Right before the day of the Great-wash, was the day when flames flickered in air.
---The Myth of the world beyond time.
I stood beside her bed; my mind was blank. Today was my eighteenth birthday. Usually my birthdays go like this—mother wakes up before me, wakes me up and we head to Old-Nanny's house. Today was different. After turning the house upside down, I could only reach one conclusion: she's missing. But isn't she just too old to have gone missing? —So, she left me.
Need to clear my head, no jumping to conclusions. I will visit Nanny's house first, then think through this. Now there was a decision to make, should I rush to her house or take this with my own pace. No reason to rush, she's gone anyway, just like my father and my brother, let's take it at a calmer pace, I hate it when emotions clog my decision making.
Moments before I could realise what was happening, I was running. My nerves couldn't handle too much stoicism. The water felt heavy as it grazed over my body. Winter had started; water became dense. It hit my body as I was running—slowing me down.
Nanny lived down the reef settlement, seven houses across from ours. I was getting restless, and my legs made the decision—kicked the ocean bed, launched me just enough to swim across the settlement and down to Nanny's house.
I reached her door, whimpering, needed support to stand. My nerves were calmer now, and I knocked the door loud enough so she could hear.
The door opened and Nanny was sifting through her spectacles to find her winter ones. Denser water needed different lens to be functional. "Ah! Here they are", she exclaimed "Cactus. Happy birthday dear, please come in".
It was my eleventh birthday, my mother was sick and I showed up alone to Nanny's house. She immediately noticed her absence that day. So, it was peculiar that she hadn't given any remark on her absence today.
"So, you knew?" I wanted answers as soon as possible. "Aren't you a sharp one" she taunted "It is I know not I knew". It made no sense, and she realised my confusion, "I knew suggests that this was all pre-planned, but it wasn't". Hate this old people vocabulary and their interpretations, but this certainly gave me a revelation. Mother rushed.
"So, this wasn't planned? She wasn't planning to leave me like this?"
"Never. You are her dearest. Something came up. She didn't give me enough time to ask what was it and I knew better not to probe her" she replied from the other room, it seemed like she was searching something.
Exhausting—this whole ordeal. I sat on her couch and picked up a hydration-duct while she was still searching. Inhaling the duct the hit was instant, the relief was better than any other duct I inhaled so far. Fiddling the duct I found the manufacturer —'Fibonacci' it read. Legal duct making is highly competitive and regulated. This was a new name. Hope they won't get snuffed out as the others.
"Here it is" Nanny came back into the room. "What is it?" I asked her. She handed me a meticulously folded letter. It has a sigil at right corner of the folded letter.
"What is this?" I asked pointing out to the sigil. "It is a seal—your family sigil" she sat on the couch beside me and continued "only your family can read it. Only royal eyes can see the seemingly blank paper, if it was sealed by this sigil".
Only royal families had these kinds of sigils. This was a revelation, "Am I a royalty?" — "You got all the answers in your hands. Open it and read it".
Opening the letter, it wasn't blank at all. So, I am a royalty. The letter read as follows:
"Dear Cactus,
Happy eighteenth birthday dear. Recently your grandfather—Vikram Bharadwaj had reached out to me with a letter stating it was time for your coronation. Your brother comes in line before you, but it was you who inherited the Green-Eyed lineage.
Now you might be questioning yourself, 'my eyes are black, aren't they?' they are from a distance, but the day you were born I noticed, when light hits your eye from a certain angle you can see your eye colour. They glow, a dark marble green.
From the day you read this letter you got mostly ten to fifteen days from a decision that is about to made in the World-Conclave. I want you to meet your step-brother Meso. Hand him this letter, he can't read it but the sigil will give him enough information that it is you. He is the only family you got now, don't just use him.
I know I am vague, but you will understand everything. All the best dear.
Loving,
Amma."
That was rather a short letter. It revealed nothing too deeply. Mother had a knack of writing these non-revealing letters. I put the letter down and turned towards Nanny— "So I am about to be a king now?" I asked her.
"Yes. It is more practical than your father's reason for departure, right?"
"Nanny, I want to talk about it. Why did my father leave".
"We went through that conversation a million times now dear".
"Well I want to listen to it again".
"Well," she picked up the book from the bookshelf beside her— 'The Myth Of The World Beyond Time'. "He believed world actually was above the land, and a 'tsunami' called 'Great-Wash' turned the world upside-down".
"But the world above land makes sense, doesn't it?"
"How do you think so?" a mocking smile, she went over this conversation and knew what was coming.
"Well, for starters, Fire is the strongest force of all. And I think the world above land would give us power to wield it more effectively".
"And if I were God, I would not let humans, who are fuelled by power-lust wield it. So, I would create life inside the water so that they can't use it for destruction, don't you think?"
I got no follow-up for that logic. I shrugged as usual.
"None the less, I love your nickname Akhalith. Cactus—a mythical plant that lived on 'deserts'. It is symbolic for resilience, just like you", she told me with a warm smile.
I couldn't hold it anymore. I got up and hugged her, my throat felt heavy, tears started oozing from my eyes, I was not as resilient as they think. In moments, I broke down into a vale of tears.
"I can't" my breath was heady, "I lost everyone. Amma abandoned me, this is all hoax" her hands wrapped around me, more intense, and warmer in this winter currents "This letter, this lineage, it is all a façade to abandon me". The words felt childish after they came out.
"Listen Akhalith" she never calls me that "You are the heir, the heir of Green-Eyed Bharadwaj kingdom" – "But my eyes aren't even green" – "That is what makes you special. You aren't bound by the weaknesses of your lineage. Now, the world is yours for the taking."
She pushed me back onto my legs. She struggled but got onto her knees. I tried to get her back up, but she resisted. The truth dawned upon me then; I really am a royalty. She took my left hand, symbolising that she is from the 'maggot' class. Her hands trembled as she pulled my hand towards her lips. She kissed my hands; a slight twitch of her lip revealed a lot. She was scared, yet loving.
"All hail the tyrant Akhalith, class 'niche', branch Green-Eyed, lineage Bharadwaj".
END.