Louisa's POV
"Why are you here?" I heard a voice in the darkness.
"Mother, is that you? I miss you very much..."
I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn't.
I had never heard my mother's voice. But somehow I just recognized it.
I would give everything to see her face and hug her.
"You shouldn't be here. Go back," she said.
"I can't go back, mother. I'm dead. Please let me stay with you," I begged.
"Concentrate. You were born to achieve amazing things in your life, but you're always distracted."
"I don't want to achieve anything. I'm not afraid now. I just want to see and be with you, mother," I murmured.
"That is the very thing that is distracting you. Death isn't the only way for you to reunite with me. Death has never torn us apart. If you concentrate, you'll see that I have never left you."
"Mother, I'm ready for this moment. I'm always prepared," I whispered.
"You're always prepared to die, but have you ever prepared to survive?"
I was speechless.
"Go back. Open your eyes and take a deep breath. Embrace your life," she said.
Then, her voice was gone, replaced by the gasp of air coming from inside of my mouth.
I opened my eyes and saw a huge reptile head in front of me.
It looked like a brown lizard, but it was a size of a rhino.
I didn't realize what had happened when the giant lizard stuck out his forked tongue and licked my face.
My face was covered by sticky and slimy fluid.
"Ahhh!" I screamed, struggling to stand up and run.
As soon as I stood up, my feet were stuck in the silt again.
"I've told you. See. She's done it again. HUmans are stupid. They repeat the same mistakes over and over again, and they just never learn anything."
I heard a female's voice coming from behind.
I turned back and saw another giant black lizard standing next to the brown one.
"I'm a werewolf! I'm not a hUman!" I exclaimed at her.
"Is that me or does she understand what I've just said?" The black lizard stared at me with her huge parietal eyes and asked.
"Yes, you've heard me right. I can understand you," I raised my voice and said.
"Mine, mine. What a surprise. HUman and wolf, two of my least favorite creatures packed into one." Her turquoise eyes rolled back.
"She's sinking. I have to pull her up again," the brown lizard said.
He looked much more approachable than the black one.
"You do whatever you want to do, but that girl will figure out a way to get herself killed again." The black lizard said in a quirky voice and then sprawled away.
The brown lizard stuck out his tongue, wrapped it around my waist, and pulled me out like a radish.
Then, he carried me in his mouth, crawled swiftly on the surface of the marsh, and put me back in the dry area.
I sat up, wiping the sticky fluid from my head, and said to the brown lizard, "Thank you for saving my life."
"You're welcome, she-wolf." He placed his giant head next to me and said.
I looked around and couldn't see Darren's figure in my sight.
I must have been drawn to another part of the marsh.
"Are you looking for the warlock? Is he your friend?" he asked.
I nodded and said, "Yes. Have you seen him?"
The brown lizard tilted his head and said, "He was over there. Do you want me to give you a lift?"
"Yes, please. He must be worried right now," I said.
"He was more than worried," the brown lizard said.
I wanted to get back to my feet again, but I fell because the silt was too slippery.
The brown lizard sighed, lifted me with his tongue, and put me back on his back.
"Stay put. You wrap your limbs around my neck, so you don't fall down," he said.
Then, he slithered across the marsh like a snake. It felt like I was riding a boat.
"Are you a lizard?" I asked.
"I'm a salamander," he said.
"I'm sorry," I apologized.
The brown salamander said, "It's OK. My sister can't tell the difference between hUmans and apes. She doesn't like anything that walks on two legs."
"Do you live here in the marsh?" I asked.
"This place is our hunting ground. We live in the rock cave not far away from here," he replied.
"Have you seen a white weasel by any chance?" I asked.
"You mean that weasel?" he asked.
I looked ahead.
I saw Mr. Weasel was grabbed by Darren, who was trying to rip him apart!
"No! Darren! Stop!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Darren heard my voice and was shocked. His eyes were filled with the blood of anger.
For a brief moment, it seemed that he was consumed by fury and didn't realize what was happening.
I jumped out of the salamander and rushed in his direction.
"Darren! It's me! I'm not dead! Don't hurt him!"
I kept running, falling down, getting back on my feet, and running towards him again.
Astonished, Darren let go of Mr. Weasel. Then, he ran to me, opened his arms, lifted me up in the air, and embraced me tightly against his chest.
"It's you, Lisa. It's really you. You're here with me," he murmured.
"Yes, Darren. I'm here. I'm with you right now." I cried.
He lowered his head to rub his cheeks over my head.
"If it's a dream, don't wake me up, Lisa," he whispered.
"This isn't a dream, Darren. I'm still alive. A salamander pulled me from the silt. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I'm not dead." I talked too fast that I couldn't even catch my breath.
Darren gently stroked my back and said softly, "It's OK, Lisa. You're here with me. That's the only thing that matters. I won't like anyone to take you away from me again. No matter what it is."
I melted in the warmth of his body and the tenderness in his voice.
He was holding me in his arms. That was the only thing that mattered.
"I'm so sorry, hUman woman... I apologize for..." I heard a trembling low voice from behind.
It was Mr. Weasel's voice.
I turned back and saw him, standing there, covered in mud, shaking like a guilty child.
He didn't run away despite almost being killed by Darren.
I knew he must have been terrified.
I wanted to give him a hug, but Darren wouldn't let me go.
"Please don't blame yourself, Mr. Weasel. It's not your fault. I should have been more careful," I said.
"But you were almost dead because of me. I was so stupid. I shouldn't have chased that stupid duck. I can do without ducks, but I can't do without you. You're my friend. I owe you my life, hUman woman..."
Lightning flashed and ripped the clouds apart, followed by waves of rumbling thunder, which were shaking the ground below our feet.
Heavy rain poured down from the sky and all of a sudden, I couldn't tell the boundary between the sky and the sea.
"Let's find a place to hide from the rain!" I raised my voice to overpower the pounding sound of the rain.
"You're welcome to our cave," the salamander said.