Talisman

I hurried to the door of the first shop I could find- an ominous, black door, suggestive of foreboding. It was pouring icy torrents of rain, and I couldn't fall ill in the middle of my tests. So, rather apprehensively, I pushed open the door, only to find a gloomy, dismal room, with a stooping figure standing in the corner.
Immediately uncomfortable, much to my distaste, I looked awkwardly about. It wasn't in my nature to feel uneasy or tense in sudden, arbitrary situations. Perhaps it was the shadowed room, or the strange artifacts that lined the cracked, peeling walls, or the covert woman making her way towards my trembling form.
Suddenly terrified, I turned to open the door. However, it refused to carry out my escape- it was locked, despite the fact that no one had locked it.

The woman's eyes were enigmatic and gleaming. They shone like stars against the dark walls- very hypnotizing stars. Unwittingly, I found myself walking, as though in a trance, towards the counter. With a withered hand, she showed me all her displays- beautiful but perplexing pendants. My glazed eyes caught sight of one, and I picked it up. Despite the glacial atmosphere, the locket was uncannily warm- warmer than my skin.
'You like it?'
The rasping voice of the woman reached my ears, and I flinched. She shook her head free of the cloak, and stared at me. I realized that despite her bent stature, her face was surprisingly youthful and calculating. It took a moment to compose myself.
'Yes. It's... beautiful. How much is it for?'
Her eyes were so bright I could almost catch fire dancing in them.
'Such a talisman has no price- yet its worth equals the power of the universe.'
I looked at her in bewilderment. Such profound words were unintelligible to me. Also, the word 'talisman' snapped me awake, and sent shivers down my spine- wasn't a talisman a charm thought to carry good luck?
'What is your name?,' she whispered, gingerly lifting the locket.
'I- my name is Leyla,' I mumbled incoherently.
I fingered the pendant, and put it around my neck. It was exceedingly heavy, and seemed to be made of pure silver, studded with opalescent jewels. Convoluted designs were carved into its surface- continuing to spiral inwards, never seeming to end.
But the sensation of wearing it overpowered its sight. I immediately felt better- I perceived everything in alarmingly sharp focus, and my head felt lighter. I decided to overlook the menacing ringing in my ears.

The woman, whom I had fleetingly forgotten about, came into view once more. Her eyes really were entrancing- they were beyond words. They defined mysterious beauty. I couldn't tell which color they were-much the same way we can't analyze the precise shade of the sun when it shines down on earth.
But then I saw something that made me go deathly pale. Her eyes that had been flashing like lamplights, suddenly glinted purple- a beautiful, but chilling, shade of purple.
Her eyes told me that I had played right into the hands of a sorceress.

She came towards me, took my smooth hands in her wrinkled, and murmured.
'Take it. Take it for free. You do not understand the value of this talisman.'
Her eyes cast a sinister glow on her young face. I found myself believing her. I braced myself for her next words.
'It is magic'
Frightened out of my wits, I ran to the door- the ominous, black door. But the sorceress' voice stopped me abruptly.
'Remember- I am a sorceress of the cosmos. I embody the power of the universe. Perhaps that will help you realize the might of this charm.'
I glanced at the talisman- with its queer aura of secrecy- and left the shop without further thought, back into the rain.


For the following few days, I could only concentrate on determining the power of the locket. It didn't impart any intelligence to my mind, since I found my tests as hard as ever. It didn't have the ability to read people, or to teleport. As far as I knew, it had no power at all. The only change was that I could finally abandon my glasses.
Yet, it felt honorable to have the silver pendant around my neck- like I had been chosen to decide the fate of the universe. But it never occurred to me to actually look at the night sky- a forgetful action on my part.
I couldn't resist showing the priceless relic to my friend and confidante, Claudia. She seemed indifferent to its beauty, yet she looked at it in awe. She held the pendant in her palm longer than usual, and appeared quite reluctant to return it to me.
Mildly suspicious, I vowed to keep it extremely secure, and not to disclose its apparent power to anyone. I was opposed to taking it off, as I immediately felt dense and heavy, not to mention vulnerable- or maybe it was my imagination running away with me. I was also beginning to feel incredibly paranoid- the imposing and fearsome sorceress had entrusted the talisman with me, and I was afraid of misplacing it.

I was walking in a crowded street with Claudia. There was a flurry of movement on all sides.
'Come on,' I muttered to her. 'Let's leave. Now.'
She gave me a tight-lipped nod. 'It's too clustered to walk together. We'll rendezvous at that terrace cafe over there.' She gestured to a bright, cheerful restaurant.
Instantly agreeing, I forced my way through the multitude of people with considerable trouble. Once out of the mass of hurried movement, I heaved a sigh of relief, and instinctively felt around my neck for the silver chain of the locket.
I felt nothing.

For the next few days, I could only lament and grieve. I was shocked by my carelessness- that something secure and steady around my person could have disappeared, especially without my knowledge! I was too miserable to begin a search for it, and too appalled by my remissness to even question its whereabouts. I had misplaced an embodiment of the power of the universe, without even knowing what it did. In a way, I had betrayed the trusting sorceress by not living up to her expectations. The thought brought a lump to my throat- one very difficult to get rid of.
At that time, it never occurred to me that it had been stolen.

                                              *                             *                             *

It is not in my nature to steal, especially from a friend. However, some actions are inevitable, and you find yourself implementing them without even thinking about the disadvantages.
In this case, it was a beautiful, daunting pendant. When Leyla had arrived at school, I had noticed a conspicuous difference about her- something which others had seemed to overlook. She almost seemed to glow- her eyes were sparkling and her skin was shining. But more than anything, I could sense a mysterious presence on her. Though I am far from supernatural, I could easily perceive something puzzling, but powerful on her, and was subsequently drawn towards it.
When she showed me the pendant herself, all my doubts were cleared- but still completely unanswered. When I held it in my palm, I could feel the force pulsating under its complicated form. It was a strange and unfamiliar sensation- but not an unwelcome one. When I held it, everything I could see was thrown into shockingly sharp focus, but there was a buzzing in my ears. I could differentiate between each hue I laid eyes on. I was stunned.
Thus, as I said, a small theft from Leyla on a crowded street was quite unavoidable- I wouldn't have done it if the power of the locket hadn't been beckoning to me.
So, my conscience had been clouded with guilt for only a few minutes.

At home, I felt very superior wearing it. My mother had been astonished to see me wearing such an expensive pendant.
'Claudia! Wherever did you get that from?'
'Oh... Leyla recently gifted it to me,' I reply smoothly, though ashamed by the falsehood.
My little sister had begged me to let her wear it, which I refused swiftly. I decided to lock it away, far from prying eyes, and safe from those who longed for it.

The next day at school, Leyla looked thoroughly dispirited and downcast. She barely spoke to anyone, and looked close to bursting into tears. By then, I was almost overwhelmed by shame. She confided her feelings in me after class.
'I lost the talisman... the one the sorceress gave me,' she said, half-whispering, looking down.
'Talisman?' I asked, mystified.
Leyla looked up, and said gloomily 'You know... it's a type of charm thought to bring good luck. It didn't seem to have brought any, in my case.'
It was a lot to absorb in a few minutes- the existence of a real charm and a sorceress. But I was ready to believe such statements.
Though contrite, I couldn't bring myself to tell the truth- I'm not as brave or straightforward as my friend.
'Today was the last test,' I told her, slightly nervous. 'Meet me on the green side of Ruby hill at seven in the evening, and we can finally talk without interruption.'
She agreed and departed.
My invitation had a different motive, though. I would take the talisman with me, drop it into the grass, and exclaim when I saw something glinting in the starlight- loud enough for Leyla to hear.

When I reached home, I first proceeded to the little music box in which I had locked the pendant- a glossy, golden one, with piano pieces of Mozart pouring out. I rummaged for the key among a pile of clothes, opened the box, and put the locket lovingly around my neck. The remorse and self-reproach that had muddled my train of thought vanished.
Leaving a note for my mother, I crept out into the night, still slightly damp from the week's torrential downpours, and set out to Ruby hill.

                                             *                            *                            *

Being a sorceress of the cosmos, naturally life on earth wasn't smooth for me. Despite my efforts to assimilate in society, people still eyed me with suspicion, and children evaded me on the streets. So, I had to resort to a tiny, insignificant shop in an alley, rarely leaving, except in disguise. I seldom used my powers to my benefit, and simply sat there, waiting for anyone to relieve me of my boredom and loneliness.
I had embellished the walls with all of the charms I had procured since I was born- they were my life's pride. Being an incarnation of the universe, however neglected, my talismans did the most enthralling things- one could instantaneously teleport someone into the Planet of Burning Ice, or the Diamond Planet, or the Himoko Cloud, or even to the heart of the Largest Quasar Group. Another could transport one across the cosmos with the speed of a Hypervelocity star.
My favorite was the silver locket that I had, unbelievably, given to a girl named Leyla. The power of the charm still astounds me- it made me see the universe in a whole different light, while rooted on earth.
When I had first worn it and then gazed at the stars at night, I had nearly jumped out of my skin. Instead of a black backdrop with a sprinkle of stars, the sky had transformed into a vibrant masterpiece of restless colors- darting from one end to the other.
My intuition had told me I was witnessing the bursting of a massive star, or a supernova, billions of light years away. On the other side, a nebula was slowly beginning to take shape.
Due to the exceptional eyesight the talisman imparted to me, I could observe every little happening within a particular radius.

Needless to say, my sisters unraveled the phenomenal powers of the locket, and promptly decided that they had the claim over it. Though I didn't find it any more exhilarating than the other talismans, their longing to acquire it made it all the more special. I couldn't bear to lose it, for the sheer amount of time that had gone into tracing it, and finally managing to obtain it, was one that could never return.
So, I guarded it jealously, constantly on my guard in case one of my sisters should come back.
And, in a moment of weakness, I had willingly given the priceless, remarkable locket to a girl whom I had never seen before.
However, my motive hadn't been entirely thoughtless. Leyla struck me as an absolutely honest and down to earth person, but there was also something unique about her personality that appealed to me. I couldn't explain it, but I trusted my instincts. Also, parting with the object that had created so much of strife between my closest kinship had been strangely liberating.
But I wanted it back. It was the one object I could taunt my powerful sisters with- the one thing that could get me what I wanted.
By that time, my mind was a confused mixture of complicated emotions running in no distinct direction.

I couldn't resist checking on Leyla to see if she had realized the talisman's potential. For a moment, I wondered where she would be, but then I remembered that I was a sorceress- I could see anything if I tried.
Within a few minutes, I had set off to Ruby hill, effectively disguised as a young girl eager to enjoy a wet, summer evening.

By the time I reached, neither Leyla nor her friend Claudia were present. So I settled back patiently on the dewy grass. I might have dozed off for a few minutes, because when I woke up, both girls had reached. Claudia had the most dumbfounded, amazed look on her face, and Leyla was beginning to look unnerved.
Then something drew me up short- a glint of silver around Claudia's neck. A very familiar glint of silver...
Leyla seemed to have noticed the same, for she gave an angry exclamation, and wrenched the talisman off her neck in fury.
This led to a very heated argument between the two, with Claudia fabricating very clever stories as she spoke- and simultaneously rising in my estimation.  Though cross at both Leyla and Claudia, I couldn't help but watch, amused.
I decided it was time to make my presence known. I stealthily crept out the shadows- a trivial shadow blending in with the darkness.
Something must have given me away, for at that moment Leyla gave a gasp of horror.
'What are you doing here?' she asked, suddenly sounding breathless.
There was no use denying my identity. 'I came for the locket,' I replied calmly. 'You are both unworthy of it. Return it to me. Now.'
Leyla took a step back, and closed her fingers around the pendant. 'No. You gave it me, willingly. You entitled me to it. You said it was an embodiment of the universe, without even telling me what it does. I could think of nothing else when Claudia took it'
She seemed almost apoplectic with rage.
So I had missed out on a crucial trait of Leyla's personality- fierce determination.
Then Claudia piped up. 'I know what it does. The talisman can make you discern space phenomena taking place miles from the earth. No, light years from the earth. It's entrancing.'
Her face suddenly turned dark and disdainful. 'I want it. With meticulous observation and skill, I found out what it does.'
By then, my indignation and rage mirrored- if not surpassed- Leyla's. I turned to Claudia, and spoke in a hushed, quivering voice. 'Do you even know how many months it took for me to find it? Do you know how much I had to beseech and negotiate to acquire it?' I couldn't bring myself to continue.
'Shame,' she sneered, nonchalantly.
Once again, I remembered that I was a sorceress, not a normal girl imploring for a locket. I was over a hundred years old- I had witnessed happenings all over the universe that astronomers couldn't even dream about. And here I was, pleading with two mortal girls- one cold and unfeeling, and the other hotheaded and forceful, for a charm that was rightfully mine.
I was too disgusted with myself to even think about my situation.

My main power as a sorceress was my eyes- compelling and spellbinding. My sisters, Lilith in particular, envied this talent of mine- to bewitch people with a blink of my eyes and a surge of resolution.
I used this little gift to persuade Leyla and Claudia into handing over the talisman to me, without harming either. Lilith constantly accuses me of being soft with lesser beings, but I always take her vacuous remarks with a pinch of salt.
I couldn't relax until the charm was safely within my grip. I debated as to whether I should leave the two girls in their state of oblivion- but turned down the idea. And I couldn't resist seeing their irritation when they saw the talisman in my grasp. So I carefully lifted the spell, and flashed them a triumphant smile.
I was prepared to disappear in a purple haze, when a familiar, commanding and very uninvited sound reverberated across Ruby Hill.
'Give me the locket.'
Lilith's voice echoed, imposing and authoritative. She materialized right in front of me, tall and intimidating.
What a coincidence- I think about her, and she appears before me in the nick of time.
'Give it to me,' she repeats, already sure of her victory- she had cornered me when I was at my most vulnerable. I would never dare to release my powers when before two defenseless, though aggravating, mortals.
But I couldn't bear to see the talisman, my talisman, in her evil clutches.
'You do not understand the value of this locket,' Lilith stated impressively.
Leyla glanced at me questioningly. Hadn't I told her the same thing when she came to my shop? The irony. Lilith is much more powerful than me- she has magic at the tip of her fingers, all at her disposal. Though she looks like an attractive, kind young woman, she's ruthless and cunning.

I was standing- grand and glorious- at the heart of the universe, the silver locket around my neck. I controlled all planetary motions and sidereal movements, the destiny of the cosmos nestled in my hands. My sisters and other relations bowed before me, only to eager to implement my desires, however irrational. I was proud of my identity, not ashamed of it. I exploited my powers to their full extent, instead of hiding them in fear. I was the ruler of the universe, the talisman being my aid.

I snapped awake. The locket was dangling from Lilith's slender finger, and a victorious smile was etched across her face. Leyla and Claudia had backed away, terrified, but too frightened to run.
Lilith disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

I don't know for how long the three of us stood rooted to the spot. It must have been several hours, for I could catch the first rays of sunlight illuminating the grass blades.
I turned to the two girls.
'You're both extremely powerful. You two were the only people in this planet who could sense the power of the locket. I've scoured the entire world, hoping to find someone like me. I finally have. And I desperately need your help. Please.'
I waited with bated breath for them to consider my plea. I couldn't let Lilith get away with this. I had certainly argued with Leyla and Claudia, but we were all united against a common enemy- someone who didn't mind eliminating whoever came in her way. And though I was highly reluctant to admit this- they were powerful beyond doubt. No wonder they had become friends, despite the discrepancies in their characters.
In addition, Lilith had, unknowingly, given me the most important tool I needed- determination.
I was hungry for power.
The locket provided one with exceptionally good eyesight- I had simply been too ignorant to use it. The ringing in the ears kept one from hearing criticism that could hamper their progress. The charm had provided me with everything I needed, but Lilith had realized it first.
I finally understood the true power of the talisman- and I'm going to go after it.