Sophia smiled ear to ear as she packed her things for the one-week visit to the ruins of Calehandra. It was her final year in school and researching Calehandra was her group's final project.
Calehandra used to be a happy city and was the safest place to live in the world. Tales had it that there was a spirit in Calehandra called Mojo that protected the city since ancient times but it lost its master and couldn't help them any more. Every Century, a new master is born but the last one didn't live to fulfil his destiny as he was born during a war that broke out in Calehandra.
The same war ended the existence of the beautiful city.
"There are other places you could have researched for your school final project. Is it a must to travel to Calehandra?" Sophia's mum asked as she watched her daughter packing.
"Mom, it's just a week. I will be back before you know it, we are ten in my group and we can take care of ourselves," Sophia replied and went to hug her mother.
She eventually left the house to join her mates who were already waiting and departed for Calehandra immediately.
They lodged in a small town near Calehandra and planned to visit the ruins in the morning and retire to their hotel in the evening.
On their first day in Calehandra, the atmosphere was different for Sophia. She could feel a sort of connection to the place and with every step she took, Sophia's heart raced with excitement.
"It's not completely desolated like I imagined," Sophia thought as they walked through the streets filled with tourists from different parts of the world.
Each step Sophia took while going around the place felt like she was travelling back in time, it felt like she had been there before.
"Let's sit over there," Hannah, one of the students suggested as she pointed across the street after trekking for a while.
"You guys can go, I will just relax under that tree," Sophia replied and while sitting under the tree, a voice whispered her name. She looked around but saw nothing and just focused on her phone.
Sophia! The voice called again and it frightened her this time.
"Who's there?" Sophia asked with her lips trembling.
"It's Mojo, can't you see me?" the voice replied.
"Mojo! This can't be real, Isn't Mojo just a tale?" Sophia screamed as she carried her bag and rushed to her friends.
"You look terrified, did you encounter a ghost under the tree?" Ahmed said jokingly.
"There was something in the air just now, it spoke to me and said it is..."
The students burst into laughter even before Sophia could finish speaking.
"Your obsession with Calehandra is something else, take it easy girl" Mary teased. Although they stopped talking about it but Sophia couldn't get her mind off the experience.
They continued their research about the ruins after the short rest and as they walked around, Sophia could feel something stalking her but it was invisible. She felt uneasy throughout the day and couldn't wait to return to the lodge.
Sophia returned to Calehandra the next day with other students hoping everything that happened the previous day wasn't real but immediately she stepped into Calehandra, Sophia felt the presence of her invisible stalker again.
She didn't stay alone for a second and paid attention to everything happening around her as they continued from where they stopped the previous day. Ever since the encounter, she felt a strange connection with whatever was speaking to her and for every second she stayed in Calehandra, the feeling grew thicker.
"Your aura woke me immediately you stepped into Calehandra, living without a master made me useless" the voice whispered.
Sophia heard it clearly amidst the noise her mates were making. It made her terrified but she summoned the courage to speak.
"Are you really Mojo?" She asked and her mates just turned to her to ask if she was crazy.
"Is everything alright?" Mary asked as they all looked around wondering who Sophia was talking to.
"You guys can't hear?" Sophia asked and they nodded scornfully.
"They can't hear me. I can read your mind and you don't need to speak" Mojo replied.
"Really?" Sophia thought and Mojo replied, "Yes"
"So you can truly read my mind?" She thought again and Mojo responded again. The voice told Sophia about its previous masters and how she was going to be the new master but she just laughed it off.
Her mates looked at her again and whispered amongst themselves.
"You didn't just come to Calehandra, your destiny brought you here and in three days, you will take the place of my master again"
"I don't understand any of this but please I would love to concentrate on why I am here," Sophia thought and immediately, she didn't feel Mojo's presence anymore.
Days passed and on the fifth day, Sophia started speaking a language unconsciously. It bothered her mates and they informed her mother who wanted Sophia to return home immediately.
"It's happening already," Mojo said to Sophia while she was preparing to return home.
"When the time comes, you will be reborn and take your place as my master"
None of it made sense to Sophia and she just wanted to go home. She travelled for 6 hours and surprisingly found herself at Calehandra later that night.
Sophia was really terrified and didn't understand what was happening. Every effort to reach her mates or mom failed as wandered around Calehandra in the dark.
"Mojo, are you doing this to me?" She screamed.
"Don't be frightened, you will be dead for a while and my master will arise again," Mojo replied.
Immediately Mojo stopped speaking, Sophia started floating in the air and became unconscious. She was in that state throughout the night.
"Why are people gathered there?" The students rushed to check and were dumbfounded to find Sophia floating when they returned to Calehandra the next day.
"I thought she went home last night," Mary said to others and they were confused.
Every attempt to pull her body down failed and in all the video that was recorded, she wasn't showing in any of them. No one understood what was happening and the story made sense as the witnesses called to inform people about what was happening including Sophia's mom.
Exactly 21 hours after Sophia went unconscious, she regained consciousness. As she opened her eyes slowly, Sophia realized that she was floating in the air and seeing people gathered terrified her.
While still wondering what was happening, Mojo appeared and unlike before, Sophia was able to see it this time.
"Why can I see you? Why are these people gathered here? What happened to me? Why am I floating?" Sophia asked multiple questions and Mojo explained everything.
"This can't be, how do I live among my friends after this?" She stammered.
"I can make them forget everything, just say it" Mojo replied.
"Please do," Sophia replied.
Mojo sped through the crowd and Sophia's legs were able to touch the ground immediately she tried.
"Hi Sophia, we thought you left." Mary asked.
"Yes, I left but returned to join you guys," Sophia replied.
Sophia quickly called her mom who was on her way to Calehandra to apologize for not returning home the previous day and when she asked about what her mates called to report, Sophia told her it was just a joke.
Visiting Calehandra made her a completely new person, Sophia was able to help a lot of people and even nations with the help of Mojo. As she grew old, Mojo wondered when and where it new master would come from.
