No one in the village had seen the stars for a hundred years, until the night Charlie disappeared. Charlie, the white maiden, the last survivor of the Isadar clan, the experts in time.
-Can a man interrupt the rest of his wife and son?
-Well, the son seems to be playing matkot in the womb of the wife who can't rest.
-You tire yourself out during those long sessions of Yeeutz.
-Tola, the Eyes and Voices are restless, something very dark, very terrible is looming over Pasan.
-Do you think I don't know, Semida? I've been trying to stop it for weeks; I search the Socá, but it's in vain.
-The sacred book...
-Yes, the book of prophecy, of the cursed time that comes when the people lose their purpose.
-Do you really think all this is our fault, that we brought it on?
-The light and wisdom were given to our clan to keep them safe from His gaze.
-You will be one people. A bond of refined gold between you. A common spirit, a common effort, a common action. Each one seeking the good of the link that joins them to the right and to the left without looking out for themselves. That was what we were commanded to do.
-But that is no longer the case. We have been wise in our own judgment, using the power of the stars to distribute prosperity, power, and authority without balance, without justice.
-Tola, we wanted the best for them.
-"The best" was already achieved in unity, in equality. Now we have broken the balance, and the fire of our ambition has betrayed us. But we can still fix it, no matter what it costs.
-You know I'll support you. What do you want me to do?
-You are our komeret, gather the leaders, the Eyes and the Voices, I will summon my Hands.
-The Hands... I don't know...
-Trust me, Semida, go.
The creature with silver hair and eyelashes had violet eyes like no one had ever seen before; she was strange.
Not as strange, of course, as the celestial phenomenon that followed her birth. The stars faded from east to west until none remained; a calamity the entire village lamented because "the stars were so beautiful."
Furthermore, the wise men studied them to know what should be done in the present and what the future would bring.
In any case, the wise men were no longer there; they disappeared without a trace, without warning; of all her people, only she remained. But she said nothing; she just existed, and that didn't help much.
They took a while to notice other changes. Time didn't seem to pass as it always did. The seasons passed, the crops ripened, and the children reached youth; however, once they became adults, they no longer aged at the same rate.
Only in leap years did time run the same way for everyone, even for Charlie, who slept from the first sunrise of the first day until the last night of that year.
-Not that, there must be another solution.
-Semira, we talked about saving all of Pasan. We knew the price would be high.
-I will not give up my son, Tola. You are my beloved and my lord. Ask me for anything else, anything, but I will not let your Hands come near my womb. I will not give him up to save the rest of the people.
-He is also my son, my firstborn, but each of us thinking of ourselves is what brought us here. If we want to stop the curse, we must put an end to that attitude. -I apologize for intervening, my lords. As leader of the Hands, I would like to reveal something to you regarding your daughter's future.
-Daughter, so is it a girl?
-Speak, Yashuv, calm our hearts.
-The child will live longer than all of us. Her years will be long, her youth eternal, and theirs too.
-So I will watch her grow by my side, comb her hair?
-You will not be able to, Komeret, because for her and the people to live, the child will be sealed with the essence of our entire clan.
-Are you speaking of pouring ourselves into her, radiating our power from her, giving Pasan a chance at redemption?
-My daughter turned into a talisman to keep them safe... for how long?
-The Eyes have seen the time of our strength; it is already marked, but the hour will take.
-Our strength, you say? We are wise, not warriors.
-There are many ways to fight a battle. When they are ready, we will return.
-The Voices speak about our daughter; her name will be Charlie; it means strong and free in a future language.
-My lord speaks the truth. There will be no darkness in it; it will be the veil of light that separates them from the gaze and power of the High Ones, from their punishment.
-The Isadar clan will not be among them to guide their destinies. How will they learn to do the right thing, how will they find the ancient paths?
-Do not fear, Semira, wisdom will flow from our daughter. They will not know it, but they will be guided to the truth all the time. Their eyes will be opened, and they will see the path.
-Let us trust that Charlie will provide them with enough time to follow him, and the ancient pact will be reestablished between them.
-One spirit, one effort, one action.
-That's it, komeret. Does that mean she's ready?
One hundred years had passed among the inhabitants of Pasan.
Their weariness with big cities and glitter had driven them back to the fields, to cultivating the land and raising livestock, to the singing of birds and trees.
They worked together, each according to their talent and ability, and men, women, children, and the elderly ate from the common pot.
They celebrated their feasts under flowery arbors on the riverbanks. They laughed and danced, linked like chains, in one spirit...
That night, the torches went out in a cool gust, and the stars began to appear little by little in the sky, from west to east.
Instinctively, they looked around for Charlie; they didn't see her.
From somewhere in the distance, the shouts of the crowd approached, voices of prayer and battle.
Isadar was returning to fight for his people.
This post was written without the use of AI. The image was generated in the Luzia app, and the banner was designed in Canva.