Anaya: A Dark Voyage [#1 LightBlood Series]

Chapter 16 - False Awakenings

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The Present

"Woe to the human race." Anaya's eyes trail these words as the clock hand struck two in the morning. She yawned, pushed the book aside and made her way to the bathroom. She realized she had used close to two hours to read the one chapter of the book she planned to read before sleeping. That was longer than she expected.

Now things had become a little bit clearer to her as she got more and more into the pages of the book but she still didn't know how she came into all of that LightBlood-ish. She didn't know how anything she had read so far had to do with anything that had happened to her. Heck, She didn't even know what her mission in Abikiali was or why she had to come all that way to read a book.

However, she was certain her answers lay somewhere in the book. She just needed to finish reading it. However, as much as she wished she could find the answers sooner, she couldn't read the entire book in one sitting. It was a lot.

As she walked out of the bathroom, eyes half-closed as if drunk, she couldn't help it but think of what happened between Dembe and her some hours earlier. Her mind waded through almost every action...every word...every touch...everything that happened. And the very thought of these slashed a smile on her face — her eyes, her lips, and her spirit all at once smiled.

What is happening to me? She thought as she sat on her bed getting ready to finally retire to her bed.

"I am not falling for him, am I?" This time around she thought out loud without even knowing. Her voice was a bit hoarse. "Wouldn't that be too quick? Like, you can't fall for someone whom you just met." She concluded in the bid of brushing off the thought but it was still lingering In her mind even as she closed her eyes to sleep.

Her thoughts continued.

How long does it take to fall in love with someone? A second? A month? A year? Or years perhaps?

She didn't know the answer to that but she knew one thing; falling in love might pretty much be like falling asleep. Some people sleep as soon as their backs touch the mattress and their heads hit the pillow. Others lie awake for hours before they could sleep. So just like falling asleep, falling in love happens to everyone differently — there was no set duration it must take before happening. It just happens.

As if in agreement with her earlier thoughts, Anaya's eyes became heavier with sleep that very second. She couldn't keep her eyes open. She gave in to the lures of sleep. Her consciousness slowly ebbed away until she was no more. Now as she lay there deep into sleep, serenity was plastered across her face. She looked to be at peace in her sleep.

***

"Come in. Hurry." A voice called out from in front of her then a hand followed. She couldn't see the face the hand belonged to. She tried to but she couldn't. It was too dark to see anything. Although she had a very strong sensation that she shouldn't follow whoever it was into the house, she did exactly the opposite. She followed and entered the house.