Antithetic's Tale

Chapter 28

"What's that?" I asked Daldalita. She is reading a book, and she seems so serious about it.

He suddenly hid the book behind him and seemed to see something unexpected. She gave me a fraudulent smile and I can sense her uneasiness.

"It's, umm ---" He couldn't continue what he was about to say when Manok suddenly shouted. "It's time to eat!" That shout was loud.

"Come on, Athena." He stammered. I just raised my eyebrows because of what he was showing. He had already hidden in his bag the black book cover. I wanted to look at the book he was reading but he pulled me out.

He did not read the books in our school so it caught my attention. It looks like an old book.

I eat quietly. I use my hand to get food because they are not given a spoon and fork. We also eat on a leaf. I really do not understand why we eat this way.

I looked around, they were all talking, laughing, teasing and making noise. Except for Dwight and Daldalita. She is really acting weird. Manok is currently making noise. I just turned my attention back to what I was eating and I just thought that Daldalita was just feeling bad.

I remembered Ion again. I'm sure he's still here. I do not understand why he still has to go here. What is he doing here? Also, did I think that person was mad at me?

I suddenly thought, so maybe I don't have a hard time climbing this wild place because Ion uses his dexterity on me.

I turned my attention back to Dwight, he is staring. I measured my gaze. Until now, that thing is still what his eyes want to convey. He looks so cryptic and dark outside but his eyes are shouting something. As a result, I looked away. I can't be wrong, in our trainings, he taught me how to read how a person feels based only on his eyes. I learned that thing easily and I also practiced with Dwight.

I heard him laugh a little because of what I did. Everyone turned their attention to him and our surroundings became quiet. He's that amazing, with just a mere laugh, he can shut the hell out of everyone.

He ignored the manly eyes of the people looking at him. Maybe it is too unusual to hear him laughing. He is too serious and emotionless, that's why.

When we finished eating, the men put away all the dirt, while I entered the tent. Before I could enter here Daldalita preceded me in entering. When I entered, I saw him packing his bag and hiding it in a pile of our belongings. Before he did that, I saw the first letter of the title of the book There are A and I written here. The title of the book is two words so I saw two. I also immediately left because I was irritated by his actions.

I decided to go for a walk first. People are still scattered around so that is not the case with the professors. I looked for a place where no one was. No noise. The view of those below is quiet and visible. When I saw a place, I was amazed at what I saw. I sat down and looked around. I looked at the lights below where I was. It is so beautiful in the distance. The lights illuminated the houses, the sea, the trees. These things are so beautiful when you look at them from a distance. It is too captivating to the point that you are slowly convincing yourself that it is really beautiful. But actually, things are just beautiful from afar. It looks so perfect when you are at the place where you can only see it. But when you look closer and closer, everything is not beautiful.

When you started to feel the place and not just see it, you will realize that what you see from afar is just a mere lie. A big lie that is drowning you slowly.

It feels so good to see how serene the bay is, how shiny the light from houses are, how perfect the nature is from where I am now. I cannot see people's face and that made me think that they do not have one when you are looking at them from afar. You really cannot guess what is on their faces when you are merely looking at them.

I cannot hear the noises and the voices of people who keep on crying out and reaching out. This is what I really want. I do not want to see their faces, to hear their voices and feel their undying cry. Where I am now is exactly what I want. But I know that I cannot, I will not and I must not. This is what reality is, it keeps on making you stay on the chain. The chain where you cannot get what exactly you want to have and to happen.

I was stopped when I felt a thick cloth behind me. "What are you doing here?" I didn't look back because I knew who would dare to disturb my thinking.

"Expecting him?" I chilled another voice I could hear.

I felt him sitting next to me. I didn't expect him to show up right now, knowing that my batchmate might see him.

"Maybe someone will see you." I remind him. But he just threw a serious look at me.

"Ion." I call her name. I really can't understand him. He often smiles and jokes but in recent days, he has always been serious. Just like today.

"I know what's running on your mind, Iris." I was a little shocked when he called me by my name. I'm too used to it, me, being called Iris. That's my name for twenty years and whenever a person calls me that, I feel so glad about it. It's like, they know me, they know what my life is for the past twenty years.

"See that? That's one of the beautiful side of this planet. The view from afar. Look how wonderful it is. Now, zoom in, what do you see?" I almost did what he said zoom in.

"The other side of this planet." I answer him.

"So wrong! When you zoom in, the houses are already big. Hahahaha." He laughed out loud. I can't find which part of what he said should be laughed at.

"Seriously, when you zinoom in, you can see blurry. Here it is with digital cameras? It becomes blurry when approached? Now, that is exactly the world is. It is just beautiful when it is zoomed out."

After he said that, the two of us just kept quiet. Maybe a minute of silence before he speaks again.

"You can always get out of your cage." I was surprised by what he said.

"You're just afraid to get out. To do what exactly what you want and to have a liberation." He said again. Liberation when will people get this equally?

"The chain, it is breakable, Iris. You're firmer than the cage or the chain." I do not know why he is telling me this. I looked behind me to see if anyone was there, good and nothing. I went far so I knew no one would see us.

"When will you break the cage? To seek the truth?" I do not want to answer what he says.

"The truth is out there and the lie is inside the cage. Your mind is inside the cage, now, where do you think the lie is?" I looked at him. Zephyr told me the same thing, same meaning and same message.

"Here." He suddenly handed me something. A container that is cold. I watched it and the play looked like food

"That's ice cream. Pam still has no resentment." He says. I opened the relatively large round container. A brown meal greeted me. He gave me a spoon so I started eating it. I do not know where he got it but he seems to be right, it eases my heart because of the cold flowing down my throat.

"I want to go out, and go away. Away from the cage, the chains and the humans." This is my first time opening up to Ion.

"Then why don't you?"

"I am afraid to know the truth. I don't want to be hurt Ion. I don't know why I am feeling this uncertain thing, believe me, it's drowning me. I never felt this kind of feeling, but everything changes when I go out to see this world. I really don't know what's happening. " When I admit it. Yes, that is actually the reason why I keep on thinking and thinking about the mysteries surrounding me but I am not even doing an act to solve it. I am too coward to know the truth and I don't want to feel that abysmal pain.

Everything. My perception, my mind and the whole me changed. It feels like, I am slowly becoming a human. The way they think, the way they cause devastation and the way they are experiencing pain. Everything is happening to me. I am not dumb not to notice the changes I am up to.

I am becoming a human

"Nothing's wrong with being hurt, Iris. I thought you knew a lot because that's what I see, but I am wrong, you are just pretending that you know everything and that you don't really care." I bowed. Am I pretending?

"You won't notice all this, everything people do if you don't know. You care for everyone. You are just hiding it because you don't like that kind of feeling. I told you, get out of the cage. " I just gave him a smile. I really don't care about the humans. I just know their mistakes and flaws.

"Stop thinking and thinking, Iris. Your mind would not solve your wrestles alone. That's why you have the other parts. It was given to you, so use it." He said before spooning a spoonful of his ice cream.

"I can't trust my other body parts." Laughing I told him. That's right, I only trust my head alone.

"You're unbelievable. Hahaha." He laughed softly. It's funny how I doubt my own self.

"You know what?" I raised an eyebrow.

He looked at me sharply. His eyes seemed to speak. The same intensity of desire I saw in Dwight's eyes.

"I like you a lot."