Chapter 2 The Beige Ticket As Old Paper

• Chapter 1 – The beige ticket as old paper
• That day was being very strange, first it started to rain very hard, even though it never rained in such a way in that place. Second, one could hear wolf howls outside even though such creatures were common in the western part of the kingdom, and finally, Kendra was awake watching her friend struggle as if having a nightmare.
• “But how is that not considered normal?” you might ask yourself. The question was that roles used to be reversed. Kendra was the one who dreamed, and Mira was the one who stood by her when she was having her detestable visions.
• There was thunder outside, muffling the howls of the animals. The owner of the house and mother of Mira had not returned. It was normal for her to get out before the sun came up and come back when he was getting up, but it should have been at least an hour. Kendra was worried. Did something bad happen?
• “ Mira, what is happening?” — she asked her friend in vain, knowing that she would not get an answer.
• Meanwhile, Mira’s dream showed her something very different from what was actually happening:
• A woman ran desperate through the forest with a child in her lap. The red hood covered her face.
• The forest was vast with tall green trees. It was clear, the morning sunlight embraced the leaves, giving them a slight glow. In the middle of the woods, there was a trail. That’s where the hooded woman would run, if she was in the middle of the woods, she wouldn’t have a chance.
• The girl in her arms was kicking without knowing what was happening.
• Men dressed in black ran after them with animals that looked like dogs that had not eaten for days, the creatures were skin and bone, with silver teeth and red eyes, in addition to being tall; their size was almost half that of the woman.
• They growled and were almost catching up with her. She seemed desperate, kept telling the little girl that everything would be okay. His voice was sweet and soft, but he could not hide his fear. The monsters caught up with her and dragged her to the ground, ripping the skirt off the dress, causing her to drop the little girl. The little girl cried.
• “Run Mira! Run!” the woman screamed.
• The child ran. A flash of blue light enveloped her and the scenery changed.
• Mira was in a forest, not the same as in the previous scenario. It was dark, but not a dreadful dark one. It was a dark one with a dusk tone. The wind blew softly, making sounds as if there was someone else in the place. But that idea was an illusion. There was only her there. The trees had pale leaves, as if something had removed all the pigment from their color. Light touches of sparkles touched the forest, but were fragile. The dark and lifeless tones stood out.
• The girl walked through the place, passing a trail as in the other forest. But in this, there were colorful flowers on the ground, but dry and lifeless.
• As I walked, a light appeared as if it had a tunnel, an exit from there. However, it did not exist, the light was not from a tunnel, but from a giant lake, crystal clear and with pink, green, yellow, blue, and purple lights touching it.
• Suddenly, the lake began to dry up. The trees withered, and their leaves turned to dust. Mira heard a shrill cry as if the forest were suffering.
• “Mira!” — Someone called her soberly. The young woman sought the owner of the voice, but there was no one else there. “Mira!” — The voice called her again. “We need you. We need you awake.”
• “Awakening? What do you mean?”
• The voice kept chanting his name non-stop.
• “Mira, Mira, Miraa…”
• ***
• “Mira! Mira!” Kendra called desperately.
• The brunette opened her honey-colored eyes and stared at her friend’s greens.
• “What’s going on, Kedy?” — she asked, scared.
• That was her friend’s nickname since when they were little, the brunette could not pronounce “Kendra” and the only thing that came out of her lips was something like Kedy. The name continued to the present day.
• The sun was already out, as if the rain had not been there just a minute before.
• “The same moment she woke up”—thought Kendra.
• The lighting seemed to enter the house. The girls' room was of medium size, since healers had a slightly higher rank than the villagers. The walls were light yellow. The lady of the house, Miss Alice Collins, said that dark colors did not bring good dreams.
• The bed of the lowest was already arranged, obviously, since Kendra was super organized. The simple white quilt covered the mattress, only with a beige pillowcase pillow as an ornament.
• Mira’s bed was still a mess. The brunette was not as organized as her friend and rarely made the bed properly, but this time there was an excuse, she was still in bed.
• “First of all, Happy birthday!” — said the green-eyed, embracing the other.
• “Thank you. That’s why you woke me up? I appreciate it anyway. I was having a very strange dream.”
• “No, that’s not why”. — Kendra said as she picked up coins on the big table with books and flowers in the room. “Miss Miths is calling you. It seems your mother has left, and they need a healer.”
• “What do you mean? I’m not a healer yet.” — replied Mira, astonished.
• “And the way things are going, I’ll never be” she thought.
• “Come on, stop daydreaming and change your clothes. I go to the fair to buy something for when Miss Alice arrives”—her friend warned while checking the number of coins and put them in the purse.
• “ My mother has not arrived yet?” — Asked the apprentice healer.
• “No.” — answered the other in a concerned tone.
• “Let’s wait a little longer, someone must have asked her for help along the way, or she must be preparing something for my 17th birthday!” — exclaimed Mira, hopeful.
• “ I’m going. Later, I want to know about this dream. Please remember my present on the table.” —Kendra warned.
• When the other came out, the girl took off her light-pink pajamas. Her brown skin was exposed and her slim and slender body too. She wore a red dress with long sleeves. It wasn’t made of the best fabric, but it wasn’t the worst either.
• She brushed his wavy brown hair, putting it right after the brush on the small round table next to the larger table. She bumped into her friend’s gift, but didn’t open it. She would finish getting ready before.
• She made three thin braids, braiding them together and fastening them on the left side of the head with a silver clip that he took from the jewelry box that was next to the books. Finally, he put on his brown shoes and looked at the present.
• Mira finally opened the small blue package that her friend had given her, it was a delicate and thin necklace with the leaf pendant.
• “It’s beautiful. As expected from you, Kedy.” — Whispered to herself.
• The honey-eyed girl put the necklace on her neck and hurried down the stairs.
• Downstairs she saw a plump lady, who was about 40 years old, with light-brown hair tied by a veil, wore a simple dark green dress with brown details and seemed irritated, since she beat her right foot compulsively on the floor.
• “Good morning, Miss Miths.”
• “Good morning, Mira, your mother is?” — asked the kind woman.
• The youngest looked at her fearfully and replied:
• “ No, it looks like it’s out. What do you need?”
• The young woman was uncomfortable, it was very strange her mother left unexpectedly.
• “My son is sick and I need a healer. Can you take him instead?”
• “What?” — she said, coming out of his thoughts. “Me? I am not yet formed, madam.” — she replied fearfully.
• “I know you know a lot, your mother always praises you.”
• “Because she is my mother” – thought the brunette.
• “All right, I can take a look at it.”
• Mira followed the older woman to her home. The village was as quiet as ever. It was towards the east wing where the houses were. The residence of Lady Miths was not much different from all the others in the village, made of bricks and woods, small but cozy. There was a wooden sign on the door with the family name on it.
• “Excuse me.” — I said on my way in.
• The redhead boy was lying in bed, sweating and burning in fever. His skin was red with small black spots. That was Pritine, a disease very common in children. After checking the patient’s condition again, Mira reassured the concerned mother:
• “Don’t worry, ma'am. It’ll be fine. I’ll just get some herbs and be right back.”
• The young woman went to the garden of her house and took the necessary plants: arelva, prímulus and dragon grass. He mixed everything in a container and kneaded the mixture. He wondered if the recipe was the same. What if she was mistaken and ended up doing something bad to the boy? Well, she didn’t have time for that now.
• The girl hurried back to the residence of Lady Miths.
• “Do you think it will work?” — asked the mother of the child.
• “Yes.” — said the girl, half unsure.
• “I hope it works”—thought Mira apprehensive.
• A few seconds later, the black spots began to disappear.
• Relieved that the medicine worked, the young healer instructed the woman, explaining how to give the medicine to her son.
• “Give him that mixture twice a day, and he’ll be better in no time.”
• “ Obligate…” — the lady tried to thank, but was interrupted by someone’s cries.
• Lady Miths opened the door and saw the chaos outside. People running desperate from one side to the other in the middle of a strange fire. Unlike anything Mira had seen before.
• “Mira, Mira!” — Kendra calling.
• “What is it? What is happening?” — said the friend, opening the door and leaving.
• Kendra stood beside him, panting.
• “There’s something in front of the house.” — she said.
• Mira left quickly and impulsively as usual. Her hair flew as she ran outward towards the western area, where the trade was. The girl passed distractedly through the flames and did not feel burn, they were cold as ice.
• When they got close to home, Kendra said:
• “Mira, look!” — Pointed to the door.
• Above the doorknob was beige paper as if it were ancient. In drawn letters was written something in a strange language that the brunette did not understand. The only word that was decipherable was the mother’s name: “Alice”.
• “I think we should go in.” — said Mira worried. — It is dangerous to stay here.
• “Why had the name 'Alice' in that role? Did they do something to my mother?” — She thought, tense.
• Upon entering, Kendra seemed thoughtful. He sat on the chair of the kitchen table, which seemed to be empty since everything was kept in its proper place: the dishes on the shelves, and the utensils such as pans, knives, spoons, forks, skewers, and spatulas were hanging above the stone fireplace that was used to bake food.
• The only thing left was a knife, which probably Mira had used to prepare the boy’s medicine and, as always, left rushing to clean and store.
• “Get some paint and a parchment for me, please.”
• Mira ran up the stairs. It was all perplexing. She thought again why her mother’s name was on that note. Besides, what was that strange fire from before? His heart began to tighten.
• She passed by the room with the bed arranged with her red bedspread and white pillow, the closet closed, and the desk with the candle out and a piece of parchment with the inkwell beside. Everything was normal, as if Alice could return at any time.
• He went to the third room of the house and in the desk drawer took what was asked of him. He left behind the shelves full of books, scrolls, paints, and feathers; the table with more papers that lived impeccably clean, even though it was always full of open books; and the walls painted light blue and peeled in the middle.
• When he arrived downstairs, he handed over what he was asked for and asked his colleague:
• “Can you really read that?”
• “My mother taught me this language when I was little.” — She said with a distant expression.
• Mira knew that her friend was remembering her parents, who died some time ago.
• Kendra started working quickly. She sat on the wooden chair and put the objects on the table. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes were focused on the paper and his right fingers were hitting the wood, as he always did when he wanted to focus on something, and began to translate the note hurriedly.
• Mira, already bored, took the opportunity to look out the window and noticed that the fire had already extinguished. The situation could not be stranger.
• “Here!” — Kendra said, taking her out of her reverie loud and clear— “Dear Mira, happy 17th birthday. I came here to take your mother, Alice, as a gift from the long time we have not seen each other. I hope the flames left in your sleepy village are to your complete delight. We’ll see each other soon, after all, the family should always be united, don’t you think? Don’t worry, your dear mother is in the hands of the best person possible: mine.
• Signed: the Emperor.”
• Exasperated and confused, the tallest girl uttered:
• “What? Who is he? I don’t know any Emperor. And the only family I have is my mother. Who is this lunatic, Kendra?”
• She sat on the chair with trembling hands.
• “What was going on? Why did they take your mother?”
• Mira wanted to scream and cry, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Even so, her hand kept shaking as she squeezed her fingers.
• Kendra looked at her and, holding her hand, answered the previous question:
• “I don’t know, Mi. We can call the guard.”
• “The guard will not be very useful in that case.” — said a cold voice behind them.