The morning next, a hairy animal woke her up before the sunrise. It took her a while to figure out that it was Tsuki walking over her.

"Good morning, Tsuki". The cat mewed back to her. "I believe that means that I should get up. What time is it?" she looked outside the window. It was pitch-dark. The cat mewed again and walked out. Ruhee followed her to the kitchen, where Khali waited for her. She was making banana, apple and oatmeal pancakes. How not to trust someone that prepared her pancakes for breakfast?

"Good morning, Ruhee. How was your night?".

"Can we call it morning? The Sun is not out yet."

"He will only delay us. Another rule, in fact, a piece of advice that you will follow if you're smart: always wake up early. And sleep early, if you can". Khali served Ruhee the pancakes and gave her a cup of tea. "After breakfast, you can go to change. Wear something comfortable, and also a coat, and meet me in the garden".

Ruhee finished breakfast, brushed her teeth and change her clothes. In the mirror, she could see the dark circles that formed around her eyes. She tied her hair in a ponytail and went to the garden. Khali waited for her sitting in a bamboo mat, drinking a pungent tea. A set of teapot and cups delicately decorated were in front of her, perfectly arranged.

"Come, sit with me". Ruhee sat in front of her. She was wearing a flower printed dress and a red coat, accompanied by her big hat. The garden was a magnificent view. Everything was out of order, growing the way it desired, but that made it perfect. Khali took a big sketch pad from her bag. "Before anything, there are some things you need to understand". She drew a Venn diagram and started to explain. "On simple terms, three forces constitute the Universe as we apprehend it: Light, Darkness and Chaos. Every existence - alive or not -, is composed of them in different proportions. For example, witches are beings whose core is changing. They live to change the nature of things by the use of magic. But some types of magic are closer to one, or another, force. Knowledge witches are close to the Light, and Necromancers, like us, are closer to Darkness. That doesn't mean we are evil - none of the primordial forces is. The concept of 'good' and 'evil' are human-made, artificial and simplified. Humanity can't apprehend the complexity of the Universe's structure. Would you say that a lioness is evil when she hunts to feed her pride? Or a caterpillar when it eats its siblings to grow stronger? We can't play the part of Nature's judge!"

"When you learn about Human History, we look at a story with villains and heroes. Nevertheless, when you look closer, you see that things are much more complicated. We have access to the 'history' told by the winners, but no one goes into a war believing they are on the wrong side - people think they are doing whatever they are doing because that is the 'good way', 'the natural way', 'God's way', or 'the way things have always been'. However, that justified uncountable unjustified facts."

"Although Aristotle defended the theory of Natural Slavery [1], he is still considered one of the most prominent philosophers of all time. We can't account how many women the Christians killed for 'witchcraft'. The rituals and deities from Yorubá and Indigenous cultures became demons. When we think about genocide, we remember Hitler, the Nazis and Auschwitz. We forget that in the United States, in a year, between 100 thousand and 200 thousand sterilizations were financed by the federal government. That compares to the number of sterilizations realized by Hitler's government based on the law of hereditary health [2]. And that adds to the number of Africans slaved and taken from their homes, tortured, raped, dehumanized. The Indigenous who had their land usurped, their bloodshed. The number of Black and Latin-American incarcerated, or killed by police in the drug war, just piles up.

The Japanese government recruited, by all different means, Korean women and used them as sexual slaves to control their soldier's impulses [3]. All their suffering erased from the history books, and their lives marked by the physical and emotional trauma.

The bombardments of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the completion of a slaughterous War, but were they necessary? The United Nations established a Security Council to maintain peace, with five permanent members with veto power - China, Russia, United Kingdon, France and the United States -, the same countries that were protagonists in the war. And, when the judges and parts are the same, the outcome is foreseeable."

"Since the '40s, the situation hasn't changed. Women and children in refugee camps and war areas exchange sex for clothes, water, food. The Interamerican Court of Human Rights recommended various measures related to the undignified conditions of White Bear penal institution, in Brazil [4]. Muslin countries deny girls the right to study; the Palestina and Israel situation pressures both parties with attacks and deaths. The United States declared a war against terrorism, however, by focusing on muslins and excluding them, disregards that a big number of terrorists are nationals".

"History is not one, but as many as the ones that tell it. Like a game of Chinese whisperers, the result is just a distorted version of reality. Therefore, every action that we take needs the best analysis, and least interference. That way, we don't intervene in the development of events. Many times you may question yourself, but we can't, and shouldn't try to predict the future. Living is a process of causing errors and learning with them. Do you understand it?".

"I guess", Ruhee answered, not one hundred per cent certain, history and philosophy were not her strongest.

"Good", Khali continued, as if she hasn't even breath since she started. "Our work is, in superficial lines, dealing with the dead, the almost dead, and the comatose 'clients'. Last time, we treated someone 'almost dead', an easy case - we repair the body - only the parts they need to survive and for us to bring back the 'soul'. When they are dead, but the 'soul' hasn't left is a more complicated case: it demands to investigate where the soul is and return it before the body putrefies. The last case, when they are comatose, can also be difficult. Some 'souls' like to travel and finding them is demanding".

Khali finished her tea and offered to refill Ruhee's cup. "I know that it all sounds like some boring class, but we need even this boredness". She looked at the clear sky upon them. The colours danced on the horizon. "Well, it seems Mother Earth has already received us in her home and invites us to start our class". She breathed the pure air scented with thousand of plants from that paradisiac garden.

"Our first spell is called Shadows Embrace. It's the most basic spell for Deathlifters, and it allows you to move through the reign of shadows, unnoticeable by everybody else. It's like a darkness' kiss that evolves your whole being, a sweet and sour feeling, that comforts and challenges you. Your fears and desires combined into a compelling force. And you need to let yourself go".

"OK, that sounds just a bit complicated...".

"It's easier than it sounds. Close your eyes", Ruhee obeyed, "Now, think of your past. Who you were, and who you want to become. The people you love, and the ones that love you. When your mothers tucked you in or when you watched horror movies late at night and you and your sisters, scared, hugged and pretended not to be afraid. Darkness is emotion, feeling, understanding. Dreams and desires". Ruhee remembered all her childhood. And that was good. "Now, open your eyes".

Ruhee opened her eyes and, above her, was the most beautiful sky she has ever seen. All the stars were there, shining brighter than ever. Around her, everything seemed more evident. She could notice even the smaller details.

"That's how you always see the world?" Ruhee asked.

"Basically. Darkness is our realm, and it welcomes us as this house welcomed you. She is a mother that gives us food, water, and a place to rest".

"And... How that is going to be useful?".

"We are outside the realm of Light, where most beings live. They can't see or feel us. That is how we hide. For us, there is no difference. You can drive as well in night as in the day, cause, for us, it's always night. And we love it".

***

They continued training for the rest of the day. Her astonishment was substituted by distress when she realized that things were not as easy as they seemed. Her Shadows Embrace was not stable, and she couldn't maintain it for more than a few seconds, and, after a while, some minutes. But that was not enough. Khali insisted that she should be able to maintain that for days, or even years. Albeit Khali looked sweet at first, she was a strict and restless teacher.

That night, she was exhausted. She took a warm bath and, as she changed into her pyjamas, she smelled tomato sauce, basil and fresh pasta. Khali was cooking, and it seemed delicious. She entered the kitchen and sat in the balcony's chair.

"That smells good".

"It's, let's say, a family's recipe. An old companion of mine worked for years as a chef in a small town in Nigeria. She decided to accept my proposal and become my mentee after I recounted the different places and different cuisines I experimented on my travellings. Naisha always wanted to be a free spirit. The prospect of delighting herself and learning with different food made her mind. Everywhere we went, she would apprentice all she could, and, when we were home, wherever home was at the moment, we would spend our nights cooking and enjoying ourselves. In this job, people come and go, we try to have the best of our times with each one of them. And, when it's time to let it go, we prepare to say goodbye. That's our life - it's confusing, always rushing around, never having a place to call your own. But every place we stay is home, and everyone in our lives is family", Ruhee stayed in silence while Khali mused, "Now eat your food, tomorrow will be a long day".

Khali was already acting like her mothers. In a way, it made it feels more like home. Khali accompanied Ruhee through the corridors and showed her the books sparsely distributed in stranges bookshelves. She explained that each book and shelf came from a different owner that left it there. Because of that, there was this feeling of inconsistency and inadequacy. A miscellaneous of eras, people and interests resulted in that ridiculous placement of objects.

"Analyze them, read them cape to cape. Anything you learn now may prove useful in the future", Khali said as she left Ruhee on her's bedroom door. "Goodnight".

Khali acted gentle and motherly, albeit, for her reassurance, Ruhee locked her door and windows.