The pool looked as if it had been there since the beginning of time.

"Come, my boy, don't be afraid. You will see nothing more than your own fears and doubts." They walked down the edge of the cliff, one step at a time. Somadra and the boy reached the edge of the pool as the sun rose above the mountains to the east.

"Teacher, are you sure about this?" Malik looked at his respected teacher with a look of uncertain anticipation.
"I do want the bad dreams to stop. Will seeing my fears make the dreams disappear?" Golden rays of sunlight reflected off the surface of the pool.

The local people call it the Pool of Innocence. All who have looked into the pool have seen their true self, their fears and demons in the mirror of water. Men of great courage have shed tears of anguish after looking into its depth.

"Come, Malik, you will only see what you need to. It is a beautiful day. We would be foolish to waste it on doubts and fears." Malik walked to the very edge on the pool and sitting down on a large rock at the edge, stared into its depths.

"Teacher, the pool is not working! I see only the clouds and birds flying overhead!" Suddenly Malik could not hear the wind, or his teacher. No sound reached his ears. Startled, he looked behind him. His teacher was nowhere to be seen. He became aware that the water around his feet was getting cold. Looking back into the pool he saw an image of a city. It was his city, his home and the people he knew.

"What is this, the pool does work." he thought to himself while his eyes strained to see the detail of the scene in front of him.

He saw his mother, then his father and he smiled.
They did not smile. They were burning! The city, his home… everything is burning!