CHAPTER ONE
Esther had lived in the desert her whole life. It was both a blessing and a curse to see the sun shining in the middle of the sky every day. She lived in Aseeta, a modest village where people hunted and traded with other villages. Aseeta was barren, and all Esther had ever seen in her life was just sand and the blue sky, but she knew, after about a day’s ride toward the South, a turquoise-blue sea connected to the desert; however, she had never gone that far. The houses in Aseeta were humble, and people did not expect much from life. They worshipped the goddess of sand, and each year on the seventh day of winter, they gathered in the Herna temple to pray and ask for forgiveness so that the goddess had mercy on them. Aseeta was once vibrant and full of life, but after what happened centuries ago, people changed. Everyone in Aseeta believed in a myth that went back to 300 years ago when the goddess of sand rose out of the desert in the middle of a gigantic sandstorm and turned everyone into sand.
After the sandstorm, many people died, and those who survived told the story of what had happened to the next generations. It all started with a sandstorm. Then, in the middle of the storm, the figure of a woman was shaped in front of everyone’s eyes, a woman made of sand and astonishingly huge. According to the myth, she was the goddess of sand, and she was very angry with her people. She roared with rage as she destroyed everything and turned everyone
into sand. People in Aseeta worshipped the goddess of sand for thousands of years, and her name was mentioned in all the ancient books of the South. Before the goddess of sand destroyed Aseeta, the city had a powerful kingdom. Aseeta was huge, with so many buildings. People were rich and had a decent life, and their kingdom was powerful and stable, but everything changed in one day. A great empire fell, the palace and all the buildings got destroyed, people turned into sand, and nothing remained of the city and their civilization. Years later, those who survived the incident found a new place to settle down and called it home. The goddess of sand was holy, yet terrifying to the people of Aseeta, and to keep her pleased, they gathered on the exact day the sandstorm had happened, in a temple they had built to pray and repent of their sins so nothing like that occurrence ever happened again. Everyone wanted to erase the memory of the sandstorm, yet they could not resist the urge to tell their children about the goddess and her power, and somehow every child in Aseeta knew about the myth.
When Esther was a child, her mother told her the story too. She could close her eyes and imagine the goddess of sand destroying the whole city with her giant sand hands. If there was one thing Esther was good at, it was harnessing the power of imagination. Esther was nineteen. She was quiet, sweet, and charming. She had a slim figure compared to other girls in the village, and her big brown eyes made her attractive. She was mysterious and unique, and even her mother could not sometimes tell what she had on her mind. She had lost her father years ago, and all she had in the world was her mother.
“Make sure to return home before the ritual starts tonight,” Illashka, Esther’s mother, said.
“Why do I have to be in the ritual, Mother? No one cares if I am there or not,” Esther replied.
“You do not attend because of others. You attend because you have to, so the goddess of sand protects you throughout the year,” Illashka said.
“I already feel protected by her. I can even sometimes talk to her,” Esther said.
“Do not say that, my child. Only the chief of the village can communicate with the goddess. Do you know what these people will do to you if they hear you?” Illashka asked.
“I am not afraid of them,” Esther said.
“But I fear for your life. You are all I have in this world,” Illashka said.
“If you fear for my life, then we shall leave this place behind and start a new life somewhere else. There is nothing for us here in Aseeta,” Esther said.
“It is not that simple. I have lived here my whole life, and we may not be welcomed in other villages. Besides, it takes days, maybe weeks, to see another village in the desert. It is dangerous to travel,” Illashka said.
“But you know I will do it one day, whether you come with me or not. I cannot live in Aseeta my whole life,” Esther said.
“Perhaps after I die, because I will not let you leave as long as I am alive,” Illashka said with a sad voice.
“How can you say that, Mother? Even if I leave, I will come back to get you, and you will live for a very long time,” Esther said while holding her mother’s hands.
“Fine, let’s not talk about this subject anymore. Do you want to go to the ruins again?” Illashka asked.
“Yes, but I promise to be back for the ritual,” Esther said.
She wished her mother could understand her and let her live as she wanted, but Illashka had never tried to see the world through her daughter’s eyes. She was too afraid of the goddess of sand and the chief of the village that no matter what Esther said, she was not willing to listen.
Esther finally arrived at the ruins of the abandoned palace in the desert, which the goddess had destroyed. It was mystical and peaceful. It was so quiet that she could stay there for hours, even days, without being bothered. It was her routine to leave the village and go to the ruins, the only place she felt at peace since the people of Aseeta believed the palace was cursed, and so no one dared to go there. She usually escaped the village at night and hid in the ruins of the palace, away from everyone’s eyes, lying down on the soft sands and watching the stars. The palace was massive, with beautiful carvings on the stones, but after its destruction, only a few pieces of the columns and a half-ruined roof remained of it. There were also several stone inscriptions with years of ancient knowledge that belonged to the library of the palace and somehow had miraculously survived the fire and the sandstorm centuries ago, but the people of Aseeta believed it was dark knowledge, and so no one read them or tried to preserve them, but Esther was different from the people of her village. She spent hours in the ruins, reading the inscriptions, learning about her ancestors, and meditating in the silence.
The serenity at the ruins was breathtaking. Esther started walking around, touching all the columns on her way. Although
nothing much remained of the palace, it was still magnificent and dreamy. She sat in a corner, resting her head on one of the columns, and closed her eyes. She was gradually sinking into the sands, and she could no longer feel her body. She was free; she could be anywhere she wanted. Hours passed and everything was still until she suddenly felt a whoosh of wind in the air. It was slight at first but soon started blowing harder, until she could hardly open her eyes.
This is not a good sign on the night of the ritual, she thought. It was almost midnight, the time for the ritual to start. Esther started running toward the village. The wind was strong, and sands were everywhere. The temple was almost invisible, but she knew she was close. When she got to the temple, the ritual had already started. Everyone in the village was there, and the sound of the people chanting prayers was so loud that the echo of the wind outside the temple could hardly be heard. A storm could start at any second, and she could feel the fear in the people’s voices. She knelt like others and bowed for the statue of the goddess of sand that was in the center of the temple. Right under the statue’s feet was a big pile of sand, and after the chanting was over, everyone started circling the statue and filled the small bowls they had in their hands with the sacred sand so that the goddess kept them safe throughout the year, but unlike everyone in the village, Esther did not believe
in the goddess’s power. She believed that the legend of the goddess of sand was merely a bedtime story for children, and those who believed in her power were crazy.
CHAPTER TWO
When Esther was a little girl, she wanted to mix with other girls her age, but she was never accepted, and when she grew older, she was the one who didn’t want to socialize or befriend anyone. They all seemed simpleminded to her, and all they cared about in life was how to survive and see the next dawn. Since her childhood, everyone in the village thought she was crazy, and they all knew about her weird dreams. The people had tried to banish her from the village because they believed she was cursed and would bring calamity to the community, but her mother had begged them to leave her daughter alone and assured them that she would not cause any issues. Esther was always terrified of sleeping because she had the same dream every night, over and over. She saw a woman in her dreams who was beautiful but scary at the same time. The woman glowed with light, and she only said one thing to Esther in her dreams: “Set me free, please.” And as soon as she wanted to ask her who she was and how to set her free, the woman disappeared, and she woke up. There was a horror in her voice and a plea in her eyes that haunted Esther every night, and she was confident her dreams meant something, but she had not found an answer for them for years, and she blamed the village for that. She wanted to flee the desert to experience a new world, and maybe then she could figure out the reason for her dreams.
One hot summer night, Esther went to the palace again. She had explored every corner of the palace, and she had one favorite spot for herself. She lay down on the sands and closed her eyes. The heat of the sands on her back was pleasant, and she could stay there for hours. I wish I could have seen this place before its destruction. It was probably glorious and majestic, with so many fountains and gardens, she thought. She always felt at peace in the palace, and the silence in the desert had created a glorious night. She was almost falling asleep when she suddenly heard a loud noise and saw a very bright light. She could barely open her eyes, but when she could finally open them, she saw a woman standing in front of her, glowing with light. She was the same woman she saw in her dreams every night. The woman had long hair and incisive black eyes. She was tall, and her body was glowing in the darkness of the night. Although she was beautiful, something was frightening about her face, and for a few seconds, Esther thought the woman was going to kill her. She could not think of anything at that moment. She could not move, and it was like time had stopped. The woman looked into her eyes and said, “Set me free, please.” She said the same thing she always said in her dreams, but it was even scarier in reality. Esther wanted to ask her how, but she could not even open her mouth; the presence of the woman had paralyzed her. She just stared at her, and within a few seconds, the woman disappeared into the thickness of the night, and everything went back to how it was: the desert, the silence, the darkness.
Her hands were trembling, and her heart was beating fast. She had not dreamed it. The woman in her dreams was real. Maybe a sorcerer has cast a spell over her, and she has been trapped for years, or maybe she is the sorcerer herself, dead for centuries, and needs a human sacrifice to return to life, Esther thought, and she was eager more than ever to leave Aseeta and look for the woman, so no power in the world could keep her in the village anymore. She could feel something extraordinary waiting for her, and all she had to do was open the gate and step inside.
She was so excited that night that she could barely sleep. What happened to her in the deserted palace was the most exhilarating incident of her whole life, and she could not stop thinking about it. She went to the ruins several times after that night, hoping to see the woman again, but she did not show up. She had so many questions to ask her, and she had promised herself to stay strong and not be intimidated by her presence anymore. Esther had to know who she was and why she showed up in her dreams every night. One night, when she was in the ruins again, lying on the sands and watching the stars, something extraordinary happened. The stars were moving around fast, and in just a few seconds, the face of a woman was shaped in the sky. Everything was magical. It was the most beautiful thing Esther had ever seen in her life. The stars were bright and shiny and the whole area was lit up. She did not know who that face belonged to, but it was peaceful, and it resonated with her. She was certain it was the goddess of sand, sending her signs and assuring her that leaving Aseeta was the right thing to do. She was determined in her decision, but she did not want to tell her mother about it. She would disagree and stop her, and she would watch out for her every minute of every day if she knew what she had in mind. Esther decided to wait and tolerate the boring life in Aseeta for a bit longer until it was the perfect time to leave. Besides, she did not want to leave in the extreme heat of summer. She would not survive even a day in the desert in the middle of summer, so she waited until it got cooler. Even in the fall, the desert was still harsh, and the chance of survival was slim, but she could not wait any longer.
The day of departure finally came, and she knew her mother was busy that day. It was the day all the women in the village gathered together and baked traditional bread. It was a gesture of welcoming fall and thanking the goddess of sand for the summer to end. She felt guilty for leaving her mother, but she was certain she would forgive her someday. Life could be so simple in Aseeta, but she was not the type of girl to settle for a normal life. She could marry a young man in the village, have children, and have a life like her mother and other women in the village, but that was not what she wanted in life. Above all, how could she ignore her dreams and forget about that woman? She was calling on her, and she had no choice but to follow.
When she left, it was just getting dark, and she walked the whole night because she knew the day’s extreme heat would make it almost impossible to walk. When the first rays of sun touched her face, she knew she had to stop. She was exhausted, and she had no energy to continue, so she decided to make a small refuge to keep herself safe from the heat.
Five days passed without seeing a single soul, and her stash of food was running out. She was thirsty and tired, she could hardly move her feet, and she constantly rubbed her cracked lips together. She was unsure if she could continue anymore; she needed to rest for a while, but it was too hot, and as her eyes were being closed,
she saw a pond in the distance, or maybe it was a mirage. It would be a shame to die out of thirst so close to a pond, she thought, so she pulled together all the strength in her body and moved her feet, one step at a time, until she got closer. Luckily for her, it was not a mirage. There was a pond there in the middle of the desert, and a tree. She quenched her thirst and decided to lie down under the shade. Soon, her eyes closed, and there was another dream again. She was in a place she had never seen in her life before. There were giant trees everywhere, and everything was green and lush. Birds were singing, and the sound of the river flowing was soothing, but everything changed in a second. The sky became dark, the leaves of the trees started falling, and she heard a screech in the distance. When she woke up, she was wet with sweat. It was only a dream, but it felt so real to Esther. When she was in Aseeta, she had only one dream, and that was of the woman who asked for her help. It was the first time she had a different dream, and she was sure it was somehow related to her journey. She took off her clothes to take a bath in the pond. She needed to relax after that horrific dream and all she had gone through in the past several days. She missed her mother and the touch of her hand on her hair. However, despite all the hardships, she had no intention of going back, and she was even more persistent. As she was swimming in the pond, she heard someone behind her.
