CHAPTER 3

Aqasha~

Here!

Hahahahah... Heheheheheh...

I gave you~

POWER!

Hahahahah..... Heheheheheh...

AQASHA!

*GASP*

Aqasha opened her eyes widely. The atmosphere had changed. She was in a place she does not know. It was pitch black but she can see clearly. It has no ground but she laid down on something. It was wide open but hard to breathe. No wind but the air was as cold as the dead. She was wearing the same outfit, with the blood on it. Her body too, was covered in blood but strangely the bruised, the cut, the wound and even a slightest pain, were all gone. She touched her whole body, checking for any pain but came to a dead answer. She was shocked herself as it was as if just a dream but the blood and the memory was too vivid to assume that it was all a dream. She rose up while looking around for any exit as her hands keep stroking her arms to keep away the coldness. Suddenly, she heard her name being called by a little girl but she was nowhere to be found. The girl giggled again before calling her name again. Aqasha then followed the sweet voice without knowing the exact location to where it's leading her.

Qairah step out from the bus with red eyes. She looked miserable. She walked weakly into the apartment gate, weakly pushed the elevator button, got inside, and slide down while stroking her head and ended it with hugging herself to comfort herself. The elevator stopped and the door opened. She slowly got up and almost get cut by the door that started to close again when she pushes the open button again. She sighs as she walked out from the elevator. She then reached a door and rashly searched for something from her sling bag. She found it and puts it right into the hole of the door. She turned it and a 'click' sound could be heard. Before she could open the door, she can hear footsteps and a giggling sound. The door opened and she received a warm hug from two small children that she dear the most.

"Where's the cake?" Imah asked.

Qairah confused. "Cake?"

"Mom said you buy cake" Said the seven-year-old Haiqkal.

They walked in as the door closed. A woman walked towards them with an apron still attached to her body as she wiped her hands with an old cloth.

"Don't say you forgot your own sister's birthday?" She said. "Where is she by the way? It's 2 in the evening. Aren't you guys supposed to head back home together?"

"Oh..." She hesitated. She couldn't believe herself for actually forgot her own sister's birthday. "Actually, she has a date."

The whole house shocked, including the little ones. Knowing that, she cared to explain.

"We bumped into this cute guy at the association and he seems to like her. She failed the participation exam, so I, as a good sister, asked her to go on a date with that guy." She smirked before continuing. "He seems nice and already confessed, so I think I can trust him. So yeah. She will be late. And yeah, I did forget her birthday. Sorry mom."

Her mom was in a huge surprise as she had never thought that her daughter would fail, and of course would be in a date right now.

She then quickly unties the apron and fixed her hair.

"Enough about that. Let's go shopping!"

Qairah stared blankly towards her mother. "What?"

"We need to celebrate this! She might feel sad, but she did end up having a boyfriend! We need to celebrate that!"

She grabbed her handbag from the dining table and pulled her daughter's hand. She turned to the kids.

"Be good, okay?" She kissed both their foreheads.

"Okay!" Said Imah.

"Don't worry!" Said Haiqkal.

They were in the bus heading to the mall but the atmosphere seems different. Qairah could not bring herself to ask her mother as she kept frowning while looking outside the bus window.

"Do you know that boy?" She finally speaks.

"What?" Qairah asked.

"Hah....." She looked at Qairah. "That boy is a total stranger. How can you let your sister go out with him? What if that boy is a bad boy?"

"Erm..." She gulped. "We actually met a few times in the morning-"

"Still not confirming!" She cut. "We both know it well, that Aqasha is not like you sweetheart. She is the total opposite of you." She gave a long sigh.

Qairah started feeling guilty.

They reached their destination and went straight to the cake shop. After the cake shop, they went to a bookstore, they stopped by at a candy store for a while. It took them 30 minutes from their home to the mall and took two hours straight to buy all the stuff they need for the party. Then, they head back using a cab. The driver fortunately was the father, so they saved a bunch of pennies.

"You guys going somewhere?" He asked.

" No. Straight back home, please" The mother said.

"Then-"

"It's Aqasha's birthday, dad" She cut as she knew her father would forget just like herself.

"Oh, is that it?" He asked.

"Yes, so drive faster. We need to get home before she did" The mother command.

The father just kept quite after that and so, the entire cab went silent until they reached home.

Aqasha stopped running to catch her breath. She looked around and searched for the sweet voice that suddenly stop after she stopped running. Suddenly, a light shone in front of her, shining right through at five different presents. Each of them has different style. One of them don't have a shadow. It was the one on the right. The ugliest too. Aqasha just stood there without doing anything as she knows that something fishy is going on in this weird place. In a blink of an eye, a little girl at the age of ten or eleven was standing behind those presents. She has a long straight grey ash hair. She wore a white dress but not clean as the dress had a lot of dirt at the tip of the dress. She must have sat on a dirty environment because the dress was not that long. The dress only passes her knee but her legs were clean despite very skinny and pale. The little girl seems to despair with some chronic disease as she was as thin as a twig and had a very pale skin colour and a dark circle under her tiny dead eyes. She puts a smile with her dried lips that started to crack the further her mouth goes.

"Aqasha" She started. "In front of you are gifts from me to you"

Aqasha flinched. "What?"

"You....." She smirked. "...seek revenge, remember?"

Aqasha stood still.

"In order to achieve that, you need power. God heard you. I was sent to make sure you receive this gift."

"So, this is what happened to The Awakened?" Aqasha asked.

The little girl smiled. "You need to pick only one and after you pick, there is no turning away and the gift will stick with you forever."

"Umm....." She was stunned by the fact that if she picks the wrong one, she would be doom forever.

"And of course..." The little girl continued. "The power is yours to command, and the power could grow stronger as same as you. It follows your heart as it will be your strength or your weakness."

"Do I need to pick only one?"

"Yes" The little girl smile. "Please pick"

The decoration in the small house in an apartment was lively. Two little children were busy running around playing with balloons. A girl showed up brought food to the dining table. A much older woman was busy cooking some food. A man that looked quite old then the rest of them was sitting on a couch in front of a television while smoking some cig. There was a cake at the center of the dining table. A chocolate cake.

"What time is it?" Qairah asked.

"6!" Imah answered.

"Well, they supposed to head back home I guess" Said Qairah as she sat down to one of the chairs near the dining table.

"Humph!" Their mom came out from the kitchen while wiping her hands. "That boy must need to send her home. It's not safe out there" She looked at Qairah.

"I'm sure he will mom." She said confidently.

Unfortunately, they have been waiting for several hours waiting for Aqasha to come home. The food had gone cold. Their father was asleep on the couch. The little kids stopped running and just sitting silently at the floor.

"It's ten o'clock, Qairah!" She looked at her furiously.

"It's fine. I'm gonna give her a call."

Qairah called her sister but no valid. She tried several times just to recieve the same answer. Just then, their mom's phone rang. She quickly answered.

"Hello...."

"Yes. I am her mother." she started to tremble.

"What!?" Her eyes started teary.

"I'm on my way sir. Thank you very much."

She sat down to the floor with her bawling eyes. When Qairah asked what was wrong, she could not help herself but cry. She then told them something that made the whole family in shock. The father was being told something and he quickly grabbed his cab key followed by his wife. The children were left behind with their tears running down. Qairah fell to the floor, sobbing and cried as loud as she can as she felt very guilty towards her little sister.

'What have I done!?'