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Kara was lost.
For the past hour or so, Kara was trying to find Alex but the more she tried to find her, the deeper she got lost in the forest. It almost reminded her of the time when she woke up in the hospital having no memory whatsoever of her past. Where she came from, who her parents were. The doctors told her she was found amidst a disaster prone area and they didn’t know anything about her past except for the fact that she was found somehow safe in a pod. When they rescued her, she was already unconscious. And they had to keep her under close supervision in order to bring her back to health.
She felt numb by all of it. She knew she would never get that part of her life back.
Whatever that was.
It was as if she almost lost a part of herself. Until the Danvers family adopted her and she felt a sense of belongingness again. She easily got attached to her adoptive sister, Alex. But deep down, the thoughts still kept on nagging her from time to time.
Who am I?
The more she went deeper into the forest, the more she felt the way she had felt in school. Danvers' family was warm and welcoming, but quite contrasting to it, Kara’s school life was a nightmare. Kara had an easy way of grasping concepts and logics and so she excelled in studies. Her body had always been athletic so she also excelled in sports. Which in turn, led her to win many prizes and tournaments, to other student’s distaste. She was treated like an other amidst her own peers. Since Alex took her side, she was also pushed with Kara to isolation. And Kara felt guilty for taking away Alex’s social life but Alex would have none of it. She loved her sister dearly and this was a minimal sacrifice to ensure Kara would feel a little included.
And now she had lost her. Her only, dearest sister. Brushing past the vines across her face, Kara kept on moving into the denser part of the forest. The roots and shrubs, the trees and vines kept on growing more and more as she proceeded to find Alex. But to no avail. She could hear wild animals growling and roaring at a distance and she knew she had no way of turning back now.
Part of her regretted choosing this project for her internship. What her professor had told her might be a life-threatening job to do, she took with a sense of courage. The environmentalists were predicting an upcoming ice age, engulfing the earth into an extinction of all species. And the only hope there ever was, was in an ancient civilisation which had been long extinct. The Sun Warriors. But according to Legends, they were the only people who could bring the Sun back to its native state and start the world anew. But since they were all gone, the only way to save the planet was to find clues and hints in the architecture of their civilization by poking into the ruins. So, as her field of study anthropology dictated, Kara took it upon herself to find the ruins of the ancient Sun Warriors. But Alex also insisted on coming along. Mostly because, her protective elder sister instinct was on but also because she was an archaeologist herself. She made a case to the professor that she could be a useful asset in this project.
And thus, they ended up in this situation without any phone signals or any other means to contact.
“This was a bad idea. I should have listened to Alex and not split up,” Kara muttered to herself.
A sudden rustling in the nearby bushes startled Kara into a halt. Kara stood still, frozen in place; her body going numb to the heightened fear of what’s about to come. She braced herself for whatever wild animal it was to pounce at her and end her life.
But she never would have imagined what she would witness.
“Careful, Samantha! She could be another spy from a distant country.”
“But I’ve a feeling that she’s the one , Kelly. She is. Let us find out.”
The two women came out of hiding from the bushes wearing traditional tribal clothes, of which Kara had only seen drawings in the old, rusty books of her school library. And the ancient language they were using to talk to each other, was something she had learnt by heart due to such fascination and interest in an ancient civilization, which was long gone. But never in her wildest imagination she had thought she would see them in person.
The Sun Warriors….
Realization dawned in both of their eyes as they saw Kara. Something of which Kara herself was unaware of. She was too shocked to process what was happening.
Finally, Kara brushed off her initial state of shock and mustered up enough courage to talk to the two women in their native tongue, “The Sun Warriors still exist! I thought all of you disappeared thousands of years ago…”
“We certainly do and we’ve been waiting for you. We have been hiding from the outside world in order to preserve what might be the last of utopic, sacred lands,” Samantha replied.
Before Kara could process the information, she heard Kelly mutter to herself, “I thought I’d never witness this day. The heart of the Sun is finally here…”
“Wait, what does-?”
But she was quickly cut off by Samantha, who added, “Come! Let us show you our humble abode.”
As much as Kara wanted to go along with them, her concern for Alex’s wellbeing clouded her mind.
“I’m sorry I really have to pass on that. I lost my sister in the forest and can’t seem to find her anywhere. I really need to find her.”
“Our people are acquainted with every corner and crevice of this place. We can send a search team for your sister if that’s something you’d like. But in order to do that, you’d have to accompany us regardless..,”Kelly said.
Kara felt a sense of relief wash over her at that offer. And she readily took it, following the two Sun Warriors through the forest. They passed a lot more trees, bushes and shrubs until they reached a cave.
Upon reaching the entrance of the cave, both the Sun Warriors created flames in their palms out of nowhere.
Kara was baffled to see fire created out of thin air. But it all felt natural to the women. As if it was a part of their body. An extension of their very being.
They used those flames like torches to navigate and light up the cave. It was dark, moist and quiet, only the sound of a single water droplet falling, breaking the silence.
Kara wondered if they had more powers but she didn’t dare to question and just followed them like a lost puppy.
Once they reached the end of the cave, Kara saw no other opening. There was only one from which they all came.
But soon, one of the Sun Warriors placed her hand gently over a boulder. A sudden spark was seen at the contact of the two. And soon the entire place started shaking as if hit by an earthquake.
Kara was beyond shocked by all of this, but the Sun Warriors were unfazed, like it was daily routine for them.
The wall of the cave started splitting into two like a huge door. And on the other side, was a world unimaginable.
It took a moment for Kara to catch her breath, when she saw the beauty in nature and people binding so perfectly together. The air was crisp, the greenery all around was flourishing with flowers and fruits. The people had special abilities, like the two women she met earlier. Some could grow plants from the ground, some could control water, some could heal the wounded people and animals.
Kara was astonished to say the least. But Samantha broke her train of thought by saying, “Kelly and I are going to find your sister now. In the meantime, Joey will guide you through this place to your…. destination .”
She was so engrossed in absorbing the atmosphere around her, that she didn’t even notice this little boy standing in front of her with a grin.
Kara thanked Kelly and Samantha for their help earlier, and for their rescue mission to find Alex. Then she followed Joey to wherever he was taking her to.
Joey turned out to be a marvelous guide showing her around explaining every ability in detail. Kara was simply taken aback by the diversity this place had with people of different colors, gender and sexual orientation. Everyone was accepting of each other and the foundation of the place was love.
Finally, Joey came to a halt in front of a statue.
“Do you remember her?”, he asked Kara while pointing towards the statue.
By now, Kara was only half-registering what Joey was saying. Her entire concentration had shifted towards the statue. Kara had never seen this woman sculpted so vividly but a voice inside her head was telling her she knew exactly who she was looking at. The statue was hauntingly beautiful. Almost ethereal to a point even. But that wasn’t the only reason it caught Kara’s attention: it was almost as if Kara knew the softness of her skin; her fingers gently gripping at the other’s hand; soft kisses like velvet and the loving gaze of her eyes.
Distracted, she replied to Joey, “I’m not so sure…”
“Why, she is the Sun Goddess herself. And you’re her heart!”, he squealed in excitement.
“Wait, what?!”, Kara gaped at him like a fish out of water, but Joey didn’t pay attention to anything else, and grabbed her hand to drag her inside a chamber behind the statue.
“Wait! This has to be a mistake. I’m not anyone’s heart. I’m sure of it!”
But there was no point. Joey had already dragged her inside where just a single piece of clothing was hanging from a wooden holder at the center.
Kara felt a pull towards that piece of cloth and gently ran her fingers through its fabric. It was a red cape of some sort, hanging graciously. The softness and texture of the cape felt strangely familiar to Kara. As if she knew it.
“Wear it! It’s supposed to be yours”, Joey said.
But Kara hesitated, so Joey took the cape and handed it to her.
“There….now wear it!”
“But why do you want me to wear it?”, Kara’s inquisitiveness won over. It seemed to her, the more she tried to understand everything around her, the more convoluted it got.
“Because the Sun Goddess hasn’t appeared to us in a decade. She’s supposed to be awakened by the heart of the Sun who happens to be you.”
“But how do you know it’s me?”
“Because this cape will not fit anyone else perfectly as it will, to you. This cape will either fall short or will be too long for others..but not you.”
Not trying to break this little boy’s heart, Kara chose to wear the cape. Putting it around her, it almost felt like it was part of her body by extension. The moment she put on the cape, the wind engulfed her into a vortex. The clothes she was wearing started to transform into the clothes of the House of Zor-El and while that was happening physically to her; spiritually she was flooded with lifetimes of memories from her past and her past lives.
“Remember who you are”, A prophetic voice echoed throughout the sky as the people from the tribe started gathering around, to see this momentous occasion they had been waiting for; for so long. Along with Samantha and Kelly, Alex who finally found her way back, also joined just in time to see her sister’s transformation.
In every memory, in every past life Kara ever had; she could recognise that one familiar face: her soulmate, the Sun Goddess herself.
And finally she manifested in front of her, Goddess Lena in all her glory: her eyes shimmering with happy tears and a soft smile playing at her lips. She spoke with the tenderness of a newborn sapling,
“Zhao, you finally found me.”