It was cold. The sounds I could hear were far away. My body felt as if it were floating. It became increasingly silent, until I could hardly hear even my own thoughts.
Am I dead?
Being dead was the only explanation, but I was wrong... I felt as if I were being pulled upward by a mysterious force. I felt a warm light touch me, and when I opened my eyes, I was there...
I was standing, half-naked. There were others there too, but they were dressed in various ways. Everyone was looking at me; some seemed happy, others sad, others seemed not to care. I was the only one who was just confused.
I tried to walk. My legs trembled. I fell...
I struggled to get up; it was as if I didn't remember how to walk. I was becoming more confused, until I saw an open hand reaching toward me, and right after it, a bright smile.
"Come, I'll help you!" said a boy...
He was blond, light-eyed, seemed to be the same age as me, but he wasn't afraid, nor confused. I just reached out my arm, and holding his hand, asked:
"Did I die?"
The other children laughed at my question, but he maintained that calm smile while telling me:
"No! We are just in another world, but we are all alive. We were summoned to this world to prevent the war!"
It was incredible how he managed to say that with such ease, as if it were just a game. With some difficulty, I stood up; my knees were still trembling a little. The blond boy was still holding my hand; he took the opportunity to introduce himself.
"My name is Leonardo, but you can call me Léo!"
"I am André... Lima..."
I was very confused, but I managed to remember my name.
"Pleasure, Lucas!" said another boy approaching beside Léo.
I took Lucas's hand, while looking around, trying to discover where I was. Only then did I realize: we were in the middle of a field, covered in grass. Everything was flat, the sky was blue, and the sun shone above our heads. It was beautiful.
I saw then, far away on the horizon, a not very large city, with a giant castle right in the middle. It had towers and walls; it was breathtaking. Perhaps what Léo said was really true... or I was dreaming!
From the direction of the city came several people in long white clothes; they wore weird hats and walked slowly with their heads held high in an arrogant manner. When they reached where we were, the one in front spoke:
"Welcome, heroes! We have long awaited your arrival."
"We are the representatives of the gods," explained a second one. "Each of us is a priest serving a different god, and each of you was chosen by one of these gods to receive a gift..."
"We have a prophecy that very soon a war will fall upon this world, and you, the chosen ones, will be the heroes who will protect us," said a third.
"It is up to each one to use their gift to fight against an evil that will arise, saving this world from the clutches of chaos and pain," spoke a fourth.
From then on, I paid no more attention. All of us were confused, but Léo seemed to be aware of what was happening. He simply stepped forward and said:
"My name is Leonardo, I am 12 years old, and I am the chosen one of the god of lightning!"
Léo seemed quite calm while saying that, as if he knew something the others were unaware of. We were all astonished; even the priests appeared not to understand what was happening.
"So you are aware of what is happening, child?" interrogated a priest who appeared to be quite elderly.
"Yes!" replied Léo. "He spoke to me before bringing me here, said that I was chosen to inherit a fraction of his powers and lead the other heroes in the approaching war."
The elderly priest smiled and extended his hand to Léo, who held it, and immediately after walked together with the old man toward the city. Before leaving, the boy looked back and smiled; in that moment I felt everything would be alright.
As soon as Léo and the elderly priest left, another priest—this time a woman with strange tattoos on her face and hands—approached a dark-skinned boy with straight hair cut in a bowl shape. The Priestess said nothing, just extended her hand. He took it without saying a word, and the two left; this one didn't even look back.
The scene repeated itself several times. A priest would approach a child, but didn't seem to choose; it was as if they knew exactly whom they were looking for. Then they would lead that child toward the city. Some introduced themselves, others just smiled; there were even those who preferred to remain silent.
Only three remained: me, Lucas, and a little girl with brown hair, a little lighter than mine. She was clearly trembling with fear. That was when I observed that there were only two priests remaining. One of them approached Lucas and took him. The little girl looked at me, very frightened; she was certainly afraid, just as afraid as I was.
The last priest finally approached, stood looking at the two of us, sighed, scratched his forehead, and spoke:
"I think we have a problem..."
I became even more scared. I looked to the side; she was crying. I smiled at the priest trying to hide my fear.
"I guess I won't be chosen..." I murmured.
"Unfortunately, you are right," replied the man of malnourished appearance and full of scars. "You have no magical power, so... Clearly you were not chosen by a god, and your arrival here was a mere coincidence."
I forced a smile, but I was crying inside. The last priest extended his scarred hand to the little girl. She took a few seconds but ended up accepting the invitation to follow him. The two walked slowly. A lot was going through my head, but I couldn't think of anything. I was just a 12-year-old child abandoned in an unknown world. If I was really dead, surely this was hell. What did I do to end up here?
Before I could get lost in daydreams, I felt a hand touch mine. She had come back; the frightened little girl had felt pity for me...
"Come too..." she said.
"I am André..." was the only response I could give; it was as if I was fighting not to forget who I was.
"I know..." she said smiling, yet with eyes still full of tears. "I am Elizabeth, but I prefer to be called Zita..."
I smiled, she smiled, the priest smiled and extended his other hand to me. I held their hands and we went toward the city.
As we walked, I could see the others in the distance, maintaining a space between each child and priest from the others. We were the last in a long and slow line. Meanwhile, the Priest began to speak:
"I am Nupac! Ifrit priest of the fire mountain. I have served the Phoenix god for decades. I received the message that I should come to this place to fetch that child who was chosen by the god of fire, and who came to this world to bring peace. For 1 year you will live in the castle of the Silver Kingdom to study, and after you learn the basics about this world, you will go to the sacred mountain..."
Up to this point I was still paying attention, but since he was addressing Zita, I began to wander...
And me? Will I be able to stay in the castle? Will you take me to this mountain? Or abandon me?
I think he heard my thoughts.
"And you, my little boy, unfortunately this is all I can do for you. If you stayed in that place, you would die from the cold of the night, so I will take you to a place where abandoned children like you can survive. It is not a good place but you will have some chance if you are strong enough."
I was taken through the city. We crossed the gate, passed through the noble part with its luxurious mansions, then through the poor part with its simple little houses, through the miserable part and its cluster of shacks in terrible condition, until we arrived at a house—if one can call that pile of rotten wood a house. It was the last one on a street full of weeds, mud, and holes, where several malnourished children were huddled together. It was a sad scene, and from what I understood, I would become one of these children.
Nupac let go of my hand and pointed to the house that looked like it would collapse at any instant.
"Unfortunately, poor child, this is the most I can offer you. At least here you will have a roof, and if you get lucky, in the future someone will hire you as a servant."
I just accepted my fate and lowered my head, confirming. Zita squeezed my hand tightly and spoke very seriously:
"I'm going to get very strong, and when that happens I'll come back to get you, and I'll bring all the others..."
She had been in this world as short a time as I had and was already trying to be strong.
I just managed to break down; I cried, let it all out, all my sadness in the form of tears.
I stood watching them go back down the same potholed street they came from. Zita kept looking back, as if blaming herself for leaving me there. I waved one last time before they disappeared around the corner.
I was about to get lost in daydreams again, but then I felt someone touch my shoulder. Upon turning, I saw a skeletal figure, with spiky hair, bulging eyes, and buck teeth, smiling in a slovenly way.
"Welcome to the rats' den," he said. "I am Fish Eye!"
I felt then that I could survive in that place.
I would have friends to help me.