Strangely Familiar

“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

She slapped him hard across his face.

The sound of her strike resounded throughout the space.

For a moment, she miscalculated the degree and intensity of power radiating around the Immortal in front of her. Too blinded by her fury and consumed in the aura of compulsion at the sheer audacity of the man in front of her who dared provoke her, attempting to instill dubious thoughts in her. She only realized when her palms struck his face.

Naina prepared herself for the worst. She just attacked him in his home. She acted impetuously realizing only a second later that it was probably the most reckless move but given the situation she was in, her emotions were pronounced, taking her on a headless ride accompanied by strong vehemence clouding her judgment, thereby drowning her sense of sagacity to darkness.

Shaurya clenched his jaws, unflexing his facial muscle to and fro striving to ease the pulsating sensation. To him, it almost felt like she pushed him into a harrowing experience, and he wasn’t sure how much of it was linked to the stinging pain still pulsing around the pores of his cheek. He may be Immortal but physical blows still hurt. Without much of a reaction, his eyes closed in a fruitless attempt to drink up the burning affliction.

He was not supposed to feel but the sensation was defying him. Gritting his teeth, he craned to the other side, unclenching his fist.

“Seems like I’ve waited too long.” He spoke looking into her eyes. His tone was so measured like he was trying to hypnotize her.

She reared back almost instantly at his voice, her palms still stinging in pain. No matter how hard she tried, Naina realized there is nothing she could do to stop the cruelty that could be thrown at her anytime now. She wanted to brace herself.

His pupils dilated for a fraction of a second before recomposing their original shade. His shoulders relaxed and his breathing returned to normal as he took two steps away from her gracefully. The distance between them was more than three arm’s length.

“Let’s try something.”

A sudden flash of golden light blinded her vision causing spiral colors to take the shape of peculiar doodles. She closed her eyes shut, squeezing them tightly embracing herself from an unknown spell. Every time she tried to blink, the colors and shapes changed to something else.

Finally adjusting her vision to the surrounding, she found herself trapped inside a room with six different colored walls changing shape in quick spirals.

It was just an illusion. She mentally chanted. But the moving circles around her were causing her to lose all sense. Her head felt light and dizzy as she clutched it with both hands. Closing her eyes, she channelized all her energy to concentrate on one object, envisioning the room she was just in.

It was hard. Naina could hardly breathe. Like there was some mental barrier inside her head, and she couldn’t get past it. The same barrier was releasing sensations inside her head making her brain act out of its usual boundaries. The continuous pressure and unrelenting force on her part, she finally managed to break the barrier and was suddenly thrown at the edge of the room. Her head collided with something soft and mushy,

Equipped with a renewed sense of energy, Naina breathed hard looking around her. The Immortal was staring down at her sitting form. He gave her a measured look. Out of nowhere, she pushed him away trying to get up in the process. He stumbled back but restored his position easily.

Naina appeared half-crazed, her arms lifting trying to get hold of something, anything. She blinked her tears furiously, shaking the tremors off her body.

“Before you assume, I used the acumen spell on you. It only enhances one’s ability to be astute and shrewd.” He explained her visible curiosity before speaking in a tight voice. “You are welcome.”

She couldn’t deny that she truly felt insightful. It was like she never knew the feeling of intelligence all her life. It was exhilarating like fresh morning air calming the numbing sensations of her brain.

“Can magic make anyone intelligent?” Despite herself, she couldn’t help but ask. Her tone was quiet.

“No,” he answered.

He doesn’t need to answer any further and Naina understood why. She felt the blockage inside her mind like a huge wall that has never been penetrated before. Was it always there? If not then who did it and why? There were so many questions inside her head.

Shaurya was ascertaining her like he was mentally weighing his options.

Naina only smiled to herself. She was not feeling her usual self. She felt like a whole new person - so light, so carefree, and so out of bounds that she momentarily forgot where she was.

“I think I’m drunk.” She mumbled to herself. But he caught her words and his lips twitched upwards.

“You are not drunk. It’s your magic. It’s free now.” He said. When she paid attention to his words, he continued, “It was locked for years. Now that you have broken the wall inside your mind, the magic trapped in it is swinging freely inside both your mind and body providing you with security, strength, and warmth.”

She wanted to deny but then the feeling of elation inside her would be inexplicable. It was the feeling that was preventing her from believing otherwise. How could she deny it anymore? It was directly laid in front of her. She could feel the proof traveling in her very body.

Shaurya waited a moment for her to process it. He walked over to the nearest shelf, unlocked and summoned a book before handing it to her. “No one apart from you can access it. Read it.”

When she took it without a word. He inhaled sharply and managed to pull himself away from her aura.

Her magic was too powerful and intoxicating. He guessed the moment he figured out the reason for her survival the first time his portrait attacked her. If only he remembered the mark on her wrist but how could he have known it was the same girl when she was barely a child back then?

“You will face flashes. The purpose of the spell is to clear your memory and rationalize your judgment.”

“What flashes?” Naina asked.

“Your adoptive family has hidden things from you and your brother, Akira.” Shaurya was displeased at how wrongly her magic was treated. “I can indulge you but you are not likely to believe me. Best, see it for yourself.”

“How do I know if you are not manipulating me?” Naina asked calmly, feeling relaxed like she could drift off to slumber any moment.

He looked into her eyes, leaning in her direction. “Don’t trust me if you don’t want to. But trust your magic for it will warn you.”

Naina thought about the numerous other incidents where she had intuitions about situations and people around her but never paid much attention to them. Her mother told her it was just her overthinking mind trying to overanalyze things more than they appear to be. What if it was truly her trapped magic trying to signal her?

“Ever had the feeling that you are reliving the same moment again, Akira?”

Her lips parted slightly, eyes wide as she stared right into his eyes. For a second or two, she often felt a moment repeating itself several times. She later confirmed her suspicion to her brother who dismissed it saying she was getting déjà vu. According to him, it was a common occurrence.

Shaurya didn’t need to ask twice. He got his answer as he casually shifted from one leg to another.

“It was your magic hinting at you. It wasn’t a clear indication because of which, and I should presume that nothing made much sense, and now you know why, Akira.”

“Why do you insist on calling me Akira?” She asked, her fingers twitching slightly on their own, vibrating at the new newfound establishment.

“I refuse to use the name those mortals gave you,” Shaurya said in an uncompromising tone. He further muttered something under his breath that Naina couldn’t catch no matter how much she strained her ears. Guess magic does not amplify your hearing abilities.

She resigned her thought of debating. Frankly, she did not care. It was the name imprinted on her wrist. Rightfully, it belonged to her. However, another thought was bugging her. She did not understand why her mother chose a separate name for her. Akira does have a nice ring to it.

Shaurya saw her parley with herself, two sides developing inside her mind as she roamed her vision from one end to another seeking nothing.

“I still don’t trust you.” She spoke this time with much stability.

“I only require your loyalty.” He roamed casually, putting his hands behind his back. “Break it and your magic will punish you.”

Her eyes widened with realization. “This is why you broke the mental barrier. So my magic could keep an eye on my promise?” She gave him an incredible look.

His smile was critical though not entirely unpleasant. “You will find that your magic can help you in ways you never imagined. But, yes, it will sense your thoughts.”

Naina wasn’t sure if it was good news or bad one. He is known to be cynical from what she has gathered and heard. With the duplicity of things prevailing around her, like a non-linear paradigm, it became an arduous task for her to reach an unbiased conclusion.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Sometimes you need to shatter the mirror to see your true side.” He said, seriously.

She gave him a wary look.

“I would focus on who put the barrier in the first place if I were you.” He gave her a knowing look.

It wouldn’t take a genius to presume who he was signaling. He did not bother to hide his hostility towards her adoptive mother and her ancestors. Perhaps because of the painting? They were known for their artistic talent after all. She wanted to ask the reason behind his hatred but stopped herself. It was too personal and she wasn’t sure if she could handle the naked truth.

“Can you bring my parents back to me?” She asked hopefully.

“Can I?” He pretended to ponder for a moment like he was genuinely trying to search for an answer. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

This time Naina felt like she was the one slapped, metaphorically of course.

Surely they aren’t dead. He said so himself not a while back. She reasoned inwardly.

She waited, preventing herself from acting rashly once again. Who knows what he will make her go through this time? She held the book securely in her hand, hugging it closer to her chest.

He waved his fingers delicately forming a curious pattern in the air before merging them all together. She saw two figures on a chair, floating with water around them pulling them in.

“What?” she knitted her eyebrows. To her, it seemed like they couldn’t get up and escape the rising water level. Her voice was sharp, directed his way. “What did you do to them? You said they are fine.”

Shaurya frowned. “Pay more attention, Akira. I said they are alive.”

“But this is all your doing.” Her voice held an accusatory tone.

“Ah, ah,” he corrected her. “This is your adoptive mothers’ doing.”

Sensing her unbelievable look, he took the lead and explained carefully. “They are inside the ‘Circle of Truth’, and the only way out of it is well... speak the truth. Your adoptive mother has hidden a lot of things from her husband. And would you look at that, she is still adamant.”

“What happens if she doesn’t speak?” Naina feared she already knew the answer. It was like a television screen in front of her where she was forced to watch their futile attempts to escape.

Surely her mother comes from a line of magical ancestry. Why isn’t she doing anything? She could speak the truth and get it over with. She knew her father would never judge her regardless of the secrets inside her.

“Do you want to watch?” Shaurya asked, surprisingly pleased with himself.

Before she could respond, she heard bits of her mothers’ trembling voice. “It’s Naina. I never intended to adopt her but when I saw the mark on her wrist. It’s a sign. She is one of them. I had to take her in to prevent her from joining them. They would have reached out for her by now if only I hadn’t blocked her magic.”

Naina was shocked to hear the words gushing out of her mouth.

She knew!

This whole time she knew about it. She could recall the countless number of times when she confessed feeling put out and odd but it was all disregarded. Everyone around her started calling her a strange bird.

It was the fear of drowning that induced such a reaction from her adoptive mother. Naina couldn’t help but address her as such. She felt cheated.

“The essence is too strong that even after trapping it in. It still produces vibes in her.” Her mother mumbled softly.

“Please close it.” Her voice was a bare whisper as she closed her eyes trying to blink her tears away.

Shaurya did not even raise his finger and the magical screen in front of them vanished in thin air. Naina slouched her shoulder, subconsciously stepping back to incline her head against the wall. Her breathing was strangely calm leaving numbing sensation across her mind and heart.

Her whole life has been a lie. All this time she has been living a manipulated reality. Her adoptive mother took her in to hoodwink her. She was deceived by her own.

It all suddenly became too much to bear.