Chapter 013
1207 Words
It’s heavy. I look around and see dead people all around me. Their skin is green, battered with blisters. I see Olivia standing over them as if she’s done something good. I feel a shadow behind me, and Olivia’s focus shifts on me. She looks angry. She steps over the dead people and approaches me. I back away, but the shadow behind me says, “Don’t worry. I’ll be here.”
I wake up and find myself inside a blanket. I look beside me and see Aaron sleeping peacefully. I reach out to touch his hair, then his nose, and finally the stubble on his chin. I liked to feel it the night before, but now that he’s unconscious, I feel brave. I stop and withdraw my hand. Something is wrong with me. If it’s the other way around, I don’t want to be touched while unaware.
“You can continue,” he says.
“Oh!” My mouth opens in a way that’s caught between a smile and a grimace. “Busted, I guess?”
He reaches for my hand and places it back on his cheeks. Then he entwines his hand on mine. “I like your touch.”
I feel my cheeks warming, and it’s got nothing to do with the morning heat. I am torn between allowing him and withdrawing my hands in embarrassment.
After a few moments of indecisiveness, I pull back and open the blanket that covers us from the early morning light.
“Now, I’m getting hungry.” I say while stretching. “Should we head back? Oh! But you’re going in a different direction.”
“I’m okay. I can bring you to the Academy.”
In the morning light, I can see that he’s not okay. I don’t even think that he’s able to sleep properly. Is he not used to sleeping on the ground? I’m used to it because of my early years of training. I also sleep in the library most of the time. Besides, being a mage means that we need to increase our durability.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’re not used to sleeping on the ground. We should have slept in the wagon instead.”
“That’s not the reason for my lack of sleep.”
“Am I a noisy sleeper?”
He laughs.
“So I am a very noisy sleeper. Just as I thought.”
“I’ll bring you back to the Academy, okay?” he says and takes care of the blanket.
We walk towards the cart, and I wonder why he likes me. I am not as pretty. I am a regular-looking mage. I managed to be more presentable as a twenty-two years old, but as a sixteen-year-old who is still maturing, I don’t think there is something to especially like about how I look. Does he like me because Master Orson is talking a lot about me?
We ride the cart, and he helps me up, which makes my cheeks flush. He doesn’t need to help me. I can carry myself, but he’s so fast, and I’m not used to it that I’m not able to complain about his extra effort.
In the morning, the road seems different. The sound of hooves hitting the gravel is like music created, a tune that a musician is trying to experiment with. The temperature is getting warmer, and the smell of dew is refreshing. I lean back and watch the trees appear and disappear from my sight. It is beautiful. I can’t believe that I couldn’t appreciate this kind of beauty in my previous timeline. What was I doing back then aside from staying in the library and reading books about potions?
And I wonder, how’s Olivia? In my previous timeline, not a day will pass that I will not see her, except maybe when we are not in the Academy. I miss her but does she miss me? We always had opposing thoughts, and I have always liked to discuss them with her. Did she not enjoy it? All this time, am I the only one who thinks she’s my best friend?
I wipe away the tears that are forming. This is the reason I ignored it. After a few days of being in this timeline, I still don’t dare to face her. I straighten up on my seat and make a sideways glance at Aaron.
“Do you have a best friend?”
He tilts his head slightly to the side and says, “I don’t think I have. I don’t have many people around me.”
“Aren’t you surrounded by people in your inn?”
“They are my customers. I serve them.”
“How about Master Orson? It seems like you talk with him a lot.”
“He’s my grandpa’s best friend, not mine.”
“So no friends?”
“I can add you as my friend, that is, if you like.”
“We haven’t really talked that much, but it’s easy being with you.” I answer, but really? Only a friend? “You can easily be a friend.”
“I’m honored,” he says and stops the horse. “We’re here. Look.”
I shift my attention to where he’s looking. We really are in the Academy. “Time sure flies fast.”
“We can talk more, if you like,” he smiles.
I touch the side of my neck. “We are about to get our designation but we still have classes.”
“You can always come to the inn to get your free meal.”
Somehow, the broad smile he’s showing makes me embarrassed, as if I want to run from him and stay with him both at the same time. We get off the cart and stand in front of the Academy steps.
“I am a good cook,” he adds. “Comes with managing the inn.”
“Stop tempting me!”
“I want you to be tempted,” he holds my eyes, and somehow, I can’t break from it. If he met me at twenty-two years old, would he still like me? Or does he only like girls that look younger than him?
“Holly, I--”
“Hold that thought!” I say. I turn away from him and inhale the fresh air. I touch my chest. Is it the early morning heat? I exhale and face him again. “What is it?”
His eyes crinkle in amusement. He’s a good three feet taller than me, and when he extends his palm towards me, I instinctively take a step back. He withdraws his hand and says, “If you are having issues with your best friend, you need to talk with him. Looks like you got into a pretty big fight.”
Him? Does he think Ethan is my best friend?
“I should go,” he says and returns to the wagon. “By the way, I can wait, so you don’t have to be so guarded with me.”
He holds the horse's bridle, hits it, and makes it move while I wait on the side, looking at his departing figure.
To be continued…
- Writer
