Hide and Seek

DING! I rush in as the elevator doors open. Unlike its usual tendency to be crowded, it’s empty. Once again, I’m left alone with only my thoughts. One would think that I live the perfect life. I live on the best street in downtown Toronto, I work for the famous publishing company, Granted, and I’m told to have a striking appearance. It’s said that I get away with things, receive whatever I want, whenever I want. They forget that everything comes with a price. 

My earliest memory is a group of girls running away from me in the orphanage I grew up in, only because I was rambling on about magical worlds when they just wanted to play princesses. At an early age, I learned the harsh nature of society and people’s ability to judge. In the beginning, I didn’t care but by the time of my thirteenth birthday, it was becoming too much, and so, I ran away. 

I had no idea how to navigate the obstacles of this cruel world but I suppose I had some advantages on my side, if put that way. I began to develop the ability to read people’s minds; it came out of nowhere. It started with only sensing someone’s emotions. At first, I thought I was imagining things and tried to ignore it but the opposing urge overtook that feeling. I started using the power to please people. In some form, I knew it was wrong but feeling wanted and appreciated was something I couldn’t give up; I was only a child after all. 

Now, after so long, my power has definitely increased; I can even shapeshift but it doesn’t feel as great. I know I’m putting up an act and every time someone smiles, I can’t help but think how the tables would turn if they knew the truth. I constantly wonder how differently would my life turn out if I didn’t attain the power of telepathy or looked like my true self?

BeEpp! Wow, that really was a trip down memory lane. Seeing how late I was, I broke out in a run but before I could actually enter the room, WoOSH. I crashed into someone and the papers I was holding went flying. As I reached down to pick them up, through my peripheral vision, I saw a boy looking about my age, mid twenties, had brown hair which was a little disheveled from the fall and the most prominent blue eyes I had ever seen. I was so distracted by his appearance, for a moment, I almost didn’t realize what was different in this interaction and every one I’d had since she was 13 years old. My powers weren’t working but was even more bizarre was that I could sense he had the same abilities I did. The different possibilities running through my mind made me almost miss his apology. “I’m so sorry”, he said. Instead of responding, I just smiled as I stepped foot into the meeting room. 

“Oh great! You're both here.” Mr. Merachino declared. Although spelled differently, I thought the name was quite fitting for him because most times, he was just as red as a cherry. “Dahlia Rensen, I’d like you to meet Anxo Grimaldi, our newest addition to the company. He’s writing a new story and I thought, who a better editor than you?”

“I look forward to working with you Ms.Rensen.” My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his unexpected gravelly voice. 

The next morning, a part of me was dreading going to work for the fear of messing up while another was intrigued how this meeting would run. Today’s job was simple. We’d just have to discuss the plot of the story. 

“Good morning, Mr. Grimaldi.” 

“Oh, please do call me Anxo.”

“Ok then, Anxo, please tell me your story line.”

He continued but I would never have predicted what was going to happen next. He repeated my whole life story, from the very beginning in the orphanage to my job at a publishing company now: I was flabbergasted. Who was this guy?

I screamed, “How do you know all that?” He motioned to lower my voice midway but replied nonetheless. 

“I was sent to Toronto to find you Dahlia. I must say finding out what happened in your past was not an easy task.”

I raised my eyebrows, “Yes, but why would you need to? Why are you here and what do you want with me?”

First he started by saying how he knew I have powers and how he does as well. He expanded by mentioning that there is a whole kingdom filled with people who have the same power as me within the Kingdom of Tellepathia. People with the same ability cannot read each other's minds because it would disrupt the balance of thoughts and cause chaos. So it’s only possible to sense someone’s emotions when they do not have the same power as you. 

Once a longtime ago, they were afraid of our power and banished us to a separate place but we made it work and created a thriving kingdom. However, most people nowadays don’t even know we exist.

It turned out that to discover what occurred to the royal family, something I’m apparently part of, took a very long time. My older sister- which I didn’t even know existed - went to the dark side by experimenting with dark magic when the throne was handed over to my cousin just because my sister didn’t have the power of shapeshifting. Anxo explained that all royal family members had the ability of metamorphosis to protect themselves but for no apparent reason, it had skipped a generation so I was expected to rule. 

These were the most ridiculous things I ever heard. Anxo’s story didn’t end there. He told me about my parents who’s trip to the city had resulted in their deaths but somehow I had survived. 

Although, the biggest problem within all the things I’ve told you is how our power is dying out. The sorcery your sister is using can erase someone’s power permanently. She has only targeted a few but the situation could get brutal and we must save the kingdom.”

“And why do you need me again?”, I said aloud. 

“Because you are the rightful heir to the throne. Your cousin doesn’t want to do anything about the problem since he’s scared of what your sister might do to him.”

“But why do you care so much?” I asked

“Your questions never stop do they? I’m the king’s advisor’s son. My father sent me to find you out of our duty to save the kingdom. Now, I need you to go to Tellepathia with me to stop your sister and claim back the throne.” 

I thought this boy was out of his mind. “Are you insane!” I yelled, “Do you think I want to rule a kingdom which I just heard about 5 seconds ago?”

“Indeed, I do know your life story now. But, just think, these last few days you have been yourself with me and I think you're just scared of people not accepting you.”

I didn’t know why but it felt terribly comforting to hear that from someone. I could have a purpose and someone, although it might be a random boy, accepted me for who I am and maybe this could be good for me. I could meet my sister and maybe I could strengthen a friendship or something more. 

“Alright fine, I’m not sure about becoming queen but I’ll go just to see what this Kingdom of Tellepathia is like.”

Anxo’s face was beaming. I suppose he really did want his home to be saved. “Great, we’ll leave tomorrow by boat, it’s just past the border.”

I didn’t know much about Toronto’s borders but I was pretty sure this kingdom didn’t exist.

He seemed to pick up on my confusion, “Don’t worry, tomorrow, you’ll see. Meet you at 8.” I had some packing to do. Agreeing to go on this crazy journey might have been a bad choice but I was somewhat excited for what was to come. 

At 8:00 am sharp, both Anxo and I were on the dock. 

He asked, “Are you okay? You look nervous.”

“Well Anxo, I’m absolutely overjoyed! I’m going on a boat for the first time with a person I met 3 days ago to go to a kingdom which sounds made up that I’m supposed to save. Did I mention I’m also supposed to meet a sister which I never knew existed?”, I didn’t mean to sound so exasperated but I was anxious. 

Anxo looked like he was considering how it was like to be in my position, the gears shifting in his brain, visible on his face. “I’m sorry, but don’t worry about the boat ride and the traveling there, it will be alright.”

I mean, out of all the things I said, he only addressed one issue but his voice sounded so sincere and his apology so genuine, it was hard to stay mad. I suppose it wasn’t his fault all this was happening to me. He was only sent out to perform a task. “Thank you”, I replied.

“Ok, I think we can get into the boat now”, he answered.

The condition of the boat surprised me since it was a small canoe but I didn’t feel like complaining.

“How do we get here?” I asked

“To get to the kingdom of tellepathia, you just get into the water and read its mood. Once it tells you exactly where to go, you say the code, Open Tellepathia, and you teleport onto land.”

I didn’t have time to process my feelings of intrigue when we arrived because Anxo started running and I had to follow. 

“Oh no, the magic of the kingdom has already started dying. I can tell by the trees. We have to go straight to the castle.”

“Well, I have no idea what to do so I’ll just follow your judgment on this.”

Anxo’s eyes widened like no one had ever trusted him to lead, “You do realize, technically you have power over me because I work for the royal family. 

“I’ve only known I was royal since you told me so I trust you on this.” 

He seemed less flustered now so we continued on to walk. His original plan was for me to walk in there and claim the throne but I suggested that I just talk to her because there was no way I was going to be queen now. 

The journey there to the castle was a few days and over time, I saw the beauty of the kingdom and Anxo’s stories about everything made me truly nostalgic for the people. 

When we finally arrived, we had to fight through the guards and I was surprised to see that Anxo was good with a sword- although I didn’t know when he had got that. 

We both walked into the front room of the palace. It was a huge area with marbled floors and giant sparkling chandeliers. 

A woman wearing a purple floor length gown came into sight. “Anxo, who is this?”

“Your majesty, Ikella Metorphiz, this is your long lost sister,” he replied.

This was not the horrifying queen she thought she would find. She found it amusing how calmly she was speaking to Anxo. She supposed everyone who once lived in the castle knew him. He was a very memorable person, especially for her over the past few days. 

The woman’s mouth formed an O and tears formed in her eyes, “ Tella?”

I scrunched my face, “Who’s that?”

Anxo laughed sheepishly, “Oh, the name you have now was given to you by the orphanage, your real name is Tella Metorphiz, the ones your parents gave you.”

“Nice of you to tell me, Anxo. Your majesty, I'm here to try and stop you from ruining this place. Anxo told me everything that happened and I don’t think this is the way to help the kingdom you love.”

She exclaimed, “ And how would you know all this? You haven’t been here when everyone turned on me just because of my lack of power. They don’t deserve any power either.”

I suddenly became very emotional, “ Ikella, I know I don’t know you very well but from all the stories I heard about you and Anxo growing up together on this journey. I have a feeling you would have been a very good sister and an even better leader. You deserve leadership because you want the best for your people, or at least you once did. This is not the way to rescue your people. I lived a life of sadness and regret because I hid from people who I was. I used to be scared to voice my opinions and I haven’t even shape shifted into my true form since I was 15. I have the power to shapeshift and read minds Ikella but it did not give me happiness. You were happy until the power of the throne and your aggression of people not accepting you overwhelmed that feeling.”

Tears, one by one, fell on Ikella’s face but she didn’t look ready to give up what she had been doing or maybe not ready to accept her mistakes. 

“You really think I’m going to let you get away with everything so easily, with just a speech?”

“Yes, because this is not who you are. Your good natured wishes have gone to an extreme level where you're ready to kill to get power so you can save your people. A bit ironic, don’t you think? And if you really are not going to accept the truth of your actions, use your sorcery to drain the power for me.”

“Fine, maybe I will”

Anxo cried out but I knew I was safe. 

Ikella was an inch away from me but she suddenly broke down and started sobbing. 

I gave her a hug and tried comforting her. 

I knew I’d only just met these people but I sensed that I would have strong bonds with them in the future.

It felt like the end of something but I wasn't done just quite yet. 

“Anxo, take us to the throne room of the palace, will my cousin be there?”

“Well, I suppose so, let’s go. Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded. I knew he didn’t know what I was going to do but this would prove to be very satisfying. 

As I faced my cousin, I commanded, “Stop, I am the rightful heir to this throne. I am Tella Matorphis of Tellpathia.”

Then I did something which I thought I would never be able to, I transformed into my true self. I turned to the huge mirror in the room. I gasped. This was unbelievable, I looked so different now. It was a great change from the little, scared girl in the orphanage. 

Out of my shiny brown hair, light green eyes and tan skin, the most notable thing was my new, shining confidence. 

When the crown flew off my cousin’s head and landed on mine, it was everyone’s turn to gasp. 

Anxo muttered more to himself than everyone, “Of course, it’s Tellapathian legend that the crown will always go to it’s true owner.”

Now, this was the fun part. “As queen, I officially declare that my reign will now end and I crown my successor to be my older sister who will lead better than I ever could: Ikella Metorphis.”

“You surely had the shortest reign of a royal that Tellepathia has ever seen”, Anxo laughed.

The crown flew to Ikella. 

She remarked, “Thank you, sister, for everything.”

Cousin Frederick was astonished. I don’t think there was ever a more eventful day in his life. His crown was taken away from him and two new queens were already crowned.

Anxo voiced the question that everyone was wondering, “But Dahlia, where will you go now? Will you stay here?”

“ I love this place an I”m sure my sister will do an excellent job of rebuilding the place but I’m going to go back and be a writer. Start afresh, you know? My new appearance will cause them to think I’m a new person, I stated.

Anxo surprised me by stating, “I’ll come too then. I guess I won’t have you as my editor but I also want to write about magical worlds like our own. I love this place but I want to experience new things.”

Ikella with an amused expression said, “ Alright everyone can leave and I will figure out how to run this place with our cousin Frederick but you all must visit.”

“That’s a promise”, I replied.

Me and Anxo went back to our life in Toronto and we both got a fresh start. 

“We have to accept the fact that not everything nor everyone is suited for us on this Earth of a vast population of almost 8 billion people. Yet, most humans are people pleasers. We like to know that we’re accepted by people. So sometimes, we mold ourselves to others and don’t realize how harmful this could be. Sometimes, life just has to play its course and these people will be found on the journeys you take.”, I wrote. 

My last paragraph of my book felt like the end of an era. I realized my problem all these years was I had no self confidence and didn't believe that I, Dahlia Rensen, could be liked or make a difference. Therefore I hid and relied on everyone else’s thoughts, just to play it safe, scared of what might happen. I hid for a long time just to seek acceptance and happiness. Hiding didn't quite work but being courageous had paid off. Now, my life with Anxo, Ikella and the new bonds I had created felt real. I never had to doubt the originality of their smiles.