The bonfire burns brighter. These legs are resting on the sand while they hunger for something roasted on a stick for dinner, which the librarian is good at making. Strangely, fear seems to have disappeared in this place in exchange for the soothing smell of kernel corn turning yellowish ripe to brown as grilled meat.
As they gazed upon the sky, the stars and the moon appeared before dusk, when the sun was only a few inches above the horizon, on the edge of the Earth. It was beautiful that they gathered to see something this clear one more time before it would be gone forever.
The librarian, the cleric, and the man were somewhat inspired to live their new life upon seeing this undisturbed night sky. After everything they have lived for, the lies and the tedious daily life they have been given for a promise of a better day, is only a temporary ignorance of the true treasure of life.
"Can you imagine this?" Eve replied. "My corn was burnt again."
"Maybe you should've gone too close to the fire. Look at me, I'm doing it right." Cyrus replied.
"You barely had it close to the fire, human. That thing looks raw and smooth." Charger jokes.
Every piece of kernel corn is turning black, edible by its sour oil on the tongue of the living. This corn had never been so delicious before, even in the presence of the fire. The fruits and vegetables on the shore taste better than on the hill—something that the librarian had never imagined to be.
Everyone here is enjoying their lives. The cleric ignites the fire even higher, but refuses to approach its rising heat. The librarian feeds on the gift of heaven, all of which had been properly cooked under the temperate air and wood. The metal friend soothes the wind with its body, controlling the flow of the cold and heat by a swing of its body.
"Whoa, Charger. Where did you get these corns? It's so ripe in taste..." Eve bites.
"Is that so?" Charger swings in his tin hammock. "That explained why this land's vegetation is so feeble and broken to begin with. Its nurturers are also vulnerable to low-life ration."
"Hey! You cannot judge our existence based on your presence." Cyrus replied.
It was too comforting. To be comforted here without an intervention from the civilians made the librarian shiver with displeasure. The silence raises a question that provides no understanding for her head, forcing her curiousity to spark again. But this time, she wanted closure with her friends.
"Charger," Eve mumbled.
"Huh? Did you just call me?"
"Yeah. I was just wondering if you could tell me about yourself now." Eve stands up. "It seems like we haven't got too close to this matter yet."
The man with a fierce determination and a creature she called a friend are circling her head with many questions. As the end draws closer, she begins to realise not all questions have been answered through her life.
"Cyrus, may I know you more?"
"What?" Cyrus awakens.
"I mean. Don't get me wrong, but..." Eve pauses. "Assuming we didn't make it through this day, I was hoping we all could get to know each other first before the last day here."
She approached the man she knew more—the cleric. Hope burns stronger in his heart than the pyre she built, but his hands are always cold and empty. She loved it, for in his grip was only her to hold and nothing else to construe.
"Cyrus, what was your life before this whole mess? Are you really the high priest here?"
"Yeah. I am..." Cyrus drinks a glass of water from the ocean. Only to spew it after the taste of salt poison his tongue.
—
Every child is born with unique dreams, but not everyone can keep their dreams alive for long here. Everyone on the hill suffered through darkness and cold every day. As I was one of the children who grew up in Great Stone, I was born of those dreams and sufferings.
—
I grew up gazing at the sun every day, dreaming of a better future for my people who moved out of the Frayfoil to here. I was frail, born with a sickness that made my lungs weak and harder to breathe, so it was daring to be a priest. But I do not want to watch others suffer unjustly for their belief, especially to suffer an undeserving sickness.
—
My parents were unfortunate to be born in this age when they carried me. Father were a hardworking miner before the Earth swallowed him, and mother...I couldn't say much about her fate. I could only live on my own and learn through misery and trials. But I always trust a monastery before a graveyard.
—
I've been challenged in my body and spirit many times. I began to learn how to believe, how to speak, and how to express what I am truly inside. I can be their light, and I can be a reason. But I need to be brighter, I need to be hope.
—
The town changes upon my touch. I built upon a church on the barren land, a home for the sick and poor, and a hospital for the unfortunate. I turned what seemed impossible for the people who had lost it before. I only want what's better for them.
—
With my gospel prospering, many have moved into the forest like Eastwood, or a higher hill like Wellspring, to continue shaping an even greater world. There's nothing that could put me in joy when I watch my hope turn the barren hill into a new home for our believers, welcoming new citizens every day from Frayfoil.
—
I may not be the leader, but I am still the voice of reason to keep the town in check. As long as my power dominates the evil, no one in this town shall ever fall because of despair. It may seem small, but a village is still better than nothing.
—
Though it's meaningless now, because even a decade of struggle means nothing against one fated end. But I am willing to make that moment of inspiration once more, here or elsewhere.
—
"Love, I could never be happier to hear you happy." Eve kisses his cheek.
Then there's the construct, the metal creature, and the Tin Man. A dweller from the outside world now wandering in a quest unclear. However, each second she spent with it slowly taught her something new about the world outside and the life it bears differently.
"Charger, what was your life before? Are you really from the outside world?"
"I am. But I am not from this Earth...or ground if you had to say."
—
I came from another world, one that exists millions of stars away from this one. It's less lively and bright than this world, but it was habitable for my people. You just had to have the right eye to ignore the danger. Or you can just bite the chains and endure the scar.
—
Out there, I was only a civilian like you. Nobody cares about me, and I am often left out of the picture of the town. But I am eager to make odds even at the most impossible one, if it means I could inspire those like you to feel enlightened, boosted, or even challenged by me.
—
Unfortunately, my people are ignorant. No thoughts, no eyes, and nothing but a pure savagery of an animal, if I could say. Their lives are ruled only by an unguided instinct for light and the infancy of a coward. They do not want to be saved, they do not want to be taught anything—they only want to enjoy life like a child. I would say it's reasonable to preserve, but I would not preserve foolishness.
—
While these pebbles just learn how to sharpen a stone for a spear, I have made several steps beyond even your kind's understanding. I had soared through the sky, controlled the weather, and even grasped electricity as if it were my companion. It was everything a man like me could achieve alone.
—
But for what? These creatures are too simple to understand my advancement. They called me a fool, a defect, or even worse—a freak. It's quite ironic that my gift was also my curse. The whole planet seems to resent me for who I am and for what I became.
—
Now look at who's laughing now? They watched their Earth shatter, the magma flood the crust, and their lovely planet turn into hell. And while that happened, I was already three steps ahead of them, fleeing what they called ridiculous. I guess rocks never learned a thing.
—
A long journey in the ocean of space had taught me how insignificant their mockeries are. I could have become a better man here than there, with creatures that truly understand me. I have learn that I was a prisoner of a false verdict, and that I have escaped my execution rightfully. I must make the right of the life I had worked hard for.
—
Now, I shall make this planet recognise the greatness of this man. They will learn from me, and they will learn to fear stupidity. I am eager to start from where you began, human.
—
"I pity you. I understand you in every corner of your skin, construct." She replies. "I do wonder why people could not open their eyes for the truth for once."
"Maybe because truth isn't as true as you think it is?" Cyrus replied. "I mean, people didn't ahe to see the sun because you did, Eve."
"That's why you're doomed, priest. You cannot comprehend the prisoner you have become in a cell you have built." Charger ridiculed.
———————————————————————————————————
[Night]
The night is darkness inevitable. Only the convenience of exile can give the librarian comfort for the rest of the night. It wouldn't be a good home to begin with, but it didn't have to be comfortable to be true. What matters is that the flesh remained warm until tomorrow.
Waves of water splash the beach fiercely, tearing through the old line and nearly wetting the librarian's foot without her knowing. It is a sign that she must move back before she is submerged, cold, and dead.
"Wonderful." Eve gazed at the stars. "With stars flourishing like this every day, who could've imagined how our journey would be tomorrow? Look at them guiding us into the new world."
"I cannot. I may have feared myself firsthand..." Charger swings on his metal hammock.
"I love these stars. But you know what I love more? To have someone to share this sweet and savoury corn of mine while it's...hot." Cyrus winks. "I guess if there's really no chance for us, why don't we?"
"You read my mind, Cyrus. Come here..."
The rough yet graceful warmth of the fire spreads around the librarian's body like a blanket against a winter night. It has never felt safer for the librarian to lie low on the sand and dream without a wall. No more misleading voices, false confidence, and a dead end to her thought. Now, there's only a gaze she wanted to see—the fiery heat of life.
"Heck, no! I'm out of here!" Charger jumps off.
But this fire is remarkable. Its heat does not burn through others like many. It is a fire that dives into the abyss and echoes without scorching pain, as if made purely of one's desire. It would have been a good night for her, swimming in the new world of fire and sparks. Everything around her body jolted with new 'things'.
"Aah! Cyrus! You're being too rough! Too rough!"
"Oh, I love when you scream, my moonlight! I'm not holding back tonight!"
The three sat in this fire camp, pondering the beauty of their homeland from the hills to the ravine. The togetherness reminds the cleric of his people, the sound of their livid voice, and the warm smile that can only be seen by a man who has everything.
The librarian sat pleasantly on the sand, grasping the thick sand into a handful of ball that comforts her and eases her curiosity. It is still warm, and touching it warms her from the cold wind passing through her skin. It reminds her of all the rage and contempt she has for the town that resents her voice.
"Cyrus, did you just..." She can feel something rising, and it's not her curiosity. Her face was flustered at the sight of even darker days.
"Sorry, can't resist. May I, princess?"
"With pleasure."
"AAH!" The echo of her moan was faint.
All she could have now is a dream surging in her head. Happiness is found where the door is opened. And as she knew it, that door of enlightenment had always been open. But the stairway is her enemy, for walking is almost impossible.
"Oh, for star's sake, keep it down!" Charger yelled. "I may as well have gone deaf by now."
"Wow, Cyrus...have you done this before? I can tell that you've been busy lately." Eve smirks; she can feel her chest tingling with ambition. That's the beating impatience for tomorrow.
"Eh, my boyfriend was quite a charmer before."
Tonight was a good day to rest. With stars spreading freely like this, nobody could resist counting every one of them while they are lying on the bed with their arms wrapped around their loved ones. Tomorrow was a good day to leave this island, when the snow was setting for a great death of Gold Creek.
"Phew...that was fast, but at least rewarding." She lay sweating beside Cyrus. It was fun to be alive with him.
"Really?"
"No. I'm disappointed that you couldn't catch a breath every half a minute. It killed the mood for me..."
"Aw, love. You're too rough on my feelings..." He frowns.
Perhaps the librarian was too excited, too pleased, that she would not have remembered a thing behind the wall. As if someone was waiting for her, someone there.