The Legends

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

My name is Natasha. I am a street rat, living in a crowded city. I live in garbage and in the sews. I sustain myself from what other people throw in the garbage. Basically, I am a nobody. Don't bother to find out more about me, because there really is nothing much. I don't have parents or friends. Just a few kindly people give me something to eat, some clothes in winter and sometimes a few cigarettes. Maybe I could consider them as my friends... or maybe not.

Other people make fun of me. Almost everyone wants me out. Almost everyone wants me to vanish from their faces. But where should I go? I run from the sews and hide in a trash dumping area. Then I run from there in an abandoned building and so on.

What do I hate the most? Males, with their desire for sex. I am a sfenist. May that be clear to anyone! Nobody is to touch me. Quite nobody. Even if I am poor, if you are a man and try to touch me, I will kill you. Many guys have tried, with money or with force.

Was I like this? No. I had parents and a house, but one day I lost all. I don't want to talk about that and to remember anything that my life was before. I just focus myself to the world I live now in. For me, the only pleasure I still have, from time to time, is to smoke a cigarette.

This city is dangerous. There are gangs, there are other street rats and... a lot of immigrants. I know how to hide, how to avoid dangers. Keeping distance to everyone is the best solution. I search for good places to sleep during day and I move by night.

Today it is very cold. I found something to eat. Now, to find a shelter. I know an abandoned building with a basement. That should do the work. It is always warmer underground. If I manage to enter there and cover myself with my 3 blankets, it will be better. And this is what I do. I throw my things through a hole inside, then I squeeze in. Good! It really is a bit warmer then outside. Some snow managed to enter here too. Time to see if I can get a few moments of sleep in here. I get in a corner and cover myself with all blankets. What is even better for heat? Paper. I put newspapers beneath my clothes. This should work for a few hours.

After doing this, I take a few unfinished cigarettes from my pocket. I have a lot of them. They are still good for one or two smokes. I fall asleep.

When I wake, it is night outside. I again smoke a few unfinished cigarettes, as I look for a plan. What to do now? I know very well where gangs are now... and don't want to mess with them. Slowly, I pull my bag out and try to squeeze myself through the hole, back to the street.

Once out, I find myself surrounded by a few guys.

"Hey, Hawk, don't you want to play?" says one of them.

"Just look what we found here, Snake!" says the other one.

"Guess we can sell her pretty cheap", says another one.

Oh mine! I am now surrounded by some guys. What are they going to do with me? And how can I get out? I look for a way, but don't see any.

"Do you have a name, bitch?" asks one of them.

I don't answer, just watch them to see a way out.

"She doesn't answer", says someone else.

"What should we do with her?"

One of them, which appears to be their leader, comes to me. He examines me, then hits me on the face. I feel the pain, but don't scream.

"She looks strong", he says. "Not crying, not shouting. She is hiding something".

"Come on, Devil!" says one of the guys. "Let's have fun with her, then we sell her for body parts!"

"If you want to, it's fine", says Devil, which appears to be their boss, "but do it fast!"

Soon, they take me by force to a cornered street, where I can see nobody. It is clear that they want to rape me. Should I cry? That is the worst decision. If I cry and police shows up, they will do the same. It happened... and that's how I became a sfenist. Come on, Natasha, think fast! I have to find a way! I must come with a plan.

I know this place! I did sleep twice here, in the sews. There is a house close to here, with its back door always opened. I know, because their son leaves to get to his girlfriend in night... and he lets the door open. Now, it is my chance!

I hit one of the guys in his organs, then the other one holding me, in his belly. Then, I run. I enter the house and run fast through all the rooms, without knowing which way to go. They come after me. I reach the front door and run, only to see them running after me.

"Get her, Snake!" screams one.

"Hawk, to left! Brick, to right! Snake, follow her! Corner her, guys!" orders Devil. Now, what? They will get me. I run, but one of them is running faster. What to do? As he comes close, I lean down to the ground. He just jumps over and falls on the street. I grab his bag and run in a different direction. But where?

"Get her!" screams the guy down. "She's got my package!"

I run as fast as I can. To left, there are many empty streets. To right, I can get in a crowded place... but when a street rat is followed, it means that it has stolen something... and will be sent to police. The only way out is in front, to a former research facility. That is my way out. People avoid it, because it is said to be haunted. Some say it has radioactive debris. Could be. But, what other option do I have? I tried to enter there. It is full with twisted passages, holes, tunnels and many places to hide. Only that now it is night and I have no way to see.. but they also have no way to see.

So, I enter the ruins. I find a corridor. It is some sort of building, but with its floor partially collapsed. There are holes and cracks everywhere. The only light I have comes from the sky. I also hear them, searching for me. I hear them speaking. Devil says:

"Kill her if necessary, but get me the package!"

Then, with one foot I fall into something. It is a big hole. I hardly grab myself to an object, that is lacking stability and falls. I fall too! I hardly manage to put myself together... but the noise was heard. They will come here.

I light the lighter, to see a bit my way through. I am in some sort of a room, with a door at one end. I open the door and move forward, through some sort of tunnel. Let's make no noise! Gently, I continue, one step after the other, but unable to see anything at all. Everything goes on, until I reach water. From here, the tunnel might be flooded.

I sit down and light the remnants of a cigarette. Now, all I can do is hope. Well, what is in the package? I gently open it. It is a metal container, only that it almost has no weight. I also find some cubes of gold. Wow, that is important! That is why they will keep on searching for me until they will find me. Since the last hyperinflation, people now don't trust any sort of money. They prefer to trade using metals and objects. Today, we call these cubes of metal 'money'. Well, I also find a fresh pack of cigarettes and light one. My lungs are so happy, after smoking only used cigarettes for weeks.

I look at the container. It is about 50 cm long and 20 cm round, but weights only a few grams. It has a sealed metal cover and the seal looks old. With the cigarette in my mouth, I open the seal and remove the cover. Something comes out of it, something that doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. It is some sort of gas, but not a gas. It is glowing green and just comes out from the container. I watch this amazed, as the whole tunnel is illuminated by this thing.

"There she is!" shouts someone at the entrance to this tunnel.

"Get her!"

"You will die. bitch!"

The light in front of me takes the shape of a woman. Well, not quite. She has wings and horns and something like a green fire surrounds it. Watching this, amazed, I take another drag from the cigarette. The bad boys are coming and these are my last moments of freedom. I just give-up myself. Fighting is useless now. The strange hologram completes taking its form.

"Help me!" I say to her, without even knowing what she is.

The guys are close now. I see them in the reflected green light.

"Stop!" shouts the hologram, with a powerful voice. "What is happening?"

"Who are you?" says one of the guys.

She does not look at them, only at me. What amazes me is that she also takes a green cigarette and lights it. Smoke comes out green through her mouth.

"They will kill me!" I whisper.

"What is going on?" says the hologram. "Who are you?"

"Natasha", I say.

"And who are them?" she asks to me.

"I don't know".

"Take her!" shouts Devil, this time very close to me.

Two guys get very close to me and try to grab me, but they simply cannot touch. Their hands are unable to reach me.

"Stop now!" the hologram says. "You released me from my prison", she says to me. "As for them, I see in their eyes what they want. To sell this box and you, after they sleep with you. What you want me to do to them?"

I look shocked. What is going on? Who is the hologram? The two guys, after trying to touch me, give-up and sit down. Snake takes a pistol. Oh no! He targets me. I shout and he shoots... but the bullet remains at 20 cm in front of me. It scares me to death. And in fact, it is death, pointing to me.

"I know what is to be done", says the hologram. "Why don't you sell them?"

"What?" I ask, very scared and unable to understand what is going on.

"People like them don't deserve to live, while people like you don't deserve to die. You will have a better life, like you did have".

"Who are you?" shouts Devil to the hologram, as he lights a cigarette.

The hologram instantly turns towards him.

"Now I can see you. Until now, I could only feel you. How many women have you sold? Ten, a hundred? You know, people like you don't deserve to live".

Devil takes a knife and turns towards the hologram, with much anger. As he touches her, he yells of pain. Each part of his body that touched her, is burned. Black. Carbonized. The hologram moves and touches Devil's body at his genitals. Then, she moves towards the other guys. They try to move, but simply cannot. They are paralyzed and scream. She touches them all at their genitals.

"Now, all these guys will be women. Let's see who will they rape now. Just tell everyone you met The Legend. Run, guys! Run and save your lives, but everyone will laugh at you!"

They abandon their things and run. The hologram then turns to me and says:

"Thank you for setting me free!"

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I was something like you", she says, gently touching my face. I feel her fingers are a bit cold and pass through me. "Take all their things and build a new life. Buy yourself a house, wash, get clothes and find a job. Now, please come with me".

We go through the water. On surface, it is frozen, but I feel no cold. It is like walking in a river in summer. Quite nice. We travel through the tunnel and reach an exit. At that point, she looks at me, gently touches me again and says:

"Once, I lived in the mountains. People like them sold me and killed me. Now, I am back. Take good care of you, Natasha!"

She opens her wings and starts flying. A green trail of fire remains after her. I watch all this, not knowing what to say. She said she is The Legend. Well, she saved my life.

"Thank you!" I shout from where I am.

As she moves away, I feel my feet wet. Oh no! It is freezing outside and I am wet. This is not going to look well. Where can I change? When this happens, I only have one way: to the sews, to where the hot water pipes are located. In order to stay there, you have to pay, but now I have money. So, there is where I go. Then, suddenly, I see a bright light behind me, followed by a powerful sound. A huge explosion in the ruins! When I look. I see a ball of fire rising from the ground and a small and bright green light circling it.

I go to the sews and pay for entry. I know this place well. The 'owner' is a rich street rat. I go to a corner and put my feet on a hot pipe, to dry-up. Then, in morning, I move away and look what I have in all bags. It is just enough to buy a small house in the suburbs and to get a few clothes. My life has changed.

*****************

Everybody in the city has seen the explosion. It was on the news. What nobody could understand, is what actually was the green light circling around. For a few nights, people had seen the same green light moving above the city. Some feared it was a drone, maybe from a rival state wanting to nuke us. I was the only one to know... and I moved to a local television, to confess what happened. I did, but nobody believed me. Still, some people confessed that they have seen her in the coming days, but nobody could take a photo.

About two weeks later, I got a job, as a barman, where I still work today.

*****************

Now it's summer. I am here at the bar, serving clients. A woman comes and takes a seat and lights a cigarette.

"A beer!" she says.

I take a beer and brings to her.

"Natasha?" she says, looking at me.

"How you know that name?" I ask.

People no longer know me as Natasha. I changed my name into Natalia since I changed my life.

"You were in the tunnel", she says. "You stolen my bag. I am Snake... I mean, I was".

I look so shocked at this.

"What happened to you?" I ask shocked.

"The Legend touched us... and we hardly made it back. We were very sick. We had huge pains in our bodies. For a week we screamed and convulsed of pain. Then, we were no longer us. All of us became women in this time".

I also light a cigarette near her. I no longer feel her (or him) as an enemy, but as a friend.

"Without papers, we were simply immigrants. What should we do as girls? Some of us went night to make a robbery, but were caught by others and sold. The others had no other choice but to prostitute. This is what I did until I earned enough money to get a house and find a job. The Legend punished us exactly with what we did to women many times and exactly with what we were going to do to you".

"I am sorry for you", I say.

"No need to be sorry. I got what I deserved. There is only one thing that I don't understand and I will never understand. Who is that Legend? Or, more precisely, what is her?"

"She said she comes from the mountains", I answer.

"From the mountains? We found that container in the ruins", he/she says. "There was a nuclear research facility. Brick picked it up of curiosity".

I never seen The Legend again. I have no idea who she is or what she is. From that moment on, me and Snake became good friends. He is now a woman, but his soul remains that of a man. Even if he is a woman, having a relation with a man is strongly repulsive to him. I understand him very well and I will help him adjust his life as a woman... as a lonely woman, just like me.

The Legends

Chapter 2 - The Woman Soldier

A girl dies and resurrects 80 years later, in a divided world. Each chapter is the story of a person who encountered her, in a different place and a different state. She sometimes helps other people, but nobody knows who she is.

I might had a name once, but now people call me Cat. I am a woman but all my life I wished I were a boy. My father was a war hero, who fought and died on foreign soil. I don't remember anything about my mother, she was killed when I was too young. I still remember things from the front, where I grew-up with my dat. At 10, I got my first kill. That was when the nukes were flying. Then, as I was nearly 20, I had to return home, only that there was no home at that time. Earth map has changed beyond recognition. So, I just stepped into a state that once was a province of a larger empire. There, I became a nobody. Weapons are not for women and women are expected to get married and obey their husbands. Well, not for me. I grew-up among soldiers and all the time I felt like one of them. I feel like a man. I even watched them when they had a pleasant visitor, as they used to call women doing prostitution. I wished I could make love like men do. How could I accept to be married with a man? How could I accept to listen to a man? But, in this new world, you have to do what everyone does. Gay and lesbian people are killed without question.

So, I got married against my will with a guy. He used to get drunk over and over. One day, I could not support this any longer and I killed him. From that moment on, I knew I have to run. So, where to go? I had only one choice. About 50 km from that town, there was a big city once, but it was nuked. Nobody lives there, except for a few outlaws. That was my only chance. I ran away, to save my life.

Now, I have been living in the ruins for 5 years. The bomb exploded 20 years ago. I should be worried about radiation, but what can I do? After all this time, nature started to reclaim the land. The former city is now becoming a forest. I sustain myself by hunting. Sometimes I go out for a robbery, alone or with other people. I always protect women, who have a harsh time in these days. In fact, I am a lesbian, but don't dare to say to anyone.

I managed to survive here and have everything I need, except one thing: smoke. I am a convinced smoker. I started smoking very early on the front, before I even knew how to read. This addiction is beyond my limits and it made me once kill for a pack of cigarettes. I managed to plant tobacco seeds and now I smoke pipe, here, in the ruins.

**************

It is now spring. Good that the winter passed away. It is a cold morning. The campfire at the entrance is smoking its last branches. I get out from my bed, which is just a heap of hay. It is cold, but as a soldier, I have to start the day. I go out, take my old military clothes off. Naked, I wash my self in the icy water of a pond. Then, I dress back. Breakfast is some rabbit meat from my previous hunt. I put some tobacco in my pipe and light it. My lungs are hungry for smoke, more then my stomach was hungry for food. The smoke gets inside me and I feel it.

"Well, Cat, time to put a new trap, to catch something else", I say to myself.

A few days ago I caught a dog, yesterday I got a rabbit. I go out and prepare the trap. Who knows what will this time be. Then, I go back to make fire again, to heat some water. I need to wash some clothes. After washing, I put the clothes on a wire, to dry-up. I light a new pipe and smoke.

Then, I hear something. Gunfire, some dogs barking, then a scream. What is going on? I throw water in the fire and grab my gun. Carefully, I move keeping myself down. I know very well how to hide. People cannot smell, but dogs can. People cannot see you in certain areas. Dogs don't have that good view, but can smell and hear. Once, I hidden from a patrol in a road ditch. They just moved along the road, scanning the horizon for me and had no idea I was near them. I move on a former street. A few abandoned homes are on both sides. Plants have grown all around, even on the road. I lean down on the ground, beneath a big boulder of concrete. My head is behind a bush. I know that dense vegetation can allow me to see them, but not them to see me.

I see them. There are four guys, with dogs. They are after something. Then, I see something else: a woman. She is running, but she really does not know how to hide. She is moving to another street. They see her and run after her. She forces the door of a house, but it's locked. I hear another gunfire. She runs again. This time, she goes to a former supermarket.

I start moving towards her position. She enters. The four men have seen her and they are heading in the same direction. They don't see me.

"What should you do, Cat?" I ask myself. "Should I save her? These guys have weapons, which is a dangerous thing. I might catch them, but they might shoot me as well". I enter the supermarket on a back door. Everything here is a mess. Everything that was food, was long eaten before. But, there still are many useful things. "Wouldn't it be nice to toast some guy eggs?" I say to myself, laughing.

I grab a big cover pot and put it beneath my soldier uniform. This should deflect some bullets. Now, let's go to where the woman should be. If I am right, she would not see the many small holes that can save her. Instead, she will run forward. And yes, I see her.

"Maybe she has something to trade", I say to myself.

She goes forward and... falls into a trap. Someone placed a wire on the ground, to catch an animal. The wire gets around her foot and she falls down. A counterweight falls somewhere and she ends-up hanging above ground and screaming.

I run to her and take my knife. With a jump, I cut the wire.

"Come with me", I say fast.

I take her to one of the many holes that might have saved her life. She is so scared, all sweat and hyperventilating. Oh mine! What should I do now? If she doesn't calm, she will attract the dogs.

"Calm down!" I whisper.

She does not say anything, but doesn't calm down.

"I am Cat", I say. "What's your name?"

"Rosalia", she answers, crying.

"Rosalia, what have you done?" I whisper.

"Nothing", she says, crying.

The four guys are here. They split and search every corner. I know they will come to where we hide. Dogs will find us before.

"I need to know what you really did", I whisper again.

She says nothing. I need a plan. But first, I need to calm a bit.

"Roaslia, do you have a cigarette?" I ask.

"What?" she says surprised.

Well, she does smoke and gives me the whole pack. I grab one and light. This is good and will calm me down.

"Dogs will smell the smoke", she whispers.

"I don't think so", I say.

Well, one guy is closer. I push Rosalia deep into the hole, while I hide close to the exit. He doesn't see us, just passes by. He is more interested in useful things that might be recovered. By the time I finish this cigarette, another guy is coming. It is the one with the gun.

"Get ready, Cat", I whisper.

He comes closer and sees the hole. He pulls his shotgun inside. Then, with one hand I grab it, while with the other hand, I hit his balls. As I grab the gun, a bullet is discharged in the whole and Rosaila shouts.

"Die, infidel!" I scream to him.

He retreats about one meter away. I point the shotgun to him. The other guys come here fast, but the dogs are faster. I shoot one dog and it dies instantly. The other one, just move away. I drop the shotgun back in the hole and take my gun.

"Who wants to get out of this life first?" I ask.

I see that they don't have any other weapons, except a few knives.

"What has she done?" I shout.

"She was caught with another man", says the guy that had the shotgun. "You know the law, she must die".

"If you want her, you have to bargain with me", I say. "What do you give me in exchange?"

Rosalia cries in the back, hearing this. The guys say nothing.

"Yea?" I say. "But her lover got no punishment, I bet".

"He is a man. Men have the right to have extra-marriage relations".

"You know what?" I say. "I think I will make an omelet with all your balls. Wow! Four persons, that means eight eggs. I take your balls and she goes with you. Deal?"

"Damn you, bitch!" shouts one of them.

"Pathetic", I say, spitting on the ground. "Ok. If you have nothing to trade, then I put it simple. I count to 3 and you leave. If not, I kill you. One..."

They don't move. They just don't know what to do.

"Two..."

Then, I shoot the former owner of the shotgun, between his feet. I don't intend to hit his organs, just to graze his skin. He shouts of pain and moves away. They all move away.

"Three!"

I shot again, not with the intention to hit someone. Well, that was enough. They now run like crazy. We get out and head to my hideout. We also take the dog with us, to cook.

"Thank you for saving my life", says Rosalia.

"Yes, I saved your life", I say, "but that's not big deal. Tomorrow, maybe you will save mine".

"Were you really going to bargain me?"

"Yes, if you were guilty of something very bad".

"I didn't cheat my husband", says Rosalia. "That lover went in, but not for me. For Marguerita".

"Another wife?" I ask. "How many does he have?"

"Five", she answers.

Oh mine! This rotten world is really turning upside down. She doesn't say anything, only helps me to raw the skin, take the guts out and make a fire. We are going to eat dog stake today. Then, as we eat, I notice she is not used to this kind of food. She has a strong smell of perfume and expensive clothes. Sure, she comes from a rich family. There is no way she can survive for long here.

Now, what should I do? It is not easy to survive alone in here, but with another mouth to feed, this will be really hard. I advice her to cross the border. It is the only hope she has. I know well how these things work. Some bribery to the customs and all is done. No big deal. I tell her exactly what she needs to go and she leaves, giving me some gold. That is good. I got more then if I would get by selling her. Anyway, I would have sell her only if she did something very bad, like abandoning her children or killing someone helpless.

As evening comes, I make the campfire, close to the entrance door. I eat again, then prepare my pipe for a smoke. It is hard to be completely alone for a long time. So, sometimes I just talk to myself using voice.

"If my father were here, to see what he died for"... "I wish I were a man"... "Someone has to bring justice to this place".

At that moment, I see a green light outside. Or is it a green light? Am I hallucinating? It vanishes almost instantly.

The next day, I go out from my hideout. Not far from here, there is a lake. Once, it was a recreation park, now it is a forest. I often sit here and enjoy the view. Buds are growing in the trees, waiting to become leaves and branches. Flowers are everywhere. A few trees are white or pink because of the many flowers they hold. The fresh green grass is growing under my feet. Birds are singing, undisturbed by anyone. How much beauty does the nature have? How much joy? I watch a squirrel going down from a tree, a few butterflies moving in the sun and the endless insects roaming.

I just take the boots off, to feel the grass with my toes and lean down. I take one cigarette left from Rosalia and light. Smoke gets out in the air. Then, I see something that I never seen before. Above the trees, there is something green flying. And that green thing goes down to the ground. I look closer. It appears to be a human, a green human, but with wings. It looks like a woman. As it gets closer, I see her to have some sort of green fire above her head and surrounding her body. Even more, she has horns. She looks partially like a hologram, partially real. I instantly stand, but don't take a defensive position. She doesn't seem dangerous.

"Cat, don't worry. I am not going to hurt you", she says, with a feminine voice.

I see her closer. She has a short top, a summer skirt and some unusual, transparent shoes. Her hair is green and nearly touches her shoulders. She has green lips, green eyes and green glasses. Oh mine! Is this real or not? I pinch my hand. If this is a dream. I should wake-up.

"Sit down on the grass, I won't hurt you", she says again.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am The Legend", she says, sitting on the grass, near me.

Now, I see her much better. Her body is covered with some sort of pantyhose costume. Her skin is in fact white, perfectly white and glowing. She has green nails and a green necklace. With one hand, she holds a cigarette with green flame. When she smokes, she also puffs green smoke. I sit on the grass near him.

"What legend? Whose legend?" I ask.

"Just like this: The Legend. I seen you saving Rosalia. I seen you saving Esmeralda. You have a good soul, Cat".

"I am not a good person. I killed people".

"Don't worry, some males really deserve to die", she says. "I know you. I can see it in your eyes that you are a soldier and you want to fight for a better future".

"I did fight", I say. "My dad was a soldier too".

"I know. I see in your eyes this. And you would like to fight again".

"Me? But with who and what for?" I ask. "How could I fight? Who will join me? And besides, I am a woman".

"Do you want to be a man?" she asks me.

"I would. But how could that be possible?"

"It is", she says.

As saying so, she touches my body. Well, her hands gets inside me. I feel a gently touch, more like air is flowing over my skin. It is a bit cold. She moves her hands to my breasts. I feel her, working inside them. Then, she moves down to my genitals.

"Don't worry", she says. "Just let me. You will become a man in all aspects. The only thing that will not change is your DNA. You will have the DNA of a woman, but with the organs of a man. You will not have the Y chromosome".

"What does that mean?" I ask, feeling her working in my genitals.

"It means that you will be able to have children, but only girls".

"How could that be possible?" I ask, not trusting her.

"In a week, Cat. Just wait a week".

Just as she works on my body, I start feeling some sort of pain in my breasts. What is going on? I take the last drag from my cigarette and throw it away.

"Your transformation will be complete in a week", she says. "Then, you will return to the town and change your life".

After saying this, she opens her wings and starts flying. As she moves away, I notice she also has a tail. Then, I feel the pain increasing in my body. My breasts are hurting. Everything hurts. I try to get back to my hideout... and hardly make it. As I arrive, I throw-up.

"What is this?" I whisper.

But my voice is not that of a woman. It is more that of a man. What??? Am I becoming a man? I hardly make the fire and prepare my bed. Everything hurts in my body.

When I wake-up, I am surprised not to feel my breasts as usually. I take down my soldier jacket and look. Wow! They are separated from my body. Fresh skin has grown beneath them. My former breasts are just pieces of meat covered by skin. I take them out and drop them near me. I continue to feel a lot of pain inside me and I cannot eat anything... but I feel a need to smoke more then usual.

The second day, I notice another change in my body. I feel less pain, but I piss with blood. The 3rd day, I urinate as I should do, even if I feel a lot of pain inside me. My genitals are shrinking and closing. Everything is changing. The fourth day, I have no genitals, just a pee hole. The fifth day, I feel a lot of pain from the area and see something unexpected. Something is growing. I have a small penis, but it hurts me a lot, as it is growing. Also, I start to notice some mustache and beard. It takes me about ten days until I no longer feel any pain at all.

Now I look like a man and feel like one. I have everything a man has. I have no idea who this ghost was, but I know that this changed my life. I return to the town, without any problem. I am a bit shorter and thinner then an average man, but I am going to show them some respect.

Men are treated equal in this land, while women are oppressed.

**************

After I go back to town, I quickly find myself a job, as a bodyguard. I earn money and in a few weeks get a house. Then, in an year, I start my own business, a textile factory. I higher lonely women and pay them equal salaries with men. This is my new fight: to offer an alternative life to women. In fact, they are keeping the factory running and growing, not me. And soon after this, other employers start to higher women, which in many aspects are better then men.

At the factory, a woman comes and asks for a job. Immediately I recognize her. It's Rosalia, the woman I saved. I grant her a job. As time passes, I get in love with her and she with me. Time passes and we form a couple. Then, one day, she says:

"You know, two years ago I was not like that. I was running away and a woman named Cat saved my life".

This makes me laugh.

"What is so funny, Cat?" she asks, not knowing that she is talking to the same person.

"And that woman tried to sell you to her attackers?" I answer.

"Yes. How do you know?"

"She told me", I answer, laughing even more and lighting a cigarette. "Do you want a cigarette, darling?"

"Ok", she says, taking my offer. "But still I don't understand why are you laughing".

"Because you gave me a cigarette back in the abandoned supermarket. Now I give it back to you".

**************

There are a few other people that have seen The Legend flying around. Even Rosalia has seen her in the day I saved her, as she was running to the border. Just over that border, there is an idyllic democracy, where people are equal and where probably nobody is suffering. There, people also have spotted a strange green light in the sky. What amazes me is that The Legend came to me and changed me from a woman to a man. Why did she do this? Why did she help me? There are many sick people in hospitals and on the street and she never came to them. She never talked with anyone else.

The biggest question remains unsolved: Who is she? I think she is a ghost... but the ghost of who?

The Legends

Chapter 3 - The Lonely Woman

A girl dies and is resurrected 80 years later, in a divided world. Her ghostly body has incredible powers, including the power to transform others' bodies. Nobody knows who she is or what her reasons are, except the few that are worth to know the truth.

My name is Astana. I grew-up from a very young age as a library mouse or a book grinder. This is the only thing I knew to do all my life: to learn and to read. I graduated the Literature University with the best marks from all students. This is why I was chosen to world's largest library, known as Byblos. This is where all humanity's knowledge is stored, on the memory of a supercomputer. All books ever wrote, all drawings, all paintings, all sounds, songs and music recordings, all videos, all 3D simulations, all digital articles, everything is stored here. It is an amazing place. Since I got here, nothing else ever matter to me. I work here as much time as I can.

Want to know more about me? There really is nothing. I am about 30 years old, woman, natural black hair, black eyes. I am small and skinny. I never use make-up and never did. I just wear all the time a small white dress and white flip-flops. Nothing else, ever. I eat as fast as I can and always in front of a computer, reading a digital book. I sleep only when I am too tired to do anything. All day, I do nothing then library work, sorting books and other creations. When I am free, I read whatever I find.

I never had a boyfriend, never had a kiss and I never will. I was never interested in anything else then books and other creations. I never had even the slightest sexual desire. I am a perfect asexual. So perfect, that when I was 20, I ordered a medical treatment to stop my genital period forever, to get more time for books. So, my body produces almost no hormones at all.

The library is on a remote and large island in the Arctic Ocean, where climate changes, wars, nukes and tsunamis will never reach. I've never been out from the library and I don't wish to. Since I am here, I am very lonely, but never feel that way. I am friendly with all workers in the library, but usually they leave me alone in my room, in front of my computer. All creations made by humanity are stored on a server that is only the size of a pack of cigarettes. It is amazing what diverted matter can do! It can organize at subatomic level computers and devices that, with conventional matter, will require the size of the Great Pyramid. We also have two backup servers, that store data in case the main server is damaged.

Our library was founded 50 years ago, by one of the former empires, now it is a free state. We get our money from commercial add-ons. Well, that is not my problem. I usually am so focused on what I do, that someone else needs to come, bring me food and clean the room. Usually, nobody disturbs me in the remaining time.

I do have something that many people find strange: I smoke. I started this on my own, when I was in the University. Nobody told me to. It was my personal decision. Since then, I have been smoking almost only slim cigarettes. All day long, as I sit in front of my computer and work or read, I have a slim cigarette in my mouth or in my hand. Those who bring me food, also bring me what I need to smoke. When I finish one, it doesn't take more then five minutes and I light another one.

On rare occasions, people come to me, usually for help, to find something or to find their ways in life. I am friendly to them and try to help, even if this means I need to stop my work. Usually, they come to me when they exhausted all other options. I can spend a whole day trying to help someone, but this happens usually once in a few weeks. All the rest of time, I spend alone. Anyway, given how difficult is to reach the Arctic islands, not many people dare to go here. If you want to talk to me, I don't accept an internet account. Come here and see me face to face.

To increase my working power, I made many brain implants. I have a lot of computer hardware in me. This does not affect my personality, but increases my brain power and memory storage. Sometimes, I disconnect the add-ons, to remember how it is to be human.

***********

Today, I finished my work, sorting music that computer automated systems could not sort. I finished my work and take a fast look to see what is going on in the world. I read the news. All looks ok to me. I light a cigarette and read about the human colonies that rich people are building in the Solar System. Rich people are going away, letting all of us here. Maybe the world will be safer without them.

I see a strange green light in the room. I look and something is entering through the wall. Some sort of hologram, but it doesn't look like one. I got it! Diverted matter, the only thing that can do such a thing. I see the silhouette of a woman around 20 years old. She is all green, dressed with a short blouse and a skirt. She has green hair, horns and wings. Around her and above her head, I see some sort of green fire. As she comes closer to me, I see that all her body, except for the hands and the head, is covered with a fine textured tight body suit, partially transparent, that resembles pantyhose. Her skin is in fact white, glowing. She has green lipstick and green eyes. She has green, transparent shoes with high heels, but she seems to be more flying then walking. And all the time, she wears a green cigarette and is smoking. Smoke is also green and glowing.

"If you are a hologram, I will not answer to you", I say. "Come directly yourself and talk to me".

"Astana", she says, "I need your help".

She comes and touches me on a shoulder. I feel her touch. It is a bit cold and her hands get inside me. No hologram can do that.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am The Legend", she says.

I immediately check on my computer. I've seen in the news, rumors about a flying green object. Some people say it is an alien, others say it is a goddess from the past, a ghost, a hologram or a drone. Is she really the legend?

"Prove me that you are not a hologram", I say. "If you really are The Legend, you can do things no hologram can do. Take a cigarette from my pack!"

I see the pack opening and a cigarette coming out in the air. Then, my lighter moves and lights it. Then, the cigarette goes to my hand and sticks between two fingers, at my hand.

"Is that prove enough?" she asks.

"Yes, it is", I say. "How did you find me?"

"I've seen a guy working on a computer and saying that you have all the knowledge in the world at your disposal. So, I came to you".

"In fact, not me. The library has all this".

I am still in very amazed of this. I did read books and articles about ghosts and spirits. It is not that I don't believe them or I do. As long as there is not a clear scientific prove, I question these things until further research is done. But now, seeing this creature near me, is really shocking. Anyway, I am not afraid. She doesn't seem scary at all.

I look at her, taking the newly lighted cigarette to my mouth and inhaling. I touch her and feel her body. It is like touching a cloud of smoke, only that it does not move. My hand gets inside her body. Inside, I feel a little cold. I even blow smoke to her and see it is going through her body, even if somehow it is slowed down. In a form, diverted matter interacts with conventional matter. Seeing this, she also blows a cloud of smoke to me... and I feel it, a bit cold, as it passes through my body and vanishes.

I feel a bit when touching her. It is amazing. I touch her arms, her feet, then even the green fire above her head. It is not a fire, actually it is cold.

"Do you know what happened to me?" she asks.

"It appears you are made of diverted matter", I say, still very amazed. "It is the form of matter that remains when you extract almost all energy from conventional matter. It only has one trillionth the energy left. Diverted matter can be found in tiny amounts around plasma, like fires, but in far larger amounts in the cores of stars, in neutron stars and around black holes".

"That is what I am made of?" she asks.

"I think so", I answer. "Nothing else can work like this. Diverted matter is almost weightless and can organize in incredibly complex structures".

"I was a girl".

She was a human? What is this?

"And how did you become like this?" I ask.

"Astana, please, I am not ready to tell you all. In fact, I don't remember everything. I was a girl, in the mountains. I was kidnapped... then raped, tortured"...

She makes a break. I understand it is hard for her to say.

"Don't, if you feel you cannot say more", I say. "Just tell me what you feel you can say".

"They almost killed me!"

I try to touch her, to help, but how can you touch diverted matter? She is shaking and I see tears in her eyes. She takes a puff from her cigarette, then says:

"Then, they took me to other guys".

She takes another inhale and lets a cloud of smoke out through her green lips.

"Those guys started to do strange things on me. They pierced me with needles. I don't know what for. They injected a lot of glowing staff in me. They pierced me from one side to the other, not caring that it was so painful. There was a lot of machinery, a lot of computers around. Some people looked like scientists, but a few... well a few, looked like drug dealers. I don't know, Astana, what they did to me".

I look at her, thinking about what can that be. She then says:

"I am sorry, I cannot say more. After that, I don't remember clearly what happened to me. I remember being in something like a big jar, while other people were looking at me and talking about me. All is scrambled in my mind. I remember that I waked-up in a small container, where I was held tight. I think I stayed for years in there, until a street girl opened it".

"Poor little you", I say.

As I say this, I take a last drag from my cigarette and put it in the ashtray. She moves at some distance from me and seem to not see me clearly. I light another slim cigarette, as she comes back to where she were. How that she is connected with smoking like this?

"Since then, I traveled through many places. It seems I know all languages and a lot of science, even if I never were good at school. I have strange powers and from the moment I left the container, I knew how to use them. It is like I was trained for something. I don't know for what. I know that my name is The Legend, but I remember my name to be a different one".

I show her a research paper on the computer, with what I think might happened to her.

"Look at this", I say. "Robots of diverted matter. During the Debt Crisis, there was a secret research facility in what is now The Free State Of Lijiang. They tried to make spying robots of diverted matter, but failed, because nobody could organize a computer so powerful to handle the complex structure diverted matter has. Later, they experimented with humans, trying to copy the brains into diverted matter. The experiments failed, because, no matter what they tried, they could not counter desires and addictions from humans. They thought that the human soul gets trapped into diverted matter, just like in conventional matter. The experiments were brutal and only a few survived in thousands of people. However, all was lost during the Environmental Crisis. If this is what happened to you, it means you are very old, maybe over 50 years".

She reads the article and looks very surprised.

"My memories are really scrambled", she says. "I remember the faces of my parents, but I have no idea where I lived. Only that it is in the mountains. What I do remember is that I have a name and that name is Abidet".

"Well, that can help", I say, searching on the computer, on People Database. "Abidet is used by a hundred of thousand people. Almost all speak the same language and are located mainly in two places, two free states in the Land Of Mountains. But, I cannot find out who is you... or who of them were you. Do you remember anything else, like an important event in your childhood?"

"Not much", she says. "I do!" she then says, surprised. "I remember I went with my parents to Mecca and just at that time a terrorist attack blown the airport and closed all planes. We had to travel by bus to another city and take an airplane from there".

I search a few minute and find it.

"Good, Abidet, this is really helpful", I say, searching through the data. "Here you are! That occurred exactly 88 years ago. Can you remember how old were you at that time?"

"I think I was between 10 and 15, don't know exactly", she says. Well, I know I am 17... or I were. I also remember a big earthquake that made a big dam collapse. I seen it on the news. I had that in my mind, when I was kidnapped".

"Have you any idea where?" I ask her.

"It was on TV. I don't know. It flooded a big city, with sky-scrappers".

I search the data. What major events occurred in the coming years after the terrorist attack in Mecca airport? As I finish my cigarette, I instantly light another one, so she will not go. Soon the correct data appears on the screen:

"Here you are, Abidet", I say. "Yellow River. A massive dam collapses after an earthquake, about a million people died and much more remained homeless".

"I remember the image!" she screams. "That's it!"

"This occurred 83 years ago", I explain.

"This is why nothing looks like the world I got used to. Almost a century passed. Astana, what happened to this world?"

"Abidet, the world we live in is very different from the world you knew", I say. "We passed three crisis in these 80 years: Debt Crisis, Environmental Crisis and Nuke Crisis. You must know that 30 years ago, the world was divided between three superpowers, who were ruled by dictators. How it ended, might be considered as the third world war, but it wasn't so violent. The remaining rogue states, to survive, developed atomic weapons. When two of them felt threatened, they used their nukes and destroyed capital cities of the three empires. Of course, the two states were destroyed. We call this the Nuke Crisis. Not many atomic bombs have fallen, but they killed the dictators and their royal courts. What remained are regional leaders, governors and generals, who were greedy and willing to take part of the former states. All empires and large states got divided into endless smaller units. Basically, every region, province, county, territory or oblast, wanted to be free. Also, people were moving freely in every direction. Ethnic groups returned to their homeland, but also many immigrants moved freely. This continued until a new equilibrium was achieved".

"Thank you for the crash-course of History", she says.

"The world now is divided into over 2000 states. The largest are at maximum 1500 km long or wide, while the smallest is about a square km. There are successful democracies and ruthless dictatorships, there are places where people are very happy and where people are starving. The major difference from your time is that globalization no longer exists. Almost every state has nukes. If one state interferes into another in any way, its neighbors will use the atomics against it. This happened twice. This keeps a global peace in place".

She sits down near me on the floor, listening me. I move my chair a bit further away and sit near her. As we sit, I touch one of her feet with mine. My toes are touching her transparent shoes.

"Is there something I can do for you?" she says.

"No", I say. "I don't know what you could do for me".

"I don't have any friends. I lost all when I... died, if I can say so".

"I have no friends and never had", I answer. "I am a very lonely person and I love being so".

"I have the power to change things inside a living organism. I changed gender to a few people. What is more strange, is that I knew how to do it, even if I never did this before. I can stop objects from moving and many things. Still, I don't know all what this body can do. I can throw heat waves like fire or absorb heat. I think my body feeds with heat and radiation. Sometimes this frightens me, Astana".

"Don't worry! I will try to do some research about this. Maybe I can find more. Feel welcome to come anytime I am awake".

"Astana", she says, "there is something I can do for you. Let me check if you are healthy".

"I think I am ok", I answer. "Except for a few cavities in my teeth, of course".

"I can repair them too".

"If you can, feel welcome".

She moves her hands inside my body. I feel a bit cold as she does so. She moves inside my mouth too. Will she cure my teeth? I think she is doing this right now. Next, she works around my chest.

"Smoking did something to you", she said. "Let me repair you and make you stronger, so you can smoke all your life without problems".

I feel her working inside me. Then, she moves down.

"Your ovaries are atrophied", she says.

"Don't repair them", I say. "I am an asexual".

"Ok, I understand you very well, Astana. I seen in your eyes that you have no sinful desires. Don't worry, I will not touch them".

Then, she moves to my feet and gently works inside them, all the way to my toes.

"Done. Your body will strengthen a bit, so that you can live to an advanced age without any problems".

"Thank you, Abidet!" I say.

She then opens her wings and says:

"No. I thank you".

Then, she flies through the walls and gets out of the library.

***********

The next day, I feel a bit dizzy for a while. Amazed, I see my teeth are repaired and seem to be much stronger. I also feel my body more strong then before. What else is different, is that from that day I never seen hair growing on my feet, on my arms or my body, anywhere else then the head. Also, my voice changed a bit.

In the coming days, I tried to learn whatever I could about the experiments on humans with diverted matter. What I see is that most of people died during the experiments. Most who survived, in fact ended with huge psychological problems. There is little official data, since the site was destroyed, when people found out the cruelty of the experiments.

However, there is something unofficial, the diary of a worker from that facility. He comes with some strange comments:

Today, we programmed a target to look like a baseball player. As he became awake, he changed into a Buddhist monk, as he were before. However, when we programmed him to look like a Christian monk, he did not change. I think it is something in the target's personality that influences its behavior. It is not just what he were in its life, but also its desires, wishes, passions and addictions.

We can upload as much data as we want, it all gets assimilated. However, some data, even if it was assimilated, never is accessed. For example, we learned one subject the language of its enemy, but it refused to speak in that language. On the other hand, data that corresponds to their interests, passions and addictions, is very fast shown. The best example is a target who was an alcoholic and is focusing all its energies on this purpose.

It looks like younger targets and targets with less education are more suitable for this. This is what I thought, but there is one target that shows the opposite. It is a girl that we acquired from a poor rural mountain region. Whatever we do, she returns to the same green clothes, green hair, wings and horns. Also, she is so addicted to smoking, more then anyone I knew. She has the most complex personality and behavior from all targets.

I think we should better focus on developing a computer able to handle diverted matter, then trying to make a human soul work with it. Even if we gain partial control over them, through their passions and interests, it is highly probable that at some point they will riot against us.

Maybe the most surprising of all, is if you try to transform a transgender or someone belonging to a sexual minority. A transgender will behave like the gender it tries to fit into, never like the original gender. Also, we have a gay target, which becomes a woman. But, such targets are rare to find. As for now, the best targets are young children.

Well, now I know what happened to Abidet. Sometimes I wonder how she could handle all this. How hard should it be for someone to wake-up and find that you are a ghost and all the world you knew is now gone? If she returns to me, I will do my best to help her.

***********

Author's note: I try to avoid giving real names to places, because some readers might be from there. In the original project for The Legends Of Abidet, I used a whole chapter to describe the alternate history, with names for many states and empires. Also, in every chapter, my plan was to pinpoint a clear Geographic location and a fast historical description.

The Legends

Chapter 4 - The New Vampires

A girl dies and resurrects with a ghostly body, 80 years later, in a divided world. These are the stories of people who encounter her and witness her unusual powers. Nobody knows who she is or what she is, except the few who are worth to know the truth.

I am Vlad and she is Andrada. We are in love and we have been so for enough time. We live in a civilized state, with a powerful and healthy economy. Here, people are happy to live in a healthy democracy, where all human rights are respected. People have all the freedom they want. It was not like this. We were a province of a former empire, scourged by war and famine. But, after the war, people came together and decided to start a new life. We built new cities, since the old ones were destroyed beyond recovery. The time of war is long gone. Now, it is time for joy and happiness.

What is amazing in here, is that people are free to look the way they want. Nobody will stop you if you have horns or if you have all your body tattooed. Even if you walk naked on the street, nobody will stop you, as long as you don't disturb the peaceful life of any other citizen. Our state guarantees freedom to all ideologies, to all religions, to all ethnic groups, to all languages, to all sexual minorities and to all people, at unlimited level.

Since we are together, we tried to copy each other. I heard this is the best way to become a more united couple. Whatever one likes, the other one must do. Whatever one does, the other one must do. This is how we work. It all advanced up to incredible levels. Andrada smokes and even if I hated smoking all my life, I started to, only to be like her. I never drink coffee and she stopped drinking that black substance for me.

There is something else that we share, it is our passion for the dark world. This is what actually brought us together. We met each other at a Goth festival. At that time, we were dressed like regular citizen. I always had a passion for werewolves and vampires. She also was interested in the dark, undead world. This is what helped us build our relationship. We spent hours studying and talking.

Now, that we are a family, we both have a job. Andrada works in chemical industry. The world has long exhausted its oil reserves, but there still is some oil beneath the ground. Well, it is not worth extracting it for fuel. Still, what oil, coal and gas exists in the world, is used in chemical industry in certain areas, like pharmaceutics and pesticides. I work in constructions. There is a lot to build in this city. Sky-scrappers are rising everywhere. Well, today we do most of the job with machinery, but humans still are important in everything we do.

One day, we heard about a rare sexual minority known as the vampires. Before making love, the one that acts as a vampire, makes a small cut with a blade or a needle in the victim's skin. The purpose is not to make wounds and it has nothing common with BDSM people. The vampire makes a few drops of blood flow from the victim, then he drinks them. We tried that and for the first time in my life I knew how human blood tastes like. Then, we made love... and it was more powerful then before.

In vampire couples, only the male drinks blood. But, one day, Andrada wanted to change this. I also wanted to change things. So, she cut the skin on my back, to let a few drops of blood. Then, she licked the red fluid. Since then, we changed roles many times.

Our addiction to the underworld is strong. We only dress in black, with ripped clothes. As possible, we try to look as undead. We both have long black hair and earrings that resemble skulls. As possible, we try to keep our skin white, like if we have no blood in us, with strong black make-up around the eyes, black lips and with black nails.

This does not affect our jobs. We are not the only strange people in here, only that we are the only vampires.

Our house, an apartment in a sky-scrapper, is also suffering major transformations. We replaced former furniture with old style furniture, with sculpted models of skulls and devils. It looks more like a crypt then like an apartment. In the living room, we transformed the coach into two coffins. In the sleeping room, we also transformed our bed into a large coffin, big enough for two. When we sleep, we close it. We are then completely surrounded in darkness. Tables look old and cracked. Curtains at the windows look like made by spiders. On the walls, you can see paintings of old castles in the night, surrounded by cemeteries and flying bats. And yes, all lights are replaced by candles, or at least electric candles. We call it 'our crypt'. It really resembles one.

Well, some people might consider us to be suffering from some psychological disorder, others might consider us a rare sexual minority. I know there is a disease named vampirism and the affected like to consume blood... and that drinking blood gives them sexual desires. Well, we both might suffer from vampirism, but we both like it this way. And we both have token this up to the extreme.

I know about many other people, that outside this place, would be considered strange: people trying to look like dolls, adults trying to be children, humans trying to be animals. We try to be vampires. It is just enough to see our clothes and our appearance, to notice this. If we undress, our backs are full with small scars from each time we tried to drink droplets of blood.

Even if we look like creatures of the night, we have a strong hate for BDSM people. We never gagged each other and we never used anything to restrain the other one. No violence, no pain, no abuse. Only that before we make love, we drink a few droplets of each other's blood. We are polite with our neighbors and our friends and also with all our coworkers. However, most of time we spend together, avoiding to be with many people around.

We only have two tattoos, on our arms. They resemble symbols of the Dragon Legion, which is related to vampires. Nothing else. However, we did something to our skins. We wanted a much whiter skin, like a vampire should have. The treatment, based on radiation, kills skin pigment in our bodies and make us look whiter. We both know that solar radiation will be dangerous to us after this, but anyway, we are vampires and avoid being in the light.

Then, we decided we want horns. Not big, like those of a cow, small horns like those of a young lamb. We could do implants, but the procedure might be too risky anyway. So, we just got some fake horns that we can attach to our heads. At first, it was a tricky task, as we so often hit objects with them. After a few weeks, we got used to them, so that we can wear them always. Also, we have fake teeth, more exactly fangs. We have to take them down when we eat and put them back later.

As is required for a vampire, we are active during night and sleep during day. We changed our work program to night shifts. Our coworkers are very happy, because nobody likes the night shift except for us. There is always someone willing to change this particular shift with you. We are very happy with this. In summer, the day sometimes catches us on the road, but in winter, all we see is darkness. Winters are the best time for us.

**********

Today, we returned from work. It is a long autumn night. We meet in a park. I am a bit late. Andrada is already here. I see her from some distance, sitting on a bench. She has her black, goth booties, with metal straps and heels. She wears a black ripped skirt. Through the holes, I can see her legs covered with fishnets. Two chains with locks encircle the middle of her body. She has a black blouse, with two white tombs painted on her breasts and a haunted castle on her stomach. I know the blouse. On the back, it also has a pentagram and the teeth of a vampire. Around her neck, she has a metal necklace, in fact a chain with an amulet. The sleeves are ripped. Her white fingers, with long black nails, also host a few big rings with black stones. Each stone has a sculpted symbol on it. I look at her black lips. She also made a strip of red paint, flowing from a corner of her mouth, like if she drank blood. Her face is so white! Only the make-up around her eyes is black, in a big contrast with her snow-white skin. I see her long black hair, flowing over her shoulders. And also I see her small white horns. As she waits me, she is smoking a cigarette in a long holder.

As I look at her, I think again, like many times, that she is the most beautiful woman in this world. She really is.

"Good evening my dark queen", I say, sitting on the bench near her.

"Good evening, your darkness", she says to me, offering me a cigarette.

"How was your haunt?" (I mean, how was work today?)

"Pleasant. All was quiet. And how was yours?"

"Dark angels can build any castle", I say.

I take her hand. Both our hands are white, with black nails and a lot of rings.

"I see your hand is cold", she says. "Humanity has left you a long time ago".

"Humanity has nothing to do with me anymore".

We are completely alone in the park. Nobody is here. No human, not even dogs. Our lips come closer and we kiss in the dark. We spend about an hour here, then we return home.

Then, at home, we sit together in our coffins, in the living room, watching TV programs on our computer. Usually, these programs are shown at another hour, but here, we see it all later. What Andrada is very interested in, is a singer, singing dark music. He is not only into vampires. This time, he held an entire concert wearing women clothes and a strident make-up. We watch all.

"Vlad", she says, "I want sometimes to be a man. I wish we could switch ourselves from time to time".

"Like he does?" I ask.

"Sort of. I wish sometimes I can be you and you can be me".

"That would add even more romance to our undead family", I say. "But you know this is impossible".

"I know", she says, placing a cigarette on her holder and lighting it.

"You know, Andrada, if this is what you want, we could try. Tomorrow, we can change after haunt and meet in the park this way. I will be you and you will be me".

"We could try", she says, with a smile.

**********

The next night, we meet at home. We change clothes. I never realized this is not an easy task. It takes a while until we find some clothes large enough for me or small enough for her. The biggest problem remains shoes, which don't fit us as we change them. She manages to hide her breasts wearing a larger coat and I wear some fake breasts, made by two blouses, under a bra from her. We don't look one at each other and take different paths to the park. She again comes there before me.

I look at her. She is incredible. She wears a large black cloak, that almost reaches the ground, with white inscriptions saying: death, undead and thirsty for blood. On her shoulders, I see stars, like military ranks. On her head, between the horns, she wears a small crown, with a small skull in the middle. The cloak is ripped and allows me to see her black blouse, which has a painting of a dragon on it. Instead of bracelets, her hands have handcuffs, with broken chains. She has black shiny trousers. Her feet are inside my smaller boots, which are encircled by metal chains. One chain is left outside and it makes a little noise as you walk. What she kept on, is her amulet at her neck, just as I always wear mine. I sit near her and take the holder, put a cigarette in it and light. She takes her male role more seriously and lights a cigar. She coughs first.

"How is it to be the prince of darkness?" I ask.

"I like it", she says. "It is an amazing experience".

"You look amazing", I say.

"You look too, princess of the night", she says, smiling.

"The most difficult was to walk with heels", I say. "All this time, I thought how you feel as a princess".

She coughs again, smoking the cigar.

"Be careful with too much smoke", I say. "As a prince, I never smoked cigars before".

"No problem, I will get used to it", she says, taking another drag of smoke. "Do you like the holder?"

"I do. It is very interesting. Somehow, I inhale more smoke with this. I don't know why".

"Because smoke cools down before it reaches your mouth", she says.

Andrada has not finished half of her cigar. I light a new cigarette in my holder. Then, I notice something green flying above us. It is a green light. Maybe it is a drone.

"You see that?" says Andrada.

"I do", I answer. "What can it be?"

She moves her hand, shouting a 'hello' to the flying object. I do the same. It stops.

"I think it seen us", I say.

The light increases in brightness. I see it closer. It looks a bit like a butterfly, glowing all green.

"It must be an angel", says Andrada.

"An angel will not do good things to vampires", I say.

"Maybe a fallen angel", she whispers.

The butterfly goes down to the ground. Now, I see clearly what it is. Actually, it has the shape of a woman, but it is all green, with summer clothes. She has horns and wings. Above her head, there is a green fire burning.

"She is smoking!" says Andrada. "She is smoking, Vlad, but all is green!"

"Yes", I say. "I think she is some sort of an angel".

"She comes to us".

The angel is more flying then walking. What amazes me is the green fire above her head. Around her, everything is illuminated in green. She comes to us, while we look at her, amazed. She stops very close to us.

"Vlad and Andrada, nice to see you!" she says.

"How that you know us?" I ask.

"She is an angel. No matter that she knows us. She must have seen us from the sky", says Andrada.

"You hailed me", she says. "Do you need any help?"

"Help? No, thank you! We were just talking in the night".

"Your strong love brought me here", she says. "I've seen you. I love to see united couples. May you both be happy!"

"Thank you!" we both answer.

"In this world, where every man is just lurking to get to bed with a girl and every woman is interested only in money from the guys, you two are shining like the Sun. You are creatures of the night, but your souls are brighter then many other people. I wish you could see the darkness in others".

"You can read our souls", I say, amazed. "You really must be an angel".

"Who are you?" asks Andrada.

"I am The Legend", she says to us.

"Whose legend?" asks Andrada again.

"Don't force her", I say.

"Just as that. I am The Legend".

The Legend takes a drag from her green cigarette and blows the smoke over us. I feel it going through our bodies. It is a bit cold.

"I think I know what you both want", she says. "You want to change a bit yourself. How about real horns and real fangs? I can do that. Also, you two want to share a bit of yourself into the other one. A bit of a man inside a woman and a bit of woman inside a man. It is all possible".

"Are you going to make us have real horns and fangs", I say surprised.

"Yes", she says. "And also, I will change you a bit. Vlad, I think you would like to have small breasts. You could be a better woman that way. And you, Andrada, will have smaller breasts, so you can hide them when you decide to be a man. When you will have a child, you both will be breastfeeding your baby. By doing this, you, as a man, will share more love to your child then average fathers do".

She then touches our bodies. Her fingers get inside my body, like if she is a ghost. All I feel is a gently touch and a bit of cold inside my body. She touches my head where the fake horns are, my mouth, then my breasts. Finally, she does something to my neck. And then, she goes to Andrada and touches her head and teeth. Andrada wants to give me her cigar.

"Andrada, take a deep smoke, now!" says The Legend with an imperative voice.

She waits as Andrada takes a deep inhale, but surprisingly, she doesn't cough. Then, she touches her breasts. And again, she touches her neck and does something there.

"All is done", says The Legend. "Take good care one of each other. And when you will have children, love them with the same powerful love that now is between you two".

We watch amazed how the green girl moves away from us. She opens her wings and starts flying. A green glowing trail follows her as she vanishes to the horizon.

**********

The next night, we feel some pain in our heads and teeth. Also, I feel a strong pain in my chest. Andrada also witnesses a pain, in her breasts. We feel very hungry, like we never ate a whole week. We eat all food in the fridge and go to buy new food. The second night, pain continues. We eat like desperate, especially milk and cheese and egg shells. Why do we like egg shells? All is strange.

At the third night, we have real horns grown in our heads. They are 7 cm long and look somehow like horns of a calf. They no longer hurt us. Also, we have fangs. They are pretty long, but fit into our mouths. I have small breasts and Andrada has her breasts made smaller by half, just the same size as mine. The 4th night, we feel a great pain on one side of the neck. Also, we feel an urge to smoke like never before. We smoke the whole night, one cigarette after the other.

Finally, in the 5th night, we have at one side of our necks two small holes.

"Bite wounds!" says Andrada immediately.

"You better bite me, then", I say.

She takes her mouth to my neck and surprisingly her teeth just match the two small holes. A few drops of blood get out of my neck through the holes. She licks the blood with her tongue. Amazed, I turn around and try to bite her too. My fangs fit perfectly into her holes and I see that a few drops of blood make their way to her skin.

**********

It took us only a few nights and we decided to get officially married. Andrada got pregnant and I wait the baby. I know that I will be breastfeeding it together with her. We reported what happened to a medical organization. They analyzed us. We also appeared at the news. Then, a few nights later, everyone forgot about us.

Is The Legend an angel? I think she is. We both think she is. There is no other way to explain what she has done to our bodies. Also, the way she knew us, the way she knew our lives and our love, is something no human or machine can do.

I never knew that angels are green. Their wings don't look like birds' wings, but like those of butterflies. And also, now I know what is the halo we see around angels' heads. It is a fire and it is above the head. Well, having horns, is something that doesn't make sense, but she had. I seen her horns very clear. I did not dare to touch them.

The Legend was seen again flying above the city. She avoids crowded places, but late at night, sometimes people can see her. She never answered to anyone. Why did she come to us? Is this how cruel the world has become? Maybe she avoids other people because, as she told us, most men are after sex and most women are after money. We don't. We are after each other.

The Legends

Chapter 5 - Chains And Flowers

This is the story of a dead girl who resurrects 80 years later, with a ghostly body and strange powers. People think she is a ghost, a hologram, a goddess or anything else, but nobody knows who she really is. Each story is told by someone who encounters her at some point.

My name is Lihwa. I am now a grown woman. All my life, my parents were on the move. We settled in one place and something happened. We had to move, then we had to move again and then again. They built a house and made a future somewhere, then war broke through and we had to move. They settled in another place and built a new life, but at that time the nukes started to fly. We move to another place and started a new life, only to know that borders have collapsed and each empire is breaking apart into countless small states... and ours will be a harsh dictatorship. We sold everything, but by the time we got into a better place, hyperinflation stroked and with the money with which you could buy a house, now you could not buy a cigarette. How many times we moved from place to place? How many times... until one day, they died in an explosion.

From that day, I remained alone. What could I do? I crossed another border and found myself in a town where I could manage to find a job. From that day, I decided to stop traveling from place to place. I will just stay here. Now, I am completely alone.

Soon after I learned the language and my way through, I made a few friends, girls of my age. What surprised me is that all they were talking is about how to cheat on guys. No sign of affection, no nothing. All they were up to is money. My best friend was Dayiu.

"You show him your love, but never let him touch you. Smile to attract him, but then move".

"Why, Dayiu?" I ask.

"Lihwa, all what guys want is to get to bed with you. Nothing else".

"Maybe not all of them", I say. "My parents were not like this".

"You are still a child. They have a penis instead of a brain. You never knew the truth because your parents wanted to hide. You think my parents don't cheat?".

"I don't know, but I've never seen them".

"Lihwa, see the way I now hang with Huan. This is the way. And you know how I did in the first days?"

"No, Dayiu. Tell me".

"When we decided to move together, I cleaned the house, I washed all his clothes and waited him with food on the table. The next day, I said 'goodbye'. Watch the guy, when he is mad about you, it is time to give him the worst pain you can. Break-up when he is crazy about you. Hit him when it hurts, let him suffer, but when you see he is giving up, start to kiss him, love him. Just keep his hormones rise, then hit. This is the way".

"You speak like a devil, Dayiu".

"No. Huan is the devil, like all males. Males are made of toilette shit. You remember when I was cheating him with Bojing? And he found out? Remember how I stopped all from falling apart? Hit him, be rude with him, but don't forget to be sexy. Do you remember what I told Huan that day?"

"I don't remember, I was working late".

"Women should not be working!" she almost shouts at me. "When I seen in his eyes that he knows I've been cheating, I said short: How much pain are you going to bring to myself? Don't you see I have my whole purse full with medicine? And all is for my brain. All my brain problems are because of you and the horrible way you treat me. Because all you do you do you act like a baboon. Now the whole town is laughing at me because of you. Why are you acting so pathetic? Listen, toilette shit, because I am not going to repeat this to you. This night I will sleep here with Bojing. Until tomorrow, I want you to make-up your mind. Do you still want to be with me or you better let me go, because I cannot hold your behavior much longer. You change yourself or I will die".

"I am surprised that he still is with you, Dayiu. I would have long abandoned you if I were him".

"Lihwa, remember that guys think with their penis, not with their brains. You have to keep them beneath your foot. Do you know how many times I made love with Huan? Only twice when we met and that was over five years ago. I let him see me, but not touch me. He is willing to be with me, but I don't let him. This is the way, an endless frustration. And if I find he tries to cheat me... it is all the pain in the Universe. You remember when I tried to suicide because he were cheating with Biyu? In fact, I guess he was not cheating with her, they once were class mates".

"I am sorry, but I cannot be like you", I say. "I just cannot".

"You have to learn, Lihwa, or you will be spending all your life as a worker. And a few more things: When he is very tired or he suffered something bad, hit him. In a week, Huan worked all day and all night. He came nearly in morning, very tired and could not even get in bed. He remained dressed in street clothes on the floor. You know what I told him? If you pretend to be that tired, why don't you just get in the other room and don't stress me like that? Men don't have the right to complain about anything. They have to be in perfect obedience. They exist only to serve us. Later, he had a fight with his parents, because he was stealing money from them to give me. So, I said shortly: If you have any problem with your parents, we should close our relationship. You get it, Lihwa? Always make him suffer. And when he has problems, hit him harder. When he is ok and brings you money, pretend that you love him, but not for long. Milk him like a cow, but if he no longer has milk, drain his blood".

"Dayiu, this is torture".

"This is what males deserve".

"I think they are humans, like us, only with a different gender", I say.

"You have mercy for them, Lihwa? This is pathetic".

I tried to meet other girls. I thought she was a special case, but later found out that most women are the same. The only thing they want is money. And this is the policy. Since there are almost no kind women in this town, guys have almost no options.

**********

One day, I return from work. The town is crossed by a river and near the shore, there is a small bar. I am not into alcohol, but I do smoke. So, I go to buy cigarettes, then spend a little time with people there, to talk. I see Huan, Dayiu's partner. He seems exhausted from work, drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. I just sit on a nearby table, so I can listen. He is with two friends, probably coworkers.

"I've seen your wife", says one of them. "She is cheating you".

"Don't you think I know?" says Huan.

"Let her go, man. Just let her go", says his friend. "She is draining your blood".

"And grow old alone all your life?" says the other one. "Don't you see all women are the same? I am getting old. What can I do now? I prefer a bitch that cheats me all day then to be lonely".

"I don't know", says Huan. "She is very sick. I still think somehow she loves me."

"Get rid of her", says again his first friend.

"She will suicide", says Huan to him. "It should be better if she goes to her lover and only comes to me for money, just let me alone".

"Better she go suicide. If not, you go dead", says his first friend.

"Or better you get a mistress", says the second one. "At least you will make love with that one".

"After all this, I no longer feel the need for love", says Huan. "Well, guys, I should go. She will make a hell at home if she feels the smell of smoke. She will think I met some girl at the bar".

He goes away. He is closing 30 and skinny. I clearly see all the stress and pressure on him. I guess he doesn't eat too. I don't stay much longer, either.

**********

My job is something about recycling. It is amazing how many things people before us threw as garbage. Even if sometimes 100 years have passed, former dumping areas are now exploited as quarries. The same applies for former, abandoned cities and industrial centers. Concrete can be grinded and mixed with cement to be reused. Iron and metals are the most easy to reuse. But there is something which values more and that is plastic, asphalt or rubber. Oil is long gone. What little oil this planet has, is only used in pharmaceutical industry. Plastic can be converted back into many raw materials for industry. My job is to scan materials recycled from dumping areas for radioactivity. Whatever I find to be radioactive, I send back.

Huan also works somewhere in this domain, but not with me. He is in the sorting team. His job is to extract dirt. After all these years, garbage has decomposed and left a very good material for agriculture. The only problem, it must be cured of impurities, like heavy metals, objects, plastic, glass or concrete. The process is automated, but humans are still vital in many parts.

I know he is suffering. I know that Dayiu is feeding on him like a leech. On the other hand, I keep the friendship with her. She does nothing all the day. She goes to cosmetic upgrades, she goes to parties, she spends a lot of money on expensive clothes, while he works hard every day. I know him now. He takes extra hours to earn more money. I don't. I am happy with what I earn. It is enough to sustain myself.

One day, as I finish work, I see him. He has finished his job and now eats. I know he will go to the second job, which is equipment maintenance. He is eating bread, just bread, with nothing in it. No surprise he is so skinny. As he finishes eating, I come to him.

"Hi", I say to him, lighting a cigarette.

"Hi", he says.

"Do you want a cigarette?" I say, giving him one.

"Thank you", he says.

"You work very hard".

"I can handle it", he answers.

"Try to take care a bit of yourself", I say.

"If I will die tomorrow, nobody will care", he says and goes to his next job.

I return home. Usually, I take the hover trolley, but this time I go by foot, all the 7 km back home. I am the only one walking on the road. It is a concrete road, surrounded by vegetation. Cars are moving in all directions. These cars float about 20 cm above ground. But not cars are in my mind. What I am thinking about is Huan. I return home, make something to eat, watch a movie and go to sleep. He will be working late, as Dayiu is having fun with her lover. How could she be like that? In Biology, there is a fundamental difference between a germ and a parasite. Germs multiply and kill their host, then they die too. Parasites usually don't kill their host, because if they do, they also kill themselves. However, sometimes they do.

**********

One day, after work, I go to Dayiu's house and we have tea. The house is not so well maintained. It looks like they never invested much in furniture and other things. It is clean where you can see with your eyes. A girl knows how to look if a house is clean. Look behind closets, look to hidden places. I also notice the fridge is almost empty and cooking tools appear unused.

I know she doesn't smoke, but I need a cigarette. So, she invites me out. In the yard, I see grass is not cut, flowers are covered by weeds and trees are not properly maintained. She does nothing in the house.

"You need to do something to those flowers", I say. "It hurts me to see them covered by weeds".

"Don't worry, I will put him to clean them, when he comes from work".

As we stay out in the sun, we see Huan coming in the distance.

"Come with me, Lihwa", she says. "I will show you how to work with a male".

I come, even if it hurts me to see this. First, we go to the living room and watch a movie. We hear the door opening, then we hear him moving. Except the sleeping room, all other rooms are not separated. In fact, the thing that separates them is a wall of glass. So, we clearly see him. He comes to the fridge and brings food in it. Wow! This means Dayiu is not cooking anything??? He drinks a glass of water from the sink and eats some bread, with nothing on it. Then, he comes to us. With his head down, he comes here.

"Hi", he says, looking at us.

"Hi", answers Dayiu. "What are you looking at? Go, change yourself and take a shower. You stink!"

He goes, then she says:

"This is how you say 'welcome' to a husband that seems tired, sick or has any problems. Now, stay inside and watch from the window. I will make him gardening".

When Huan comes, she takes him by hand out in the yard. I stay at the window and hear:

"Now, this is just too much. You made my friend laugh of me. You see those flowers? This is how flowers should look like? Why don't you take out all the weeds between them? She laughed at me. Now, I will go and throw myself from a rock. She will go and tell the whole town that our flowers are not well maintained. What am I going to do when the whole town will laugh at me?"

I need to smoke. But what should I do? I am supposed to stay at the window.

"This time, you crossed the line. You crossed any line. Don't you know how many pills I take? I am insane and all is because of you, stupid baboon. I said I will not give you any second chance, after all you have done to me".

She returns in the house, but I need too much to smoke. I go out in the yard. I light a cigarette and offer him one too. He refuses, but I insist. He looks to the house and then smokes, taking care not to be seen. I say nothing, just look at him. He has the eyes of a person trying to chew a lemon. This is too much for me. I just leave and walk back to my home. Too much pain.

**********

The next day, I am back at work. Then, after work, I feel that I don't need to return. Instead, I go to the ruins of the former town. It was abandoned when people were afraid of atomic weapons. Now, there is nobody here. I know the place. There is an open-air theatre in a small park. I go there. The former concrete benches are still there.

I sit down and light a cigarette. I am thinking about what I seen last evening. A tear falls from my eyes. I rise my eyes to the sky. There is a small green star I see. It might be a drone. Sure, it will not disturb me. Well, I rise my eyes to the sky, hoping any god will hear me.

"Poor Huan!" I say. "Please! Is there anyone listening me? He needs help. That woman will kill him. I cannot do anything. He needs help".

Then, I look down. I clean my eyes of tears. And then, I hear a little noise. On the bench, near me, I see that letters are being dug in concrete. It is like an invisible hand is writing. What is this??? It takes a minute. Then, all is silence. I read the text:

In two days, invite them both to Renaissance Pub. Rent a car when you do this. Also, bring two flowers, a metal chain and a pack of cigarettes.

I have no idea what this is or who did this.

"Thank you, I will do!" I shout, then return home.

**********

As time flows, I keep on thinking what is this about. Who wrote this? What will happen? Did any god listen me? Well, I don't know. I just go to Dayiu and tell her that I invite both of them to Renaissance Pub, to have dinner together. I prepared all what was written on the bench, even a rented hover car. Well, I drive, but I am very bad at it, since I lack experience. I get dressed as usual, Dayiu gets dressed in a very provocative way, while Huan is wearing a costume that almost falls off his skinny body. Since he is the best driver, I insist he will drive.

"Just watch the road, baboon", says Dayiu, as she steps near him.

He drives. As we enter, she says to him:

"Try not to make people laugh at me. Just sit and don't do anything. I don't want people to know I am married with a baboon".

We get to a table. This pub has a large screen, like some sort of cinema. In fact, it is a place where people love to come to see together sport games, like football or zero-G cricket. Now, there is nothing rolling on the screen, There is almost nobody inside. Music is playing in the background. I order something to eat for everyone. We get the food. We, women, eat, but Huan is not eating.

"He must not eat", explains Dayiu to me. "I don't want people to see he has no manners".

Then, I light a cigarette. I instantly offer him one.

"What?" says Dayiu. "You smoke? You know nicotine remains in the air and on your clothes. You know that harms me. You've been killing me ever since".

All this time, I waited for some sort of a miracle, but nothing ever happened. Quite nothing. Maybe it is all my imagination. Maybe there was nothing written on that bench. Maybe I am getting crazy. So, after I finish smoking, I invite them both back in the car. As we get in, Dayiu says:

"You are burning money on smoking! Shame on you! You know I need money for my medicine!"

Well, this time I got in front, not Huan. I will be driving. They are both in back. I start the hovering car, then light a cigarette. Well, my smoke will not kill her, but his will. The car stops like if it ran out of power. No movement, no hovering, no lights, nothing. Doors are all blocked.

As we try to figure out what this is, I see a green star on the sky. It is growing in brightness and comes to us. It moves fast and... It is not a star! It is something that resembles a woman, but with green wings. What is this thing? Yes, it looks like a woman with wings and with a green fire above her head. She has horns. She comes close and enters the car, taking a seat near me.

"Lihwa, drive back to the theatre", she says.

The car then has power again. It floats and starts moving. The car is surrounded by a little green haze. I drive, very careful. In the back, I hear Dayiu scared, screaming at the green girl:

"Who are you? Are you going to kill me? What are you?"

I drive. In this time, Dayiu gets so upset, that starts hitting the windows.

"Do something, don't just stand there, baboon!"

I see something strange. The green girl is smoking and makes a green smoke, but that has no smell. Also, her wings pass through the roof of the car and through her seat. It is like she is not material. At tight curves, her body tends not to remain on the seat. She moves a bit to one side. It is like she is not attached to matter and she passes through objects.

But nothing helps. I don't know what to do. I just drive, hearing her screaming and punching in the windows. I don't know why, but I am not scared. Well, we reach the theatre and I stop the car just near the bench where I sat. The doors open and we move out.

My bag moves out from the car, alone, flying. It lands on the concrete bench, just near the place where I seen the inscription. It opens. The flowers, the metal chain and the pack of cigarettes emerge. Dayiu wants to run, but she simply cannot. Something, some sort of force field, is keeping her in place. Me and Huan are going close, to see what is going on. As we get closer, two cigarettes emerge from the pack and start floating in the air, going to us.

"I guess they are for us", I say, looking to the green girl.

She does not look at us. Her wings are slowly moving. I notice that she also smokes something green. We take the two cigarettes and light them. She instantly turns toward us, with a smile on her face, then comes to us, very closely.

"I have 3 gifts, but it looks like you chosen the best two", she says. "Your souls are like two flowers. This is why the flowers are for you. May you both be happy".

As she says this, she puts her hand on the flowers. I see how her hand gets through matter. A few petals separate from the flowers and twist, until they form two rings.

"Take them", she says.

"Who are you, bitch?" screams Dayiu from behind.

We take the rings, but at that moment Dayiu hits Huan in his back.

"What do you think you are doing, baboon?" she shouts. "Put that down and go back home!"

"I also have a chain", says the green girl. "For who should it be?"

"Not for me, you slut!" she shouts.

"Someone said males worth like toilette shit", says the green woman. "Well, whoever says that, is not worth to be a woman. Now, what should I do with such a person?"

"I never said that!" shouts Dayiu.

"Please, don't hurt my wife", says Huan. "Have mercy, whoever you are".

"Does she have mercy on you?" says the green girl. "You work and starve and she consumes your money on make-up and clothes. You spend your time working more then your health can handle, while she spends her time in hotel rooms with her lovers. You eat bread and she eats caviar. How I wish other people could see the souls of surrounding people, just as I do".

"You must be a goddess", I say.

"Lies, lies!" shouts Dayiu. "It is all a lie, don't believe her! I spend my money on medicine!"

"I am The Legend", says the green girl.

Then, Dayiu takes her purse and tries to hit the green girl. Her purse instantly burns and all what is left is a cloud of ash. She goes to Huan, takes him in her arms and says:

"Let's go! Take her away from me! She is going to kill me!"

"I heard your cry, Lihwa", says the green girl. "I seen you and came to help. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Is there any way to solve this and still them to be together?" I ask.

"Just look at their souls", she says.

The next moment, she moves her hands in front of my eyes. I feel her hands touching me. It is like some sort of cold air, but that gets through my body. When I look, I see a bright light instead of Huan. A bright, shiny light. But, instead of Lihwa, I see darkness. Something bad. Toilette shit. I am so shocked, that I scream.

Then, she moves away from me and comes to Dayiu. She falls paralyzed on the ground.

"Don't kill her!" screams Huan. "Don't touch her!"

"Relax, I will not do anything bad to her", says the green girl, touching her body below her belly. "I will only do what needs to be done. From now on, she will be a man. In a few days, she will be transformed into a man. She will have to work to sustain herself. Don't worry, she is not sick at all. Huan, if you love her, just leave her. You will only herm her if you touch. Let her alone in your house. Let that house be her, while you two will move together".

In that moment, the two rings made from flowers rise and come in front of us. We take them and put them on our fingers. The chain also starts floating in the air. It comes to Dayiu, who screams and fights to move away, but she simply cannot. The chain comes to her, breaks into two and each half encircles one of her hands.

"Now", says the green woman, "take her to her house. You two go to Lihwa's house and stay there for at least an year. Try to take care, you two. And for her, just keep distance. It is her only chance. If you try to help her, next time, she might die".

After saying this, the green girl opens her wings and starts flying. She vanishes in the sky. We do just as she told us. We take Dayiu back to her house and let her there. Then, we return to my house and sit here. The next day, we return the car to its owner.

**********

It took us about two months until we became friends and form a couple. His love for Dayiu is strong and beyond question, but he understands it is better this way. What happened with her? What actually happened, appeared on the news. She came with a story that Huan was cheating her with me, that we took her to the former summer theater and tortured her there, things like this. We just kept distance. Then, she felt very bad and went for a few days to a hospital. No doctor could understand how it is happening, but in a few days her breasts just fallen from her body. She transformed herself into a man. It appeared as a great mystery in the history of medicine.

Soon, police came to us and forced us to declare everything. And we did what they asked us to. We confessed all. Everybody was so amazed about this story.

As time passed, we formed a stronger couple. Now I am pregnant and wait a child. Dayiu? She is now a man, living alone, working somewhere. She stays in her house. I think she (or he, now) will remain alone for a long time. When he sees us, he just turns away.

Who is the green girl? I don't know. I think she is a goddess. She was a human, but ascended into another level, just like Buddha. She said she is The Legend... and that is all I know.

The Legends Of Abidet

Chapter 6 - Lonely Princess

A girl resurrects 80 years later. These stories are written by people who meet her ghostly appearance and face her unusual powers.

My name now is Camenka, but it was not like that. Everyone thinks I am a girl, when in fact I am a man. Or at least I were.

That man has long died. Now, I call myself Camenka. From a very young age I got obsessed with women clothes, but I kept it all hidden. One might think that I was attracted by women, but it is not the case. I was attracted by their clothes. Soon, I wanted to become a woman. But where to do this? Was I gay? Certainly not. Making love with a man makes me throw-up. As I grew-up, I had girlfriends, but each time when one found out about my strange addiction to women clothes, each time one found out that I am wearing pantyhose candid, they moved away. More even, they made fun of me. So, I decided to live alone. And as I moved alone, in my home and in my garden, I was a woman... but on the street I was a man. Yes, I did wear pantyhose candid on the street. Nobody knew.

If I ever had a girlfriend that I really loved, it was Camenka, my avatar from a virtual 3D game that I used to play. I was in love with her. I bought her all the commodities and luxuries I could in that virtual world. But that was a long time ago, before the nukes started to fly. At that time, people were so afraid of a possible nuclear war. Well, I was not. If I have to die, I will die and so be it. I tried to make sure Camenka will live on. I paid the game fee for 50 years, as a superpremium account.

The nukes did not fly and a general took control of the area, forming a small independent state. He then tried to build a super-weapon, based on the technology of diverted matter. Only that all went wrong and ended with a massive explosion. I was 150 km away, alone in the forest, dressed as a woman, enjoying myself. That is when everything exploded. The whole city was molten lava, fire was raging on the sky and every survival managed to run away from here. The explosion made the ground to tremble. Holes and cracks started to open... and my car with my male clothes went into a big hole and vanished forever.

I started to walk, trying to find my way out. But now, anyone who encountered me seen me as a woman. The first people I met were at a picnic. Scared by the blast, they were trying to get out to the main road, which collapsed. They asked me:

"What is your name, girl?"

"Camenka", I answered.

And from that moment, I became Camenka.

I did not realize that people were so scared about a nuclear war, that they all wanted to get out from this state as soon as possible. And they were. They were fighting to remove road obstacles with shovels, they were pushing each other... and when a road was completely blocked, they abandoned their cars and moved on foot.

Well, not me. For me, a new life as Camenka was beginning. What I never considered possible, now was true. I merged with my avatar, with the love of my dreams. From now on, I am Camenka. When everyone was running to the borders, I decided to stay. Nearby states sent rescue units, to extract any remaining refugees, but I decided to hide.

Then came the life of my dreams. I walked inside a town, that was completely abandoned. I was Camenka, I was a woman. Everything was almost intact, except for some broken glasses and collapsed buildings. The only person in the town was me. I remember to this day. I had red boots, brown tights, a red and brown short skirt, a black blouse, red gloves and a purse. I entered the town on foot. There was a pizza shop and one pizza was on a table, with a bottle of cola. I took a seat, ate very delicate, like a woman. Then, I seen an ashtray with a few cigarette debris, with lipstick on them. Wow, that turned me on... and I entered an empty shop, took a pack of cigarettes, a lighter and started to learn how to smoke.

Then, I entered an empty apartment, which had its door open. A girl once lived there. I took clothes. I took make-up. I shaved my feet, painted my hair and nails. There was no electricity and no tap water. But I felt so great! I slept in a girl's bed and lived as a girl. I found money, cubes and balls of gold. After the hyperinflation, nobody trusts paper or credit money. But what to do with money here?

Then the winter came. I moved to a house. I kept on searching for clothes and food in shops, that were all open and abandoned. So much food exists in supermarkets, that does not parish over night. Much of the food does, but many products survive for years. I had all the clothes and make-up I ever dreamed. In that winter, I used to dress with thigh boots and fur coats, walking in snow and searching for food. I made fire in the stove to keep me warm. I was so lonely, but I never felt the need to be with anyone. It was me, just me in the whole world. Nobody else. And I wanted nobody else to be here.

Spring came. Now, I realized that I have to cross the border, to find fresh food, or I will die. But I have no intention to abandon Camenka. I will be the woman I wished all my life to be. So, I just took enough gold and walked over the border. I remember up to this day. I was dressed in white booties, brown pantyhose, a white coat with red-and-white blouse. I had long nails and a long light-red hair. I was a woman in all aspects, for anyone to see me. When I crossed the border, a custom guard came to me.

"Where do you come from?"

"From the ruins", I answered.

"What's your name, woman?"

"Camenka".

The next day, I was on the news. The last survival from Land Of Ruins. I was asked to remain, but I decided to return. But, since I am the only one, it means I am the leader of this land. So, I became the princess of a state with nobody else in it. Soon, some recycling companies wanted to offer me money if I let them recycle the goods from abandoned settlements. I allowed them. And all this started to work. As they measured the level of radioactivity, they found out that in many places it is safe to build settlements... so, people tried to move in. I accepted, happily. What a change! I became Princess Camenka!

There is one exception, a place where nobody dared to go: the former capital city, where the blast occurred. There, everything was molten rock. A bare glass-like desert as large as the eye could see. But, I wanted to see it. Prospects show high amounts of rare materials and surprisingly low radioactivity. What was going on there?

*********

And here I am. It is summer. I am at the entrance of this rock and glass plain desert. A team of about 20 people are here with me, all men. All are wearing costumes that make them look like astronauts. Not me. I have open-toe sandals, shiny pantyhose, a short dress, fake breasts and a small jacket to hide my breasts. My long red hair almost reaches to my thighs. While the men are breathing oxygen from their gas tanks, I am breathing smoke from a cigarette. We travel with 3 cars and stop somewhere in the midst of this desert. They stop and take equipment to make a drill. I watch their boots touching the ground, next to my sandals. It is very hot. With no vegetation around, everything is like boiling. They talk through radio as they start drilling, while I sit on one of their boxes and start dangling with a sandal. I feel vibrations in the ground as the drill keeps working. I am paying more attention to my feminine behavior then to what they are doing. I try to smoke fetish and pose attractive, not to seduce them, but to be Camenka.

The drill returns something white and glowing. Matter impregnated with diverted matter. So much diverted matter! This is essential to cutting-edge technology and to an almost endless energy. Cars are now hovering above the roads with the help of diverted matter. Supercomputers with the size of a flea are build with diverted matter. Everything in this century is powered-up by diverted matter.

Other drills showed that the whole desert sits on a sea of diverted matter, 30 km wide and about 4 km deep. I allowed mining to start, but only on a limited scale. I don't want to destroy the whole desert. Only 1%. All I want is to provide myself with all the goods I need to live. I want to be alone and happy. I want to shop new clothes, to have food and to look gorgeous. That's all. And a single day of mining provided me with 1 kg of gold, all I need to live all my life.

A few weeks have passed. More and more workers come. They seem not to listen to me. They want more of this fortune. Slowly, the whole desert becomes covered with buildings, drills and mining equipment. The glowing white can be seen from distance. Trucks keep coming and going. Everyone is in a hurry after diverted matter. What should I do? I just cannot do anything. And to make things worse, I see also weapons. They took over my state.

**********

And here I am. It is night. I am at the border of this desert. Grass and bushes grow just up to this point. It is like a sharp line. Beyond it, there is nothing, just the shiny surface of liquefied rock, which is smooth like glass. All around, miners are digging, extracting the glowing white rock. So much equipment all around! It is getting dark, but they work all day and all night long. It is so noisy! I walk on the remaining untouched desert. I have flat sandals, with shiny pantyhose covered by fishnets, a short white dress and a short jacket covering my fake breasts. I light a cigarette as I walk between them. There is a mixture of smells: rock dust, oil and equipment.

"Hey, lady, why don't you go home and leave us?" says a work supervisor.

I blow smoke in his face and walk. In front of me, there is a large road, where hovering trucks are moving, carrying the glowing ore away. They just move in an endless column. And a few hundred meters, a deep quarry can be seen. They cut large pieces and load them on trucks. All is glowing down there, only the equipment appears as dark points roaming in all directions. I throw the cigarette there.

"Hurry up, Nikolai", says a worker.

"I will, Igor. Sparkling rich!" says the other one.

I just move down into the quarry, on the same road trucks go. And then, I stop, resting on a glowing piece of rock. It is night already. I've seen from distance that even in night time, this place is glowing. The sky above is illuminated. The clouds reflect the light back.

I look up for the clouds, but I cannot see them. There is too much light from the ground. But, I do see something shining in the sky. It appears to be a red star. It is moving. That could be an airplane, but it is moving too strange. I see it increasing in light. And then, I see it coming down. It takes the shape of a human. I see it closer and closer. It appears as a woman inside a flame, a woman made of light. It stops on top of a machinery.

Workers seem to look at this. They noticed. They stop working.

"I am Andromeda, the destroyer of worlds", shouts the woman.

In the next moment, I see something like a flame, getting out from her hands. The flame hits a digging machine, which explodes. Workers scream and run. I stand still, watching this scene. Another flame gets out of her hand and another machine explodes. Then she hits a truck. She just hits everything and destroys every machinery.

In the chaos, I see workers running in all directions. What a disaster! I see corpses, wounded people and fire. I sit quietly until I hear nothing else, but crying people. Then, I light a cigarette and move out. All equipment has been destroyed.

The next day, mining resumes to normal. And again, Andromeda appears, a white woman inside a flame. She screams again:

"I am Andromeda, the destroyer of worlds!"

And again, she attacks the equipment. But this time, workers fight back with weapons. Bullets seem to go through her body, like if she is a hologram. And each time she is attacked, she fights back. Deadly flames burn everyone who attacks her. She only stops when nothing else moves.

**********

I moved away. Also, all mining operations ceased after Andromeda appeared a few times. Nobody ever wanted to risk its life with an enemy that cannot be killed in any way. She seems to attack only moving objects and people who attack her. Survivals seen her walking through people like if she cannot see them. Only if she touches someone by chance, she attacks. But, nevertheless, mining is too risky for anyone. And I agree. So, here ends the mining campaign. People seen Andromeda many times roaming around. I became alone again.

**********

It is an autumn day. I go to the former quarries. I think that, after all this time, everything calmed down. It is so amazing to see the glowing white rocks! I love to see this. So, I stay until late night, just enjoying the landscape. I eat dinner, have a cigarette and put myself into a sleeping bag for the night. Then, I see something else, something really amazing. I see not one, but 3 ghosts. All 3 are near me, at just 20 meters. And all 3 are talking. One is clearly Andromeda, a woman with gorgeous shapes inside a flame. The second one is a blue ghost of a man, with a sword on his back. The third one, is the most impressive. It is a green woman, with wings and a green fire above her head. I look so amazed at the three ghosts. Should I run? Should I hide? I better stay put and hope they don't see me.

"What happened here?" says the blue ghost.

"Well, they got what they deserved", says Andromeda. "For all my years in pain, for all my suffering".

"Pain?" says the green ghost.

"Yes", says Andromeda. "For all years of pain. For all needles with glowing matter they pierced through my skin. For the body I once had. For the human I once was and I am no longer. Eighty years of pain. Die, humans! Just die!"

"They did the same to me", says the green ghost. "Why should I kill them?"

"At least, can you see them?" says Andromeda.

"Yes, like shadows", says the green ghost, "but I can clearly see and interact only with people who smoke".

"You see?" says Andromeda. "This is what they did to you. This is what they did to us! I cannot see anyone, I just don't realize that there are humans near me unless they attack me. I want revenge! Bloody revenge for what they have done to me!"

"I don't know", says the blue ghost. "I just woke-up in a world that I don't understand. I was pierced and tortured just like you two were, but I don't know who I am and how I got here. I just cannot remember who I were".

"But do you remember your name?" says the green ghost.

"I do. My name is The Samurai. But I don't remember who I were".

"You need time", says the green ghost. "When I woke-up, I knew I am The Legend and I exist to help people. It took me time to realize that I had another name. Just wait, you will remember. But as far, I still don't remember where I once lived".

"Does it matter?" says Andromeda. "I am Andromeda, the destroyer of worlds. I exist to bring fire and destruction. For revenge! Why do you exist, The Samurai?"

"To share knowledge, about art and moral values".

"You see?" says Andromeda. "They have altered you and made you think like this".

"Andromeda", says the green ghost. "Don't you see they made you a weapon? You exist to destroy, because you were made to destroy. But what were you before?"

"When I was a human?" says Andromeda. "What do you think, Legend? You think I had a pleasant childhood in the mountains like you did? No. I was bitten by an alcoholic dad every night. I was sold on the black market, raped and tortured all my life. Then, I was used for fights. This is what people did to me. And then, I was sold to those guys who pierced my body with glowing stuff. Let's fill the hell with their souls!"

"I still don't get it", says the blue ghost, sitting down. "Well, those who tortured you deserve to burn in hell, but I think they are already there. It seems like eighty years passed since we died. I guess nobody is still alive to this date".

"I don't know, my friends", says the green ghost. "I think we are programmed to behave like this. Don't you see? We act different with people, but with us, it is not the same. We can clearly see each other and we act with each other just as we did when we were still alive".

"Who programmed us and for what purpose" says the blue ghost.

"There is only one person in this world that could help you", says the green ghost. "Its name is Astana and she works at the World Library. She promised she will identify who I were before. Go and ask her".

"Are there any others like us?" says the blue ghost again.

"Yes", says Andromeda. "We have to come here, to feed with glowing staff. In fact, this is how I found you. I've seen a yellow one a few years ago".

Then, they send tentacles into the ground. It takes a few seconds and they move away. I watch them amazed, as they rise in the sky.

This is too much for me. I don't understand much of this. I need a cigarette. I get out of the sleeping bag and light a cigarette. With one hand, I hold my cigarette, while with the other hand I gently touch my pantyhosed feet. My booties are nearby. Should I take them? Maybe not now. I just exhale a thick cloud of smoke, thinking about what I've seen.

Suddenly, I see a green light. The green ghost is near me, sitting on the ground. I get so scared that I scream. When I seen Andromeda destroying everything, I was not scared, but now, I just want to run.

"Don't worry, Camenka", she says. "I will not harm you".

"How you know me?" I say, shaking from all my body.

"I've seen you many times. I know who you are and I see you have a good soul".

"Will Andromeda kill me?"

"No", says the green ghost.

"Who are you?" I ask again.

"I am The Legend", she says.

As she says this, I see her clearly. Wow! Her body looks so real, but still a bit translucent. She has a woman's body in all aspects, except that she has wings and horns. Her wings are of a butterfly. Her body is green and above her head there is a green fire. She moves one hand towards me and gently touches me. But... her hand enters my body. All I feel is cold. Is her body made of coldness?

"Relax, I am here to help", she says.

I also notice that she smokes. A green cigarette is in one hand and as she exhales, green smoke gets out of her green lips. But I also feel like she is doing something inside me. Her hand moves to my fake breasts. Will she know they are not real? And then, she moves down, to my genitals. Oh no! What is this about?

"Just let me help", she says again. "Almost done!"

Then, she moves her hand back to my neck. I fill that she is doing something inside.

"All done", she says, as she opens her wings and moves away from here.

**********

The next days, I feel very sick and hungry. I feel the need to eat anything. There is a lot of pain in my breasts and my genitals. All this takes a few days, almost a week. But, when everything ends, I realize that I am no longer what I were. My body has changed completely into that of a woman. Now, I have a vagina, I have breasts and I have female voice. So amazing!

A lot of time has passed since this. I live alone. I am Princess Camenka and I rule over a state with no inhabitants. Nobody dares to come here. I need nobody. All I want is me, the Camenka I long dreamed about to be.

Sometimes I go to the quarry and sleep there, in my sleeping bag. The ghosts come here on rare occasions. Usually, I see only one. Andromeda comes more frequently then the other ones. When I see her, I do my best to hide. I just want to say 'thank you' to the green ghost, to The Legend. To thank her for finishing the last chapter of my life transformation. Even if I've seen her several times, she never came close enough to me. I just hope that one day I will understand who these ghosts are and what their reasons are.

The Legends Of Abidet

Chapter 7 - Cry Of The Tear

A girl resurrects 80 years later, in a divided world. She will now witness the saddest life story of a woman.

The truck moves on the country road. I am now out from the labor camp, but my life will not last long. At least, this will end my suffering. At least. I feel a great joy, that finally, after all these years, I will be free. I will move out from life. The truck comes to the big, large hole, where they throw all dead people. I feel how it stops. The two guards come out and open the back door. They take me out. I see the hole, big and filled with bones, surrounded by forest. I see the dirt road we came on. Now, this is it. finally, my hopeless suffering will come to an end. I know guard dogs come here to eat the prisoners.

"This is it", says one of the guards. "Just throw her in the pit".

"Just look at her", says the other one. "All her body is blood and bones. Dogs will have nothing to eat from her".

"Come on, throw her!" says the first one. "If you start feeling pity for prisoners, you will end-up like them".

"I know, but it is too much for me. I am getting old of this. Well, just let her in".

They throw me in the pit. I fall in a pond of dirt.

"Today is her, tomorrow it could be us", says one of them.

"Let's return, we'll get drunk and forget all this", says the other.

I hear the doors closing and the truck going away. Now, I will wait until dogs will come here. I no longer have feet and my body is almost dead. So, I cannot run. And even if I could, where should I go? Back to the labor camp? All these years, I had enough. I was bitten almost every day, raped and all time suffered from starvation.

One of the guards has dropped his cigarette in the pit. I stretch to get it. At least, one last smoke. This was the only pleasure we had in the camp, when we found second-hand cigarettes. I grab it and take one inhale. Maybe it is my last one. I don't know why the dogs are not here, but they will come and eat me. I take a second drag of smoke.

Suddenly, I see a bright green light near me and something like a girl. She is something like a cloud. Maybe my imagination is doing all this to me. I feel how I am lifted in the air out of the pit. Then, I move away in the forest. I have no idea where. When I find myself on the ground, I lose contact with reality. I think I am dying right now.

**********

I wake-up. I am down on a small bed of dried grass. Around me, I see food. I see milk in a glass, cheese, some fruits and a big piece of bread. Also, I see a few packs of cigarettes. Am I dreaming or am I dead? I don't know. I try to reach the food and it is real. Real milk? After drinking only infected water from ditches, now I am drinking milk. My hands are shaking. Is it real? I drink it. After all this time, I don't even remember how milk tastes. It feels like the nectar of a god. My stomach feels so happy about it. Oh, what a pleasure! Sure I died and now I am in paradise. That green girl must be sent from heaven to pick me.

I eat a piece of cheese. The taste is incredible. And the bread is amazing. How good! It is so pleasant that tears drop from my eyes. I think it is the first time ever that I cry of pleasure. I cry and sing for myself: "I am dead, I am dead, I am free at last!" It takes a few minutes. I eat slowly, savoring every little piece of food. My body is so happy. I feel my stomach satisfied, filled with food. All my skinny body is happy. All of me is happy.

Then I light a cigarette. It feels a thousand times better then what guards smoke. My lungs are so happy with this.

Suddenly, the green light appears again. I see a green girl with wings and surrounded by light, a light or a fire. I don't know. She kindly watches me and smiles at me.

"Relax. You are now out of all pain. Nobody can get to you now", she says.

"I died", I answer.

"No. You are far from dead. But I need to do a lot of work to you", she says. "Relax and try to get some rest. You are too weak to wake now".

I do as she tells me. I lean back and get to sleep.

Then, I wake again. It's dark. I see the green girl doing something with her hands inside my body. When she notices I am awake, she moves a bit away. I find again food near me: cornmeal and cooked rice, with cheese in it. And the glass with milk is filled again. I start eating. My body got some strength now. I don't remember ever in my life to have eaten so much. After I eat, I light a cigarette.

"What is your name?" she asks me.

"I don't remember", I say.

"Sure you don't remember", she says. "You are suffering from pellagra, that is a lack of vitamins. You will recover in a few days. Take those red pills, they will help".

I do as she tells me.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am The Legend", she says. "But a long time ago, I was a little girl. My name was Abidet. Just try to rest. When you will be ready, you will find the answers".

I finish eating and lean back to sleep. When I wake-up again, it is morning. Now, I am alone in the forest, but food is already placed near me. I eat again. Then, I feel the need to take a piss. So, I move a bit deeper into the forest. For the last weeks or months, nobody knows for how long, it was something very painful. I lost a lot of blood. But now, I piss as I should do, only with a little pain. Did the cancer go away? How could be this possible? Yes, it looks like I am cured.

It started in the labor camp, nobody knows when. I started to have bleedings. The local doctor diagnosed me with cancer at my uterus. They told the guards: "Use her as she still is available, cause she will not last much". Since then, they forced me to work harder then others and they reduced my food ratio. I knew I was going to die. All that time, I just hoped it will happen sooner. I just couldn't take it any more. When I was no longer useful, they took me to the body pit.

My body was a twisted mass of pain and blood. I didn't have any intact piece of skin. All was just full of wounds. They bitten me every day. And not only me, everyone. But now, my skin is healing very fast.

I don't see the green girl for a few days, but I always find food near me. Food, milk and medicine. And new packs of cigarettes. I notice something incredible with my body.

I feel some pain in my former feet. Surprisingly, I see something growing there. Are my feet growing back? I lost them when I was working in the mine. A wagon filled with coal ran away and hit me, cutting my feet. How many people lost their feet this way in the mines? After that, they moved me to other tasks: sorting rice seeds, working with wood, anything that I could do.

My feet are growing, but my hands are healing too. Once, they broke my left arm, for not working as fast as required. At my right hand, they broke my elbow, not because I did anything bad, but to give an example to the others. It was very hard to move my hands after that. Now, I can move them again. It is amazing to see my body healing like this.

My body is healing. All wounds are vanishing like through a miracle. Well, certainly this is a miracle. A surprising one. And my memory is returning. Long ago, I had a name, but I cannot remember it. In the labor camp, I was 11459. That's it, we don't have names, just numbers. I also remember The Legend. She appeared a few times, as a bright green star above the camp. Once, she landed here and the guards emptied their rifles on her, but bullets just ran through her body without hitting anything. Since then, she never came at all.

**********

I don't know how much time it passed. Maybe two weeks. I just don't know. All this time I had an incredible hunger. My feet had grown to my knees and are still growing. My skin is now without scars. Even my teeth have grown back, I don't know how. One morning I wake-up. I find again food near me and I eat all. Then, I light a cigarette. The green woman comes to me and sits near me. Now, I see that she is also smoking a green cigarette that makes a green smoke.

"How do you feel today?" she asks me.

"Incredibly fine", I ask. "Why do you help me?"

"Because I was a girl like you", she says. "Well, I did not suffer as much as you do, but I was also killed and somehow resurrected with this non-material body".

"In this camp?" I ask.

"No. Eighty years ago", she answers. "I've seen how much your people are suffering. I just could not stand and do nothing".

"So you came to us to help us", I say.

"Yes, but I never imagined to see this much suffering".

"What will happen to me?" I ask.

"Only good things. For now, just wait to recover yourself".

"I remember the guards shooting you".

"Yes", she says, laughing. "But I am already dead. What can they do to me?"

"Abidet", I say, remembering her name.

"That was my name, when I was alive", she says. "Now, it is time for you to remember your name".

"I don't know. I am 11459. This is my number in the camp".

"No, not that", she says. "You had a real name, once. Don't you remember it?"

"No. That was a long time ago, when I was a little girl".

"Why were you imprisoned?" she asks.

"Like I could remember", I say. "I guess I was 13 at that time. I didn't do anything. I had an uncle and he was caught not crying when our former supreme leader died. He was accused to be a traitor. You know the law. 3 generations are imprisoned for one's sin. So, all his brothers, parents, grandparents, children and nephews were imprisoned too. This is how I got here. I guess most of us died. I never seen many of them for a long time. Can you save them too?"

She looks at me a bit sad and says:

"I could, but this will not make any good to them. Healed, they will return to the camps and suffer for longer. I saved you for a reason and that reason is that you seem the only one able to open its mind and know the truth".

I look so amazed. In the camp, we are not allowed to speak. In fact we are, but one single word can send you to punishment. There are many others who, for a spoon of rice, will sell you. Once, I just said "I cannot work any longer" and for this I received 100 lashes on my back and 100 punches in my belly. We were always starving. I was so happy when I could find a worm in the ground... but I could get punished for this. Eating worms and grass... this is what kept us alive. So, a spoon of rice was enough for many to send other inmates to public execution.

"The truth is", she says, while smoking, "that you all live in a lie. All you have been told is a lie. What is your reason to exist?"

"To serve our beloved supreme leader", I say, instantly. "He is the one that calls the sun to rise. He is the one that makes the birds to sing. Without him, we are lost. We would die, like the whole rest of the world".

"That is not truth", she says to me. "I've seen the whole world and nobody is suffering more then you do. No other people".

I listen this so surprised. In the camp, each day, after finishing work, we sing for our supreme leader for hours. We listen his recorded speeches and recite them, word by word. Who does not do this perfectly, will not receive any food.

"Does he love you as you love him?" she asks me.

"Yes, he does", I answer instantly. "If he wouldn't love us, he will not call the sun to heat us and the rain so we can grow crops".

"You know, this is not truth. Do you know where I got all this food from? It is your food, grown in your state. He orders only a small ratio to reach you, the rest is thrown away. He wants all of you to starve, so you will never have power for a rebellion. He controls you through starvation".

I look so amazed. But why shouldn't I be amazed? When I was free, I noticed that soldiers marched to each house and took all food they could find. We were not allowed to store anything. This was a big crime and was punished with life imprisonment. We had quotas of all crops. Now, I see.

"If you don't believe me, just go on the other side of the mountain. To West is the labor camp, to North is the valley where they throw excess food".

"I believe you. But it is not our supreme leader. It is that his men are not doing things right".

"I wish you could see him as he really is", she says. "I did. And I seen his soul".

Saying this, she moves away, up in the sky. I see her. She heads to the camp. It doesn't take much and I hear distant gunfire. Then, silence. I am sure she did not die, but still there are many things I don't understand. I am grown to take things as are told to me, not to ask anything. How could our supreme leader not love us? This is something I don't believe. He loves us. All we do is for him. Even as I was suffering, I considered it is a rightful punishment for what my uncle did. How could he not cry when our former supreme leader, his father, died? He deserves his punishment and I deserve mine.

Abidet comes again, later, with more food and another pack of cigarettes. The food is moving in front of her, while she does not touch it at all. I again eat. When I finish eating and light a cigarette, she says:

"Please, tell me how it was when you entered the camp".

"Well, Abidet, it was like this. I was a child at that time. They took me into a small room and bitten me until I fallen down. Then, they hung my hands to the roof and kept me for hours, beating me again. They were accusing me, but I don't know for what, shouting: 'Confess! We know what you've done!' But I didn't do anything. 'How dare you behave like this to our supreme leader?' they said. But you know I love him and I will sacrifice my life for him".

"Have you ever seen his face?" she asks me.

"We have posters of him, his father and grand-father in each room", I say. "We listen his speeches every evening for hours".

"So, you think he is a god", she says, with a little sad in her eyes.

"Gods don't exist", I say. "You know very well. You know about evolution. Humans are evolved apes. So, where are the gods in this?"

"Gods do exist", she answers. "You think your supreme leader has god-like powers, but I tell you he hasn't. He is just a man who controls people through terror and starvation. Nothing else".

I just look and cannot answer.

"Every human has a soul", she continues. "I am dead, but you see, my soul is still alive. If you believe in evolution, if you think humans are evolved apes, where is the soul? How could I exist? Just answer me this question and I will accept that your supreme leader calls the sun and the rain to come".

I just cannot answer, just take another drag of smoke. As smoke gets out through my mouth, I say:

"My grandfather said that in old times people were shamanists and worshipped spirits", I say. "But we were told spirits do not exist. I believed all this, but now I see you".

"So", she says, "if spirits do exist, gods exist too. Gods are more powerful spirits".

I take the cigarettes to my lips again and inhale. So, all we were told is a lie. Our supreme leader told us a lie. How is that possible?

"Buddha exists too?" I ask.

"Yes, like all gods. They all exist and they all can help you if you ask them".

"Have you seen them?" I ask, more amazed.

"My mother worshipped a goddess named Actit", she says. "People say that sometimes they seen Actit moving over the mountains, as a powerful lightning, but without noise. I never seen it. I guess I am too small for this. But I've seen many miracles, most of them made by the Christian god Jesus".

"A few people in this camp were imprisoned because they believed in Jesus", I say. "they were given two choices: die or abandon their worship. Some preferred to die".

"And their souls are now happy, near their god", she says.

I look amazed. It just is too much for me. All that we were told to be a lie, is in fact truth. When I was free and later in the camp, we were forced every week to watch for 8 hours the TV. That was the only information we received and nothing else. We were told this is the truth and that we are doing better then the whole world. And there were shows of priests and popes killing children. We were told that religion is a great evil.

"If the supreme leader loves you, why does he allow people to be tortured like you were?" she says.

I don't answer.

"Does he have children?" she says. "I found a lot of scars on your genitals".

"I have been raped many times in the camp", I say. "Then I got pregnant. When the guards found out, they tied me and started to beat my belly every day for hours, until I lost my baby... but it was their baby, because they abused me. Then, they burned my genitals with a metal rod heated in fire until it became red".

"You see?" she says.

I finish my cigarette and throw it away. In that moment, she opens her wings and flies.

"Abidet?" I say.

She is no longer here. I just sit down and think about all this. About all the food I am eating now... that is thrown away. In the camp, as well as before, when I was free, we ate grass. We used to cook tree bark. How happy I was when I could catch a mouse or a rat. I took away its skin and ate its flesh fast, before anyone could see me. We ate earthworms. In the camp, when the guards found out this, they took us to a stick, tied our hands and left us to hang for days, then flogged us. I ate worms from corpses so many times. I never dared to eat a dead body. And now, I am eating all this food that all this time has been thrown away.

**********

After a few other days, my feet are back. There is only one difference, that I don't have toes. Still, I can walk, a thing I could not do for a long time. My skin has no more scars. It all looks so incredible. It looks like my past is long gone. But I know it isn't. The camp is not far. If one of the guards will spot me, I will be back in prison. I know very well what will happen to me. But is life outside good? I remember what life in the village used to be. Were we free? No. We had to present ourselves many times to show our devotion to our supreme leader. Patrols entered each house and checked out if anything was not as it should be. We held paintings of our supreme leader, his father and his grandfather. Those paintings must be kept clean. A single trail of dust and you are arrested. You were supposed to show your gratitude to the supreme leader. A single bad word and you are imprisoned. Anyone can turn you in, for a slice of bread: your parents, your children, friends, quite anyone. And most of all, is the starvation, that is beyond any possible limit. I know people who took a knife and mutilated their bodies because of the pain. When patrols found out, took them directly to a labor camp.

Abidet comes again to me, with some food. I no longer need to eat that much now. After I eat, I light a cigarette. She says:

"Do you remember your name now?"

"No", I say. "I don't".

"Then I will give you one", she says. "From now on, you will be Samantha".

"Why that name?" I ask. I never heard it before".

"I don't know. It is the first one that came to my mind".

I look at the girl who healed me. All this time I've seen her green body. It looks like she is made of light. She must be a goddess. What else can she be? But still, she talks to me so friendly and accepts me to name her Abidet, like calling another woman of my age.

"I think you are ready", she says. "I helped you for a reason. You have an important job to do".

"What do you want me to do?" I say.

"Samantha, I will take you to the supreme leader. I want to show you, so you will see him with your eyes. You will spend 10 days with him. This way, you will know the truth. Remember, all I am offering you is the truth and nothing else. When you will know the truth, you will be ready to do whatever you want. Ready to go?"

"But how?" I ask very surprised.

"Stand-up! We will merge our bodies. I will get into you and we will fly together. Take the cigarettes with you".

I stand on my new feet. Abidet comes close to me, then moves in the place I am. She moves inside me. I feel her body a bit cold. Well, it is not a problem. How many times we were working in the camp in winter without clothes? I had to walk with bare feet on the snow many times. Then, I feel my body very light. I am rising above the ground. Am I flying? Yes, I am.

I also feel a need to smoke beyond any limit. Wow! I light a cigarette and smoke, with exactly the same moves Abidet is smoking. I feel her soul. What is this? I feel. So much loneliness! I hear her speaking in my mind. It looks like she can also hear me. I see some of her memories, of a mountain village. I see her parents. He had a sister and a brother. I see them eating. Her mother sits near the children as they eat. They grow vegetables in the garden and nobody comes to take it. After eating, they are smoking. I also see her at school. All is like through her eyes. Children are walking on the way to school and back, on a dirt road, but they can talk anything they want. They are not singing to their beloved supreme leaders. No! I see her parents arguing that their president is corrupt and not doing what should be done. But by far, people there live a lot better then here.

Then, I see her trip to Mecca, to the holy city. How many people! And all are dressed in white! All are equal one to the other. All come to worship their god, Allah! So many! So, this is the world outside. All people are bigger, healthier. We, here, are small and skinny, because of the endless famine.

I see her watching cartoons on TV, with her family. She is laughing.

Then, I see how she was kidnapped and raped. She was then sold to a place where people pierced needles in her, through her whole body.

"I was tortured too", she says in my mind. "We both are sfenists. We were abused beyond recovery. But you, you suffered beyond any limit. I've been reading your memories too", she says.

I look around. We are flying. We are above the mountains. It is an incredible view. Her body encircles me, like a green haze. All I see is green. What a beautiful landscape! I see the mountains. Along the valleys, there are a lot of villages. How amazing! How beautiful is this place! How beautiful is our state! I never imagined this.

We fly and then, start going down. "We crossed the border", Abidet says. "Here, we will land. I need to go to recharge. I will let you here. Wait me 10 minutes, then I will return. Just tell them I am The Legend. Don't tell them my real name".

As saying so, we go down. We land in a crowded place. We touch ground. Then, she moves out of my body and flies. As she moves, I feel incredibly cold. Freezing. People come to me and one of them puts his cloak on me.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"Samantha", I say.

"And who was she?"

"She is The Legend. A goddess".

"Where are you from?"

"Land Of The People".

I look around. People are fat here. I see someone eating food while walking. They all have colored clothes, while we are supposed to wear uniforms. They have painted and styled hair, while we are supposed to have only a specified haircut. I see men with mustache and beard, while others are shaved... while from where I come, an unshaved man will be imprisoned for this.

Seeing me freezing, one man comes and gives me a cup of hot tea.

"Take this, it will warm you", he says.

"The goddess took you to freedom", another one says. "Many people from your state cross the border into here every year".

I know. But, when they do, all relatives are imprisoned, as traitors.

I look around. Houses are higher, lighter. The roads are a lot better, not dirt roads. I see posters that don't resemble any glorious leader. On one, I see 'Mickey Mouse' and resembles one of the cartoons Abidet was watching in her childhood.

"You are free here", says an old woman. Nobody will ever harm you!"

One man offers me something to eat. Something I never seen. Memories from Abidet makes me remember it is a stake. Meat? Wow, these people eat meat! What a luxury! I eat. It feels so juicy, unlike the meat of mice and rats that I ate so many times, risking my life to fill my stomach. Then, one man offers me a cigarette. I accept and just when I put it in my mouth, Abidet appears again.

She enters my body, only her wings and her green haze is out. I again feel her cold body.

"Where you take her?" someone asks, as we rise above ground and start flying.

"Don't take her back! They will kill her!" says someone else.

We start flying again. I see the ground down, below our feet. So high! We again travel over mountains. I see it all beneath me. But then, we reach a large city. I remember it from TV. It is our glorious capital city. I see the shiny sky-scrappers all around. In its center, there is a large square, where people are marching in a parade. How many times I seen those parades on TV! I see everything looking just as seen on TV. Our supreme leader is there, watching the parade, surrounded by his generals and his elite. We fly directly towards him.

As we approach, I don't know what will happen. He is the one we love. Without him, the sun will no longer shine. Without him, the rivers will no longer flow, plants will not grow, birds will not sing and the whole world will die.

"Don't kill him", I say to Abidet.

"I never kill anyone", she says. "I just help people. Samantha, it is time for you to know him as he is. You will spend time with him now".

We come directly to him. Yes. I am so scared, that I feel like I will die. Better I should die there, in the pit. We land just in his face.

"Is this part of the show?" he says, looking at us.

Abidet gets partially out of my body, but still holds me. She touches his body. He screams, trying to move away, but is paralyzed. Everyone looks at him, scared and not knowing what to do.

"I am The Legend", she says. "Great leader, you said that gods and spirits do not exist. Now, you see one with your eyes. I brought this girl, Samantha. She is from one of your prison camps. I could kill you in an instant for what you done to her, but I will not. I bound you two together. If you move more then 10 meters away from her, you will fill excruciating pain. If you move more then 20 meters from her, you will die. Hurt her and you will feel the same pain. Kill her and you will die too. I will come back to you in 10 days, to see how you both are".

Then, Abidet opens her wings and flies away. I again feel that cold and I fall down, trembling of cold. Surprisingly, I hear him also screaming... of cold. So, our supreme leader feels cold? How is it possible? We thought he never eats, he never goes to the toilette, he is superior to any human. But now?

"Kill that thing!" he screams, trembling on the ground near me.

"Too late! It is gone", says one of the generals.

"I go inside, it's freezing cold here", our leader says.

As he moves, his generals take me and beat me. The supreme leader screams of pain.

"Stop beating her!" he says. "Take her with me!"

He feels anything I feel. So, I go with him, in the palace. Wow! What a luxury! Everything here is made of the finest materials. So much luxury, so much waste! Now, I must follow him wherever he goes. I feel so proud for this. Me and our supreme leader, walking together for 10 days. What a privilege!

But is it so?

"You were from the working camps", he says, laughing. "I will kill you. I will find out who you are and kill all those related to you".

I feel so scared. Abidet, where are you? But he cannot hurt me. He knows very well this. We return to the parade and watch all people marching. Then, we return to the palace. He is hungry. He eats with all generals. I am at a table behind him and they give me food too. Wow, what a waste! So much food! So much meat! I say nothing, just watch all this waste of food. I hardly eat something. I mean, I never ate stake until Abidet took me beyond the border.

He does not seem to care about me at all. He has a lot of politic talks. I always knew that having a key position is a hard job. Well, I also know not to listen to what other people speak. For this, I got punished many times. But now, I do listen when it comes to certain points:

"The new dam must be completed", he says. "We're building it with slaves, don't we?"

"Yes, as you ordered. But soon, it will be completed".

"Take slaves away, bring the machinery and film it. You know well, how. Actors. So, the world will know we did it with our superior technology".

"Yes, sir".

"Then bring the slaves back in. Make sure they work properly. You know how to do this".

"What should be the quota?"

"Kill one in a hundred, in front of all", he says. "Fear is an important tool, will make them work. And give something to the general supervising the project".

Kill? Fear is an important tool? This is what he thinks about us?

Next, he goes to a working place in the capital. I have to go with him, in the back of his car. All the way, he talks very calm about quotas. 5% of population must be imprisoned in working camps, 1% to be killed, 36% of villages and towns to suffer of starvation, then give them a small break of food... as a gift. 8% of population to be relocated, 22% to change jobs. We are not humans. We are just numbers in his mind.

We go to a luxurious residential place in the capital. There are many blocks here. But who lives here? Marching bands, people that march in demonstrations on the streets. This is their job. And oh mine... in what luxury they live.

*********

During these ten days, I've seen it all. Luxury, food, people worshipping him as a god, orders of torture, artificial starvation, diverting of resources for his new palace to be built... Even more. I've seen him having sex with many women... when he is married. What an abomination! And all this time, I had to go with him. But I also hear that he wants to kill The Legend. Usually, he ignores me, but sometimes he is very angry that I follow him everywhere.

All, until one day, when I am at a military parade, behind him. At that moment, I see Abidet on the sky, as a green light. I see her moving in the sky.

"Kill her!" orders the supreme leader.

I see all marching soldiers shooting to the sky. She is just flying through bullets. Nothing can kill her. All this lasts for nearly an hour, until I light a cigarette. In that moment, I see her coming straight to us. She stops in front of our beloved leader.

"Supreme leader", she says, "spirits and gods cannot be killed. I came as I promised. Now, what should I do with you?"

"Don't kill him", I whisper.

"No", says Abidet, blowing some green smoke towards him. "I never kill anyone. I only exist to help".

As she says this, she puts her cigarette in her mouth. She moves one hand inside my body and the other hand inside his body. I feel her cold fingers. Sometimes, he screams, but I am used with pain. All this lasts for a few minutes.

"You must stay together for an additional 6 days", says Abidet. "Then, the spell is over. You both can go each one in the way you want. My job is done here. Samantha, your job will begin in six days. Just remember all you've seen. No more suffering from now on".

As she says this, she opens her wings and starts flying very fast, letting a green trail of fire behind.

"In six days, kill this woman!" he orders.

Just after she flies away, I feel some pain in my body. Our supreme leader feels incredible pain... Well, I think it is just like mine, but he never felt anything bad in his whole life. He is a human and not a god... and a bad human in fact. I start feeling an incredible hunger, while he starts vomiting. We are sent immediately to the best clinic. He is screaming of pain all the time. In a few days, I feel my breasts are detaching from my body, while my body is growing in height and strength. The breasts just drop off. Well, all this lasts for a few days, I don't know how much. All until one day... I hear him screaming from his bed:

"What is wrong with me? What happened to me?"

He has a female voice. Oh mine! He has my voice. Soldiers and doctors come in a hurry. As I look closer... oh mine! He looks like me! Soldiers turn towards me and look surprised:

"Here he is!"

"What? I say, with a male voice.

Now, this is too much. I have his voice! I have his body! What has happened here?

"Don't look at her! It's me! She stolen my body! The Legend changed our bodies!"

It looks like nobody is listening to him now. They immobilize him (now, her) and come to me.

"How may we serve you?" says one doctor.

"Bring us some clothes", I say.

I get dressed with his clothes and he with mine. Nobody believes that he is me and I am him. Then, one general comes and remembers me (thinking that I am him) that I ordered to kill her (now him) in six day... more exactly today. As I look, I see that he is at more then 20 meters from me and not suffering anything.

"Don't kill him", I say. "Nobody must die any longer". Then, I realize that I said 'him' and add immediately: "Nobody must kill her. We don't want The Legend to be angry on us".

**********

After this, months have passed. I became the supreme leader. The first thing I decided, is to make sure people have food and a shelter. I started to learn about how it is in other places. Here, people are not prepared to live outside a dictatorship, but as much as possible, let's make their lives more happy. Nobody will ever suffer from starvation. People will have the right to walk free, to talk on the streets whatever they want, to dress as they want and camps will be reduced. Prison camps should only exist for thieves, murderers and other bad people like these ones.

One day, one of the generals comes to me and says, when he makes sure that the doors are closed:

"Dear supreme leader, I know that you are Samantha. And some of us also know. But many of us were on the death list. This is why we silently accepted you, to save our lives and our families".

I remain in silence for about two minutes.

"Don't worry, we who know the truth, will never confess to anyone".

"Nobody must die any more", I say. "But where is the other Samantha?"

"We sent him to the camp. He went suicide the second day".

"Because he was injured? Was he sexual abused? Bitten?" I ask.

"No. Because he realized that he lost the power and his palaces".

I remain shocked.

"How did he react when he seen all the suffering in there?"

"Not impressed. He only said that this is what prisoners deserved".

I needed to go and see everything. I entered the camp, now almost empty. Only a few thieves are now inside. His body, looking like my body, was dropped into the body pit, where I once were. I even go there and see... only that the dogs ate nearly all, when I got there. And nobody knew, nobody had any idea who actually died in the pit. I am nearly the only one who knows.

People should no longer be worshipped as gods. But what actually is The Legend? Is she a human? How could she be? How is it possible? I am convinced she is a god. So, I decided to build a large shrine of green marble in the center of our capital city. There will be no more parades and demonstrations. Instead, there will be this large shrine, where people will be free to come and bring gifts to her. No more atheism. Gods really exist.

<.> <.>

Note from the author: This story is based on something real. There is at least one place in the world where people suffer like this. In past, there were also other places. Even where I live, something like this happened, before I was born. Only that, all those who ended-up in prison and labor camps, had only sad endings to say. Most of them died without telling anyone their stories. Such stories existed from antiquity. What they all have in common, is when a leader makes himself a god. At that point, he is no longer a human, but a demon. In fact, only demons wished to make themselves gods.

I decided to write this after I heard about the story of a woman in North Korea, that made me cry for two days. Then, I realized that atrocities like these have been committed in Soviet times and even before... as far as ancient civilizations and almost only when people make themselves gods. It is far better to invent an idol then to think yourself as a god.

The Legends Of Abidet

Chapter 8 - Back Home

A dead girl resurrects 80 years later, in a divided world. This is the end story or the pass to a new chapter... of life.

My name doesn't matter. Everyone knows me as Nioa (Old Woman). Some people think I am the oldest person on Earth. They might be right, I don't know. I was born in 1984 and now it is 2115. 131 years old is just too much. I have memories from 3 different centuries. And all this, despite that I was a convinced smoker for all my life.. and I still smoke today. My husband died when he was 84, in 2066. So, I lived as a widow for 50 years. We had 3 lovely children: two daughters and a son. But, the youngest girl, Abidet, was kidnapped when she was 17. We get birth to a 4th child, a boy, to take her place, but it was not the same. All 3 children died when they were around 80 years old. The last died Altha, our last child, at 81, in 2103, 12 years ago. Even many of my nephews died of age. I lived to see my great great grandchildren.

Everybody thinks that I am a miracle and my extended life is a gift from the gods. But the correct answer is that I was waiting. I was waiting all this time. I was waiting and I am still waiting for Abidet to return. Will she ever return? I think yes. And I think I will not see death until she will return. But now, she must be over 100 years old.

When Abidet was kidnapped, she was a teen. I tried everything to find her. I didn't try to work with the police or anything like it. No. I worked with the mafia. I tried to search after her, trying to work with the guys who took her. I found out that she was token by a mafia faction. They wanted to prostitute her, but failed. By the time I managed to get to those guys, they already sold her. But where? I traveled half the world after her She was sold to a laboratory that somehow was completely destroyed. No survivals. Dead end. No way to find her back.

At that point I considered her to be dead. But was she? I never believed that she died. So, I walked up in the mountains, to the shrine of Actit. I kneeled and prayed all night to the goddess for help. I know her powers. She did many miracles in my life and guarded me anywhere I walked. In the end, I took my tears and poured them on the shrine. I said: "Actit, I know your powers. I know who you are and how many times you worked through my hands. Please, please let me find my daughter". Then, I pierced a finger and mixed my tears with blood and offered them to the goddess. Morning was coming and I fallen to sleep.

It was when I felt asleep that I seen the goddess, coming to me, as a bird made of light. She told me:

"Nicotiana, your eyes will not see death until you will see your daughter returning".

I woke-up. It was bitter cold, but the shrine was hot. I returned home. I was not tired any longer. I was 38 years old. Well, nearly a century has passed. All this time, I was waiting for Abidet to return. I never doubt that she will return.

Who is Actit? She is the first human. Here, at the End Of The World, many legends and beliefs have survived from ancient times. The legend of Actit is as follows: The primordial god first made the Altar and it is the Altar that created the world, with little effort. Then, the Altar created life, with much effort. And finally, using all its forces, it created the first human soul. In that moment, a white lightning came from the sun and a black lightning came from the ground. From the black lightning, a small ray reached the sky and gave birth to the rain, while from the white lightning, a small ray reached the ground and gave birth to the grains. The two lightning merged in the sky, surrounding the Altar and creating the body, while the Altar became the soul. And so was created Actit, the first woman, the mother of Adam and Eve and the goddess of life.

I am now very old. My great grandchildren take care of me. They bring me food, they take me out and help me. In every moment, there is one watching and helping me. I don't like this, but what can I do? I am too weak to walk. Even eating with a spoon is hard for me. But, so far, I never needed much medicine. Usually, they take me outside, where I can see the mountains, the railway and the landscape of our village. I keep watching, hoping that one day I will be able to see Abidet returning. Nobody hopes that she will return. Nobody has lived long enough to see her, but me. Nobody believes that she is still alive, but me.

So many things have passed in all this time. The debt crisis ended-up with hyperinflation and a worldwide famine. The environmental crisis came after fossil fuel was exhausted... and ended with massive storms and droughts. The nuke crisis ended with the breakaway of all large states and with the collapse of any form of globalization. Now, the richest are moving towards outer space, letting us, the poor, here on Earth. 3 major federations (unions or empires, for me is the same) ruled the world, but all collapsed with the nuke crisis. Some said that the future will be in outer space. I don't know. I lived too long.

Today, one great nephew is with me. His name is Adge and is about 50 years old.

"Are you ok, Nioa?" he asks me.

"Yes, I am ok", I say. "Adge, can you do something for me?" I ask.

"I know, Nioa", he says. "You want a cigarette".

"That should be nice", I say, "but there is something else".

"You want me to take you to the shrine?" he asks. "It will get you very tired".

"No, not to the shrine", I answer. "Somewhere else".

"Where?"

"To a small lake. In the forest. Think your hover-car can do it?"

"Yes, Nioa, but you know everyone will get upset to me if I take you there".

"Please, Adge. I will die one day and I want to see a certain place before I get out of life".

"I will, but with one condition, that you will eat something".

I agree. He feeds me with a spoon. Then, he takes me on his back and puts me in his hover-car. Today cars float over obstacles, even over trees. I guide him all the way. About 3 km from my home, there is a small, forgotten dam. It is about the same age as I am. 130 years ago, there was a giant plan to build a hydro power plant in these mountains, by diverting all rivers through dams and tunnels. Nobody finished this project even today. One dam was built on a small stream. Now, the lake is completely silted and trees grew where the lake once were. Many people don't know this dam, but I do. Adge doesn't. I ask him to take me out of his car and let me down on grass, where the former shore once were.

"Be careful, Nioa", he says. "You might get a cold".

"Don't worry", I say.

"I should worry", he answers. "If anyone finds out that I took you here, they will kill me".

"Ask Actit to hide us and nobody will know".

"What is this place?" he asks.

"Atan, this is the place where my life starts and where I wish it will end one day. I lived too much".

"Don't say that, Nioa! You scare me with these words".

"Why? Everyone will die one day", I say.

"Please, tell me more about this place".

I know he said that to stop me thinking about my death. But, because I have so many memories about this place, I prefer to tell him.

"When I was a child, this is where I used to come. At that time, it was a lake. I used to tell the lake all my happiness and sadness. This lake knew all my life. This is where I used to come with your great grandfather and with my children. Even with your grandmother, Aisha. Ah, things were so different at that time. I was obsessed with green. I had green hair and I convinced my husband to paint his hair green too. He looked just as I did".

"Like a woman?" he asks amazed.

"Yes. He was a transgender. Half man, half woman".

"With body implants? Did he take hormones?" he asks.

"No", I answer. "Not like that. He only took woman clothes, but never went to surgery or to hormones. His body was that of a man in all aspects".

"I never knew".

"Well, at that time, this was prohibited. But here, at the lake, we always were like this. Today, sexual minorities have rights, but at that time, gay people were killed. At that time, nobody knew. We were both sfenists".

"What is a sfenist?"

"A sfenist is a rare sexual minority. Sfenists are victims of a sexual abuse, like a rape. They are affected beyond recovery. For a sfenist, it becomes nearly impossible to have an active sexual life".

"Nioa, you say that you are a sfenist? But how that you had children?" he asks.

"All my children are made artificial", I answer.

As I talk, I feel very tired. I fall asleep. I feel like in the old times. The lake was not silted. I see me with my husband on the shores of this lake, smoking together, both dressed as two women. Our pantyhosed feet are touching the water. We used to swim here. Our children were so happy, playing in the woods and even swimming in summer. It was like our private swimming pool. Nobody ever visited us here. I see little Abidet playing here too. She was dressed like us, with a green dress, smoking near us while playing with the other children in the forest.

Then, I remember when she was kidnapped. She did not return from school. How scared was I! I searched her anywhere. The next day Spar, a neighbor, remembered that he seen Abidet with a guy, walking downstream. Someone else remembered that she went to a train station with the same guy. She took the train! I searched every place after her, over and over.

Then, I wake-up. I see the trees growing where the lake once were. I see the dam covered with vegetation. Adge is near me, sleeping. In that moment, I hear Abidet's voice:

"Don't worry, mom! You will see me! I am coming. I know where you are!"

"What?" I say.

Adge wakes-up.

"You said something, Nioa?"

I say nothing. I am very old, but still my brain is intact. This might be a dream, but I really don't know. It is better to keep it all quiet. Who knows what Adge might think, that I am getting insane.

**********

A few days have passed. Rain came over the mountains. I had to stay inside. But then, suddenly, weather changed. Two great grandchildren are now at home, watching me: Adge and Cemis. They both take good care of me. Since the weather is fine, they take me out.

"Nioa appeared on TV again", says one of them.

"She is the oldest woman on Earth", says another one.

Yes, television came here many times, to see me. They are amazed of my age. I don't like them to bother me.

"Do you want something, Nioa?" they say.

"Yes, a cigarette", I say.

"You know it is not good for you", says Cemis.

"If it were not good, I would have died a long time before", I say.

Adge gives me one. He puts the cigarette in my mouth and a small plate below it. They both smoke too. But unlike any other day, I feel a lot better and very happy. It is like something is going to happen. I feel it. I always felt when something is going to happen or when someone is thinking about me.

"Abidet will come soon", I say.

They don't bother to answer. but I know they are sure she will never come.

I finish my cigarette and fall asleep. Then, suddenly, a voice says: "Wake-up!"

I wake and look around.

"Cemis, Adge, are you still here?" I say.

"Are you hungry, Nioa?" they ask.

"I want another cigarette".

"No, Nioa", says Adge. "First, you have to eat".

I know how tricky they are. Well, let's play their games. I eat. Then, they light a cigarette and put it in my mouth.

"Abidet will come", I say again. "She is alive and searching for me".

"She will come", says Cemis.

Yes, she says that to make me think so and not worry. But I know she doesn't believe me.

"You see that?" says Adge.

"What, cousin?" says Cemis.

"That green light on the sky".

"What light? A, that one? Could it be a drone?"

What are they talking about? I see nothing.

"It is approaching", says Cemis.

Yes, I see it too. My eyes are old, but for sure I see some sort of green star on the sky. The light is getting closer. Much closer and brighter. I see it. But it doesn't look like a light, more like a butterfly. Or what is it? I see it a lot closer. It looks like a green woman, with green butterfly wings. It is surrounded by a green fire. I also see that she is smoking.

"Is it dangerous?" says Adge.

"Hey! Isn't that The Legend?" asks Cemis.

"We should run".

"And Nioa?"

"Let's take her inside".

The green woman is approaching. But, as soon as I see her face, I start crying. She looks...

"Mother?" says the green girl.

"Abidet?" I ask.

"Mother? Are you? How you got that old?"

I start crying, as she comes to me and tries to touch. I cannot feel her body. Her hands are like of a ghost's, cold and entering through my body.

"Abidet! I knew I will not see death until you come back!"

"Are you The Legend?" asks Adge.

"Yes, I am", she says. "And who are you?"

"They are Aisha's grandchildren", I say.

"My sister. Is she here too?" she asks.

"No", I say. "She died at 88, in 2093".

We try to hug each other, but we just cannot. Her body is passing through mine.

"Where have you been all these years?" I ask.

"Inside a bottle", she says.

"Actit, my eyes have seen my daughter returning!" I cry. "Now, you can let me die!"

"No, mother, don't die!" she says.

But it is too much for me. I feel how my soul gets out from my old body. For so many years, I could no longer move my feet and my hands. Now, I start moving. I feel how the old body remains behind me and I move above it, standing on my feet.

"I can see you", says Abidet.

"I can see you too", I answer.

"The matter I am made of, is something between the matter of a body and that of a soul".

We try to hug again, but now it is me getting through her body. My soul-body is too thin and passes through her.

"All these years I've been waiting for you", I say.

"I finally found you!"

I realize that I am no longer old. I look just like I did when Abidet was a child.

Then, I see a bright light near me. It looks like a bird, but with the head of a woman. She shines more then the sun, but not with the same light as the sun. It is completely different.

"Who are you?" asks Abidet.

"You know me", says the light. I am Actit, the first woman".

"Thank you for making me live enough to see my daughter!" I say, crying of happiness.

"No need to thank me", she says. "I thank you. We cannot make miracles if people don't believe that we can. Now, you need to go to your place in the afterlife".

"Take me with you", says Abidet.

"No", says the goddess. "Your job is not over. You will roam over the world and help many people until your job will be done. Everyone exists for a reason and your reason is to help other people".

I try to hug Abidet with all my power. But, I see her remaining down, while I move up somewhere.

"Take a cigarette", says Actit. "Anything you offered to other people when they needed, are waiting you here. Every good thing you did in life is repaid here. And also everything bad you did, is paid. But you don't need to worry. You paid for all your bad things with all these years being paralyzed on bed".

"And Abidet?" I ask.

"She has her own role. Her job is to help others. She will come to you when she will complete the purpose for her existence".

I move further and further away. The sky becomes green and I see a paradise like if made for me, with green everywhere. There, I see everything I offered to someone for help. Even once, when I offered a slice of bread to a street dog to eat... the slice is here. Actit lets me here and flies somewhere else.

I see my other children, each one in its own paradise. I see my husband and my nephews who passed away, my brother and my sisters, my parents. They are all here, each in its own paradise.

Only Abidet is not here. But I can see her. I can see all what is on Earth. She tells Adge and Cemis that she seen me going to the sky with goddess Actit. And then, she shouts:

"Mother, may your soul be happy!"

"May you soul be happy too, little miracle!" I say too, even knowing that she cannot hear me.

THE END