The Invisible Mystery

Chapter 34: Glimpse of their Past

It felt like time was slowly passing by in this place. After all, when I finished talking to Storm, it felt like the time had come to a halt—the time felt like it was suddenly stopped by something—and I could not seem to get this feeling off my chest.

I could not seem to make myself believe that everything would just be alright, when I knew that it was really not, because of the things that we still needed to do in order for them to fulfill their wishes to cross the afterlife—to be able to complete the one that they should have done a long time ago.

I let out a sigh as I started to prepare for the day. I did all of my morning routine, before I finally went out of my cabin to check on the others—because I knew that they were having a hard time thinking about everything they had to do in order to remember and think of the wishes they wanted to have.

I thought that my day would just go as it usually does, but it seemed like I was wrong because the moment that I opened the door of my cabin, I almost had a heart attack when I saw that Cloud was there with Winter, as though they were waiting for me to come out of my room.

It seemed like they did not notice that I was already outside though, because they were already bantering at this kind of time—even though it was still early in the morning—though I knew that I should not be shocked any longer, as I knew that they tended to argue whenever they would meet.

And yes, I knew that I was like that too, when Cloud and I would cross paths, but I knew that I knew when to stop and when I should not bother him—unlike both of them who seemed as though they did not know the word silence.

I did not know what they were arguing about, but I did not give any single concern about it anymore, as I just decided that I should break off their fight or else I would not hear the end of it if I did not do so.

“You know what? It is so early in the morning, and this is what I would see the first thing I took a step outside of my cabin,” I said to them, because that was the thing that I think would get their attention—and it seemed like I was right as I saw how both of them whipped their heads towards my direction.

They have this almost the same expression on their faces while doing so, though just like earlier, I did not bother to take notice of it any longer, as I knew that it might be a cause for them to continue their argument—an argument that I did not know why it even started in the first place.

“Why are you guys here anyway? Is something wrong?” I asked them as I started to walk towards the cafeteria to get a light breakfast, because I knew that I needed some energy if even the person that I would see on this early morning was them.

It was not like I was complaining about their presence or anything, but I knew that they would just drain my energy if we were together all day long—I knew that they were just bound to have an argument with each other, and I should take note that I could see that I might get roped into it.

“Actually, Evo asked us to get you and invite you to have breakfast with us in the garden,” Winter said, which made me hum as I stopped walking to look at both of them as though I was asking them to continue what they were saying. “He said that it is a perfect time to get to know each other.”

I saw how she frowned because of her own words, as though she could not figure out what Evo really wanted to imply about what he had said to her—to them, actually, because I so how Cloud frowned too as if he was trying to think about it too but he could not seem to think of anything at all.

I also thought about what she had said to me, which I think was Evo’s own words when he was asking them a favor to ask me to have breakfast with them, but I, do not think that I could find the right explanation for that—and I did not want to have a headache first thing in the morning so I just decided to ask both of them to lead the way to where they planned to have a breakfast.

“Maybe, we could ask Evo about it because it confuses me too,” I told both of them, and they just nodded their heads at me as though they both agreed that was the best choice that we had at that moment.

“For the first time since you came to Section A, I agree with what you said,” Cloud said, as though he was taunting me to have an argument with him, and I think that he succeeded in doing so because I found myself frowning while I shouted at him.

“Hey! What do you mean by that?”

It was almost as though I was offended by what he said, but it seemed like he could not be bothered by it as I saw how he just shrugged his shoulders as he already walked ahead of Winter and me.

“I meant it that way, so don’t ask about it anymore,” he even told me, which made me almost fume because of the anger that I was feeling.

“You are really sharp-tongued, you know?” I said to him, but he just shrugged it off as though he was not really affected by it and I was about to continue on what I was saying to him, but I stopped when I felt that Winter held onto my wrist as though she wanted to stop me from anything that I planned to tell Cloud.

That was the only moment that I had given up on arguing with him and just let it go, because I knew that I would not get away from Evo’s endless talk once again if ever he saw Cloud and I fighting each other once again—I knew that he would just shush us, and I did not want to hear that terrifying tone of his whenever he was doing that.

And so, even though I was still slightly annoyed because of Cloud, all I just did was to follow him until we reached the garden where Evo had planned to have breakfast with all of us.

It seemed like we were the only people that were waiting, because I already saw the twins sitting beside Evo at a picnic table that was located near the fountain in that garden while they waited for us to arrive.

That was the very first time that I had ever been there, though I could recognize the path that we took earlier was the one that I took yesterday—the very same place where I managed to talk to Storm about the matters that he had on his mind at that very moment.

I can say that, just like the places that we managed to see in that place, this garden was also beautiful. After all, I could see that it was really taken care of because of all the flowers and greenery that were present in that place.

I could even see that the fountain that was near where we were was really clear, as though we could drink straight out of it—though I knew better than to try to do it.

It was not the only thing that caught my attention though, because the moment that I took a look at the foods and drinks that we had on the picnic table, I already knew that this was not just a normal breakfast—I immediately figured out that they were planning on staying there for almost the whole day.

“Oh! Just like what we were doing before, huh?” Winter exclaimed, which made me look in her direction, but I saw that she was already walking towards the picnic table.

I also saw that Cloud casually sat beside the twins, so I did not hesitate about doing that too, while I asked them the question that suddenly came into my mind because of what Winter had said earlier.

"Were you guys always doing this in the past?” I asked them, interested in their past because it seemed like this was the very first time that they freely said something about their lives before all of this had happened.

They all nodded excitedly as though they were suddenly taken back to those times when they were still freely doing anything that they wanted to do and no one, not even the time, was stopping them from doing so.

“Our adviser always wanted us to do something that requires a bond with each other,” Evo said, and I could not help but to smile when I saw how happy they looked while he was saying those kinds of things. “And Willow insisted that we should do this every morning while we talked about any topic that we could think of.”

“I think that it is a lovely sight to see,” I told them, which made them all nod their heads at me as though they all agreed with what I had said.

I was imagining what they were saying while they were describing what they would do whenever they had breakfast together, and I must say that I could really feel the closeness that they had to each other—I could feel that they were really so close to each other that it almost made me wonder…

“Were you guys really close even from the start?” I asked them, and that was the moment that I saw how they stopped as though they were thinking about what to answer to my question, though it seemed like Cloud was the only one who had thought of an answer about it because he was the one who replied to me.

“We actually see one another as a threat for the top spot on the University’s ranking,” he told me, honestly, which made all of them keep their silence as though they wanted him to be the one to tell me everything that I wanted to know. “But as time went by, and while our adviser had observed the silent tension between all of his students, he decided to do something about it so that we could get close to each other.”

“So it was rough from the start, huh,” I muttered, and I did not think that they would hear it, not until Cloud continued what he was saying, as though he knew that I was still curious about the topic that we suddenly opened up.

“It is, but because of his efforts for all of us, we realized that fighting for the top spot is not worth it if we lose someone on the way,” he said, and I could not help but to feel a little flattered as I knew that it was not really easy to achieve one goal—to be more precise, a goal that you had to get while fighting with someone you wanted to get close to.

“I bet he was kind to you guys,” I told them, which made them stop once again, as if they could not figure out what I was trying to say. “I mean, your previous advisers, because I could feel that he has done everything that he could just so you guys could have a memorable life.”

Their smiles immediately returned when I finished saying those words, as though they did not have any complaints about it. It was almost as though they were taken back to those times when everything was just normal—those times that they did not have to worry about anything at all because they knew that they had their backs and that they would never leave each other’s side.

The whole place went silent right after that, though it immediately broke when we heard Thunder let out a sigh as if what he had on his mind that moment was enough for him to do that.

“I suddenly missed Willow,” he said, which caught everyone’s attention, and I felt like the atmosphere suddenly darkened because of the sudden thought of Willow. “After all, just like what you guys said, this was her idea all along and we just managed to recreate it without her.”

“Stop saying that as though we would not meet her anymore,” Winter said, and I saw how she was trying to stop her tears from falling because of what Thunder had said—and I immediately knew that they still had not gotten over her disappearance yet.

“That’s right, Willow managed to get what she wanted to have all along,” Evo even added, which made all of us look in his direction. “That is why, we had to do everything that we could so that we could also succeed in achieving the goal that we all wanted to have.”

I could see that the two of them were trying to lift up the mood, but it was still not enough as I could see that they were just trying to be okay. I could see that they were only masking up their feelings, and I did not want that for them.

I never liked the idea that they had to hide the emotions that they were feeling, even though they were already in this kind of situation—even though they did not know for how long they would be able to hold onto it.

I never wanted that, because I also knew how much it hurts trying to suppress the feelings that they have—the emotion that they have. I knew how much it pained them inside, and I never wanted that, so I decided to do the one thing that I think would lift their spirits up once again—and that one thing that I think would let their emotions out at the right time.

“Isn’t that the reason why I am here?” I asked them, which made them look at me, still suppressing the emotion that they were feeling at that moment. “I will help you guys achieve every single goal that you want to achieve. I will help you guys fulfill every single thing that you want to have.”

I saw relief in their eyes, as though they were waiting for someone to say those words to them. It was almost as though this was the first time that they ever heard someone else say those words for them to hear.

“You can always rely on me.”

That’s right. They can always lean on me whenever they need someone to cry on, to rely on.

“You can always tell me your worries.” I looked at their faces one by one, as though I wanted them to remember every word that I was saying to them. “You can always run into my side and tell me everything that you want to let out of your heart.”

So that you can let your emotions out. So that you will not bottle up every emotion that you are feeling… So that you do not have to worry about anything at all.

“So that you can fulfill your wishes and know that you do not have to regret anything in this world when it is already time for you to go.”

Because that is how it should be. That is how it was, and I am sure that I would do anything just so it would be fulfilled.