Synexus’ eyes opened only he felt different. He couldn’t move his arms or legs or even his head to look around and find out what was happening. His mind raced, attempting to understand what was happening when he remembered that he was mapping the matriarch’s brain. He wasn’t in another body, he was simply looking through her eyes.

  Mylidara was once again a little girl looking at herself in a reflection along the surface of Silk Lake when the water rippled and some splashes onto her face from her right. She looked over to see a blonde-haired boy laughing. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him, but that didn’t stop her from charging him head on to push him into the lake. A chuckle came from behind her and she noticed another boy with dark brown hair sitting a distance away watching the two of them. He instantly knew these were her best childhood friends.

  Mylan surfaced and started yelling for help in a mocking manner. Mylidara couldn’t help but roll her eyes and offer her hand to help him out. Instead, he pulled her in, and they tumbled beneath the special water together. She flailed and pushed the boy away before kicking to the surface. She gasped for air and waited for him to come back up before slapping him across the face.

  “Why do you always have to joke around?!”

  “You pushed me into the lake first. I thought you wanted to go for a swim!”

  Myniko walked over to the shore in an obnoxious laugh.

  “You both were at fault. We should get back. You know that we aren’t supposed to be in the sacred lake.”

  He held out his hand to Mylidara to grab, but instead the two soaked children looked at each other with mischievous grins before grabbing his hand and pulling him into the lake with all their might. All three children tumbled down beneath the surface in one big splash only to surface a second later with an even bigger laugh.

  “I should have seen that coming.”

  Before either of the other two could respond, a gruff man started shouting at them.

  “I told you kids to not play in the water! Get out!”

  Of course, old man Mylios came to ruin the fun moment like always. Everyone in the village said he was powerful, but he never showed it. Before he could react, they were out of the water running with soaked clothes to their normal hangout spot to dry off.

  Years passed like this. Three best friends being mischievous children while making the best memories of one’s life. Every single one was now flooding back to Mylidara. A mix of tears, smiles, laughter, and pain shocked her system and Synexus felt all of it right along with her.

  Another memory slowed their perception, and both found themselves in a younger Mylidara’s body once again. She was around 14 this time, but she had never lost her mischievousness. The sun was down and the memory started with her slipping out of her window to run across the dark village to a bench by the lake. Two small torches let off flickering firelight that seemed to dance over the reflective water. Sitting on the bench was Mylan who Synexus instantly knew was her boyfriend.

  He grew this grin on his face and motioned for her to sit down. She obliged and found herself wrapped up by one of his arms. Her heart nearly skipped a beat, and her breathing grew slightly faster. It had to be early spring as the night still had a chill to it. Only his warmth and the small warmth of the torches brushed against her skin.

  “So, what was this important news that couldn’t wait until morning? I’m missing sleep for this.”

  “Can we just sit for a minute and enjoy being here with each other? Please.”

  Mylidara’s head filled with alarm bells. Something was wrong. This was Mylan, the town prankster. The boy that once let all the chickens out and paraded them through the street. The great artist who painted old man Mylos kissing a silkworm in bright red behind the waterfall. He was even the arsonist that people were still looking for after he accidentally started a small forest fire near the village. He was never serious.

  “Well, now I’m worried.”

  “What? You only want me around when I’m joking around? We can’t be serious for once?”

  “Woah. That’s not what I’m saying at all. You are just never serious like this, Mylan.”

  “I’m not a kid, Myliadara. I know how to be serious. I’m always serious about how I feel about you.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “We’re both serious about that. Now, tell me what’s going on?”

  “Fine. The warrior selection started and it looks like I’ve been chosen. I’ll be traveling to the south to train at the school in Calactus in two weeks’ time. I won’t be back until two years after I gain my robes.”

  Her head jolted forward off his shoulder, and she turned to stare at him. Tears were already forming in her eyes.

  “You’re leaving for 7 years?! And you wanted to just sit here on a bench and not tell me?!”

  “No, Mylidara! Of course I wanted to tell you, but I just wanted one last memory of sitting here with you. I wanted one night of normalcy with the person I love!”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He got up and stormed off but Mylidara wasn’t done and chased after him.

  “Get back here! I thought you said you weren’t a child anymore!”

  He started running through the village and she ran right after him.

  “We are talking about this! GET BACK HERE!”

  A few lanterns started being lit as they continued to run through the village. Mylidara yelled into the night after him and he started laughing after a few minutes of it. They only stopped when Myniko tackled Mylan into the ground right in front of the town elder who simply shook his head in disappointment. All three of them got up and took off running just like they would when they were kids. This was of course the normality that Mylan needed.

  Their perspective shifted again tumbling through the days until it was the day before Mylan was to depart for Calactus. A party was taking place and the four young men who were selected sat by the Elder of the village, everyone else was applauding. Mylidara sat with her parents and her mother was lecturing her to practice her silk weaving in between speeches. It was the destiny of every woman in Silk Lake to become a Silk Weaver after all. The lectures fell on deaf 15-year-old ears, however. Mylidara’s only focus was on the blonde-haired man that her childhood friend had become. Sitting there with more defined muscles than most his age and a jawline that made other boys jealous.

  Sitting with Mylidara’s family was Myniko since his family had left the village on their normal trade route and wouldn’t be back for nearly three years. He was often left alone and had to fend for himself. People didn’t really see him as a kid since he had to grow up pretty quickly. Mylidara and Mylan were just bad influences on the mature friend.

  He looked over and followed Mylidara’s gaze to his best friend sitting up next to the elder soaking in all the praise and admiration. He knew it was all a fa?ade though. The truth was that his friend always wanted to just live a simple life. No frills or excitement. Just settle down in the village and work as one of the guards. Grow old with Mylidara and have a couple kids of his own. Ambitious was never a word that he would use to describe Mylan. Now he was chosen, and ambition was forced upon him. He’d miss his friend of course, but his life would be much easier without having to clean up his friend’s messes. He was leaving him one more problem to help with though. Mylidara would be distraught once he left. There would be a lot of long nights ahead of him to help their friend through this. They had been in love for as long as Myniko could remember and now her heart was being torn in two. Synexus only knew all this because Myniko told Mylidara a few weeks later.

  Each warrior select gave a speech. Most were serious and foreboding goodbyes to loved ones. Mylan’s was a series of punchlines that the elder cut short. People were in tears from laughter or annoyance depending on what they thought of the young man. Afterwards he grabbed a whole platter of food and ran off into the forest, making both his friends follow.

  In a clearing. Their clearing. The clearing they had used since they were kids, they sat down to have a private picnic while shaking off the laughter from the exhilarating run. Sunlight lit the clearing perfectly and they gazed upon the tree they all carved their names into years prior. Mylidara danced with her beloved to the humming of Myniko and they had their own party, a better party, until the sun started to set. A beautiful darkened-orange sky changed the ambience, and it became a goodbye between friends.

  “Tomorrow, I go off to become a changed man!”

  “My friend, you’ll never change.”

  “No. He’s already changed. Calactus won’t know what they are in for.”

  “Maybe they will send him back.”

  “A girl can dream.”

  “Woah now. Calactus will love me and see me in a better light than the village ever did. Just you wait! Maybe I won’t come back.”

  “You better! Seven years is all I’m waiting.”

  Laughter filled the clearing and the three friends shared stories from their youth. Millions of stars appeared in the clear night sky and they all lay down to look up as many do on the precipice of change. Mylidara started to think about her life and future in that moment. She knew her beloved was destined to be a soldier. Her best friend was going to follow the silk trader route of his parents. That left her. The only one that was still a kid in a way. Silk Weaver was supposed to be her destiny, but she was never good at it, and it wasn’t what she wanted. There just never seemed to be another option.

  “Okay, you’re not allowed to think tonight. I see those wheels turning in there.”

  “Someone has to do the thinking around here, Mylan.”

  “What were you thinking about?” Myniko asked.

  “My future. You two are growing up already and doing your own thing. That leaves me.”

  “Your future is to have my kids.”

  That earned Mylan a slap.

  “You always have to ruin a nice moment with violence.”

  Another slap on his chest echoed out into the trees.

  “Stop hitting me! I’m going to be all bruised up for soldier training.”

  “Just tell them it was from a Gillyhound and then tell them you conquered it.” Myniko told his friend.

  “I did. You were there!”

  “Always the liar.”

  “More like always the fool.” Mylidara added.

  “You two are supposed to be my friends. This is abuse.”

  As if called from the woods, a Gillyhound stomped its webbed feet into the clearing causing all three of them to spin around. Gillyhounds were vicious hounds with slimy, almost reptile-like skin that always seemed to be moist. When they walked a squishing sound could be heard like walking in wet shoes. Their teeth were unbelievably sharp and that wasn’t even the dangerous part. Each tooth could shoot out on a tongue like appendage. You could get bit by a Gillyhound from twelve feet away and it would feel like they were chomping down on you. Another big tongue accompanied them that was coated in a substance making it sticky. One hit from that one and you would be stuck to a maw of death until you were devoured. Their hound bodies made them quick and nearly impossible to run from. One fact above anything else they had learned in school was that Gillyhounds almost always stayed in the bog that was nearly ten miles away.

  “Run you two!”

  “Are you crazy? We all should run!”

  “You’re right! Let’s go!”

  Mylidara and Myniko took off running back towards the village. It only took a few steps to realize that their friend had tricked them. Looking back, they saw Mylan charging the horrifying beast.

  “No!” Mylidara yelled out and tried to run back, but Myniko caught her and held her back.

  “Let me go! Let me go! No!”

  He did except he pushed her to the ground and took off running towards Mylan himself. It was too late, however. Mylan had already been struck by several teeth and was now airborne, attempting to throw his entire body at the beast. Their bodies collided and tumbled across the ground until the ground itself gave way, and they fell into a sinkhole.

  Myniko dove and tried to grab Mylan’s hand before he fell, but he was already gone. Moonlight barely provided any light and Myniko had to squint to see the bottom of the pit that had opened up. A mess of shadowed limbs twisted into unnatural shapes let him know that both the beast and their friend had died. Seconds later something big dragged them away and that’s when he got up and ran. He scooped up a crying Mylidara before running straight back to the village even against the protests of the young woman.