1 Time and fate

Light and Darkness.

Myths has had it that both elements cannot and do not exist in a place at a time. One must drive the other away.

But what happens when they clash?

-

Hundreds of Years ago, the Kingdoms; Light and Darkness existed. And in-between these kingdoms, was Life.

Life in itself was sovereign, except that it had no decision over which element possesses it.

But with Nature's sepulchre of invaluable treasure within Life's permeable walls, the battle line was drawn.

Light, Life's element fought to maintain it's possession, while Darkness fought to possess.

The chaotic battle left prints that has not been erased till this day. And how it ended? The Jigsaw puzzle no man has been able to solve.

•••

~ PRESENT DAY ~

* Lantern, Monte Ista *

10:43 AM

In a small apartment in the residence of Lantern, a trench town in Monte Ista, an overweight, black haired, light skinned lady named Ava Cassius, was looking all sweaty and disoriented.

Ava was having a hard time preparing for an important and rare meeting at Euphoria Inc, the company under which she was signed as an author.

To top it off, her boss at her department was on the phone, forcing her to take her phone along with her everywhere she went to in the room, even to the bathroom, as a result.

" I know sir. I'm getting ready, I'll be there soon." Ava said, pacing back and forth, in a bid to pick the right shoe and blazer. She didn't want to end up wearing the wrong color blocking outfits as per usual. She preferred today to be different.

" You better be. I advice you to stop coming late like you're worth waiting for, cause you're not." said Vincent to Ava who rolled her eyes, after putting on her neutral colored blazer.

" Yeah, whatever. I gotta go." She said before sitting on the bed, next to her phone which was on the bed as well, so she could wear the flat, black cover shoe she settled for.

" I hope you didn't fail to prepare yourself in case of necessity?" Vincent, asked.

" Yeah." Ava replied.

" Yeah what?"

" I did. I'm coming with the hard copy so you can review it." Ava answered.

" No, don't bother. Since you couldn't make use of your sixth sense it's best you forget about it." Vincent said rudely.

" What do you mean?" Ava asked with creases on her forehead as she wondered what he was insinuating.

" For Pete's sake Ava. We're in modern times where platforms like emails exist." Vincent replied.

" But you instructed me not to bother you yester_''

* Beep *

Vincent disconnected the call, abruptly.

Ava then sighed before she stood up after she was done wearing her shoes.

" Rude idiot." she cussed before she began looking around for her favorite crotchet patterned scarf.

'' Found you!'' she said to 'the scarf' as she went over to pick it from the nightstand where she kept it earlier.

Glancing briefly at the digital alarm clock, Ava groaned in frustration "Barely 15 minutes to go Ava." she muttered under her breathe.

Sighing in exasperation, she looked around the room to see if there was any other thing she needed to take with her.

Seeing that there was nothing else, except for her phone which she took from the bed, Ava went to the oval wall mirror next to the nightstand, which was the last thing she always did before leaving her apartment.

'' This is you, beautiful Ava. There's nothing you can do about it, you have to face and embrace.'' she said to herself. Closing her eyes before drawing a deep breathe, Ava repeated, " Face and embrace." before she opened her eyes and giggled.

" Really Ava? Face and embrace?" she asked herself with a grin. After a while, she sighed as the smile on her face faded.

" You're beautiful. You're beautiful okay? Don't let them tell you otherwise. The fact that you're overweight and you look like a mother of nine at 25 doesn't make you inferior. Beautiful girl, that's who you are." she said to herself before sighing again.

Routine done and dusted.

Picking up her black bag and an envelope from the nightstand, Ava turned with a faked smile on her face, the one she usually wore whenever she was leaving for anywhere.

She then took her key, the only thing that was left on the nightstand, asides the bedside lamp, and left. When she was just about to leave, after she locked the door, Ava saw her neighbor coming out of her own apartment.

'' Good morning madam Chen." she greeted with a smile.

" Good morning Ava. I hope you slept well last night?" Madam Chen asked, with a smile of her own.

'' Yes I did thank you. Has Kim left for school?" Ava asked.

" Yes, she has." Madam Chen, Kim's mom replied.

" Okay then. Say hi to her for me when she's back. I'm leaving for a meeting, I'm not sure I'll be back anytime soon." Ava said, as she and Madam Chen, her next door neighbor who was also about to leave, started walking to the mini gate, but in slow steps.

" Oh I see. I hope there's no problem at work?" Madam Chen asked, raising her head to look at Ava.

" Oh, not at all. Besides, I work in and at the apartment, and there's no problem with the apartment so, there's no problem with work." Ava said with a grin, while Madam Chen giggled.

" Oh Ava, you're such a girl." Madam Chen commented with a smile on her face.

" You can blame my attitude and dry jokes on my job." Ava replied with a grin, while Madam Chen giggled again. "I gotta go now Madam Chen, I'm late already." Ava said a few seconds later, when they got to the gate.

" Ok dear. Goodbye." answered Madam Chen.

" Bye madam Chen." Ava replied as she began hastening her steps.

But for some reason, Madam Chen stopped walking and couldn't help smiling at Ava, who also turned to look at her before flashing a smile of her own.

With a strange and surprising sad smile, the two waved each other goodbye.

" Bye Ava." madam Chen said in a whisper.

" Bye Madam Chen." Ava mouthed before releasing a long sigh.

Eventually, she turned and left, and didn't look back again.

_

" Please drive a little more faster sir." Ava urged the cab driver nicely.

" Yes ma'am." he replied.

" I'm sorry if I'm causing you any inconvenience, it's just that I'm running late and it's a very important meeting, such that the company's CEO will be in attendance and I'm always running late to meetings so_"

" I understand miss." the driver said.

" Thank you." Ava replied with a small smile.

" You don't have to worry about running late." he added, but Ava chuckled. " I'm already late actually. The meeting starts by 11AM, and it's..." glancing at her phone, she continued

" ...nine minutes past eleven." Ava added with displeasure written on her face all of a sudden.

" In a few minutes to come, the meeting will be the last thing on your mind." the cab driver said.

" I don't understand. What do you mean? How can that be when I'll probably be at the_"

" Time." the driver said with a straight face.

" Time what?" she asked, leaning towards the driver, to take a proper look at him since she was at the backseat. He seemed like he wasn't moving a muscle.

" Time will tell." the driver answered.

" What are you saying Mr.? How_"

* Ringtone *

With a look of confusion, Ava bent her head a little to glance at her phone. Seeing that it was an unknown number, she hesitated to answer it.

" I'd advise you answer it." the driver said with his eyes Lazer focused on the road.

Raising her head to look him briefly, Ava fixed her gaze on her phone once again. But it disconnected before she could even do or say anything else.

" Why_"

* Ringtone *

Ava then sighed before holding the phone up.

" Answer it." the driver said again.

" Don't you think you're getting too involved in my business?" Ava asked, looking intently at the driver who seemed like he was frozen, as the only thing that moved was his lips.

" It's an advice. It's only an advice." the man replied maintaining a straight face.

" Ok then." Ava said, before sliding her thumb across the screen of her phone to answer the call.

" Hello Miss Ava." a deep voice on the other end, rang.

" Hel... hello. Who am I speaking with?" Ava asked as she raised her head to look at the driver who was still looking stiff.

" Maximus Hendricks." the man replied. Ava's eyes widened in surprise and shock.

" As...as in sir Maximus the founder of...of Euphoria?" she asked.

" A lot of people say that." The old man replied.

" Oh my! I'm so sorry sir. Please pardon my ignorance and attitude." Ava pleaded.

" It's okay Ava." The old man Maximus said.

" Is there anything you'd like me to do for you sir?" Ava asked with caution, but the old man said nothing.

" Sir." she called out.

" Sir?" Ava called out again. " Are you there s_"

" Ava." Sir Maximus called with a stern voice.

" Yes sir." she replied.

" Do you know who you are?" he asked, startling Ava. She hesitated before replying since she was short of an answer.

" I don't... I don't understand sir. How.. wh_"

" The nature of time is a mystery in itself. And suffering is for all. The weak, the strong and you, Ava." The old man said with a powerful aura. But that made Ava almost want to die because of a sudden unexplainable fear. Fear of the unknown maybe.

' What is he saying? Why is he speaking in this manner?' Ava wondered.

" Sir, I don't understand what you mean." she said to Maximus, looking from the strange driver to the road.

But it was almost as if her questions fell into deaf ears as the old man continued, without responding to her questions.

" Time flows when there's bliss, but moves as slow as snail when you suffer. It respects and obeys no man. No man." The old man added.

'Screech'

The car stopped abruptly as the driver stepped on the brakes without warning. That caused Ava's phone to slip out of her hand easily, as she jerked forward. Ava's muscles weakened by each second that ticked because of fear and so it was easy to lose hold of it.

Mysteriously, the phone hung mid way in the air, causing Ava's eyes to almost pop out from it's socket.

But as if that was not enough the driver turned his head to look at her like a robot, without the rest of his body moving. His eyes illuminated and his skin began dissipating slowly into thin air.

" Somebody help me!" Ava screamed in horror, as she started banging on the car door with her eyes on the 'driver'. But she couldn't even feel the vibration of the impact she was making.

" Don't be scared Ava." the man in the car said.

" Please let me go!" Ava cried. She was about screaming for help again when she unconsciously glanced outside through the window, only to see that there was nothing in sight. No one, no building, no car, no tree_ Nothing.

" Ava." The old man called out from the phone which was still floating in the air.

" Please leave me alone." she pleaded in tears, too petrified to even think.

But this time both old man Maximus and the dissipating man in the car spoke simultaneously.

" Your destiny is inevitable Ava. Since you survived your mother's womb, you must accomplish the purpose for being alive my child. No one can take that away from you." They said.

" I don't want to accomplish anything! Just let me go! I beg you!'' Ava pleaded again in tears.

" We must fight this together." they echoed.

With that, the man finally dissipated completely while Ava's phone fell.

" Where are you!? Please let me go! I don't know what you're talking about... Somebody...help me..." Ava said, as her muscles started weakening, this time, mysteriously.

Abruptly,

A great roll of thunderstorm roared, causing Ava to jolt back unto the car seat as she embraced her both legs in fear.

Shutting her eyes, Ava felt a pair of fingers on her eye lids causing her to open them immediately. But she saw no one. She couldn't even see anyone or anything because the sky had suddenly turned pitch black!

The car started getting too cold, the scarf around Ava's neck loosened, a few seconds later, she couldn't feel the blazer she wore anymore. Her eyes widened because of the darkness.

" What is go..ing on?" Ava asked in a weak, shaky voice, but got no response. Less than two seconds after, an illuminating butterfly loomed out of the dark and rested on her shoulders.

" What do you want from me?" Ava asked, unable to scare the butterfly away. She was too weak at this point. Then another butterfly followed, and then another after the other, till they covered her entire body. But they all disappeared before she knew it.

Everything was happening too fast!

All of a sudden the car door opened and the driver's seat fell out. Ava on the other hand, started sinking into the backseat.

" No... what is happening...no no no..." Ava pleaded with a barely audible voice. Abruptly, she stopped sinking.

Before she could release a breathe of relief, the seat flipped over and Ava crapped out.