Moon's lie

Transcendence of Heart

Dari's eyes shook hearing Alon's word. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Alon, now sitting on top of the cage couldn't help but sigh at the sibling's predicament. Not just theirs though.

Tess and Daisy were riding the horse skillfully. Alon found the two girls riding the horse really cool.

'I want to learn horse riding too.' He thought to himself.

Seeing the familiar location Alon jumped off the cage and dashed towards the forest.

"Where are you going?" Tess shouted, alarmed by his action.

"I have to fetch someone," Alon replied, disappearing into the thick of the forest.

All Tess could do was gnash her teeth and sigh.

************************************************

Alon was now running inside the forest.

He soon reached where a little boy had cuddled his knees forming into a ball, beside the boy, there were the words he had engraved before he left, 'Wait here.'

He walked up to the boy and shook him gently while calling out his name…

Well, he wanted to. Just that he did not know the boy's name even now; he never got to ask the boy, partly because of his nonstop crying.

The boy woke up, saw Alon, and started to cry again.

"I…I d…don't know t…o read." The boy said, sobbing.

Alon was caught by surprise by the boy's declaration. He had never taken that into consideration.

"I'm sorry," Alon said sincerely and grabbed onto the boy.

"Let's go."

*************************************************

Tess was getting worried by Alon's disappearance now.

"How can an adult be so irresponsible?" She said while clicking her tongue.

It had been an hour since Alon had left; Tess was now getting worried about his safety, though she did not intend to show even the slightest of it.

'Maybe the bandits called for backup and ambushed him?'

'No that can't be, he's strong enough to make them flee for their lives.'

'Maybe… He really ran away?'

Just as Tess was getting deeper in thought, her eyes caught a shadow moving in the forest.

It was moving toward them at an incredible speed.

Tess's eyes became moist for the first time, she was scared.

She closed her eyes in fear and shouted on top of her lungs, "YOU BASTARD!!!"

And the shadow leaped out of the forest towards her.

"Why did you suddenly shout? I almost fell on my face there." Alon said shamelessly.

Tess slowly opened her eyes; tears were flowing down her face.

Alon was taken aback, Tess, the girl with an attitude was crying?

He had almost forgotten that Tess was just a small girl, just because she held on strong did not mean she was invulnerable.

He felt guilty for not realizing it. 

He made the cage stop to let the girls take a break.

"I'm sorry." Alon patted Tess on the head, making her ears go red, and handed her a pouch, "Here, drink some water."

As he was handing Tess water, her eyes landed on the boy on his back.

"Sister!"

Before she could ask anything, the boy shouted out, climbing off of Alon's back and dashing toward the cage.

Dari who had her head rested on her knees, looked up.

She stood up shakily and walked out of the cage with a smile reaching her eyes while looking at the boy running toward her with moist eyes.

"Kabi," She called out gently at the boy.

Alon looked at the brother and sister with a gentle smile.

All the girls were looking at the sibling's reunion; maybe they were also anticipating their reunion with their families.

"F...Father m...mother died s...saving me." Kabi said sobbing in Dari's embrace.

Hearing that, Dari made a pained expression but still said consolingly, "Everything will be okay."

'I cannot cry right now. I have to be strong, at least for my brother.' She thought to herself.

Just as Dari had somehow managed to swallow back her tears, she and her brother were pulled into an embrace.

"Yes, everything will be okay."

Hearing the same words she had just said repeat, reassured her strangely. She also wanted to be consoled. She also wanted to mourn her loss.

Alon could hear faint sobs coming from Dari. He felt his heart break a little.

He felt bad for the kids, thankful for the fate that brought him here, and also resentment towards the fate for being heartless.

A gentle wind enveloped the three of them, giving them a moment away from the cruel world, away from their cruel fates. Alon felt a wall crumble around his heart, opening itself to the wind. He felt the wind caress his heart gently, consolingly.

Tess was watching it all unfold before her.

Alon's aura was changing rapidly, from sad to kind, and then to enraged.

In the end, a gentle green aura enveloped the three in an embrace.

"The First Transcendence," Tess muttered to herself.

Alon stayed like that for a couple more minutes and slowly opened his eyes, smiling contently.

The siblings in his embrace had fallen asleep after crying their hearts out. He grabbed them and laid them inside the cage with the help of other girls.

After getting them settled, he noticed the change in how the wind behaved around him, he felt his body become one with the wind.

Alon disappeared from where he was standing and appeared a hundred meters away. It was the same speed he had before but this time he did not create any strong wind neither felt any resistance.

"Hehe, now that's more like it." He said in a triumphant tone while rubbing his nose.

He again disappeared and returned to where he was standing.

Tess walked up to him and asked, "What is your transcendence?"

Alon was taken aback by Tess's sudden question and made an 'I don't understand' face.

"What was your first wall?" Tess enquired further.

Alon still made the same face.

Tess sighed and added while walking back to the horses, "I'm sorry, but I was just curious. Don't take it the wrong way."

Tess reached the horses and began petting them.

"It was my heart." Alon's voice reached her ears with a gentle breeze like a whisper.

She turned around but found Alon standing quite far from her, smiling.

"Don't tell anyone else though, okay?"

Alon's voice again reached her ears even though he never moved his lips. He then turned around and returned to the top of the cage, settling down while closing his eyes.

Tess felt a shiver run down her spine.

'Transcendence of Heart.'