29

                                    

                                          
I do not see the sun around me at first. 
My body is shaken, and my eyes take an eternity before allowing themselves to open. 
When they finally do, I look around and notice that we are in a sunny place. 
I don't even see the door we just used to get here, but I'm just glad to be away from all this terror. 
For now. 
Sara looks as confused as I am, and I only notice now how bad she looks. The guilt I felt earlier is still present and increases when I'm at her sight. 
She looks confused but soon starts muttering some words.
"Isis did everything within his power to protect his asylum."
I am confused as well, but she does not even seem to notice me.
"He sought his greatest power to build it and hide it from mortals. Oh Pearl," she finally says in despair before grabbing my hand and we start walking.
I eventually look at where we are and the seven-days-ago version of me would have probably said that it is truly magnificent. 
The sky is as clear as fresh water. It makes you want to never look away. 
There's a beautiful sea with dark water. I have never seen such a thing, but it doesn't bring a dark or bizarre atmosphere. It is beautiful in its own way. 
A dark sea in a sunny place. 
The sand is brown, not pink, and many birds are flying over the sky. 
Exquisite birds. 
And the air is just the purest I have ever breathed. 
And when we look at the opposite direction of the sea, there is an enormous fortress, the same height as the castle but, again, of a dark color. Just like the sea, it looks very beautiful in its own way.
This is what the seven-days-ago version of me would have probably said but I now know better, and I will never again try to feel safe somewhere I don't really know. 
Chills flood down my spine as I see a figure standing right in front of the fortress's door. When I get closer, I see that it is a woman. 
She approaches us. She looks young. Not our age obviously but she still looks young. 
She's wearing a blue gown of the same shape my mother's gowns used to have when she was younger. 
I shiver. 
As she gets closer, I recognize this person. She has gotten old but is still the same young girl from the book, the same young girl that looks exactly like me and suddenly she's only inches away from us. 
I think Sara understands because she backs off, and at the next second, I am hugged as tightly as I've ever been. 
She finally pulls away, tears in her eyes, and says the words I've feared.
"My precious Pearl, you've made it. Welcome, welcome to the true Rose Island!"