I hold the first book I chose with my left arm. I continue checking the shelves, helping myself with my other hand. There are many interesting things about this place that I can learn just by looking at the covers of the novels. There is everything from clothing, architecture and food to the beauty standards of men and women. I write down several new words on my phone to look up later. I want to understand as much as I can about what surrounds me.

I move the spines of several books to see their covers. Suddenly, I come across an unusual drawing that immediately catches my attention. These are three concentric circles full of symbols. Some are similar to small snakes whose body forms a complex knot. Others look like letters from an ancient alphabet that I don't know how to read. But the ones in the center make me feel uneasy. They look like elephant tusks with dragons inside.

"How is this possible?" I whisper, mouth open.

The drawings on the doors of the temple of Gildestrale, which are embroidered on our battle clothing, are almost identical to those in this book. My heart starts beating very fast. A chill makes my hair stand on end. Do they also know the goddess in this place? Where is her sanctuary? Are there warriors here? How are they identified? Will they know any way I can return to my town? Without paying attention to the title or the description on the back, I take the book with me. I'm going to read it in its entirety as soon as I get to my caregiver's house.

"Olivia! Is it really you!?"

A girl's excited voice brings me back to reality. Without waiting for me to give her an answer, she takes my right hand and squeezes it tightly in hers. The movement happens so fast that I can't move away. In that moment, everything around me spins. I can't even turn my head to see her face. I inhale hard through my mouth and my knees give out. When I stagger, she frees my hand and wraps both arms around my torso to prevent me from falling to the ground.

"Are you OK? Forgive me if I scared you. It wasn't my intention," she says, embarrassed.

I separate my lips, but I am not able to speak. I feel like I need much more air in my lungs than the one I can inhale. The girl has no idea what her actions triggered. The number of images, sounds and aromas that I suddenly received in my brain is immense. From Annette I had only gotten a few scraps of memories at a time. It all came down to the specific moment she was evoking by touching me.

What happened with this girl shattered what I thought I knew until now about this unexpected ability that I now possess. I couldn't even put a figure on the number of memories she just transmitted to me. It's like this girl has conjured up a lifetime of being together while holding my hand. But there is something even more shocking than that in itself. The intensity of the feelings I am experiencing is overwhelming. A few seconds holding her hand were enough for a torrent of emotions to flood my system.

When I can finally turn to see her face, tears come to my eyes involuntarily. Her mahogany curls frame a brown face full of kindness. Her name is Julie, I know it without having to ask her. I called her name many times in different scenarios of memories. Now I can associate her face with the photographs on the wall of my room. She appears in almost all of them. The feeling that I have spent almost my entire existence close to her shakes the foundations of my mind.

Looking into her eyes feels like I have Katia, my sister, back. I feel that same kind of affection and I don't really know what to do with it. How can I feel affection for someone I'm just seeing for the first time? I never thought that memories could bring with them such strong feelings as well. I swallow slowly. Pretending that I don't recognize her would be absurd, since her face is burned into my brain. I've seen every possible emotion reflected there. Furthermore, this enormous affection that I feel needs to come out, so I hug her without hesitation. When she reciprocates, soft sobs escape my mouth.

"Oh, Livi, you don't know how much I missed you," she says quietly.

I nod my head and touch my chest to let her know that I missed her too. I don't stop to think about the fact that it is impossible to miss someone you don't know. Right now, none of that matters to me. I just allow myself to feel fully and act accordingly.

"Since the horrible day you disappeared, I haven't stopped looking for you. I almost went crazy! Thinking that I might never see you again broke my heart. Still, I didn't give up. I knew you were alive."

Gently, Julie slides her thumbs across my face to dry my cheeks. Her eyes look glassy, ​​but she doesn't allow the tears to fall. She gives me a sweet smile and scratches her nose.

"As soon as I found out that you were finally out of the hospital, I couldn't wait to go visit you. But your mom asked me to wait a little because you weren't quite well yet."

"I slept a lot; did you know that?" I clear my throat. "But I'm better now."

"That makes me happy as you have no idea! You're here, Livi!" She strokes my hair with her fingers. "Why didn't your mom tell me I could come see you now? She's going to listen to me as soon as she's in front of me!"

Her arms hug me tightly and the lump in my throat grows. I remember our smiles blowing out colorful candles on the cakes for our respective birthdays. I see the concentration on both our faces as we study together for the exams. I also remember the dances and parties with some other friends we have in common. I keep in mind each of our trips during the holidays. When something went wrong, Julie was always there to comfort me. She celebrated my triumphs and helped me get up after my failures.

I don't know how many days and nights of our coexistence are now lodged in my mind in the form of pleasant memories. A friendship of so many years left an indelible mark on her memory and is already doing so on mine as well. The warmth of her embrace is as comforting as the warmth of Annette's hugs. The sadness and loneliness I felt when I arrived at this place are slowly fading away. Whether it makes sense or not, turning away from Julie is not an option.

"Would you like to come to my house?" I ask, excited.

I don't know how much longer my stay here will last, but I'm starting to think that fitting in might be part of Gildestrale's plans. Therefore, I don't see any compelling reasons not to allow myself to have some friends.

"Of course! I'll call mom to let her know. Give me a second."

"Sure! While you talk to her, I'm going to pay."

When her back is turned to me, I walk over to where the cashier is. I put the two books on the counter and take out the bill Annette gave me. After charging me, the employee hands me my purchase along with the change. At that moment, Julie approaches me and takes a look at the covers of the novels.

"Really, Livi? I mean, you, reading? Science fiction and history?" She frowns and then snorts. "I never thought my eyes would witness this."

"Does it seem so strange to you?"

"You keep a lot of books on the bookshelf in your room, but I have never understood why. You never touch them. And now you suddenly want to be a reader? This is unexpected. I think seeing the Northern Lights from Cancun would be more likely than finding Olivia Duncan reading more than ten lines in a row."

Julie laughs shamelessly. Hearing her laugh is so funny that I can't help but be infected. Between jokes and grimaces, we headed towards the exit of the store.

"People can change, right? I want to try what it feels like to be a reader. Mom loves it. I think it might be fun to try if I'm the one who chooses which stories to read. Doing it when it is not an obligation may be the key to truly enjoying it, don't you think?"

"Of course, I'm not saying it's going to be something unpleasant. It's just that at no time had you shown any interest in it."

"It's never too late to try new things. Or maybe I'm behaving strangely because I'm an automaton that looks like your friend and was designed to kill. Or maybe some alien creatures sent me from another dimension as part of their crazy experiments. Or I may be possessed by an evil entity that seeks to dominate the masses.

"What the hell did you smoke, Livi!?" She arches an eyebrow. "I love it!"

The high volume of her laughter attracts people's gazes. That attention only makes her laugh harder. Her cheeks turn red and she doubles over, which is really fun to watch. My laughter soon echoes again along with hers.

"Too much free time and a good imagination give those results," I say.

I watched a lot of movies, series, documentaries and videos while I was confined at home to recover. Telling Julie part of the plots of some of those stories is what I just did. However, there is still a touch of reality behind my words. The part where I come from another dimension makes more and more sense to me. Although I have no idea how it could have happened or why, it is one of the most reasonable theories I have found to explain my particular situation. I need to investigate more by all means possible. This is precisely why I must start reading.

"With so many ideas, maybe one day you will create something that makes you famous." Julie pats me on the back. "You could try writing stories and selling them on Amazon. Many people who started like this are now very recognized worldwide. They could adapt your novels to television or movies. Can you imagine it?"

"Hey! Don't go so fast! I have never written anything that is not a school assignment and you are already seeing me as a literary celebrity."

"You have to dream big; don't you think?"

I frown and shake my head, but I smile. We reached the crosswalk at that moment. Before we go to the other side of the street, Annette sees us from there. She raises her hand and waves to greet us. The upward curvature of her lips radiates joy. When the traffic light changes, we start moving forward. Several people walk next to us, while others go in the opposite direction. I don't stop to look at them, since I'm paying attention to Julie. Despite this, the unexpected collision of my left palm with that of another person shocks me.

A sudden burst of energy hits all my nerve endings. My hair stands on end and the rapid beating of my heart hammers my chest. Suddenly, I feel like running, jumping, swimming, climbing trees and mountains. It is an urgent need to use every muscle in my anatomy in a thousand ways until I fall from exhaustion. I rub my arms quickly in an effort to calm a little the urge to move. Unfortunately, that has no effect on me. On the contrary, I am even more stressed.

I purse my lips to keep from screaming. What could I do without alarming anyone? If I start running for no reason, it would surely worry Annette and Julie. If I start jumping up and down, I'd draw too much attention. I think that clapping quickly might help, so I clap my hands a couple of times. To my surprise, the chaos in my body calms down instantly. It's like you pressed the off button on a machine. I stare at my hands, mouth open. Is this another new skill I didn't know I had?

"Livi, is something wrong with you?" my friend asks.

"I think my pressure has gone down a little. I was a bit cold, but it wasn't serious. I'm over it," I reply and try to smile.

"Let's suppose I believe you," she answers, narrowing her eyes. "But next time, let your face know, eh? You don't look good."

"Seriously, it's nothing."

Julie gives me a warning look and shakes her head. Am I that bad at lying? I guess so. Still, I try to ignore her gesture. When we finally reach the sidewalk, I turn to look the other way. The stress I just experienced clouded my senses. I couldn't stop to see who owned the hand that collided with my palm. I take a quick look at the people around me, but I don't notice anything out of the ordinary about any of them. No one seems to have fainted, as Annette did. Without a clear sign to guide me, I will probably never know who I accidentally took that energy from.

"Julie! Nice to see you!" my caregiver says, excited.

"I'm glad to see you too, but I would have been happier if you had told me that I could see Olivia too. Why didn't you tell me!?" Julie exclaims and crosses her arms.

"Everything has a reasonable explanation. Listen..."

While they argue about me, I take the opportunity to continue observing people. Many move quickly, others go slowly browsing the shop windows. But I don't detect tiredness, dizziness or anything like that in any of the men and women I look at. After a couple of minutes, I release a frustrated huff, because there is no point in insisting. Even though I'm having a hard time concentrating right now, I try to join the conversation. Maybe it will do me good to forget about the incident.

We continue walking together towards the car. From time to time, I use monosyllables and some short phrases to answer direct questions. This way at least I pretend that I am following the thread of the talk. But the truth is that I can't stop thinking about what happened. My head is a mess. The only clear thing in my mind is that I must get some gloves. I can't continue stealing energy and flooding myself with memories of others every time they touch my palms.

When we get to the spot where Annette parked, Julie opens the passenger door and sits in that spot. For a moment, I am taken aback. I should be the one to go there. It's my mother's car and therefore it's also supposed to be mine in a way. I open my mouth and raise a finger to protest, but my friend is quick to clarify the matter.

"You said your blood pressure had gone down, right? Maybe lying down in the back seat for a while will help you feel better."

Seeing Annette's frown makes me want to hit Julie for insisting on this matter. Why did she have to mention it in front of her? I hate worrying her!

"Is that true, Oli? Do you feel sick?" she asks, looking me up and down.

"It was nothing serious, mom." I give Julie a murderous look. "I only felt a little cold for a moment, but it's gone now."

"Perhaps it didn't seem serious to you, but you know very well that anything that has to do with your health is very important. After everything you've been through, you need to give yourself double the attention. We cannot overlook any detail, no matter how small it may seem."

"But..."

"No complaints! Lie down right now, miss! There are no excuses!"

She raises an eyebrow and puts her arms on her hips. The stern tone when speaking matches her serious face. That body language leaves no room for complaints, as she just said. I bow my head, take a deep breath and count to one hundred. My first impulse is to refuse to obey her. I could ignore her and tell her the truth once and for all. She has no right to order me around! Also, the thing about having low blood pressure was a stupid excuse I made up. However, remembering how good she has been to me since I met her, I don't dare hurt her. She risked her own life to rescue me!

The problem now is actually not her, but me. I'm not used to taking orders from almost anyone. Except when it comes to my superiors in the military, there are no other people who have that degree of authority over me. Even though they could have done it, not even my parents gave me orders. They used to tell me everything politely, as if it were always about doing them favors and not about obeying them. This experience of subjecting myself to a scolding mother is new and strange to me. But whether I like it or not, if I'm going to continue living with Annette, I'll have to accept that this will happen many times. After all, I'm supposed to be her daughter.

"Okay," I mumble.

I open one of the back doors and lie down on my back on the seats. I cross my arms as I huff in annoyance. Looking at the roof of the car is quite boring, so I look away at my hands. I need to distract myself. I take out my phone to listen to music, but put it back. I forgot to bring headphones with me! No! I could be relaxing and stop thinking about how upset I am. To keep my mouth shut is so hard! What a nightmare! Is this what it feels like to be a normal teenager here? Is that what parents are like? Going through this is definitely not something I have missed. In Mánesvart, it would never happen to me. I want to have my freedom back!

"I'm going to schedule a general checkup for you tomorrow," the lady says as she settles into the front seat. "I hope this doesn't happen again, huh? No hiding things from me!"

"Alright."

My muffled voice doesn't betray the confusion inside me. I sigh again and turn to the side. I face the seat. I close my eyes and try to escape reality by remembering my life in Mánesvart. Shortly after, my caregiver starts the engine and puts the car in drive. She and Julie begin a lively conversation in which I have no desire to participate. We go a short distance before the vehicle stops again. It's probably because we're at a traffic light. I pay no heed and continue in my position.

"Did you see that, Annette?"

"What?"

"A strange light moved in front of us, but it is no longer there."

"Oh really? I didn't notice anything."

What my friend said immediately caught my attention. The rhythm of my heartbeat speeds up again. Does that light have something to do with whoever touched my hand recently? I must find out! I turn around and sit up to look out the window.

"Oli, what are you doing?" The lady watches my movements in the rearview mirror. "Lie down again."

"Fine! I just wanted to see what Julie was talking about."

I look around the streets, but there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. I twist my mouth and grumble under my breath. Apparently, once again, I reacted at the wrong time. How frustrating! With resignation, I make a move to lie down again. However, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a slight reddish flash in the distance. I turn my head very quickly towards the back window. In the distance, I see someone walking at a fast pace. They are almost running. They turn the corner before I can get a good look at their features.

Although I couldn't clearly distinguish their features from here, I would say that it was a boy with black hair. There would have been nothing strange about him except for his right hand. Just before I lost sight of him, his fist began to glow. The glow it emitted was identical to that which the Dákamas carry in their bellies. My jaw trembles and my stomach clenches. What the hell was that!? A new fear lodges in my chest. My heart beats so fast it hurts. What if what I saw was really a Dákama? The most dangerous ones acquire so much energy that they manage to invade people's bodies while they are still alive. Oh no!

"Oli, you turned pale and you're shaking..." Annette's voice sounds as shaky as my body is. "Lie down now! I'm going to take you to a clinic right away!"

"Livi, what do you feel?" Julie asks, scared.

"It's nothing," I answer in a whisper.

"If you say that again, I'm going to hit you. You're not fine!" she states, annoyed.

I feel so dizzy that I don't have the strength to resist anything. I slide onto the seat with my eyes closed. I turn to curl up in a corner. For the umpteenth time, I want to cry. The pain in my head is killing me and my saliva tastes like dirt. Despite this, I raise a silent prayer to Gildestrale. Although I'm not sure yet, instinct tells me that there is a big threat running out there. That boy was not normal. If it really has something to do with the Dákamas, I can't sit still. It is my duty and also my desire to fulfill the mission for which the goddess called me. I just hope I'm not too late.