It was a beautiful scent. Even more beautiful than the scents of the flowers in the glasshouse. A light breeze was carrying this sweet fragrance to him. With every breath, it numbed his brain with a strange sense of peace.
"Which flower is this? Professor Reiner should grow one of these," he muttered.
As he took deeper breaths, trying to catch more of the scent, his consciousness slowly began to return.
'Where am I?'
The last thing he remembered was Mes reading the translations from the notebook. Then his nose had started bleeding. What happened after that?
Just a few seconds ago, he was certain that the scent he had been smelling was that of unwashed clothes, fish, and blood.
He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to move. He tried to move his body, but nothing responded.
Unable to understand what had happened or where he was, he lay completely still. The uncertainty only made him more anxious. In the silence, he could hear the steady beat of his own heart.
Then another sound joined it.
Somewhere in the distance, an animal cried out.
'What is that...? A jackal?'
He forced himself to calm down and took a few deep breaths. As the sweet floral scent washed over him again, a strange sense of peace followed with it. With every breath, he relaxed a little more.
Slowly, he managed to move his fingers. Then his arms. Then his legs.
He could feel the ground beneath him now—soft earth and grass.
Am I in front of the house in the forest? Was I practicing with Bera? I'm not sure,' he said.
When he finally managed to open his eyes, what he saw was the starry sky shining through the tree branches. It was a view that he liked to watch. But this time, this view filled his inside with fear.
"How can this be?" he muttered with a mix of surprise and horror.
One of the first things taught to children in the Kurshan Desert was how to read the sky. In the desert, where everything turned into a single color and constantly changed, it was the only way to find one's way. Therefore, he knew how to read the stars to find his way, and understand the time and seasons from their movements.
But the sky he was looking at now was not the one he had known all his life. The stars above him did not belong to his sky.
Once he was able to move his body again, he slowly sat up. The surroundings were dark, but the bright moon of this unfamiliar sky illuminated everything in a pale silver light.
He was in a forest. But how had he come here and what had happened, he couldn't remember.
As he walked carefully through the forest, he noticed that the sweet flower scent was growing stronger. He found himself wondering what kind of flower it was. This time, he began following the scent.
It did not take long for him to find the source of the scent. When he did, he unconsciously whispered,
"Beautiful."
But he had never seen any of the flowers in the glasshouse emit such a bright light around them or Perhaps they did. 'I should visit it at night sometime,' Arsh thought, completely mesmerized by the appearance and scent of the flowers.
The white flowers seemed to absorb the moonlight and then emit it around them, along with their intoxicatingly sweet scent. They were turning the dark forest into a fairytale. Following the flowers, Arsh continued to walk toward the depths of the forest in admiration.
He was beginning to think he was dreaming.
'That's right. My nose was bleeding. I must have passed out. That's why the sky looks like this. And this scent... can people smell things in their dreams?' he continued to breathe in the fragrance slowly as the thought crossed his mind.
Following the flowers, he eventually stepped into a clearing. The entire area was covered with same flowers.
But he was not alone.
Someone was softly humming a melody. It was a soothing voice and a bit painful.
As Arsh slowly approached the large stone at the center of the clearing, he saw the owner of the voice.
It was as if she had been shaped from moonlight itself. Silver, flowing strands formed the silhouette of a girl, rippling gently with the breeze.
Unable to stop himself, he whispered again, "Beautiful."
But with that whisper, the moon, the stars in the sky, and the glowing flowers all vanished. Everything was swallowed by an endless darkness.
Arsh began to lose the feeling in his body again. It was as if his consciousness were drifting in the darkness.
"I'm sorry," a voice said from within the darkness. "I didn't expect you to come here. I was startled when I suddenly heard someone's voice."
Then, slowly, a light from an unknown source illuminated the darkness, and he began to feel his body and the ground beneath his feet once again.
The girl he had seen earlier, was now in front of him.
"Who are you?" Arsh said. Despite the absurdity of the situation, he didn't feel fear.
"Ah, you didn't recognize me, did you? This is our second time meeting face to face."
Even though Arsh looked closely at the girl's glowing face, he was sure he didn't know her. After all, the only girls he had encountered in his life were those from his own village, Eleni, and Flora. If he had seen someone like this before, he didn't think it would be possible for him to forget.
While he was looking at the girl carefully, she smiled politely. 'Was I being rude?' Arsh thought, as he realized he was staring, then looked away.
"Now look, maybe you'll remember this way," the girl said.
When Arsh looked again, he saw eyes that emitted silvery light.
He could forget everything, but he could never forget these eyes. "Like two moons in the night sky," he muttered. Then the memories of that night returned. The night he fell into the well and opened the sarcophagus. The girl's body inside it, right before his eyes.
"How is this possible?" Arsh muttered again. Then, questions poured out one after another.
"How did you get out of there? Millway had taken the sarcophagus... Aren't you dead? What am I talking about..." he said, slapping his own head. His mind was in complete chaos.
"To begin with, there was never a body inside the sarcophagus. Who knows how many centuries have passed since that body turned to dust. It was merely a reflection. Only my soul was preserved inside it. I have been with you from the exact moment you opened the sarcophagus and looked into my eyes. I know you felt my presence from time to time. I tried to communicate with you... you were constantly complaining about headaches and nightmares. I am sorry for all of it, but you have a strong mind; it was difficult to break through it and connect with you. Also, that doctor... the man you call Professor Reiner. That man's treatments made it harder for me to reach you..."
Arsh was listening to the girl, but he wasn't quite sure whether he understood what she was saying or not. For now, he was trying not to think about it. Meanwhile, the girl was still continuing to speak.
"But then, when your friend Mes started reading what was written in that notebook, I began to remember a few things. I remembered what my duty was. That's why the bond between us must have finally been fully established. I must have brought you here without realizing it. I will be more careful from now on," she said, placing a hand over her chest and bowing slightly.
Arsh tried to pick out a few things from what the girl had said.
"So you said, you are with me since that night that I opened the sarcophagus?"
"Yes."
"What does that mean? You walked around beside me, but I didn't see you? So, are you like a ghost or something, haunting me?"
"Oh, I suppose it's somewhat true. I guess you would prefer to call me a ghost. After all, I am a soul without a body... But I didn't walk around beside you. I was with you. I am with you... I am inside you."
"You are inside me?"
"Yes. I am inside your mind."
"Oh... okay," Arsh said, taking a deep breath. "Then where was that place from earlier? That forest?"
"That was a place I created for myself inside your mind. There is nothing to do here. So, I chose a memory among those I remembered where I found peace, and recreated it. I was quietly waiting there for the moment I could meet you."
"But why?"
"Why? I'm not sure. I don't have my memories. I only know that I am supposed to be by the side of the person who freed me from that sarcophagus... But we don't have time to talk more right now. Tell that man called Professor Reiner—he can treat you, but he must not touch your mind. Now, you have to go," the girl said, sounding a little sad.
"Wait, I have questions!" Arsh said. But he could feel the darkness drawing him back in once again. As he heard someone calling out his name, the girl's silhouette fluttered and disappeared into the darkness.