Nova hadn't recovered from the shock and was looking at the girl. Her thoughts keep running, thinking of what this really is.
“Lucas,” she unconsciously uttered. “I-i need to go back. I need to convince him. He might be...” a sudden movement from the girl stops Nova. The little girl. She’s alive. Nova can’t believe what she’s seeing. The little girl rubbed her eyes. It just looks like she’s from a deep night slumber being woken up by the morning sunlight. Acting so normal, like nothing happened. Their eyes met, and the little girl smiled.
“Hi,” the little girl said. “Oh, you’re the one who was with Kai earlier.”
“You... know me?” Nova asked, and the little girl nodded.
“Are you okay though? You just collapsed. I mean, I’m sure your body is okay, but are you really okay? You look distressed.” the little girl concernedly asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine now. Anyway, what are you doing here? In the middle of the forest. A little girl like you.”
“You’re also a little girl.”
“I mean, yeah, I am, but you’re much younger than me; you should be with them,” Nova said, but she suddenly remembered the danger posed by this place. “Wait, actually, you know what? Come with me; let's get out of here. It’s dangerous here.”. She grabbed the little girl's hand, but she seemed not to budge on her place.
“I want to stay here,” the little girl insisted.
“No, you don’t understand. It’s dangerous here. There’s... there's a monster in there. You saw that guy? The one who wears that long robe? Aren’t you scared of him?” the little girl shakes her head in disagreement.
“Clay is nice; he let me come here. There’s no other safe place other than here, here in Luminary. Just trust them; you’ll be fine.” Hearing it just makes Nova furious.
“What’s wrong with you? All of you?! You guys wanted to stay here; do you want to die?! You saw what Kai did to Lucas, right? To that boy she pushed, he could’ve died!” The little girl avoided eye contact. She was on the verge of tears but managed to stop it.
“I’m fine here; I still want to stay here. You can leave.” Nova realizes the action she took. She kneeled and grabbed her hand.
“I’m sorry, really. I didn’t mean it to shout at you. I’m just... in distress. There’s no one I can trust anymore. Lucas refused to go with me, you refused to go with me, I don’t get it... I really don’t get it.” Nova surrendered and rested her head against the well.
“Soon. You’ll know soon,” the little girl said softly. Nova’s eyes became heavy, everything became blurry, and then she completely fell asleep. The little girl got up and let go of Nova’s hand. Looking down in the well, she touched the glistening water. She was on the verge of crying again, but this time, the tears fell down to her face, dropping on the well.
“Mom, I’ll come back; promise, I miss you.”
***
Nova was woken up by the sudden movement of her surroundings. Her shoulders felt heavy, so she looked at it and saw the little girl leaning on her. A shadow towered over her; she looked up in horror, readying herself to attack.
“You should be in your hut right now.” It’s Clay. Nova feels relieved but still hasn’t let her guards down. Clay acted to get and carry the little girl, but Nova stopped him.
“What are you doing?” Nova said, covering the little girl’s body with hers.
“Nadine’s not your business.” Clay shoved Nova, but she didn’t budge on her place. “What do you think you’re doing?” he unbelievably asked.
“What are you going to do to her?” Clay, being tired of this, sighed in annoyance.
“Nothing, okay? Nothing. Stop now.” He forced his way in, but Nova decided to push him, leading him to fall down. Clay looked at Nova with a mixture of annoyance and anger. Finally, Nadine woke up, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Nova’s back. It looks like she’s protecting herself from someone. Nadine tilted her head to the side, and her eyes opened wide when she saw Clay on the ground.
“Clay!” She hurriedly stood up and ran to him, but Nova’s arms stopped her from going.
“He’s a bad guy, Nadine; don’t go with him. We can get out of here,” Nova insisted.
“No, let go!” Nadine forced herself out and managed to get away. She finally ran to Clay and checked if he was okay.
“I’m fine, Nadine. Let’s go.” Everything Nova just saw made her realize it clearly. She’s now alone. Clay and Nadone started to walk out. Clay looked back at Nova.
“There’s no way out here. Not yet, but not for you.” He continued to walk after stating those words. For some reason, a teardrop fell from her eyes, one by one, until she couldn’t stop her tears anymore. Realizing she’s wasting time. As it is almost night, she collects herself and continues to walk. Nova just absentmindedly walked. Minutes later, she sees a familiar place across from her.
“It’s... the well... again.” Her legs weaken, and she falls down. The words Clay uttered earlier keep flashing back to her. “I’m just walking in circles. There’s really no way out here,” she said weakly. Nova looked back and was hesitant. Going back means crushing her hope and pride. She looked above the sky; no stars could be seen; it’s just a clear gray sky.
“No. I’m not going back.” Despite her legs being shaky, Nova forced herself to stand up and walk straight towards the well.
“Nova, you’re going back,” a familiar voice said. She turned back and met Solari’s eyes. Behind him were Kai and some people in black clothing. Clay shows up in the crowd and walks forward.
“Take her back, Solari.” Clay stops beside Nova. “I told you, there’s no way out... for you. You chose this, so why bother?” he whispered to her, leading her to get confused.
“Let’s go, Nova.” Solari slowly led her to walk back. Nova snaps back and looks at Solari. “I won’t harm you, Nova, so please, let’s go. Lucas is waiting for you.” Just hearing his name again at least gives her a reason to go back, but the feeling of betrayal still lingers on her.
“He’s not. He chooses you, you, and your people,” Nova slowly says. As she walked, Nova came across Kai. It was visible on her face that she was sorry, but Nova neglected that and just continued walking and keeping her gaze forward.
After walking for minutes, they are almost at the entrance of the forest. A person was seen pacing back and forth, hands on their waist, looking like they were waiting for something. The person took notice of them, started walking, and turned into running.
“Nova,” an arm wrapped around her. “Are you okay?”
"Lucas, let go of me.” Nova resisted. Lucas loosened his hug and faced her.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Nova just continued to walk, not giving Lucas any attention. “Nov—” Solari patted Lucas' shoulder, signaling to stop him.
“Let her be. You guys should rest. It has been a long day for the two of you,” Solari said and then walked.
***
Back in the forest. The dark place one Nova left turns to light thanks to the fireflies. Clay and his people formed a circle around the well.
“Let’s begin,” Clay announces.
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