by Adyasha Acharya
The sky gleams with bright blue and pink beams of light. This is what you see when you look up from our planet, Nexus. It is the largest among all celestial bodies in the Andromeda Galaxy.
However, the sight is one you can never get used to. Every single time, I glance up, I feel as though I have stepped into a fairy tale. A fairy tale without a prince though.
Vance might not be with me here, but he did choose right. And right wasn’t me. Right was sacrificing us to save everyone. It was on me. I made sure he didn’t choose me. Duty comes over love. It is above all.
So here I am strolling through the city of Aurora, the most populated and advanced city of Nexus though not the capital. Being the assistant head of the Nexus Battalion, a group of soldiers who protect our planet and serve as the police, I spend most of my time on the street.
“Kyra,” I hear a shrill voice from behind me. My sister-in-law, Clarisse waves at me from her coffee shop. My elder brother, Mason is standing beside her. He waves his coffee cup at me. Could have just used his other hand.
“Good morning,” I say once I have reached them. Kyra beams back at me while my brother raises his brow at me. “What?” I ask him unable to understand his weird expression.
“Have you heard from Harris?” he questions. Harris Stanley is the head of the Nexus Battalion. Both my brother and I work for him. Mason is the commander of the Aurora branch. The main headquarters of the Battalion is located in Lunar, the capital city of Nexus. Where Vance is.
“No,” I answer wondering why he even asked such a question. “I had sent him the daily report yesterday night. That was the only conversation I have had with him. Why did you ask?”
“I heard some rumors in our branch office when you weren’t there.”
Why do I feel as if what he is going to say isn’t something to be discussed near a lamppost holding an empty cup of coffee? I am about to suggest him that we should go inside when my pager beeps.
I take it out and click the screen. A virtual display appears in front of me. The message is from an officer stationed in the empty warehouse on the southernmost part of Aurora. He felt some unusual electrical activity in that area.
“I’ll talk to you later, brother. I am needed in the outskirts. You should go to our office and talk to Harris about whatever you heard.”
Before Mason can stop me, I cross the street to where I can open a time portal. It is easy when you can control time even for few minutes. It is the legacy of our family. Mom can’t do this though. But she had never shied away from ordering Dad to use this according to her need especially when she has to buy groceries.
The warehouse is in the middle of a deserted sector covered with small sand dunes and few plants around it. We station officers here because this is the most unprotected part of the whole of Nexus.
The wind brushes my face. I tie my hair into a ponytail to avoid the strands from falling over my face. My amber eyes scan the area for any suspicious character. The officer, Gary mentioned some unusual electrical activity.
Gary is waiting near the big bronze gates with his laser beam ready. You can never know what kinds of things you might face in Nexus. “Ms. Benetton,” he salutes.
“Hey, Gary. What’s wrong? I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Gary shows me his scanner which catches any sort of electrical or cosmic activity. It shows that there was an electrical impulse of very high intensity in the last hour. “That is a huge amount of electricity.” The only person I have ever met who can create that much energy is Vance. He is an electrokinetic user.
“Should be informed this to Mr. Callahan?”
I bite my lip. Inform this to Vance? For that, I’ll have to call him. And as the Ambassador of our planet, I don’t think he has time to spare. I am the one who sent him there after all. I can’t just call him anytime I want his help.
“I’ll check it out.”
I take out my saber and venture into the dark. Cobwebs cover the corners of the walls and the windows. The amount of light entering in is so less that you can barely see your own feet. I push the cobwebs out of my face and walk further.
A sudden thud catches my attention. What in the stars was that? I have had my share of fighting monsters. But this is probably a luminescent creature. They are extremely rare and too powerful.
I ascend the stairs and come face to face with the source of the disturbance. I was right about the creature. The creature is around eight feet tall and is radiating small sparks of energy. Great. The creature leaps at me with all its force. I jump out of its way but its tail slams into my leg. I trip and fall on the marble floor. I get up and steady myself.
Gary rushes upstairs but the creature pushes him downstairs. He twists his ankle and lets out a cry in pain. “Get out of here,” I shout at him.
This time I am ready for its attack. I hit its shoulder with my saber. The creature roars and then tries to grab me but I use my time-traveling ability and end up behind it. It gets confusing. Prepared to attack again, I raise my saber but a blue light blinds me. The creature disintegrates into a pile of ashes.
A figure steps out from a portal. Vance. His blonde hair is messy. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days. But no matter what, his face is as handsome as ever. I never realized I missed him this much until right this moment. His blue eyes land on me.
“You thought I wouldn’t come,” he frowns at me.
“I didn’t have time to think actually,” I reply. “Though I appreciate your help.”
“Kyra,” he grabs my wrist. Memories come flooding back with that small amount of touch. “You know how hard this is for me. To fulfill a promise I never wanted to make.”
“People need you, Vance.”
His eyes flash with such intensity that my legs freeze. “But I didn’t choose this.”
“Sometimes we don’t get to choose. Fate chooses for us.” I leave him there and run away from him as fast as I can. I know if I had stayed longer he would have coaxed me into breaking my promise.
But I promised his dying father that his son would carry on their family’s legacy. That meant us staying apart.
The next day I am on my way to my penthouse when I notice a huge crowd gathered around the huge screen on the top of the Bell tower in the middle of the city. I rub my eyes having not slept yesterday at all.
“Today’s breaking news,” the reporter on the huge screen announces. Why are we even seeing that here and not in our houses or shops? “Mr. Callahan has shared video footage with us. We’ll be now playing it for all the citizens of Nexus.” The video shows Vance sitting on a lavish chair. He is wearing the same shirt and jeans I saw him in yesterday. “Greetings, citizens of Nexus. I am Vance Callahan, the current soon-to-be-former Ambassador of Nexus. Yeah, I know it is kind of unexpected. But I realized something yesterday. I have spent almost a year here in this position but not a single day I have felt content. It is because as much as I try, I can’t be happy here. This is not where I want to be. I am only here for a promise I made to someone. And I am breaking that promise. I am coming home, Kyra. Wait for me.”
I stare at the video in shock. I must be dreaming. Vance is breaking his promise to me but what about the one I made to his father? Happiness and guilt fill me. At the same time, I think of what he said. He wasn’t happy there. And I would never want Vance not to be happy. Maybe we can work something out. Maybe he can continue to be an Ambassador from here.
The blue eyes seem to be the only thing on my mind for the next few minutes as I keep walking. Turning left, I make my way toward my apartment when the glimpse of a silhouette catches my eye. “I am back,” the all too familiar voice says.
Vance’s gaze stays on me as I rush toward him. “You are back.”
About the Author:
Adyasha Acharya is currently studying as a final year MBBS student in Bhubaneswar. She has published two novels previously- The Fearless Warriors (2015) and The Guardian (2021).
Beautifully crafted 😍😍😍
Dr. Adyasha is one of my favourite writer. I have read the book called Guardian which she has written. I would be happy if she continues to write more and amaze us with her imagination. Maam i am a big fan.
Wow the story was fabulous
Well written Ninu