54 The trap door opens (1/2)

Boyd waved his hands and the trap door opened. Inside it was endless white space. Everywhere they looked was white. Brad and Olympia held hands as they climbed the spiral staircase and stepped through the trap door.

They couldn't understand any direction at all. They roamed around, but could see nothing other than boundless white space. Neither could they understand whether it was day or night, nor could they understand where the legacy was.

They thought that Boyd fooled them, and was about to curse them, when they saw ripples in the space, and in burning letters, was written, ”Thou shalt get what thou deserve to get.”

Olympia thought, 'What should I do now?'

The words of Boyd echoed through her mind, and she opened her eyes wide to see a mirror in front of her.

A child was standing in her place, who had the same identical pair of eyes and looked at her curiously. She looked back in puzzlement, but other than staring at each other, they did nothing. Olympia tilted her head and thought, ”Is this some sort of test?”

As soon as she thought that, she heard the child in front of her open her mouth to say, ”You have two choices. Embrace the past, or flee from it. The outcome of everything will depend upon your choices. Be it easy or hard, it will be your choices, and you have to be responsible for them. Do you understand?”

Although the child spoke from the mirror, Olympia could hear her voice inside her mind. Olympia was very puzzled, but she knew that this was not the time to ask questions. They were on a quest and they had to complete it before sunrise. And, they had no way to measure day and night. As she was in deep thoughts, she saw that the moon was hanging low in the sky.

The entire space was basked in cool pale moonlight, the same that was outside. The serenity of the moon calmed her mind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The girl in the mirror calmly asked her again, ”Do you understand?”

”Yes, I do. But what are the choices? How do I know them? What do I need to do?”

”Take deep breaths, Olympia. With this state of mind, you wouldn't be able to make any decisions. Even if you do, you will make wrong decisions. Always remember - Decisions must be made with a calm mind.”

”But, you are a child. How do you know so much?” Olympia looked at her in awe. She was almost identical to herself, yet there were some differences with her. In contrast to the cute girl in the mirror, she was bubblier, and hyperactive. On the other hand, the girl in front of her was so calm, as if no chaos in the world can break her peace. She admired these sorts of people.

Olympia sat down in a quite unladylike manner and asked her, ”Little girl, what is your name?”

”Olympia.” She said straightforwardly.

Olympia's jaws dropped open as she heard that. 'Is this my past self?' She shook her head at the weird thought that crossed her mind. 'This can't be!' She scolded herself for thinking rubbish.

The little Olympia looked at the adult Olympia with a graceful smile hanging on her thin lips. She said, ”Give me your hand.”

Absentmindedly, Olympia stretched forward her hand to take hers. As soon as she did so, a sharp pain shot across her entire body. She felt as if a huge mountain pressed on her. Her insides were in extreme pain. Her senses were intact, but she wasn't in a state to do anything. She couldn't feel her extreme powers anymore. It was like a tiny portion of her power in her body was alive, the rest was sealed.

Her limbs felt shorter than usual, and she couldn't understand what was going on. After a long time did the pain reduce and she tried to open her heavy eyelids. She expected a blinding light to assault her eyes, but nothing of that sort happened. She saw the same pale moon hanging in the sky. She didn't know how much time had passed when she was unconscious.

She tried looking at the sky and then surveyed her surroundings. Brad was nowhere to be seen. She grew concerned. The younger Olympia was nowhere to be seen either. As she thought of the young Olympia, she heard a voice in her mind, ”I am you and you are me. Remember what I said, ”Your choices will lead to certain situations and you have to take full responsibility for them.”

Olympia nodded her head as she heard the voice fade away. She sat there all alone, on the small garden bridge. The koi fishes were swimming happily in the pond. She bent down and caressed the water slowly. The fishes felt her warmth and flocked towards her fingers. Some even slightly pecked her fingers.

'The fishes are so cute and intelligent.' She smiled and caressed the head of a few fishes. They pouted at her. Seeing their pouts, she threw her head back and laughed hard.