When I came back from the consunounees, I felt a little heat behind my back. My brother was carrying me, his footsteps quick and unsteady. When I looked at the back..
"Brother… How did this happen?!" I gasped, my heart racing.
Our house was burning, the flames were insane, too hot.
"Ohh, Lia! You wake up?! Don't you remember what happened?!"
"Wh-what happened?!" I'm still confused.
He was silent for quite a while, he must be thinking if he must tell me or not, but with a deep breath.. "You burned the house," he said.
"Wh- how?!!!" My heart sank, hard to believe "I don't remember doing anything!!"
He looks serious, with fire raging behind us, and I know he wouldn't tell such a lie, not in this situation.
But…if he's telling the truth.
How could I have done this? Me? Burning our house? F-for me to do it is impossible, ridiculous!..
"Hahaha, it is my doing, Lia." Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice into my thoughts, a woman's voice. Who?... Feel like I've heard it before…
"Who?!!!!" I screamed, my heart pounding harder than before.
"Why are you yelling, Lia?" my brother asked, as he heard me scream. He looked confused.
"Ohh, sorry.."
He set me down beside a tree, a little far away from the house.. After keeping me down, from his pocket he took out his phone.. Probably, trying to call firefighters.
My legs felt numb, I don't think I can move for a while.
"Let's burn that guy next…" Again this voice, I can hear..
What do you want from me? I thought, hoping she could hear me speaking from my head, right?
"I want to help you." She replied, her voice calm and mysterious.
"Help me? How? And… who are you?"
"Ahia."
"What? Your name?"
"Yeah"
"What are you? Why do you want to help me? And what for?"
she chuckled and said "I can't tell you that… not yet" continuing "But —"
"But what?"
"I can help you— if you let me take—"
"Lia, why are you spacing out?" My brother's voice snapped me back to reality. He had finished his call and was watching me with concern.
"eh,i-it is nothing." forcing a weak smile.
"Firefighters must be coming soon… so stay here for a while."
"Y-yeah"
He must be concerned about me, but he must be thinking how I burned the house. It is impossible for someone to burn a house without something…but
"Ahia, do you burn?" I ask, in thoughts.
"Yeah, it is just a little show." I feel like she is mocking.
"Why?"
"'why' you ask? You know the answer…"
"I- I don't get what you are saying."
"You want revenge from that curel family, right? But you can't do anything.. As a girl.." She said, as she chuckled.
"I-it's.." I try to speak, but I can't deny it. She is telling the truth…
"But, even…. even if I want I can't—"
"Oii, that is why I came to help you." she continued, "just let me control your body for a while.."
"wh–" then, a heartbeat pounding in my ears, loud and overwhelming. My senses are losing, little by little.
And, then—
Fell into the void.
***
This time, I didn't lose consciousness. Instead, it felt as if my body was being controlled by someone else..
Ahia must have taken over. But why? Did she need my body for something?
Confused and lost in thoughts, feeling like I don't have any emotion, emptiness inside me.
"What should I do?" I muttered.
I was in a void, yet I could see what was happening outside through my own eyes.
I watch as a fiery rope forms in my hand, ready to ensnare my brother and throw him into the flames. Why is she doing this?
A strange heat pulsed in my hand. Flying? I was flying?
My brother looked up, surprised and shocked in his face, as if he had seen a ghost. I understand his reaction all too well.
"What? A rope made from fire?!!" he gasps, eyes wide with terror.
I can see that I made a fire rope, and with this capture my brother and throw him into flames. Why was she doing it?
Could I scream when she does this?
Is Ahia really doing this? Or 'me'?
Who is the real me? I don't even understand anymore.
***
Few minutes have passed, quite a few houses burned to ash. People run, screaming "demon!!".
What happened to my brother? I don't know.
He might be dead now.
I was throwing flames randomly, destroying more houses, firefighters' vehicles..
Then, I feel a strange feeling, a spike? What is that?
I notice a guy, kid? He is searching for something in the distance.
Should I kill him? Or leave him alone?
He picked something— a photo flame?
Think I should kill him?
"Let's just throw some flames"
But before the flames hit him, vanish? How?
It seems like he has seen me…
***
After some hours, he reappeared, but I was getting some weird feeling, a kind of dangerous sense…
Must be my imagination.
I am behind him, and suddenly, he turns. His intense gaze doesn't show fear.
"You! Are you trying to save me?" I ask, my voice calm but not like my usual self.
***
That little kid is putting on quite a show. I don't ask anything, yet the situation has shifted.
I attack him? Why? Yet he dodges every strike. Does he have powers too?
He makes the rain dance around him, controlling the water like a master.
I shout something and attack rapidly, my body moving on its own, devoid of anger.
He jumps onto my head, demonstrating impressive control over his abilities, then kicks me from behind, sending me crashing to the ground.
***
Quite a while, he was attacking me. Eventually, he traps me in a bubble. But somehow, I burst free.
But he was smiling, not just a smile. Quite a natural look. A demon?
I attacked him in his face, but somehow he knocked me down on the neck.
***
Suddenly, I am back to normal! I can control my body again?!
I have attacked that kid… I might have hurt him.
Tears flood my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. I feel a wave of sorrow wash over me.
But I still can't speak. Someone else is using my voice to talk to him. Who?
I can hear their conversation; he is surprisingly funny.
"Ridiculous" his words are funny, look like he was trying to cheer me up?
"What?!!" he says, almost screaming.
"Haha, you're funny, little kid!" I stood up.
"I'm not a little kid!! I'm your age!!"He protests, his cheeks flushed.
"But you look like a kid, and you're shorter than me," I said, with a playful smile.
"No! It's just that you're taller than me!! And I'm 5.6!"
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry…"
"By the way, can I ask you something?" he asked.
"Yeah, little kid?"
"What do you mean by 'that'?"
"Ahaha, that's why you're a little kid!" I burst out laughing, patting his head.
He really is a kid.
***
After that, I had a good laugh. That kid, Max.. He stopped the whole fire all by himself.
It's strange—he controlled his powers so well, but he said they only just woke up now.
I watch him closely as he moves.
"Water Manipulation: Waterfall!" he yells. He really acts like a kid—playing with water as if it's his friend. The water flows around him, twisting and swirling like it's alive.
He's having fun with it.
With a final move, he makes a bunch of water cannons and blasts the fire away until everything is safe again.
I feel bad. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone or destroy their homes.
But... I'm still confused. Who was using my body back there?
"Finally! It's over!!" Max shouts, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Good job," I say, clapping my hands with a smile.
"Oh, uh... let's go," he says, turning toward me—but then he stops. "I mean… your clothes are kinda burned."
"Huh?" I look down and see my clothes are mostly ruined, burned in places I didn't even notice.
"Wait… were you checking me out?" I tease, giving him a sly grin.
"No," he replies, calm and serious, as if it's no big deal.
I think as a boy, he will be interesting but I was wrong.
"Anyway," he says, getting back to the point, "I need to report this to the principal, and you need to find new clothes." He waves his hand, signalling me to follow him.
***
I change into fresh clothes inside a vehicle, struggling a bit since it's cramped.
Outside, I hear people shouting orders. The air smells of burnt wood and smoke. Rescue teams move quickly, helping the injured.
Through the window, I see medics checking on my brother. He's lying on a stretcher, still unconscious. My heart tightens.
I remember throwing him into the fire… but how is he okay?
"Done changing?" A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. a Man 's voice— not Max.
I open the door and see a tall guy standing there. He's wearing the same school uniform as Max. He may be his friend.
"Uh.. Who are you?" I ask.
"I'm Jeniff, Max's senior," he says with a small grin, leaning forward slightly as if greeting me. "I need to ask you something."
I step down from the vehicle, feeling the cool ground under my feet. Not far from us, I see Max speaking seriously to a woman in formal phanek ( a traditional clothes in which women wears just like a skirt). She must be the principal.
Jeniff leans in. "So, what do you think of Max?"
"Wh-what?!" I stammer, feeling my cheeks heat up.
"Ohh, it is not that way, I mean what do you think of his ability?"
I take a breath, calming myself. "He's... mysterious. He acts like a kid—fun and carefree—but I feel like there's something deeper going on with him."
Jeniff nods slowly, like he's heard this before. "Yeah, he's hard to figure out."
He glances around, then lowers his voice. "I have two powers."
"What? Two?" I whisper, eyes wide with shock.
"Yeah. One lets me control gravity. The other lets me read minds."
I stare at him, trying to make sense of it. "You can read minds?"
He shrugs. "Yeah. But here's the weird part—when I tried to read Max's mind..."
He pauses, his expression darkening.
"What happened?" I ask, curious but uneasy.
"It was blank," Jeniff says quietly. "Just empty darkness. I couldn't see anything."
"That doesn't make sense," I say, confused.
"I know," he mutters. "It's like his mind is blocked. I've been training this ability for over a year, but with him... I just don't know."
After that talk, silence between us.
I don't know what to say.
In the background, the hum of rescue vehicles and distant shouts fill the air.
"Hey!! What are you two doing?" Suddenly, Max's voice breaks through.
He runs over, waving his hand in the air with a carefree grin on his face.
"We were just chatting—" Jeniff begins, but before he can finish.
Suddenly, his expression changed. Turn left, the place where he stopped me. Without a word, he takes off, sprinting toward it.
"Oii, Max!! Where are you going?!" Jeniff shouts, alarmed.
"Stop!" I call out, panic bubbling in my chest.
But Max doesn't look back.
Before we know it, he vanishes into the shadows, swallowed by the darkness ahead.
....
-to be continued..