ROUTE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Her heart nearly beating out of her chest, Mika slowly raised her hand to join hands with the patiently awaiting shadow looming above her. As she reached out, her vision started to get blurry. 

"Huh? I can't see anything. He's becoming a ball of light again?" Mika said, desperately moving her hand faster, but the ball started getting smaller. Mika tries to correct her vision by squinting her eyes. The shadow man has now become a tiny ball of light. 

"A firefly?" Mika wondered while watching the mini ball of light swirl around her. The firefly fluttered until it landed on Mika's nose. Mika touched the little bug, causing it to vibrate. 

A flower then fell from the sky, then another and another. The atmosphere filled with a shower of yellow flowers, decorating the black void with magic. 

"What's happening is so…beautiful!" The firefly guided Mika's eyes to her cuffed hands.

A single petal landed on top of the firefly, causing a glowing light to form. Mika watched with eyes as wide as a child—the glow formed into a crystal gem, about as big as a tennis ball. The sheen reflected a beautiful turquoise light, flooding Mika' 's pupils. 

"It's mesmerizing.”

“Is this what I've been dreaming about?"

Crunch! Crunch!

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

"What is that sound? Is a gem supposed to sound like that?" Mika said, dumbfounded about the new occurrence. 

The crunching sounds continue to grow louder and louder. Mika looked around, desperate to find the source of the sound. 

"Huh?!"

Mika gasped as she noticed the yellow flowers glitching out. They are slowly disappearing, but the crunching sounds keep getting louder. Mika crouched onto the ground holding her ears. The gem fell to the ground losing its glow upon the impact of the environment. She tried to cover her ears, but the loud crunching was too powerful to muffle. 

"This crunching sound is starting to become unbearable," yelled Mika. 

She squinted her eyes as hard as possible, bracing herself from the sound wave. 

It's as if every crunch is attacking her physically through sound vibrations. She is at her wit's end and can't take any more of this torture. Mika screamed at the top of her lungs, saying, 

"OH, MY UNIVERSE!"

 "THAT NOISE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!"

Everything is silent. Mika has her hands covering her ears and eyes still shut. Realizing that everything was suddenly quiet, she opened our eyes. 

"Ugh…"

Mika grunted as her eyes were tortured by the looming bright light. She was greeted by the colorful scenery of the clouds in the sky and the birds flying above the beautiful tangerine sea. The clouds are clumped up like melting golden marshmallows floating on the waters. The atmosphere is a gradient magenta, reminding everyone that nighttime is on its way. The moon gleamed like a bright crystal orb shielded behind the clouds. The scenery slowly pans out of Mika's view. 

"I'm in a car? When did I get in a car?"

Mika adjusted herself in her seat. She realized she was dreaming and possibly sleep talking.

Her face suddenly turned bright orange like a peach. She realized that her dramatic outburst was probably heard by the driver next to her, and the only way to know was to turn to face them.

"Oh no, I'm so embarrassed! I don't want to turn my head and face them. If I did make a random outburst, it would be rude not to apologize for my unnecessary gesture with an apology. Oh! I hate these situations, but I must find the courage to do what I need to properly apologize. Nothing is worse than making someone else feel uncomfortable."

Mika was on the verge of becoming a cherry as she slowly turned her worried eyes to the driver's side of the car. She’s greeted with a frozen and concerned Nieko, who’s on the verge of eating her next group of wavy potato chips. They both stare in silence, hearing nothing but the car's low, roaring vibrations.

Suddenly the car swung to the right, rolling slightly into the grass, nearly missing a passing car on the other lane. Nieko's car danced on the edge of a narrow cliff that faced the open sea. Nieko hurried to gain control of the car before today became their last road trip ever. Mika yelped out a quick screech as if someone or something suddenly scared from behind. 

The car landed on two wheels for a split second, then safely back on all four tires.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing, you fools. You could have killed us!" 

Nieko screamed out her windows, shaking her fist in pure rage. She started to lean out of the car during her rant. As if to jump out of a moving vehicle and chase them down on foot. 

Mika noticed Nieko's foot meeting the top of the driver's window readying for the leap. Mika rushed to grab both Nieko and the steering wheel, ensuring Nieko's actions didn't finish the job that the other car started a few seconds ago. 

"Nieko, get back in the car! You're going to get us killed! " Mika pleaded to Nieko with great desperation. 

"You're lucky my best friend is in the car!" Nieko yelled with her last threat before assuming her proper position in the driver’s seat. She seemed unphased by the possible damage she almost caused.

After opening a new bag of fresh chips, Nieko grabbed a handful of the salty potato crisps. After an initial bite created a collective series of crunches, Nieko smiled with delight as if the chips had fixed everything wrong in her world from a few minutes ago.

"So, Mika, did you sleep well? Are you hungry or thirsty?" Nieko said while crunching vigorously on those wavy chips.

"Well, I'm hoping you're not hungry because this is the last bag of snacks. Unless we find a vending machine along the highway, we will have to wait until the next city to get more," Nieko reassured Mika.

Mika did not answer her right away. She was trying to relieve her heart of a traumatic experience that she had just gone through. Nieko made sure she was okay by examining her from afar. Mika finally responded.

"I'm fine, I think," she said, still holding her thumping heart.

"Thank you for asking, and I'm okay on food for now. But Nieko, when did we get in the car?" 

"What do you mean?" Nieko asked, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other stuffing her face. 

"When did we actually get in a car and start this journey? I can't really recall how this happened," Mika expressed as she became more concerned about her questions. 

"Well, it's simple," Nieko said casually, "we got in the car, I started pressing the gas, and now we're on the road to our next destination." 

Mika felt slightly disappointed as if her question was totally ignored. 

"And where exactly are we going, Nieko?" 

"Oh! You don't remember the great and important discussion we had before starting this journey, little Mika? You're starting to break my poor little heart.”

"Please, Nieko, for the love of all that is delicious, please just answer one of my questions seriously!"

"Okay, okay, geez. I can't help but tease you sometimes; it’s too easy," Nieko said as she gulped down the last drink, aiding her parched throat. 

"We are heading to Tepid Town to see Zeth." 

"Zeth? Who is Zeth?" 

"He's an old colleague of mine that might be able to help you with your memory loss," Nieko answered.

"Oh, that's wonderful! And you're sure he's at Tepid Town? Mika questioned cheerfully.

"Well, not exactly," explained Nieko as she consumed another handful of crisps.

"What do you mean?

"I mean, it's been a while since I've seen him. He could honestly be anywhere from here to the Valley of the Moon. There have been rumors of people seeing him around the area recently. It could be a bit of a rat race for us, but I'm sure we'll find him eventually! I'm hoping for the best outcome!" Nieko said with a big smile as she turned towards Mika, hoping for a favorable reaction. 

Mika was quietly looking out the window. Nieko looked closer at Mika, hoping for some kind of confirmation.

"Mika, are you okay?"

Mika turned with a somber face.

"What's wrong with me, Nieko?"

"What do you mean, Mika? What’s the matter?"

"I mean, I can't remember anything about my past. Finally, hearing that someone possibly has a way to help me remember anything gives me a bittersweet feeling."

Mika stumbled on her words while fumbling her thumbs, almost on the verge of tears.

"Mika, I didn't know you had this worry about your past. I've made it my top priority as your best friend to help you in every way possible," Nieko said with determination.

Mika slowly looked at Nieko, witnessing the honesty written over her face. Nieko smiled calmly as she went to speak again.

"We are a team, and we support each other in any endeavor, no matter how hard it may seem. We will do our best to overcome hardships together like we've always done!" Nieko ended her pep talk with a bright and intoxicating smile. Mika couldn't help but respond with a smile as well.

"You always seem to know the right things to say, Nieko."

"I take my job as your best friend very seriously, Mika. I won't let anything come between our thriving friendship!"

Mika smiled as she looked around the car, curious about her immediate surroundings. She noticed a music player in the back seat, hidden under a cozy blanket.

"What is this?" she said, holding the player and headphones and presenting them to Nieko for appraisal.

"Oh yeah,"

"That’s the music player I usually take with me on car rides. The radio here doesn't work anymore due to a silly accident," Nieko said with a nervous laugh.

"Give it a listen. I have a mix of electronic and dance tunes on there already. I have a huge library on the Druppe Music App. There's nothing like music to influence your happy nostalgia. Keeps the heart young and fresh!" 

"Such a way with words Nieko," Mika said as she went to examine the music play and its function. 

“Huh, what's Tra..va..il AM?” Mika relayed to Nieko carefully to not mispronounce the word. Nieko's smile suddenly turned from carefree to somber as Mika turned to confirm her question was received.

"Oh, I forgot that was still on there…." Nieko said as she started to bite her lips as if she was aggravated by the question.

"Are you okay, Nieko?" Mika asked, witnessing the mood change with concern.

"Travail AM was my late father….he passed away some time ago…" Nieko's voice got softer with every word she spoke.

"I am so sorry, Nieko. I didn't mean to offend you or make you upset!" Mika pleaded before covering her mouth as if she had said something taboo or obscene.

"It's okay, Mika; you didn't do anything wrong. It's not like you had any knowledge about him," Nieko assured Mika with a quick smile before returning to her somber face.

They sit quietly in the car for a few moments, listening to the vehicle's vibrations and rattling of empty aluminum cans piled in the backseat. Mika had finally chosen a song to listen to on the Algi Player. Before she gets a chance to break the unbearable tension.

"I miss him so much, you know. Every day I wish he was here with us, congratulating me on my accomplishments and pushing me to find myself in this crazy world. We used to go to underground stadiums, watch cage fights, and travel to random small towns to meet new people. We'd usually just chill at home and play on the GameRec he bought me."

"He sounded like a wonderful and important person in your life, Nieko. I understand why this would be a deep wound to bring up. But what happened to your father?"

"He went missing a few years ago," Nieko said as she concentrated on the road. 

"Missing?" That's horrible!”

“Wait, if he's missing, how do you know he's dead.”

Nieko perked up as if Mika's question snapped her out of a daze.

"Well, my dad used to work out of town a lot; we lived in the Korrall District. Sometimes he wouldn't come back for months at a time, so I lived with my auntie. My mother was never in my life. My auntie cared for me like I was one of the children. She said I was the daughter she never had.” 

"My father would visit me whenever he could. I was his only child, and family was the most important thing in his world. But after leaving for an emergency trip, he never returned home after his 6 months were fulfilled. I sensed something was wrong after he didn't call for 3 days straight; days turned to weeks, weeks to months."

"Well, did the authorities do an investigation to find him or at least let everyone know he was missing?” Mika wondered with much interest and concern.

"My father worked for some powerful people; therefore, anything public would have caused too much attention to the organization. He told me everyone who worked there had a code name. As a kid, I always thought that was pretty badass. Therefore, they swept everything under the rug and never mentioned his name again…."

She gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, biting her bottom lip harder with every word, expressing her growing frustrations and disgust…

"It pissed me off so much!"

"The officials didn't do much about finding him nor cared about his disappearance as if he meant nothing to them! He did everything he could for that company, and they act like he never even existed!" Nieko tried her best to keep her voice in a reasonable tone.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through such trials and pain in your life," Mika said with a trembling smile as she attempted to console Nieko. Nieko looked at Mika with confusion, then a warm smile.

"No, I'm sorry for getting so passionate about something that happened long ago. This is not the energy we need in our life right now." Nieko said in a happier tone.

 Nieko seemed as if she was on the verge of tears. She suddenly placed her right arm on the middle console between the two front seats. She raised her arm at a 90-degree angle in the upright position.

"What are you doing, Nieko?" Mika looked in confusion with her head tilted and eyebrow raised.

"Mika, I promise you that we will always be a team! I will do everything to make sure we always land on our two feet smiling! Together, we will always overcome every obstacle that comes our way! You have to believe in me, and everything will be okay."

"Nieko."

Mika stared at her with great amazement and eyes of inspiration.

"She's like something out of a dream or a fantasy story," Mika thought, smiling gleefully. Nieko balled her fist and raised her pinky up.

"With this gesture– no, this promise, we agree to abide by the rules to keep each other as a top priority on our journey. Breaking this rule could, may, and will probably result in an unfortunately disappointed best friend. Neither one of us wants to experience that kind of trauma in our hearts. We will do our best to be true best friends til the end! Will you confirm this treaty with me by pinky swearing like we always did with promises?” Nieko asked, ending her speech in a friendly tone.

Mika quietly thought about all the words Nieko had presented to her. She grabbed Nieko's hand.

"For as long as I can remember, you've done so much for me, Nieko. I honestly can't think of any reason why I wouldn't be able to trust this grand gesture. You've always looked out for me, and I want to do the same for you! We are best friends, after all!"