuing like this started to get on my nerves.
"Well, Rosa, can't you walk a little faster? Or we'll soon have to roll the rest of the way."
"Oh, sorry. I'm not used to walking, sorry. Then his feet took off and he began to soar rapidly through the air.
"Oh my God... will I ever get used to these things?" I said as I looked at Rosa, who was gliding away with wide eyes.
As he continued to fly, I finally got over the shock of his flying and started to follow him with fast steps. After more than five minutes or less, Rosa put her hand on something and pushed it hard. After a few tries, a grayish light illuminated us as the thing he had pushed fell backwards.
I had to blink my eyes as I stared in amazement at the sight before me. What was this? My God! I was pretty sure I had never seen something so bleak and beautiful before. Not sure what my name was, I shrugged. It was an absolutely magnificent sight. It was as fascinating as a few colorful colors in an artist's black and white painting.
"I totally understand why you call it Shadow. My God, it's beautiful..."
I took a deep breath as the warm air and the smell of itor that filled my nose with it permeated my skin. I was going to lose my mind... What a beautiful sight was this? In front of me was a dark green lake under a long wooden bridge. I could even pick out the gray fish under the lake from here. The wooden bridge was gray in color. In fact, everything was gray here, not counting the huge red flowered tree at the end of the bridge and the dark green lake. The clouds were dark gray. There was no sun or moon. There were already a few clouds in the sky. But despite his gloomy appearance, he looked so mesmerizing that a silly grin crossed my face.
"Isn't it beautiful? It's bleak but beautiful at the same time. Just like the colors that fall on our shadow. Have you ever tried painting your shadow? It's absolutely gorgeous," said Rosa, bouncing lightly. When I looked at him and smiled, showing my teeth, she sent me a smile that could be described as beautiful. Well, that wasn't terrifying.
"It's really beautiful," I said, looking around again. Ah, I wanted to climb the red tree ahead and enjoy the view from there.
"Enjoy yourself. You have two hours. I'll be waiting for you here again in two hours. Don't be late." He said, sending another warm smile and turning around. When I saw that the end of the tunnel we came in was a mountain, my eyes widened. Although the mountain was a gloomy gray, its top glowed lushly. With the colorful flowers I saw in the green, my desire to go there showed itself. Those flowers were really colorful. And there at the very top they shone like colorful umbrellas.
"Look at the landscape!" I screeched, bouncing where I was, continuing to stare at the mountaintop in fascination. It was beautiful. A lot.
"Come on, Camellia, I still have a lot of sights to show you," I froze when I heard the voice say. That voice came from the person sitting in my room rummaging through the notebook where everything about Enrique Iglesias was written. Just like when he sang that song, his voice started to spin in my brain. When I slowly turned to him, he had a smile on his face that made my heart beat. The most beautiful sight was standing next to me. He was so handsome, with his star-studded shiny black eyes, deep crimson lips, prominent cheekbones, hard features, and jet black straight hair...
"You just spoke, didn't you? Did I hear voices from the unseen or?" I asked naively.
"Yes, I did. It's okay if I talk in Shadow or touch you," he said with a mischievous smile.
My heart pounded fast. My heart skipped a beat as the mischievous smile on his face widened as if he could hear my heartbeat. Oh my poor heart...
"Oh..."
While the sudden heavy rain quickly engulfed me, black puddles slid down my cheek and flowed into my open palm. I frowned as the black water continued to flow rapidly. I looked at Raven and saw that the rain was only falling on me. He looked at me with a smile as he spoke again.
"It's obvious that you belong here even by putting a shadow on your beauty," she said, taking a strand of my hair in her hands. My eyes were wide open as my hair, which was close to white, was shining from the rain.
"How does that happen?"
I stayed where I was as raindrops beat my hair and spilled the black dye. The black waters slid down my face, falling on the gray grass gleaming from the rain. I frowned as Kuzgun stared at me with a wide grin on his face. "Where is the dye in my hair going?" I asked in a surprised voice. While my white hair was coming to light, I nervously tucked a wet strand over my eyes behind my ear.
"The air here senses and interferes with the things that will harm the environment. No one can smoke or use perfumes here. Since the dye in your hair causes your hair to fall out, you are free of dye. The fresh air and healing raindrops here purify your hair from chemicals. Now you have a healthier hair. Of course, if you want to change your color, we have methods for that," he said, running his fingers through my hair. "Your hair is better naturally, Camellia," she continued.
"Do you realize that my eyebrows, even my eyelashes are white, how beautiful is that?" I said while staring at my hair between your fingers. He let go after stroking my hair a few times. He stared at me, eyes like a dark starry sky, and studied my face carefully.
"You don't look ugly," he said, looking especially often into my eyes. "Your eyes, your muscles, your hair are beautiful."
"I'll have it dyed as soon as possible," I said, frowning my brows.
"You can try red, it will match your white skin," he said, and placed his hand on my waist. I felt that time stood still for both of us at that moment. He pushed me a little from my waist and walked me towards the gray wooden bridge. His warm fingers kept me from thinking. Why was he touching me? Why wasn't I bothered by your touch?
"Why did they paint the board gray?" I asked as I cautiously walked across the bridge, trying to distract myself. The glowing-surfaced fish swimming in the green lake below made the lake sparkle. This was the perfect place for landscape fans.
"The trees are gray because the trees are gray. Well, everything is in its natural color since there is no room for paint here. Sure, a few resources were found for coloring, but this is used to paint houses and schools," he said casually as he walked over the wooden bridge. The creaking of the bridge made me afraid.
"But the tree over there has colorful flowers," I said, pointing to the red-flowered tree at the end of the bridge.
"Natural. Most things here are. Some are gray, some are colorful."
"And is there a Sun?" I asked, looking up at the gray sky.
"No, it's not. It's always like that here. Except for rain, nothing falls from the sky. I'm wondering if the snow is falling here," he said, looking up at the sky, then looking around.
I was delusional as I looked around, imitating him. I imagined the lush green lake below freezing, the children skating on it, the gray grass turning white and the dreary sky turning white. It would be a pretty sight, I have to admit.
"That would be great," I said when we finally finished walking the bridge.
I looked at the red flowered tree standing in front of me. Its red flowers had spilled haphazardly onto the gray grass. A few white flowers on the gray grass had their share of this, and again, it hosted a dazzling view.
"Raven?" I asked, the idea that came to mind.
"Yes? "
"Can you take a picture of me over there?" I asked, this time turning my blues towards him. He shook his head and smiled.
"Sure," he said, smiling again. When I handed him the phone in my pocket, he didn't pick it up.
"Because your phone was emitting radiation, it was disabled the moment we entered the Shadow," he said, pulling his own phone out of his pants pocket.
"So what, is it broken?" I asked, looking at the latest model phone in my hand that I had begged my mother to take away.
"No," he said, laughing. "It'll work again when we're out of Shadow," he said, waving his phone and gesturing for me to get in front of the tree.
"What about your phone?" I asked, looking at his phone. It was a big black phone. While I was unfamiliar with its brand, I guessed that it was produced here.
"It doesn't emit radiation. It was made by magic," he said when I stood before him.
"I'll lie down but tell me how to pose," I said as I lay on the grass with red flowers.
"Get your hair out from under your back," he said, examining me. I did as he was told and removed my damp hair and released it from either side of my shoulders.
"Okay nice. "
I closed my eyes and smiled. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes. Of course, I didn't expect to find Raven standing right above me, her hands scattering red flowers in my hair. I was taken aback for a moment, but relieved to see his black eyes staring at me and the deep smile on his face.
She said, "She's more beautiful like this." She took another picture of me from where she was. After taking a few more poses, he extended his hand to straighten up. When my fingers touched his palm, I felt a tingling in my stomach. I let him pick me up, biting the inside of my cheeks.
"You can send me the photos on Whatsapp later." I said as we walked, not knowing where we were going. I quickly withdrew my hand. I was feeling strange. It was as if I was trapped in emotions that I could not understand.
"Sure, it does," he said as we approached a slope. The gray city, seen at the end of the slope, was under my feet in all its gloom.
"Wow!" I said as I stared at Shadow City. Although I couldn't make out much from this distance, it looked like a mansion-style building.
"It's gloomy yet fascinating," Raven muttered as she stared at Shadow City.
"It's bleak," I said, just as he said it. "Fascinating," I repeated her.
"Come on, Camellia, let's go." She said and started walking.
As he followed the gray concrete slope, the colorful flowers that stood out in the gray grass made a pleasant sight. As we continued walking up the slope, we came across white rabbits and brown red squirrels. They were attracting attention so quickly in such a gloom that I wondered if there were any animal hunters here. Later, it seemed absurd that there were hunters here when artificial paint, even a phone that emits radiation was not allowed.
We were closer to the gray city, halfway up the hill silently without speaking. Although there were many questions I wanted to ask, I enjoyed watching this view that I had never seen before. When we finally entered the city, the people of the Shadow City greeted us.
"Rule #1: don't tell anyone your father is Arthur. You're one of Arthur's grandchildren on Earth. Agreed? This is very important." said Raven in a whisper.
"Why would I hide this?" I asked in a whisper, just like him.
"Arthur married your mother, even though he told the board he would stay away from the Eve girls. If they find out you're his own daughter, they might portray Arthur as an irresponsible King and have him executed. And I want you to know that there are many Atessons praying for your father to die."
"Is their hatred that much?" I asked, lowering my voice when I saw a girl approaching us. She was wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit that exposed her belly with white half sleeves and a long black skirt with a puffy pattern underneath. His hair was blond and quite long. The shine in her hair was stunning.
"Rsven!" She said in a very different voice. I frowned as the loving tone in his voice gave me goosebumps.
"Hi," Raven said to the girl running toward him. I felt a tightness in my heart as the blonde girl jumped on Raven's neck and hugged him tightly. I wasn't sure if the girl saw me. His eyes seemed to see no one but Raven.
I thought, "Her sister... She's definitely her sister."
I felt my blood drain from the sight I saw, the girl pressed her lips to Raven's. Raven pulled back quickly and gave her a strange look. Then she pointed to me. The blonde girl turned to me. There was a pure and innocent glint in his eyes. Her baby face looked so innocent that I hated it.
"Hi, it's Daisy," the girl said, holding out her graceful hand to me.
* * *