Chapter 33: Saying Goodbyes

To the realization of the team, they had nothing to fear about the poisoned water. With the help of Shiva, Apalala, and the hard work of Zoe, the waters were cleansed. The mess was cleared up in the village, and only mysteries would remain as to what happened there. In time, it would only be remembered as a village that was sacked during the war, one of the many casualties of the war. Little did the others know that one less warlord would ever show up to threaten the countryside.

Liberia honored its ceasefire as the Charles Taylor administration was no more. Fled from a battle, the people of Liberia were demoralized, shaken by a terrific war that used every vital resource against itself. Children were displaced, used to fight one another’s sides, women were used to fight, or as sex objects, men were used to fight or inflict horrific crimes on one another. Nothing was spared, and in the end, it would leave the nation with nothing but a destroyed infrastructure. For now...

But for now, it was the next day for Thomas, Ayida-Weddo, Lilith, and Xuanwu as the following day came. They walked out in their human forms as they walked down the dirt road to Yekepa. A monk named All and Zoe came to join them in their walk as they admired their scenery.

“With this, our mission here is at an end,” Ayida-Weddo remarked to everyone. “Sadly, there was no Lintarsha shard to find, but that is the case with it. We at least did what we did yesterday to help end any future violence around here.”

Apalala remained quiet as he walked alongside Zoe. Zoe, in turn, remained close to the monk as they continued to trek away from New Bapa to the small town of Yekepa.

“Funny that we never transported to anywhere,” Thomas remarked to the group.

“Why? This countryside is beautiful. I feel like walking,” Ayida-Weddo commented.

“It was amazing what you did, Zoe,” Xuanwu told her. “You are a hero to the people of Liberia. Never forget that.”

Zoe felt an absolute level of peace within herself. On the one hand, she was happy to see the men who threatened her village was gone. On the other hand, she was proud of her accomplishments in making her environment a better one now safe for all to live in. She did not celebrate but simply walked peacefully with the walking monk.

“There is something that is missing in the sky,” Ayida-Weddo remarked. “Let me see if I can make it better.”

Ayida stopped and lifted her hands up into the air as she closed her eyes. Thomas watched as a rainbow began to appear in a small layer of clouds from their sight range. It was a sight to behold as Zoe smiled, seeing the Goddess of Rainbows create a rainbow in the sky.

“So the question is, what happens next?” Thomas asked out loud, admiring the colorful view above high above the sky.

“Simple...” Ayida-Weddo explained. “We do whatever we want to do. This is downtime for us. We go our separate ways until we are called upon again.”

“That means I go to the nearest baseball game and catch up on what I missed,” Xuanwu added.

Lilith was quiet as she said nothing. She was only left with thoughts of concern and relief that she was done here.

“You should go and see your son, Lilith,” Xuanwu said, looking at her. “You don’t have to be with us.”

“Thank you,” she said with much relief.

“Wait...” Ayida-Weddo asked her. “There is something I want to do before you go. I can’t guarantee it will work, but I want to try it.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“There is no one else around us but just us, right?”

She looked around her and remarked on the forests. She saw no other humans around them. She shook her head no.

Ayida-Weddo held her hand open as the group stopped to watch what was happening. She closed her eyes as a small amount of water began to appear in the form of a ball. She used her hands to manipulate the ball of water to float right by Lilith’s face. All she saw was just a ball of water.

“What are you doing?” Lilith asked her.

“No promises. If it works, then you will see it.”

“See what?” she asked.

Ayida’s eyes closed as she focused. Her hands looked like she was rubbing a sphere as the water ball began to form into a flat plate. It remained floating in place.

“Please let it work,” Ayida-Weddo said to herself out loud. She struggled as she felt herself getting weaker. The magic she was casting was a unique one that was draining on her fast.

“I don’t understand what you are doing,” Lilith remarked.

The rainbow serpent then held one hand up as a wave of energy began to radiate. She was breathing heavier and heavier, but nothing more was happening as she struggled to make it happen. Lilith stared at the flat water but saw clearly through it.

“It isn’t working ... I tried Lilith ... I am sorry.”

Apalala seeing what was happening, walked up to the flat floating water as Ayida-Weddo almost gave up. The monk then closed his eyes as he put his hands together. He then extended his hand to the water, too, as if he was providing magical energy to Ayida-Weddo.

Ayida-Weddo, struggling, felt new energy being poured into her and the water. She regained control as her hands shook. She tried to focus. Suddenly it happened, and Lilith saw it. The water reflected like a mirror for a second and then flickered to nothing and then back to the reflection. She saw the rows of trees behind her, and then she saw herself...”

Lilith stood shocked as she stared at the image. Even in human form, it was the first time ever that she saw her own reflection. She put her hand to her face as she stood speechless. She saw her red hair, her pale complexion. She saw beauty and her hands.

“I can only maintain this for so long,” Ayida-Weddo remarked. “It is draining my magic fast.”

Even Apalala was tensing as he poured more and more magic. He had a calm composure, but even he was struggling. To undo a vampire’s reflection was extremely difficult to counter. Even the most potent magic could barely touch it.

Lilith took it all in as much as she could. She began to cry tears of blood and happiness as she saw the blood trickle from her eyes. She was trying to hold back the urge to cry.

“Beautiful...” she said, looking at her reflection. “Danek ... I understand why you fell in love with me. I wish you were here to see this. Your paintings ... they were perfect.”

Ayida-Weddo held the magic for another ten seconds as sweat poured from her. Thomas was tempted to help support her, but she was already getting help to try to maintain it.

After holding the water mirror in front of her for about ten seconds, Ayida-Weddo could no longer maintain it. She slumped over as her hand fell to her knees. The water that was held in the air collapsed and fell to the dirt below, leaving Lilith to remember what she saw.

“In time ... I think we can get better at mastering it,” Ayida-Weddo told her.

Lilith was speechless as her reflection was lost. For a brief moment, she had her biggest wish be fulfilled, even if it was only short.

“Thank you,” she said quietly as she wiped her tears away. “Thank you.”

Ayida-Weddo stood back up as she was catching her breath as she nodded to her.

“She could never see her reflection?” Zoe commented out loud. “She is so pretty ... I am sad that she could never look upon herself before.”

After regaining her composure, Lilith looked at Ayida-Weddo and hugged her to show her her deepest thanks.

“It is time for me to go. My son awaits,” Lilith told her as they released each other.

“Good luck out there,” Xuanwu told her.

Lilith looked at the rest of the gang, nodded, and turned around. Her flowing red hair was the last thing Thomas saw as she walked back, heading down the dirt road alone. She was left with mysteries that she needed to resolve.

“Well then,” Xuanwu told them. “I should head out too. Tired of all the conflict and wars. Maybe a good nap or several years of baseball games will take care of it.”

“Go see your son,” Thomas told her.

“I will, I will,” she replied.

“Hey ... by the way. Stop throwing your shit on top of everyone.”

She was quiet as she pointed her finger at him. She thought about it. “Yeah ... I need to break my habit of that. Maybe some more baseball will fix that.”

Thomas shook his head at her.

“Oh...” she remembered. “There is somebody though that I contacted in the Coalition of Deities that will be coming down this road to talk to you. I figure that this is remote enough that it is a good enough meeting place. She is interested in talking to you. She ... might be able to help you regain some old memories of your past life.”

“Alright...” there was some curiosity in his face as he heard that.

Zoe looked at Apalala as he beckoned the monk to the side, away from the dirt road. She did not want her words to be overheard.

“What is wrong, my child?” he asked her.

“Just wanted to talk privately. Are you sure you want to accompany me to Monrovia?”

The monk was calm and collected as usual. “I sense the countryside is returning to normal. It will take time for the nation to completely be at peace. The answer to your question is yes.”

“Thank you for coming with me.”

The monk shook his head lightly. “Why would I leave you behind? You are good company.”

“I figured that me lounging in your home would annoy you over time.”

The monk again shook his head lightly as he held a smile. “You are good company, Zoe. It is good to be around good people, just as I know you are.”

“It is strange...” Zoe thought out loud to him. “Last night when I slept, I saw these flashes of images. It told me that I needed to go to Monrovia. I saw violence and bloodshed, but I saw celebrations. I saw people putting down their weapons.”

“The future or the present ... your mind is in clarity. In time you can see future events but only briefly when you focus your mind strongly enough.”