Part-1
I hate a person who grieves on his pasts traumas and get sympathy from others. Why to tell? That's how it was with me.
But here I am doing the same thing I hated..
I feel better talking to her... No! It is beacuse I talk to Lucy that I feel better now.
I look up to her.
Hm? Is she crying?
"Ahh!! I am so sorry! I didn't want to make you feel bad! Please don't cry!"
She wipes her tears fiercely!
"You moron! Who's crying! Huh! It's just that something... Was poking my eyes ..."
Hehe! You can't even lie properly.
"Yeah! Alright!"
She's too kind for me beacuse of that I let my guard down and became close with her.
And the consequences.. I had to experience the same agony as that time with Kiara.
I felt betrayed by fate.. But I saw her again and I decided to protect her. Not long after that I found myself in this outstanding world...
"Hahaha..."
"Jeez! Don't laugh at me! I'll make sure that you don't have that 32 teeths later."
"Sorry..I just... It's just that you are so kind."
"?!" She sees me in awe.
I respect her not for silly things but yes! I respect her resolve.
Looking the other side and extending her arms she walks toward me.
"Here! You can have a hug?" Blushing and pouting she says
Eh? Am I dreaming.. Or she really wants to hug me!
"..." I can't response to that.
She kneels down and hugs me. Wrapping her arms around my head and sticking my face into her chest.
(Ahhh! How soft and big! I am curious what cup are they? I guess I need to go deeper to know it!)
Suddenly she straightens up and hold me by my shoulders.
"Rayan, now I am curious too! What were you thinking?" she says angrily.
She can read minds!?
"I.. I just.." I am in a pickle right now.
"Don't talk! Why didn't you tell me that you were injured too!"
Ahh so she is talking about the wound that pirate wolf left me. The bleeding might have started again.
Sigh* I was worrying for nothing.
"Tell me! Why didn't you said anything to me?" she angrily says.
Argh! This is worst! She is really so angry.
"..." I don't know what to say.. I just look up to her in a confusing way.
"You are a big idiot! You know!"
She clearly looks furious but worried at the same time too. I didn't expect this reaction from her.
"Ouch! My shoulder!" she is pressing it hard.
"Oh sorry...! No.. Wait, you should be apologising for not telling me! Idiot!"
She quickly takes out the scarf or skirt of her jeans. She wraps me in it like a bandage.
And
She grabs my hand.
"Come with me.." and takes me out of the cave.
"But.. Where are we going?"
"Just shut up! I won't even accept an apology right now! Just follow me..."
"Yes... Madam!" I whisper.
Her hands are warm.. I think it was because of us. She is worked up because of us.
I follow her wherever in the world she is taking me.
It was almost night at that time. The falling snow settled and sky became more clearer...
It was quiet yet beautiful..
She takes me to the waterfall.
"Now! Follow me inside!"
"Inside? But there's no way here..."
Or there is one...
Apart from the raging water, there's a small gap on the right side.
She enters it.
"Was there really something like this hiding here?" I ask her in a surprise.
"If you look closely then-yes! It is covered by water and several vines growing at the side."
"It's really dark inside." Thanks to Lucy for holding my hand and guiding me.
"We are close" she whispers.
The end of the path is shining brightly. I think we reached outside.
*Light shines.
".." Weakens my vision for a second
"We are here!" she exclaims.
The light it isn't bright because we are outside... It's the luminous water in the pond, that's spreading light everywhere!!
"Now this is such a view! And it deserves a wow!" I exclaim in surprise.
Part-2
It's a cave and it's spacious. Apart from this, it is underground and there's a hole in the upper surface to see the above world.
I can't explain what is infront of me.. It's just like that night when she showed me the glowing trees. How's this even possible...!!
A pond in a cave surrounded by some rocks and on top of it, it's glowing. It's bigger than the compound infront of the house.
"I can say this is the best thing I have seen so far."
"isn't it?"
The water is luminous. How scientific and natural can it be?
This world.. It is giving me more and more chaos day by day..
"It's the 'Weeping pond'."
"Weeping pond?" (Strange!)
Something so beautiful is related to grief..
"Yes! Now take off your clothes!" suddenly something unthinkable she says.
"Huh! But why?"
"Do you want to see the consequences or will you do like I said!"
Scary!
"Yes..yes! I will do it!"
She threatens too well with an emotionless face.
Anyway, "I will take it off.."
"?!"
"You won't mind seeing me changing, right? Or you can turn around if you do mind!"
"Huh?! Right! Ahem..! Just do it quickly and go into the pond." Feels embarrassed and turns away. Her face glows beet red.
"Yeah" hehe! I am enjoying this.
Excluding her threatening, she expresses herself very well in front of me.
I take my clothes off as ordered and enter the pond.
Surprisingly, I didn't feel cold or any chilly feeling while entering the pond.
The water is warm and perfect for late night winter baths.
It is real, the water is glowing itself.
How fascinating...!
"You can turn around. I am in the water."
"Okie!"
"So, now would you tell me what this is about?"
"Yes! Mr. Curious!"
I have a name!
"This is not a normal pond, the water in it is holy water, it has healing ability. It heals any kind of wound on a short scale. The wound on your back which I see from my pov is lethal, the water will act as an antibody and will give you relief from your pain and try to recover your wound."
What?!
"I.. Didn't get..."
Huh?! "It's really working!" My exhausted body is being relieved...
It's like I am in a new body itself.
The pain it's fading slowly.
"I'm still mad at you.. So don't think whatever I am doing is to help you out of pity... " she suddenly speaks.
"Ah.. Right! The wound wasn't that painful from the start.. So if you hadn't help me, I wouldn't have mind. It was my fault overall."
"Really?! You make me worry sometimes..." giving out a sigh she says"I helped you because you are the only person I can't see in pain... You should really read between lines.. Idiot! " she whispers.
"Huh? What was that?" I exclaim in surprise.
"Nah nah! Nothing! Nothing at all." panicking a bit she says.
*sigh
I do owe her an apology and I should thank her for saving me..
"Lucy.. I'm sorry it was my fault and thank you for all this." in a low voice I say.
"Apology accepted on one condition!"
What is she gonna ask me!
"What!?"
"You will tell me about anything that hurts you or makes you worry. Promise me that. You didn't tell me about your wound and I don't want to repeat it." with a promising voice she says.
She.. What is she asking is..
"Yeah! I will"
It makes me happy. She's really worried for me.. I was hesitating for no reason.
"Also, the major scar on your back will remain as it is. It is bigger and deeper than other wound. The holy will only be able to reduce its pain." Giving out a sigh she says " With such great ability it has some drawbacks too." with a pale face she says.
"Oh.. I see thank you! It's more than enough for my body."
She walks around the pond and sits on a rock in front of me.
"But don't worry I will bandage it afterwards!" by saying this she gently smiles at me.
Such pleasure!
Ha! I am having fun. I stretch my body in excitement.
Part-3
Weeping pond? Huh?
"Why is it called 'Weeping pond'."
I fail to hide my curiosity and bluntly asked about it.
"So curious! Huh."
I nod in excitement.
She laughs.
"Alright! I'll tell you. It was not always a magical pond but a normal one. It was formed by accident, that is, the creation of this holy water."
Woah! She's using some divine words.
She continues.
"There is a legend among us known to few and from that we named it as the 'Weeping pond'."
"Legend? What legend?" I ask quickly without wasting her time.
"It is said it is created from the tears of a God; when he was passing by this area."
For real?
"It is also said that the period when this happened is also very crucial that it is still affecting the present of this world."
I am just in there, in the pond, in awe.
"For real? What was the legend!? " I ask her out of curiosity.
"Yes! Ahemm...let me repeat the legend for you."
[A legend of a God passed down by generation to generation. In that a crisis appeared. Known by little, treated as a rumour...
A little incident happened, descending upon the thy world, a divine God-obligated to his duty, roared around the world.
In a dead forest, a misfortune befall on thy God. But divine fortune showered like tears in a pond. And the dead came to life.]
She finishes her saying. I just stared at her in a surprise. Thinking I am still dreaming until a cold breeze wake me up, chilling my nerves.
"I think you are clever enough to decipher it. Although many tried to fully decipher it but failed. No one knows what that means."
"Yeah! I do understand it."
"But still I can't figure out what the words 'misfortune' and 'fortune' relate to.."
It's like the same as on earth.... Where beliefs are believed to be true and are worshipped as divinity.
"Oh dear! Why do you look confused, shall I explain it!" she teases me again.
"Hmph! You don't know me. I am the cleverest person you would've ever met. So stop looking down on me Hehe!" I look like a fool after saying this.
"Hm?! Logically, I can't help it!"
"Right! Mr curious will accept defeat at this one as he is dumb in his brain. " using funny expression and actions I say - I mimic a funny character.
"Muahhahaha" she laughs in tears.
Ok! Now! This is it!
"You can stop now. I don't want to be funny again and don't even ask me to mimic anyone. I am done!" with a scrunchy face, I say.
"Alright!! Haha..."
She told me before leaving the home to mimic someone, a funny character from the earth. Absolutely I denied but.. It is what it is now.
With a little pause she says-
"Say Rayan, isn't the moon beautiful?"
"Yes! It's a full moon."
"Right! It's so elegant and beautiful."
Her face suddenly saddens up. The silver shine of the moon on her face slowly fades away as the gloomy clouds cover it.
She adds-
"What do you see when you look up to the sky?"
As dense I can be, I remain silent.
She continues.
"You know what I see- a limitless sky yet finite, the stars are countable and named and the moon is in our grasp. For a person who have achieved the impossible, is there anything to look forward?"
She does say something strange sometimes!
With a little pause I say-
"Joy and fun?"
"?!"
"Doing something that makes you feel joy and cheerful, that's what you should look at. Even if you achieve the impossible and don't enjoy the process then it's all futile. But if it's enjoyable and it's already achieved and you ask what's there to look forward?! Then you are mistaken."
She looked surprised after hearing me.
"Mistaken?! You say. Then I am being mistaken, but how do you explain to someone for whom the term mistaken has become the reality itself."
"?!" I get a little surprised by that.
She looks at me like see-even-you-can't-answer face.
"Then mistaken the mistaken ."
That's right mistaking a mistaken.
"Even if a person says that he's mistaken about something and can't see the real thing, he just need to mistake it again.
Mistaking it will open a path to the real thing."
"I understand... I do get what you're trying to say. But even if I do that there will be 1 in a billion chance that I would get the real thing." she questions me again.
I can't deny that.. She's right. If you show a person an apple and he is mistaken about it and calls it a mango. Then again if you told him to intentionally mistake it then you would get the real amswer; then there are possibilities he can call it banana, grape or infinite other fruits before getting to the apple.
But..! But..!
"Isn't it perfect then?"
"Hm! What?"
"You said, what will a person do if he had nothing to look forward to, right? Then what I suggested is perfect for it."
After hearing this, she leans forward in a surprise and confusion.
I continue -
"By mistaking it you can open new paths yet to be discovered and you can look forward to them. You say there's a slim chance of reaching to real thing then isn't it great and thrilling that there are billions of things you haven't enjoyed yet and are being ready to be exploited by you"
In a pure shock she whispers-
"Yeah...but?!"
"Ahemm..! Let me correct and repeat it for you. Mistake that you're mistaken then you will dicover that.. The sky is limitless,there's still uncountable stars and there's always a full moon after a full moon with a new beginning with someone or something."
After hearing this she bursts out laughing and says-
"Hahah... Idiot! Do you even know what you're saying?"
Actually no! But yes it is true. The source is me. I was mistaken that my world is the only reality I can ever see. But fate had other ideas and you showed up in my life. And here I am exploring my other realities.
"But I do get that there's always something you should look forward to.." she says
With a little pause she continues-
"You really made me smile today... I am glad I woke you up.. " and she smiles at the last of sentence. The moon light covers her face again with a new beginning.
Wait! Wait! Are my ears hearing correct words. Don't tell me she just fell for me or is it just my delusion. But I can't keep up the excitement at this rate. What if it's true?
This.. This is it. This is the moment when a hero proposes his heroine.
"Umm.. Ahh... Then could we be.. "
She cuts in and says in a calm and normal voice-
"We can't!"
Argh!! At least let me finish what I am saying.
"Leaving that aside... Are you okay exposing your naked body in front of me?!"
Hm?
Ahh I didn't realise that I subconsciously stood up in a shock.
"Per...pervert!" I exclaim.
"Huh?! I am not a pervert. You.. You are a pervert. Didn't you try to take peek at me in the bathroom whenever I took a bath. Thanks to Kuro for guarding outside."
Huh?! She knew about it
"You knew... "
"..."
We both blush and turn away our faces in embarrassment.
I should die somewhere.
"A.. Anyway, we can't be friends. I can't engage with you like a friend or any other way. I already explained you thoroughly that my job is to keep you safe until you return. So for the time being, pretend, I am the host and you are a guest!"
Even if she says something like this so normally, then what about the time we spent together. Don't tell me it was just an act.
"Then if.. If it was not me.... If it was someone else would you have treated him the same way?" I restrained myself from asking this question to her.
But.. I think I got my answer.
"And also because I am indebted to you..." she whispers.
What debt?
"So.. Please don't argue with me on this topic anymore."
She stunned me with all this. I don't even know what to get out of all this.
It was my mistake. I misjudged her behavior and pushed my desires on her. It was all a delusion from the start.
"Okay! I understand! I think we should go back to the cave now."
She deceived me all this time or rather I deceived myself by not believing her words. If that's the type of relation she wants, a deceptive one. Then let's get along with it.
"Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
She didn't seem disappointed nor excited with it. Just a plain face, behind it I don't know what she is thinking anymore.
In the presence of moonlight, we walk in silence. Neither she nor me utter a word or make a gesture. Gradually, I noticed we were distancing ourselves in this awkwardness and obligations.
There is a borderline one should never cross while deceiving someone. You need to make sure that if you deceive someone, you should be aware of it. But I wasn't aware that I was deceiving myself and things turned out this way.
But.. I am aware now.
Part-4
They came back to the cave.
Lucille was still worried about Kuro.
"Kuro!" she yells but the place where they left is empty.
She becomes anxious.
Did a monster took him out or some other bad thoughts come to their minds.
"Wuff!" A bark echoes throughout the cave. Kuro comes out in the moonlight.
Awaken and in his smaller form.
"Kuro! You are okay.. " she rushes and embraces him.
They hugged each other as if they were meeting each other after so many years.
He starts licking her out of appreciation.
"Hey!.. Hey! Don't do that now, rest easy!"
As Rayan gazed at them, he is slowly getting reminded of Kiara. If she was still here then that's how they would have looked like... He thinks
As soon as Kuro realises that Rayan is present there besides Lucy, he jumps out of her hands and rushes toward him.
He stands in front of him and wags his tail.
(What? Does he want to fight me?) he thinks.
He unexpectedly comes near him and starts rubbing himself against his leg.
"What.. What are you doing?" he gets surprise by this instant personality change.
"I think he likes you!" Lucy says.
(I wouldn't believe my eyes and ears and zoned out for a second.)
"Umm... But.."
"Look at you getting all flustered. You do like animals."
She teases him.
He catches him off guard and pins him down.
*Thud
"Ahhh.. No!" Rayan falls on the ground with all of Kuro's tongue on his face. He continues to lick him.
"Haha..! Look at you two go!" Only one person was having the best time and it was Lucy.
Seriously...!
*sigh
(I think it's his way of thanking me.)
*sigh
(I don't even know anymore.)
(But it kinda reminds of something I missed so long.)
(Kiara...! What do I do? I am sure if she was able to speak, she would say-
"Give it a rest you fool!"
I think I need to stop thinking rationally and enjoy it for the time being. ) he thinks.
"I am sure she was happy!" Lucy, out of the blue says.
"Huh?!"
"I am sure she was grateful to you when you found her. The time you spent with her. The memories you gave her everyday... She might have missed all of this if it wasn't for you."
He stays silent and listen to her quietly.
"Even she want you to live happily and cheerfully rather than regretting for what happened. You opened her a new path. It's you who gave her a new reality. So you can rest for now."
She says to him with a gentle smile.
He zoned out for a moment and recalled his memories with Kiara. Tears ran down his cheeks. The thing that burdened him this few years was lifted by few words uttered by her.
(I think this is what I craved for....
Someone to tell me that. Someone to free me of my guilt.) he thinks.
He clenched his right fist and wrapped his arm around his eyes and cried silently yet loudly enough to reach Kiara.
"I hope you find me someday too." Lucy whispers to herself.
Kuro continues to lick him...
Rayan thinks to himself -
At that time I didn't realise but I crossed the line once again. But this time it was common emotion. It was mutual understanding and emotions of individuals with the same situation. Although my case is slightly different but still the words reached my heart and freed me from my chains of guilt.