" Ashes "
He heard someone call out his name from a distance.
The voice was vaguely familiar.
" Please open your eyes dear "
It was a male voice.
He tried getting up to see who it was but he was too weak.
" Don't give up dear. Just open your eyes. It won't be difficult. Trust me. "
Ashes tried opening his eyes as instructed.
He willed his body to follow the command.
After much struggle his eyes obeyed.
The figure calling out his name came into his view.
" Dad, what are you doing here? You are supposed to be dead. "
The image of his father smiled faintly at him.
" No dear. I'm not dead "
" But I saw you burn "
" It was a long time ago. It's over now "
His father's figure started approaching him.
Ashes wanted to extend his hand and touch his father but the pain in his body could not allow him.
" Why show up now after all these years?"
He asked weakly.
He wasn't even angry, he felt relieved.
" You were giving up so I had to come. I came to give you hope. We still need you to save us."
Ashes was about to interrogate his father further but he saw his figure moving away from him.
His father was not moving his legs.
All of a sudden his father's body was on fire. Then a village on fire materialized in his view.
His father was screaming along with other men.
He was calling for help.
" Ashes help!!! "
" We need you Ashes "
Ashes tried moving again but it was all futile. His eyes got watery as he watched his father getting charred.
" Ashes"
" Ashes"
" Ashes"
His father's voice had become feminine.
Someone was shaking him vigorously.
He woke up in a fit and found his sister shaking him.
There was cold sweat on his forehead.
Her face was full of fear. He could only try imagining what had frightened her so much.
He managed to sit up and was about to ask his sister what the problem was.
" Look " she was pointing at a corner of the room. He followed her gaze.
He felt his heart crash into a thousand pieces at what he saw.
His breathing got heavy. He couldn't even find the tears he needed.
Lying at the floor at the corner was his mother's lifeless body.
There was a cut on her throat.
She held a piece of glass which had dried blood on it.
She had clearly taken her life.
Unable to bear the shame of getting molested before her kids she chose the easiest escape.
Ashes couldn't blame her for taking such drastic action.
Had he been in her shoes he would have most probably done the same.
The only words he could find within him was blaming himself.
He wished his sister would slap and beat him as she always did.
She didn't do it when he needed it the most.
She was crying her eyes out.
She reached for him and embraced him tightly.
His broken ribs screamed at her touch but Ashes didn't complain.
He let her wet his shirt with tears.
" Promise me that you'll get justice for our mother "
She stared at him hopefully.
She held out her hand for him. She didn't seem about to take no for an answer anytime soon.
He had no choice but to take it.
What she was asking of him was next to impossible yet he had just promised her.
How on Earth did she expect him to find justice for their mother when he was in such a weak state?
He recalled how easily Ahriman had beaten him to a pulp.
The way his body felt heavy all of a sudden.
Surely the man had to have some extreme powers though he has never revealed it before.
' How many such monsters run this world '
It was all unfair.
Ashes couldn't help but feel that the game was rigged.
The outcome of his life seemed to have been decided long before he was born.
He also recalled his earlier dream. He relieved his father's death all over again.
" We need you to save us "
How was he to do that? His mother was now dead as a result of his stupidity.
Perhaps his father had visited in order to taunt him for failing to save his loved ones once again.
' Where are you father? For how long am I going to live like this? '
All his life ever since he was ten years old he has been under Lord Ahriman's possession.
He forgot what peace used to feel like. His life has lost all traces of joy.
But his heart had failed to turn into a stone.
It held on despite all the crack and stabs it experienced.
The heavens seemed hell bent on reducing him to the lowest state possible.
He replayed yesternight's fight in his mind. He allowed himself to be distracted.
The female stranger had done everything to capture his attention.
The only logical explanation was that she had been deployed by someone who wanted him to lose.
Her image was painted deep in his mind. He couldn't erase it even if he wanted to. And he didn't want to.
He clenched his fists at the thought.
' This has happened because of you. You should never have tried to interact with me. '
She was the cause of all their suffering.
The day he ever got to lay his hands on her she would pay dearly for that.
But before that he needed to be free from Ahriman's clutches.