Chapter one

Ada awakened to sheer darkness, invading her room and a heavy breath escaping her mouth. At first, she thought that maybe her eyes were still closed, but a small light from the base of her bedroom door told her otherwise. Jumping out of bed, she felt the coolness of her clothes on her skin. She felt the resistance of her hands and feet, the pounding of her head, followed by the ringing in her ears. She could barely see what was in front of her, and it was not because of the darkness.

She stumbled once or twice before reaching the light switch, only a few steps from her bed. Her eyes closed instantly, then opened again. Flashes of her dream were still haunting her mind; the horrific nightmare that exhausted her entire body, purged it of any liquid it held and gave an unforgettable pulsating pain. She could not comprehend what had happened. All there was to do was relive every second of it over and over again.

It was a few minutes past two in the morning, and falling asleep was no longer an option. She slowly made her way to her bathroom cabinet for some much needed relief. Sliding the pill down her throat with the glass of water on her bedside table, she thought she could feel the pain instantly subsiding. Her next mission was to adorn some dry clothes and change the sheets of her bed. Ada headed for her wardrobe on the other side of her bed. She picked up a knee-length t-shirt, the first thing she laid eyes on. Moving on to the top shelf of her wardrobe, Ada pulled out silky grey sheets. She quickly replaced the wet sheets with the dry ones. As tired as she was, this gave her the perfect opportunity to clean her room and finally stop her mother’s constant hassling for the past fortnight.

Ada wouldn’t necessarily call herself scrappy, but she did agree that at times, she resembled the word. Her room, always in a chaotic state and her outfits, as if she threw on the first clothes she saw in her wardrobe. She didn’t really care much about how she looked or so she would say. ‘Why would I,’ she constantly reaffirmed herself. She didn’t have anyone to impress. Besides her parents, the only other people in her life were her two best friends, Avira and Hunter. They were as thick as thieves; however, she always felt like an outsider. In fact, she felt like an outcast wherever she went. Ada was the quiet, non-social friend while Avira was the spontaneous one of the group; always quick to come up with some crazy scheme. She was an only child to parents who gave her more freedom than anyone her age deserves. Hunter, however, was more composed than Avira. Yes, he did like the occasional fun, but, as he would say, ‘I have more of a mellow vibe.’ His parents weren’t as trusting as Avira’s, and neither were Ada’s. That was one of the many things she had in common with Hunter; nevertheless, Avira and her still shared more common interests. 

Thinking of her friends gave Ada more of a distraction than the cleaning of her bedroom. As she was stacking some books, she caught a glimpse of a picture amongst the drawings on her desk. She would doodle on the desk when she got bored studying, changing the boring plain white paint to a miniature art gallery. The picture showed a curly red-haired, lean boy with green eyes and a picture-perfect set of teeth, giving off a nice smile that matched his handsome face. His hairline only a few centimetres from his brows, and his high cheekbones didn’t draw too much attention away from the deep jawline and straight nose, which was just the right size for his face. He was standing next to a girl whose smile showed no teeth but her perfectly full, pink lips made up for it. She had deep grey eyes and a beautiful, blonde mane that flowed down to her shoulders and framed her face just above her eyebrows, flawlessly highlighting her soft, rounded cheeks and adding softness to her face. She, too, had a lean body, but her delicate curves set her apart. The boy was Hunter and, of course, the girl was Avira. They both had their hands stretched out in front of them, palms upwards, exposing the tattoos on their wrists. Hunter had one of an upside-down triangle with a horizontal line across it, and Avira had the right-side-up version. Earth and air. Tattoos depicting elements of the world.

Ada remembered the summer the picture was taken. They had all gone on vacation to her family’s summer home. That summer, they promised each other that by the end of it, each of them would have a tattoo. When the time came to choose a design, Ada’s friends went for the one choice she could not take. The choice to tattoo their element power. Hunter possessed the ability to manipulate earth, and Avira could manipulate air, but Ada, sadly, did not possess any ability. This was one of the many instances that she felt like an outsider. Everyone had their power. They all knew what element they could control since birth but could only control it after the age of ten. Unfortunately, Ada was an anomaly, a late bloomer, or so her parents said to comfort her. She always wondered if she would bloom at all. 

That train of thought just made the dream even more vivid in her mind. There was a girl with the ability to control water. At first, her backside was the only thing visible, but slowly, she began to turn around. She had beautiful curly black hair that framed her heart-shaped face. Her piercing blue eyes matched the light brown glow of her skin and the deep dimples on her cheeks. She had a medium build, slender yet athletic physique. Her hands and feet were performing a dance, following the flow of the water around her. What scared Ada the most was how real it all felt. Ada felt everything, from the likeness of appearance to the dancing, the feel of the water around her, and the power surging through her body. It was a reality that she’d always wanted. Consequently, this only made the end of it worse. Suddenly, she began falling. No end, just darkness. An endless nothingness, and then she woke up. Ada was back in the real world. Back to feeling powerless. 

Instinctively at that moment, Ada went to her bedroom mirror. She wanted to see how real her dream was, but everything was as it always was. Her eyes their usual brilliant hazel colour. A colour that only she possessed, everyone else had the colour of their element: blue, green, grey, red, and purple. When Ada was born with a rare eye colour, her mother blamed herself. She said her working while pregnant was the reason Ada was the way she was.

Ada lived on a planet much like Earth. It was a small, flat version called Eonixa, where everyone knew each other. For Ada, the fact that, at eighteen years, she still had not manifested any power was not the thing that made her famous. Her parents were part of the most important people on their planet. Scientists who were also members of the council. Their job was to help maintain the balance of the magic of their planet. 

There were five elements in total that governed the balance of their planet: Earth, Fire, Air, Water, and the rarest one, Æther. Eonixa had a democratic system of ruling with a leader known as a Duxa. Coincidentally, the current ruler was one in four people who could manipulate the element æther, and for a while, Ada was believed to be a user of this element. Being the only person in her small world without power did not do her self-esteem any good. It only made her keep to herself more. Avira and Hunter tried to take her out of her comfort zone but sadly, like her parents, failed dismally. 

As Ada was packing away the last pair of shoes, she noticed the lightening of her curtains, signalling that dawn had come. She chuckled a bit; to think she spent more than two hours cleaning her room. Perhaps her mother was right. She was very messy. Having finished the sorting of the items in her room, Ada made her way downstairs for a broom and dustpan. She returned to see her mother hovering at the door of her bedroom. When she heard her daughter’s footsteps, she turned around to reveal a surprised face with a hint of suspicion. 

“Okay, who are you and what have you done to my daughter,” laughed Sonya. “Good morning to you too, mom. Why are you up so early. It’s barely six in the morning.” “I heard someone in the corridor. The real question is, why are you up and why are you cleaning.” The suspicion on Sonya’s face was replaced by concern. “Are you alright?” “I’m fine, mom. I just… I realised that you were right, my room was a mess. It was almost starting to smell, so I thought to clean it up.”

“A few clothes and books on the floor do not cause odours, sweetheart. Are you sure that’s the reason. You look like you’ve been up all night.”

“Well my room needed more work than I anticipated. However, I’m happy to have made the sacrifice,” Ada said, admiring her hard work. Her mother joined her, “It does look good, but it’s not worth you losing sleep. You have school, and showing up looking like a zombie is not something I think you want. Is it?” “No, of course not. But I’m fine. After a warm bath and a good breakfast, I will be fully awake,” replied Ada, wanting to believe her words too. “Okay, sweetie. Should I make you breakfast?”

“No I think I can handle heating up some waffles, but thank you.” Her mother smiled and kissed her on the forehead before walking back to her room. “Oh by the way, mom, did you really go out by yourself to check if there was an intruder? Where’s dad?” “Sleeping probably. He was up all night finishing up on some important work, so now he’s out like a light.” 

“Is he not going to work today,” Ada asked.

“He is, but a little later than usual. Speaking of which, let me sneak in a few minutes of sleep before I head out for work. You should too,” Sonya said, walking away.

Left alone, Ada began to sweep her room, wondering how she was going to make it through the day without falling asleep.