A thunderous boom filled the night sky, and Sofia jolted awake, shaken by the vivid images of a strange woman and a gruesome octopus. Her head throbbed, and her heart pumped wildly as she instinctively pulled the cloak tighter to stop shivering.
“Where the heck did I get this?” Sofia whispered as she tugged on the royal blue fabric wrapped around her and her friend. Their makeshift blanket's soft, velvety warmth gave off a soothing scent of jasmine and cinnamon, and it calmed her.
A quick look around showed Sofia surrounded by murky darkness, deathly silence, and tinted windows the color of the deepest abyss. She pressed her face against the window, hoping to see the streets of Los Angeles. An infinite stream of clouds whizzed, occasionally interrupted by tiny pebbles striking the window. Lost in a barren desert, they now zoomed in a three-row, armored van rather than on foot. Whose car is this? she wondered.
“How are you feeling?” a male voice asked through the darkness. A faint light shone to reveal the shadow of a person sitting in the row of seats directly in front of her, but Sofia could not make out his features. “I imagine you must be hungry. A bag filled with snacks is in the side console right there.”
He leaned forward, and Sofia gasped, startled by his sudden movement but more surprised by his unexpected features. It was the same face she had seen before. Is he going to boss us around now? As he reached over, Sofia scooted away from the stranger’s hand, crushing Cara further into the corner.
“Move over, Sofe! You’re squishing me.” Cara tried pushing Sofia away but was met with heavy resistance from her best friend, who refused to budge. “Ugh! Why are you…?”
Cara froze beside Sofia at the sight of the stranger’s face eerily lit by the tiny car light. The girls clung tighter to one another, their breaths caught in their throats.
Unphased by their reaction, the boy continued to reach over to click open a side compartment, pulling out two lunch boxes. Holding them out, he looked expectantly at Sofia and Cara, waiting for them to grab one.
But neither girl moved an inch.
“S-s-sofe, are th-th-those…h-horns on his h-head?” Cara stuttered into Sofia’s ear.
Sofia nodded without taking her eyes off the strange teenager, who was probably no more than fifteen. A pair of golden ram horns swelled from the sides of his head, curving down to perfectly frame his face, almost glowing against his sun-kissed complexion. She noticed his straight black hair fell over his shoulders, and his raptor eyes shined silver in the dim light.
Judgment, anger, pity, and a tinge of worry filled the weight of his stare. In those intense moments, Sofia felt drawn to him like a mouse lured into the gaping jaws of a lion. Her hands moved of their own accord to once more touch his face.
“Are you alright, Jao Ying Saengfaa, I mean, Sofia?” the boy asked as he pressed the box into her reaching hands. “Both of you are safe now, so just try to relax.”
Sofia snapped out of her trance when he mentioned her name. Who’s Jao Ying Saengfaa? She gathered her courage to face the stranger in their confined space.
“How do you know my name? We’ve never met before, and I know I didn't introduce myself in my sleep.”
“We all know who you are,” another teenager’s voice replied from the driver’s seat.
“What? Why would any…” Sofia tilted her head toward the sound of the new voice and met another alarming surprise.
Comfortably resting around the back of the driver’s seat sat a pair of luscious ivory wings that matched the color of his horns. The driver smiled at her in the rearview mirror and returned his attention to the road.
“Are you the one who stopped that crazy bunny-octopus monster?” Sofia pointed at the ivory-winged boy. He quickly nodded in agreement.
“It’s called a samun,” a third voice belonging to a silver-winged boy chimed in, turning around from the front passenger seat to join their conversation.
“A salmon?” Cara repeated. “I’m pretty sure it was a bunny, not a fish.”
“It’s not salmon,” the silver wing interjected. “It’s samun.”
“Okay? Well, that salmon bunny,” Cara continued.
“It’s samun. S-A-M-U-N. Sss-aah-mmm-uuh-nnn. Samun,” Silver repeated.
Sofia held back a giggle as her bestie glared at him. Cara rolled her eyes and stared back at the interrupting boy.
“Fine. Samun.”
He smiled again and nodded approvingly before he gestured for Cara to continue.
Cara breathed deeply and closed her eyes as she shook her head, unfurling her clenched fist. “As I was saying. That samun, or whatever you want to call that thing, was clearly trying to grab us and take us to its ‘mistress.’ Why?” she asked.
The three teens remained silent, exchanging glances, then nodded as if they shared a secret. The golden-winged boy turned around from the second row of the van to look at the girls.
“You two should eat something first. Then we’ll answer your questions. Please try it, Sofia,” he added, looking over at her.
Sofia’s stomach turned with unease as she watched Cara grab the box. Something about these boys felt familiar and comforting, but Sofia was hesitant to trust them. Wings and horns aside, Sofia still had no clue where they were, why these boys knew her, or what secrets they were hiding. She watched Cara’s disheveled face examine the small lunch box in her hand, shaking it and then staring at their captors. Sofia bumped her friend’s shoulder to get her attention, and they exchanged a look that silently asked, how bad could it be?
Sofia opened her snack pack to find a small, unnamed juice box and what looked like several miniature apples. Against her hunger, Sofia took a dainty bite, and her eyes lit up with enjoyment. Whatever the fruit was, it was certainly not an apple. The tiny treat tasted like the most amazing chocolate caramel candy bar. It was crunchy like a cookie but melted in her mouth.
“This is delicious! Care Bear, you’ve got to try this.” Sofia nudged Cara, handing her one of her new fruits.
Cara sniffed the tiny apple and reluctantly took a bite.
“Whoa! It’s like a candy bar! What kind of apple tastes like a chocolate cookie bar? It’s awesome!” Cara feverishly finished her cookie apple and reached for another.
The girls devoured their snacks while the car ride continued in awkward silence. Eventually, with the food eaten, boredom struck, and Cara’s curiosity won over. She tapped on the window and ran her fingers over the rows and rows of buttons along the armrest of her seat. Each tiny bump had strange characters, and none seemed familiar. Cara leaned closer, her eyes narrowed as she decided which one to try first.
“I wouldn’t start pushing a bunch of buttons, miss,” the golden-wing boy advised. “We’d hate to be responsible for launching attacks on the neighbors as we travel through town.”
“Really? That’s pretty awesome,” Cara said, staring longingly at the buttons and imagining what else they did.
Since Cara broke the awkward silence, Sofia took a chance to ask another question. “You never explained how you all know my name. I don’t even know any of yours,” she said.
“Forgive my rudeness. My name is Chai Sawaan. Our driver is my younger brother, Song, and the boy in the front passenger seat is my youngest brother, Lek.”
Sofia made a mental note of their differences. I love their beautiful wings. She almost felt her own shoulders itch. Chai had gold-colored wings and horns. Song had ivory-colored wings and horns. And Lek had them in silver.
“Hi. I’m Sofia, as you apparently know, and this is my best friend, Cara.” Sofia elbowed her friend to say something.
“Hello, brothers. So, who are you guys anyways, and why did you guys help us?” Cara asked.
“It’s my duty as the Captain of the Royal Guard,” Chai replied.
“Royal Guard Captain? Please, you guys look like kids just like us!” Cara scoffed.
“Hey, I’m plenty old,” the silver-winged Lek shouted. “I’ll be thirteen pbees in song months!”
“Thirteen!?” the girls repeated, shocked.
“What kind of place has teens serving in the Royal Guard!?” Cara shouted.
“You don’t want to know,” Song said.
With the mood dampened, neither girl said anything. Sofia wished they could get a better look at this odd world through the dark-tinted windows. She wanted to know what kind of place people with wings lived in. Would their houses be even higher in the air? Would their buildings be just like the skyscrapers she knew? And why did they have cars if they could simply fly everywhere?
Cara shared Sofia’s mood and held her hand in solidarity. Neither of them understood what was happening or where they were going. But at least they had each other.
“So…brothers. Are we in danger here?” Cara asked.
“Well, you might be in danger,” Chai stated frankly, his gold wings shifting uncomfortably as he quickly glanced at Sofia.
“What do you mean we might be in danger?” Sofia added nervously. “Why would anyone be interested in us?”
Lek laughed. “They’re not interested in both of you. Just you.” He pointed at Sofia.
“What?” Sofia shrieked. “Why me?”
Lek replied, “Because you’re th—”
Song slammed on the brakes, knocking everyone forward in their seats. He offered a quick apology before continuing down the road at their regular pace. Sofia narrowed her eyes. That was definitely on purpose. They were obviously hiding things—something about her.
Their transport suddenly stopped again before bumping up and down the path of an oversized tunnel. They swerved and swirled through the passageway, driving deeper and deeper into the shadows like a coin tossed down a spiral wish funnel at the local mall. Bright lights countered the thick darkness, and each sporadic flash momentarily blinded Sofia. The constant spinning made her stomach turn and her head dizzy with each and every revolution. She closed her eyes to stop the overwhelming sensations. Just as she believed she would throw up then and there, the roller coaster ride finally stopped.
“Chai, tung laew,” Song announced as he parked the transport and turned off the engine.
The eldest of the three nodded. Song and Lek jumped out and walked around the transport. Sofia waited for Chai to open the door and provide instructions on what to do next, but he remained seated with them. A rumble of voices chattered away outside, but neither girl could hear a word being said.
The longer they waited, the more Sofia thought the captainly nature Chai had shown before was a facade beginning to crack. The more she thought about it, the more anxious Sofia became. The more anxious she became, the faster her heart beat. Sweat formed at her brow as her breath shortened. Her hands began to shake, and a terrible pain throbbed in her leg. Sofia felt another panic attack coming and closed her eyes as she tried to control her breathing.
Just then, the door on Sofia’s side slid open, and the biggest, meanest-looking giant the girls had ever seen greeted them. His scowl would scare the most ferocious beast and tame the wildest stallion. Neither girl moved a muscle, hardly even breathing in the presence of the terrifying man. But, what made the scene even stranger was the sweetest-looking little lady standing beside him. She barely came up to his shoulders and smiled widely at the girls as if she’d known them both for years. Her resemblance to Chai, Song, and Lek made Sofia believe she was their mother.
“Daaw, paw laew. Yut klang nong saow!” the woman scolded the man beside her, who must be the Sawaan boys’ father.
“I wonder what she’s saying?” Cara whispered.
“Star, that's enough. Stop teasing the little girls,” Sofia translated and then gasped, covering her mouth.
Cara gave her friend a confused look.
“How did you understand what she said?” she asked.
Shrugging her shoulders, Sofia suddenly realized that she absolutely did understand the woman’s words. “How did I understand her?” she mumbled.
Chai stepped out of the transport when his father boomed, “Chai, yut diew nee!”
Chai stood, unmoving, and kept his eyes on the ground, trying to keep his composure. To Sofia, he looked like a guilty boy waiting to be scolded. The girls held back giggles as they watched Chai’s father grab his oldest son. Before he could jerk the captain to his side, his wife stilled his hand.
She spoke to her son in the most motherly tone possible, “Paw laew.”
With those words, the father and son put aside their anger and frustration to appease the tiny woman. She held her son’s hand and turned to face Sofia and Cara, waving for them to get out of the car.
“Sawadee ka, Jao Ying Saengfaa. Welcome to Tropos,” she said. “The Queen is waiting for you both, so let’s not make her wait any longer.”
Why is she calling me Princess Saengfaa? Sofia wondered. And why do all these people know who I am?
“Did she just say the Queen is waiting?” Cara asked as she playfully pushed Sofia to exit first. “I’m pretty sure she said ‘queen.’”
Sofia shrugged her shoulders and waited her turn to step out. From where she sat, she could see they parked in some type of underground loading dock that was either entirely deserted or fully secured for their arrival. While she knew it was impossible, she stared out at the empty dock and felt like she’d stood in this very spot before.
Cara poked her head out from under Sofia’s arm that blocked the car door and pushed past her lingering friend. Excited to be alert and out of the stuffy car, Cara stretched and bounced around, ready for the next adventure, but Sofia took her time, reluctant to jump into the unknown and the oddities it held. Pulling the borrowed cloak tighter, she exited the transport towards the waiting group.
The instant her foot touched the ground, Sofia was struck by an immense force that swept through her, unseen and unheard by anyone else. Its power surged up from the floor and charged through her body, electrifying her from the inside out. It took her breath away as it pulsed in her blood, swarming her in a cloud of smoke and sandalwood. Drums beat in her ears, a soothing voice chanted in her mind, and the sweet scent of palm oil filled her nose.
Sofia dropped to her knees, overwhelmed by memories and emotions. She heard none of the shouting surrounding her, felt none of the hands shaking her relentlessly, asking her to stay with them, and saw none of the chaos and commotion erupting around her. Without warning, a tear fell from her eyes, breaking the invisible sak yant meant to protect and conceal her true identity.