CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - HERE.

The eyes staring at her were far too close. Uloma jolted upright. 

“You are awake.” 

The girl stated, her eyes dancing with excitement. Uloma groaned as she drew her knees to herself. Her body ached superficially, as if her body was responding to the fact that it should be in pain. 

“You slept for a while, a long, long while.” 

The girl informed her. Uloma watched the girl, her confusion evident on her face. Her head felt light and groggy, and at the same time full and alive. 

“I was in a space that was just white. There was nothing there. The void.” 

Uloma croaked, and the girl nodded her messy hair. 

“Yes, we were. Or I was, and then I found you, I think, you were floating, and I touched you, and then we came here.” 

She said this, by gesturing with her hands spread out about her, to indicate their present environment. Uloma looked around her. They were in her special place. The still forest, full of odara trees, was unlike the usual dark and dreary, shadowy forest, with dying and drying tree skeletons. Her forest was lush and thriving. 

“You are so, so pretty. I like your clothes.” 

The girl said, standing over Uloma. 

“You are standing too close.” 

Uloma groaned, lightly pushing the towering little girl away, but she did not budge. 

“Are you a princess? When I grow up, I will be a warrior in the army of the prince. I will get to see the palace then.” 

She chattered. Uloma groaned again. She felt a ghost of a headache coming on, so she rubbed her temple. 

“You slept for a long time. What is your name?” 

Uloma sighed in defeat. She had to say something or the little chatterer would talk her ears off. 

“What is your name, and what are you doing here?” 

Uloma asked her, sizing her up. She was such a strange little girl, with hair as wild as Death’s and eyes almost as deep. Her skin shone in the golden sunlight that bathed them. What kind of place outside of the realm of the Heavenly has a golden sun? 

“My name is Omasirim, but everybody calls me Oma. My name means the one that pleases me, because my parents say I please their hearts and fill them with joy.” 

“Mhm.” 

Uloma nodded. 

“And what are you doing here? How are you able to come here?” 

The girl shrugged, and Uloma raised her eyebrow at her. 

“I truly don’t know. I just found myself in the whiteness, and then you came, and it was a little dark, and I was happy because it meant that I was no longer alone, so I reached out for you, and then we came here.” 

Uloma stared at the girl Oma, nonplussed for a second. Everything she said described the void, and something that nagged at her subconscious. 

“You are not afraid? We are alone here.” 

“Oh no.” 

The girl laughed, as if it hadn't crossed her mind that fear was an option. She had a toothy laugh. Uloma noticed where her tooth was chipped on the side. The thought crossed Uloma’s mind that it might not have occurred to the girl that danger was possible here, or anywhere. 

“I was not afraid, but if you are, I will protect you. Look what I can do.” 

Oma pushed her hand forward, and the leaves in front of her moved like the wind controlled them. She waved her hand at low branches, and they shook a little. She turned back to Uloma with pride-filled eyes, grinning. 

“Impressive.” 

Uloma told her, smiling at her indulgently. Oma was endearing, but only after you moved past her talking your ears off. 

“So, I can trust you to look out for us.” 

Uloma told Oma, and Oma nodded her assent, but she had not stopped waving her hand, though; she alternated between pushing static things around and disturbing the poor branches. 

“It's a nice place we have here. You gave my favourite place some colour and life.” 

“I did?” 

The girl asked. He looked proud of himself for having accomplished this. Oma was not a Cosmic, Uloma started to realise. The shock and pride at rudimentary abilities most Cosmics are born with was a giveaway, but more than that, a Cosmic affecting the space around them would notice the effect, because a Cosmic’s power came from what they were. They would feel the strain. 

“Are you a Heavenly?” 

Uloma asked her, even though she did not appear to be one. Oma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. 

“What is that?” 

She asked, tasting the word in her mouth. She mouthed it back to Uloma, not a Heavenly, then Uloma decided. 

“What are you? What Realm are you from?” 

The little girl looked confused for a moment, but then shrugged as if she had overcome her confusion and moved on. She walked over to Uloma and tugged on her beads. 

“They are so pretty. I wish I had one like that. My mum lets me wear mine on special occasions, but they are not even as pretty as yours. You are so lucky you are a princess.” 

“I am not a princess.” 

Uloma told her, but even as she said it, she knew it was not entirely true; she was what passed for a princess in some realms. 

“You don’t know what a realm is?” 

Uloma asked her, and Oma shook her head in response. The only beings in the known universe as ignorant as humans are humans. Uloma looked at Oma again, truly looked at her, but humans did not have abilities, unless... 

“Oma, what is your mother’s name?” 

Uloma asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her heart was racing as she waited for Oma’s response. 

“Look what I can do!” 

Uloma screeched, hanging from the branch of a tree. She had levitated off the ground, but like Uloma, she could not stay suspended in the air. 

“You will hurt yourself. You are not a monkey. Humans cannot levitate or hang off trees.” 

Uloma shouted after her. The child could be human. 

“No, I will not. I am very good at climbing.” 

She called back, her voice high and pitched with excitement, completely ignoring the human remark. She swung her arm and reached for another branch. Uloma was on her feet, running to catch her before she hit the ground, but there was no need because she did not need saving. She swung swiftly onto the neighbouring branch, squealing and chuckling. 

“You are quite the handful.” 

Uloma muttered under her breath. 

“I am not.” 

Oma answered her, laughing. 

“You have sonic hearing, too.” 

“What is that?” 

Oma asked. 

“Never mind.” 

Uloma shouted after her. Oma did a series of back wheels and cartwheels, and standing on her palm and jumping off trees she had climbed too quickly up, and it was all Uloma could do to keep up with her, even with her Cosmic abilities.  

“Where did she come from?” 

Uloma wondered to herself. After Oma had jumped off another tree, she lay on her back, too exhausted to continue climbing. 

“I did not even know that it was possible to get hurt or feel exhaustion here. But you teach me by the passing seconds.” 

Uloma told her, coming to sit beside her lying form. Oma grinned at this. Her exhaustion did not prevent her from feeling pleased with herself. 

“You cannot sleep here, though. I don’t think so.” 

She told Oma, who stretched like a cat and opened her eyes halfway to squint at the sun. 

“Princess, I want to stay here forever, but I hear my mother calling. I’ve heard her for a while now.” 

Uloma looked around her, as if expecting to see someone else with them. Her mother had bridged this place, now Oma, so it won’t surprise her if a third person were also to appear here. 

“You are beautiful and nice. I have a big sister, but she is not a princess like you.” 

Uloma nodded at her, but Oma’s eyes were closed, and her voice was waning. She was waking up, Uloma realised. 

“Oma, can you hear your mother from here?” 

“Mhm.” 

Oma nodded. 

“She was crying and begging for me to return. She said I could not leave like her, Uche did.” 

Oma’s voice was barely there, but Uloma felt her heart racing; the thumbing drowned out every thought she was capable of having. She knew her eyes were wide as she stared at the fading shape of little Oma, but Oma was gone before the words came to her again. 

“You are Oge’s daughter.” 

She said to the space that had been occupied by Oma only moments before. She should be happy, for Oge at the very least, Oma was a sweet and precious girl, yet she felt her heart sink with jealousy. Had Oge forgotten her? She had been too preoccupied lately with the realms and everything happening, so that there were days and days on end where the thought of Oge would not cross her mind. But on the days that it did, her heart would break in places she was unable to reach. Of course, she wanted Oge to be happy, and moving on would be the best thing for Oge. But it hurt; it was barely a year for her, even though it had been years for Oge. 

She sat by her tree, missing Oge, wishing she could be human again, even for one day. She was jealous, jealous of a little girl, for the love of a human woman that would never be hers again. 

~ 

Uloma shut her eyes and opened them again. She was in a room, theming with red, glowing signs that bounced around. The familiar faces of her friends and sister surrounded her. She felt her face; it was wet from her crying. Ekama threw her hand around her, and Uloma wept unashamed, unbothered by the presence of everyone else in the room. She missed her Oge. She had ruined everything by choosing to be born human. Now she could no longer visit and be seen. And the school had burned, and her friends had been hurt, and everything was wrong. Everything was wrong. Why couldn’t she do anything right?  

“What is wrong with me? Why can’t I do anything right?” 

She wept into Ekama’s arm. Ekama pulled away from her. Uloma, through her tears, could see the hurt in Ekama’s eyes. 

“Uloma, look around this room. Everyone here survived because of you. How could you think anything is wrong with you?” 

Uloma hiccupped and wept uncontrollably. 

“Please, can my sister and I have the room?” 

“No!” 

Ekama answered Asiya. 

“Okay, I see the problem. When I asked, it appeared like I was being nice and seeking your opinion. You leave, and I do not find ways to make you pay for your insubordination.” 

Asiya had her hand folded across her chest, but so did Ekama, a stance known to be a challenge. Echi glowed and covered Ekama. 

“Kama, Echi is right, we will just be outside the door.” 

Abali intervened, but Kama was unmoving. Echi covered her and pulled her away with him. She let him do all the work, her feet dragging along as she was pulled away. Ekama’s eyes never left Asiya’s. 

“We are just outside the door.” 

Abali warned Asi, his voice a deep rumbling threat. Asi shrugged nonchalantly at him. Unbothered by the man twice her size and height. 

“Come with me.” 

Asiya said when Abali left the room, but did not wait for a response from the weeping Ulo before she took her hands and vanished with her.