Chương 6: Book 1; Chapter 5; Lucky Encounter (2)

Anniet was looking at a very beautiful place: another small river was making its way down the mountains and was falling off the cliff in a rapid waterfall. Water was cascading down into a large pool at the bottom. There must be another waterfall on the other side of that pool, as the water was making its way in a narrow and rapid stream and suddenly disappearing out of view. The pool was surrounded by flat white rocks and a variety of blossoming shrubs.

The water in it was a dark colour, indicating that this pool must be deep. A young woman was sitting on a flat rock next to the pool with one leg bent in front of her and her arms hugging her knee. She seemed very relaxed, enjoying the beauty of the nature around her, and was singing a lyrical song about country life. Anniet had heard this song before, as it was one of the known folklore melodies, but never before had she heard it being sung so beautifully.

So she stood quietly and admired it until the woman had finished. It sounded so nice that Anniet wanted to come out of her hideout and congratulate this young lady for singing it so well. But she did not. First, she didn't know how to explain herself for sneaking up on her like this, and secondly, she didn't know if it was appropriate, as the woman she was looking at was naked.

Well, of course it would be appropriate as she was a woman herself, and it was obvious that this lady must have swum in the pool not so long ago, as her hair was still wet. She was sitting in the sunshine to dry herself and singing while waiting. There shouldn't be anything inappropriate about walking up to her and saying hello. But no matter how much Anniet tried and how much she encouraged herself, she wasn't able to do so. With each passing moment, the possibility of doing it was fading. What would she say now?

"Hello, I was watching you from the shadows for the last quarter of an hour?" That would be very creepy. So she finally gave up on the idea of coming out and introducing herself. Now she was just hoping that this lady would not notice her hiding like this behind the trees. That would be really unpleasant. Anniet was desperately thinking about the way to sneak away quietly without being noticed when that lady stood up and picked up her clothes.

But instead of putting them on, she made a tight ball out of them, walked towards the edge on the other side of the pool, and threw her clothes down. The next moment, before Anniet could understand what was going on, that woman lightly jumped and dived head down, disappearing from view. In a moment Anniet forgot all about her hiding and rushed full speed to the spot where that lady disappeared, hoping that she was alright and didn't get hurt.

She was right, there was a second waterfall in that place where the stream of water disappeared out of sight. This was the place where that woman dived down. After reaching that spot, Anniet stopped abruptly and quickly backed up. This waterfall was high, much higher than she expected. At a height of about ten meters, its descent was a long stream of falling water. Anniet gathered her courage and rapidly but carefully came to the very edge again and looked down.

She was sincerely hoping that nothing bad had happened to that woman and was happy to see that all was good. At the bottom of this waterfall was another pool gathering fallen water and stretching to the sides. That young lady obviously was a good swimmer, as after diving from such a height, now she was leisurely swimming in that pool, obviously enjoying the water and this exercise. After swimming for a few minutes, she got out of the water and walked to the ball of cloth that she had thrown before jumping.

Without bothering too much about her wet body, she put on a trousers and a shirt, put a jacket over her shoulder, and walked off." What a relief," Anniet thought to herself. She wasn't noticed after all. But for some reason, not known even to her, she was somehow sad that this lady had left, and she neither could watch her anymore nor had enough courage to speak to her. Anniet stood here for a minute or two, thinking how brave this woman must be to jump from such a height. She never dared to do something like this.

And probably never will. So why was she still standing here and looking down like this? The thought that had gotten into her head was very scary, and she didn't know where it came from, but somehow it had taken hold of her. Why not? If someone can do it, she can do it too… She knows how to swim, and didn't she tell herself when leaving home that she would do things that she never did before? Maybe meeting this woman was a sign that she can do it too?

On her own, she would never even think that jumping from such a height is possible or at least safe. But that lady jumped head-first and nothing happened to her, so the water must be deep there. The longer Anniet was standing, the more certain she became that she wanted to do it. Slowly she took her clothes off, put them into a ball, just as that lady did before her, and, before changing her mind, threw them down, aiming for the land next to the pool. Dart! …

Her aim wasn't as good as that of the lady, and her clothes landed in the water… Uhh! What a shame! They smelled so nice after Anthony used some of his magic on them yesterday. Well, it cannot be helped now. At least they landed in still water, and the river will not take them away. That would be a proper shame, how would she come back home naked like this?! So she'd better jump quickly and fish them out. So jump! No, it didn't happen. OK, now, jump! Well, why did it become so scary?

Just a moment ago she wanted to jump, but now, no matter what, her legs would not obey! Now! No… Now! No… Anniet tried and tried over and over again, but the longer she stayed, the more she delayed, the scarier such a proposition became until she couldn't understand any more what she was thinking at the very beginning. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Where did she get such an idea about jumping at such a height in a foreign forest in waters she has never been in? What if something happens? No one even knows that she is here! Dart! And she was stupid enough to throw all of her clothes down… What was she thinking? Now she will have to find a way down walking like this… Fingers crossed she will not meet anyone. What a shame, she wanted to jump so badly!

Rainee came out of the water, put on her clothes, and walked away. She was fully aware of the presence of the young girl watching her from the top of the waterfall. She had never looked at her a single time since she stopped at the edge of the woods, not daring to come out, but it didn't prevent Rainee from "seeing" her. People with their five senses, or even six if intuition is added to the count, were so limited.

There was so much more that the human body was capable of and ready to offer for each and every one, but most of the people stubbornly refused to know more than they already knew, so they deliberately chose to stay blindfolded for all of their existence on earth. Despite all the King's efforts, despite the efforts of all his generals and appointed learning facilities, very few would choose to take a path that would lead to opening up and awakening.

She called it awakening, as it is exactly how it felt – like someone was dozing in a slumber and started to wake up. It was so dull and numb in that shut-down state that most of humanity held themselves in, but still they would not come out of it, no matter how much effort those who have advanced would put into education. Same as this girl who was standing now on the top of the waterfall with a growing desire in her heart to make this leap down.

She was very persistent, and that desire to achieve what she wanted was building up in her heart slowly but steadily, and Rainee slowed her pace just in case the girl would go for what her heart wanted. The chance that she would do it was very small, basically non-existent. Not because it was too hard or too dangerous, but because of the fears surrounding her heart.

Fear was a very peculiar thing: always a lie, never the truth, but its illusion was so strong that truth usually faded away in its presence, and most of the people would turn away from the truth and follow the path that fear was illuminating as the best option. They call it careful. They call it common sense. They call it wise and steady. They call it reasonable. They call it anything fear wanted them to call it.

Only people who openly call fear a fear were capable of untangling themselves from this seemingly never-ending influence. That was the major training that everyone had to go through in the King's Army. Before joining, people would think that battling and fighting were the main training that recruits do, but it wasn't. Recognising and realising inner and outer fears and lies that humanity was entangled in was the main training. That was the most efficient way to teach anything.

In fact, that was the only way to teach anything. Free someone from fears, and they grow rapidly and learn easily. She knew it too well after being a commanding officer in this organisation for some years. Rainee resumed her walking pace – the girl was not going to jump. It was obvious to Rainee way before it became obvious to the girl herself.

If you postpone your desire while surrounded by so many fears, the chance of doing what you wanted diminishes with every second until it vanishes into nothingness, never to return. People believe that it can be revived when in reality it cannot. A new desire, very similar to one who has died, can be built, but the old cannot be revived. Every opportunity missed is final and not reversible. Some can be duplicated easily, some were unique, and nothing of this sort will ever be offered again.

Now the girl herself realised that she would not be able to do what she wanted. Actually, it is for the best. She wasn't ready to make this jump, neither physically nor mentally. Her thoughts about being able to swim were inadequate, as swimming and diving, or even jumping down, are not the same. Swimming comes in handy after diving, but not while doing so. It is the same as saying that I can fly because I can jump from a cliff.

If this girl were to jump, most likely she would not hurt herself, unless some unforeseen accident were to occur, but she would get a proper fright and her confidence in her abilities would be shattered to pieces. Not because it is too difficult for her, but because she was not prepared to experience how it feels. That's why Rainee was ready to go back and help as much as she could. But her assistance wasn't needed, and for such a shy creature as this girl was, it was best if she would not be disturbed now.

That was a primary reason why Rainee had chosen to leave the way she did, as the girl, who was watching her from the woods, became so agitated about being seen that Rainee chose to leave the place and allow her to calm down. If she had chosen to leave any other way, it might have spooked the girl even more. Shame… The other catastrophe of humanity. People were taught to think so little about themselves. There was a belief that you first have to become great to think of yourself big. What nonsense.

It couldn't be further from the truth. One can become only what one believes one can be. How can anyone become great when they allow themselves to be only small? Only as much as society would allow and would approve? Maybe, if you are a very strong personality, under such circumstances, you can grow a tad higher than society, but that's it. If you believe that it is shameful what you want to do, what your intentions are, then no one would be able to help you.

Like this girl Rainee just left behind, she had such a lovely personality, she was such a warm and kind person, but somehow she had convinced herself that she is not, that it is not important what she is, and all that was important was what others would think of her. One day she will have a hard time breaking through from this cage of lies she put herself into, or accepting the opinions of others over her own happiness. But this time will hardly come any time soon.

Most likely in an afterlife, as it was very rare for someone to rise from such a suppression of fear, shame, and guilt. If she would join the King's Army, she would have a chance, but inside of her was nothing that usually motivated people to join the ranks. And also Rainee herself has to stop thinking this way. She was not in the King's Army any longer. She has chosen, or rather life has chosen for her, a different path, and she couldn't see the way back. Neither had a reason nor motivation to do so.

It wasn't her intention to lure this girl to herself. Rainee was extremely sensitive to her surroundings within a large radius and knew where this girl was walking. At such a distance, she was not supposed to hear her, but the girl must have had very acute hearing. She heard her song and liked it so much that Rainee didn't want to take away from her that little pleasure and allowed herself to be found because this girl wanted to see who was singing so badly.

Her motives were nice and sweet, and Rainee didn't see any reason why not to let the girl achieve what she wanted. But then things changed. Fear to disturb was bigger than the wish to come out and talk, so it took control over the girl's actions, and from that point all good motives were gone, and all her actions and wishes were fear-based. There was little Rainee could do from that point, especially when the girl herself didn't have any desire to go over these silly fears.

On the contrary, all she wanted was to stay unnoticed, so Rainee granted her wish and moved away. That girl really was a very caring person. The moment Rainee dived, all fears were swept away, and she was worried only about the safety and well-being of Rainee. She couldn't be bothered any more about being seen or about hiding away and rushed forward to see what happened there. That's why at first she had so much courage that she nearly jumped down the waterfall herself. But it faded into the past.

Only one thought that was still bothering Rainee while she was moving away: where had she seen this girl before? She was absolutely sure they had met, but at the same time somehow she was a completely new person to Rainee. So they must have met a very long time ago, and the girl must have changed a lot since she last saw her. But even then, why could she not remember it?

Some time ago it would bother her a lot, but now, in the past few months, so many things have changed, Rainee herself has changed a great deal too, and maybe not being able to remember all she wanted will be her new reality… Not a very pleasant thought, but it would be just one more thing among many others that she has lost. If it happens, it happens, it cannot be helped. She will have to learn to live with what she has now.

And that was where her thoughts were abruptly cut off, and in a flash Rainee turned around and dashed back at lightning speed. She jumped! That girl, instead of walking away as all her thoughts and intentions were directing, actually made a jump instead! That was unexpected. Impressive and brave but unexpected. There was no mystery to Rainee about what would follow after this jump.