A Fairytale In The Making

10. SAAT BHAI CHAMPA

Oh, good gigantic smile o' the brown old earth,

ISOLDE'S POV

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The harsh sound of the morning bell woke me up and as usual, Sol's rays hit me right in the face when I tried to open my eyes. 

Don't you love an accommodating God?

One would think a week was enough to get used to the deafening sound of that God-forsaken wake-up call but I still woke up in surprise, clutching my pounding heart.

That thing was just so Goddamn loud!

It wasn't even a big bell like the one we had back in the village temple.

No! this one was a tiny thing that usually hung from Dayuu's belt. Apparently, it was forged by the Aeneous family to be this loud.

Dragging my body up from the bed, I staggered into the shower to have a quick wash. Then before the next bell rang, made my way towards the mass dining hall. There weren't many people here at seeing as the start of the term is still a week away.

Grabbing a sweet bread and some tea, I went to occupy my usual seat at the back of the room.

Staying out of people's radar and spending the next few years as quietly as possible was the motive I came up with after much thinking. Maybe a few friends here and there, good grades in classes, a nice job were enough for me. 

No need to be too greedy. I was a simple village girl. My aims were simple too.

Now then, the next stop was the Academy Library.

During the last few days, I have become a frequent visitor in this oasis of knowledge. The library was like a sea of books, books were everywhere, on every subject, in every language. I have learned more in the last few days than I had in my whole life. The books truly helped me wrap my head around the magical system, wars, and the history of Azura.

My main goal was to see if I can figure out the identity of the deity who blessed me.

But the only hurdle towards it was my distorted memory of the incident which I discovered when the tracking team questioned me. Everything about that morning felt like a foggy lucid dream.

I only remembered the vague outline of the event but not any details.

And whenever I tried to remember that morning, an odd chill spiked up my hands rendering me momentarily paralyzed. 

Dayuu assumed it was due to the trauma but I can't help but feel as if there's something more to it.

I try to remember again. The eyes, the voice, the alter and....the God.

And there it was again. 

The coldness. My hands numb.

I exit the library at sunset when the grumbling noise in my stomach alerts me of its limits. I make my way towards the dining hall at a leisurely pace. Grabbing some soup and bread, I position myself in my self-assigned seat. After Finishing my belated lunch, I walk back to the dorm. Time for a good nap, I guess

As I was walking down the hallway towards my room, I heard the faint sound of conversation from coming from.

"I hope you are comfortable here, darling. Your roommate should be here any moment now. Ah, there she is! Isolde, come, greet your new roommate."

I walked inside gingerly, excited at the thought of not having to stay in the room alone. I just hope she's not the noble one.

"Greetings, thank the Goddess you were here already. I am a big coward, you should know. I would've cried if I had to stay here alone", she almost shouted her words at me, face dripping with barely hidden excitement.

The Girl was shorter than me with a much fuller body. Her dark brown skin was glowing under the ceiling light along with the dangly golden earrings. Her small round face was cascaded by the straight jet black hair that came down to her waist. She was sporting yet another unfamiliar dress-like garment that came down to her knees with a long piece of clothing draped around her neck. Underneath her dress were pants that were wide above and narrow near the ankle.

"Hello, I'm Isolde Morozova," I introduced myself first.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My mom was right, I really am an airhead! Forget that. My name is Dhara Dhiyani. I am from Mohenjo in the Indus. Where are you from? Ah! Which God or Goddess blessed you by the way? I was blessed by Bhumi. I am still not sure if I'm happy with powers related to dirt but I can do a lot of amazing stuff, so guess, It'll suffice."

A thousand expressions crossed her face while she babbles away, fiddling with her hair. Her dark orbs continue to shine with such sincerity and and an almost childlike astonishment at everything she saw. 

This girl was really excited, wasn't she? Listening to her talk made me exhausted.

"I am from Prussia. I don't know which God or Goddess was it," I tried to answer her question hoping she wouldn't gawk at me like everyone else.

And to my surprise, she didn't!

"That's no problem, I'm sure. They have so many mages here. One  of them can surely figure it out," she waved her hand as if it's not a big deal. Maybe it's because she's new to this world that she is so nonchalant but her reassurance brought a smile to my face.

"So can you show me around? Where is the launch hall? Will boys stay with us? Now that would be bad. I don't like boys, I have seven brothers. They are nasty. And Will you be friends with me? We can be friends, right? Please say yes. Oh! I just know we are gonna be such good friends," she exclaimed with so much enthusiasm that it was hard to say No. So I nodded along.

Her excitement reminded me of my younger self who used to get excited at the smallest present.

But that was before; before the grief...... the exhaustion.

I feel like it will be a good friendship. An exhausting one but a good one nonetheless

GLOSSARY 

*Saat Bhai Champa: Seven Champak flower brothers. A Bengali fairytale from the collection of Thakur mar Jhuli. It's about seven princes and their sister who get turned into flowers by an evil witch. 

*Bhumi: Goddess of Hindu mythology who represents Earth, the consort of Varaha, an avatar of supreme God, Vishnu. Also known as Bhudevi and Bashundhara.

*Indus Valley Civilization: One of most ancient Civilizations born around the Indus River. Current day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

*Mohenjo-Daro: One of the major settlements of Indus Valley civilization, current day Sindh, Pakistan.
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