It did happen. Now I understand why I dreamt of it that night—because Reina was there. I just can't understand why Reina had to do that. We've been friends since the moment she and her family came to our town. I'm hurt, yes—but more confused than anything.
"Mary… are you okay? Gosh, I still can't believe Reina could do that," Micah said softly caressing my back.
"None of us did," Jad said.
Harmony left after her parents called her. It turns out her parents learned about her relationship with Jad, so they broke them off. Now, Harmony will be sent to another country to continue her studies.
"This is such a twist and coincidence," Nanno said.
That's life. The people we trust and least expect are usually the ones who betray us. Just like Emerald—and just like Emerald, I will handle this the right way.
"None of this is a coincidence, Nanno," I said to him intently. "All of these things that happened are connected. What happened to me the night of the magior show is connected to Emerald's diary, because that was the last book I held that night—and Reina… she was the last person I talked to." I scoffed, remembering the scenario of that night. "I got to meet RJ who have the book of magior and, who turns out to be from the latest generation of Drie—Emerald's best friend."
"Yeah… you're right. And think about it—how could your parents get their hands on Emerald's necklace and her diary too, right?" Jad said, which caught my attention.
He was right. Emerald gave her necklace to her daughter along with the diary, so how could my parents have them?
"Yeah… now I can't help but think that all of this happening is connected to my parents' death."
"So what's our next step, Mary?" Nanno asked again.
"I will find Reina. I will find something that could help us with this. I will also go back home—maybe Uncle could help," I said as I stood up. But my foot slipped against my other ankle, and I lost my balance. I almost fell, but RJ was quick enough to hold me and keep me from falling.
"Thank you," I said softly.
"Why not start the plan by resting? We've been up all night, and you, Mary—you just came back from your long journey in the past, yet you never rested." RJ paused before continuing. "Besides, it will help us work better if we all have energy."
I hate it when he's right.
I looked at my friends and the others. They did look tired, so I sighed.
"Okay, fine. Let's all take a rest first. But tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we're not going to school. We will work. Deal?"
They all nodded.
"By the way, Mary, I haven't told you—but you were dropped from school. You were gone for months, and even Uncle and I couldn't do anything about it. Especially since Uncle didn't know where you were," Jad informed me.
I felt a bit sad, thinking about the promise I made to my parents. But right now, I'm also doing this for them.
"Hmm… the only thing that kept me in that school was the promise I made to my parents. But now things are becoming like this. This is not just about my parents anymore—it's about my mission to this magior and this Astrid. Whether I asked for this or not, it's already happening."
It was already two in the morning, and we all went to rest. But for me, I didn't know if I could sleep after all of this. My mind had been too occupied, and my heart was too hurt—physically, emotionally, and relationally. I once thought I was ready for whatever the world would give me. I never thought something could hurt more than my parents' death, and yet Reina's betrayal cut a piece of my heart. Still, I must admit—I'm glad it wasn't Micah. I trusted Micah the most. I told her everything from the very beginning—every dark and light secret of mine. Or Jad, whom I already treat as a brother, someone I've lived with my whole life. Or Harmony, because not only would I be hurt, but my cousin would be too.
"Hey, can't sleep?" It was RJ. He was sitting there, holding his book and drinking coffee—at midnight.
"Yeah… too overwhelmed, I guess," I said softly.
"I understand. You know… you're so tough. If that were other people, they would have broken down. But you—you stayed strong and tall."
I smiled at him.
"I have to. I can't break down—not now," I said, shaking my head. "I have a lot on my shoulders, and I am determined to do it all. Especially now that I have a feeling that all of this—from Queen Emerald, my parents, and that weird thing that happened that night—is somehow connected."
He took a sip of his coffee before looking back at me.
"Now that we're talking about it… do you think what happened to you that night has something to do with Reina?" he asked, catching my attention.
"Probably… I don't know. But I wouldn't be shocked if she did."
We kept talking until we didn't realize it was already morning, until the sunlight hit us. I readied myself—I would start from this point.
"RJ, Nanno, I have to go back to our house," I said.
I wanted to look through my parents' things again.
"Hi!" I heard a loud voice from outside. "We're here very early because we wanted to start this mission early!"
"Oh… have you eaten breakfast? Mary! Good thing you're here—your friends are here. Come join them for breakfast," Nanna invited.
I wanted to refuse, but when I looked at their faces and sighed, I ended up agreeing anyway.
"Mary… last night I tried to search and contact some hospitals to look for Emerald's daughter, and here's my list. As you can see, there are more than ten babies born on that day in this city alone," Jad informed us.
"Can I ask, Mary? How would you know if the person is Emerald's daughter? And if you do find her, what are you planning to do?" Micah asked, confused.
"I'll know it's Emerald's daughter if the necklace activates on her. Emerald left this for her daughter, so surely it will activate," I said as they listened intently. "And if I find her, I'll ask her to help us—with my parents, with fixing everything, including my life."
"But can you first look at the place? Emerald said that her daughter would exist in the very place where she died."
"Wait… you said Emerald's diary and necklace were with her daughter when she teleported, right?" RJ asked. I nodded. "We know a way to locate where something came from if we have that something. Since the diary and necklace were with the daughter, we could use them to locate where it started—possibly where the baby is too," RJ explained.
"Oh dude… RJ, that's smart," Jad complimented.
"Yeah… I didn't even know there was that kind of magior that could locate where things came from," Micah exclaimed. "Let's try that"
RJ's eyes met mine, and I smiled.
I admit that magior is smart—not always useful, but very unique.
"Guys… we just have a little problem," he paused before continuing. "All of its ingredients need to be fresh, but there's one ingredient—the dilly flower."
He was referring to the flower that grows extremely fast but also dies just as fast. When I say fast, I mean literally. It only takes hours for it to die, but only fourteen days for it to grow.
"Another problem is… we don't have its seeds," he added.
I felt drained hearing that.
"Then let's find the seeds. We're going to ask. We have to—that's the only way we can easily find Emerald's daughter."
"You're right, Mary. And I feel like the teachers might have them. Remember in our biology class—they provided the seeds," Micah said.
Like a seesaw, my energy returned as hope filled me again.
Sooner or later, I will find you, Amira. And I will learn every single truth that is hidden by deceiving lies.