CHAPTER 1: THE FIRST VOICE
I sat at the edge of the dock, feet hanging above the dark water. The waves moved slowly, like they were tired . The town slept in silence behind me. No one would notice if I stayed here the whole night, no one ever did. And I liked it that way, mostly. It was a cold night. I tugged on my very uncomfortable jacket, it was so thin I could see the pores in it. A cold gush of wind rushed past me and then I heard my name, "kai" . a voice- not scary, not loud, a whisper in a soft voice that oddly felt kind of familiar. I froze, I looked around- the dock was empty, no people, no boats. "Hello? Who's there…?" Silently, I stood up, all I could hear was my heart beating. Maybe it was my hallucination, because I really started going crazy after not sleeping for one week straight or maybe it was the wind. "Kai? Do you remember us?" The voice came again, but this time it wasn't just one voice, it was many. I grabbed my head, "stop, who are you?" a picture flashed in my mind: A man in chains. A woman burning papers. A child crying as their name was crossed out. I fell to my knees and started crying uncontrollably.
"we were erased" the voices said together
"they deleted our names"
"they said we never existed"
My hands shook, I started shivering. I don't know if it was the cold or something. I was scared, "I don't understand," I whispered. "you will" the voices replied "but first, remember this…" the sea moved. For just a second, I felt something inside my chest- not fear, not pain, but a purpose. I felt like I was meant to be here, in this world, in this place RIGHT HERE. "find the truth," the voices said. "make the world remember us" . The voices faded. The dock was quiet again, but I felt someone was with me. I stayed there for a long time, staring at the sea and for the first time in my life… I didn't feel invisible.
The voices were not hallucinations, they were carved by pain and the forgotten will of the people. I was the chosen one, not chosen by the god. But chosen by the wills of people who got forgotten.