1 Trauma

Hit by an assailant, Jade was taken into another universe. She didn't know what had happened to her, all she knew was four men were giving her the beating of her life because she had turned down the advances of one of the men. He had been disturbing her for a while now and she kept refusing. So, that fateful night, as she packed up the goods she was selling, he came to her stand. This time, he wasn't alone, three other men accompanied him. He asked her to follow him home again, and before she could say no, two of the men hit her at the same time. She saw stars and all the solar systems that day.

But when she came to, she wasn't in that spot again. She found herself in a world full of green shrubs, she looked to the right and to her left and it was a vast land she saw. It was quite beautiful...pure nature and it looked like the soil was rich to have produced such vegetation.

There were grazing livestock in about three different places on this land, but what she noticed was shocking to her.

These didn't look like the normal cows and goats she knew back at home. Some of the cows had four tails from what she could see, the goats were elongated and possessed three sets of legs.

[what in the world?], she thought to herself.

[I'm definitely not on earth anymore. Then, where is this place?]

Next, Jade looked down at herself and found out that what she was wearing wasn't what she wore to the market earlier that day. Now, she was in a material made from sacks, sandals made of flat wood that only had ropes around her ankles holding her feet to the makeshift shoes.

But the strangest thing of all was a weird pendant shining a bright purple. She took it in her hands, studying the piece. It was a purple stone that had inscriptions on it. The markings were of gold color and it had a low hum as she held it in her hands.

[Where did this come from?], this question resonated in her mind even as she let the chain go.

It still hung on her neck, she didn't take it off because she knew everything would be explained soon.

[By whom?], she thought.

Then she willed herself to move. Walking due north from where she was standing, and after about fifteen minutes of walking, deep in thought and confusion, she sighted a cottage ahead.

Almost running, she walked as fast as her legs could take her and reached the place's front door. She noticed smoke coming out of the chimney and knew someone was living here.

"Hello... is anyone here?", Jade asked with a nervous voice.

"No one is here. Go back", came a deep voice from inside the cottage.

She was so scared she could hardly move but she had a tough streak in her and could still act even when she was scared shitless.

She pushed the door open ever so gently and peeped inside, not knowing what to expect but she had to know where she was and what had happened to her. She had to know why she was brought here. This person had to give her some answers.

To Jade's biggest surprise, who or what she saw wasn't a man. Hell no! This creature standing on two legs, legs that weren't straight, legs like that of a goat...covered with fur from beneath the tattered shorts it wore. Her eyes widened in surprise.

[Where the hell am I?], she cried within her mind.

Quickly, she recovered from the shock preparing to run in case this creature tried to attack her. At the same time, her eyes scanned further and she noticed his torse actually resembled, slightly though, that of a man. Brown-skinned, just like the fur covering its legs. She unintentionally delayed looking at his face because at that point, she knew she wasn't on Earth anymore.

* * *

It watched her as she stared at it.

"Don't you have manners girl? You haven't heard it's rude to stare? Are there no Satyrs where you come from?"

"No, there aren't", Jade replied.

"I don't know where I am. I woke up about 30 minutes ago and found myself on this land. I walked for a while and found your place, that's why I knocked on your door. The last thing I remember...".

Good stars! She was rambling like a singing bird. Her voice so soft but he noticed the fear and worry in her eyes and she hadn't moved from the spot she'd been standing on; at his door.

"Come in! Close the door before you let all the evil pixies in"

[what were evil pixies? what were pixies in the first place? this strange being asking me to come into his house. I hope my arms or legs won't be taken for meat though], she thought as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

But after entering his house completely, a sense of comfort filled her and she wondered why she suddenly felt comfortable in this stranger's cottage.

[What option do I have?]

Approaching her, Bacchus noticed she was beautiful.

[A beautiful human with a clear spirit and energy]

Obviously, she wasn't from this part of the universe. Dark skinned, her eyes shone gold like they had a fire in them. She had a small frame that made her appear fragile and delicate but there was nothing delicate about the energy he sensed emanating from her.

"What's your name, child?", Bacchus asked.

"I'm Jade. What are you?, I'm sorry... who are you?"

He chuckled and answered; "I'm Bacchus, a satyr, a loner, and most of all, a lover of wine. I make the ones I drink myself".

"How did you get here?", Bacchus asked her.

"I remember packing up the goods I usually sold at my stand in the market back at home..."

He interrupted her; "where's home"?

"...and a man that had been disturbing me came with his friends and I was assaulted. Home is Cones. Cones is on Earth. Just before they could rape me, I screamed and saw a bright purple light and when I came to, I was on a vast, green land...on this land, in this world".

As she finished, her gaze dropped to the chain and pendant around her neck and Bacchus' eyes followed her movement.

[That thing around her neck has magic. But that is a matter for another time], he thought.

He knew this girl was in pain, probably from her situation back at home. She wasn't crying and that told him that she bottled a lot of things inside.

"How about your parents? Would anyone look for you as you are here now? Give me a glimpse of how your life was back on this Earth place".

"I survive by myself, by selling oranges in the marketplace. My mother and father are no more, died a few years ago. Our town is being run by a very cruel person whose boys go around causing trouble, especially to girls and women. One of them wanted me to go out with him, I mean court him, imagine that! A thug that hardly brushed his teeth, a terrorist that picks on the weaker sex. That is all they do and it's almost like we are slaves in that village. No one can question this bad man, not even the so-called authorities", Jade's voice shook and she kept quiet for a while.

The situation in the Cones Village was a touchy subject for its inhabitants. They were being oppressed and saw no light at the end of the tunnel. Who could they report to? Who could and would liberate them? They had tried severally to appeal to authorities even to the nearby villages but everyone turned a deaf ear or a blind eye.

Bacchus was touched by what he was hearing.

[such a sad life she'd been living. But why had the spirits brought her to him?]

Bacchus wasn't in the mood to teach anymore. His last student was 150 years ago and the girl he was looking at didn't seem to know squat about magic.

"Where is this place called?", she asked pulling him back from his thoughts.

He moved towards the stove where he was brewing something that smelled like grass, fish, and grapes all at the same time.

"The Space of Goaz", Bacchus replied.

He fetched some of the content of the pot and poured it into a hornlike cup, then, he gave it to her.

Jade accepted the cup and inspected it. She silently admired the piece that looked like a cow's horn that had a spiral form to it. It was beautiful to her.

"If I wanted you dead, it wouldn't be through poison", Bacchus said, noticing how she was looking at what he gave her.

"Oh no! that was not what I was thinking. I was actually admiring this cup. It is strangely nice".

"Oh. Thank you. I carved it myself. Anyway, have a sip before it gets cold".

She took a whiff of the liquid and poured a little quantity into her mouth. The room spinning, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Bacchus fetched a blanket made from the fur of the werewolf that served him years ago-it had grown old and died- and wrapped it around her.

[when she wakes up, she'd be strong enough to know why she was brought here and they could start whatever practice required].

He was going to help her. He had made up his mind.