Sora of the Moon

NATHAN~4

“Why is it always you following me?” I asked my sister furiously.

She sat on my bed crossing her legs. The way she wore the school uniform was at least cheeky.

“Why would I follow you Nathan? You just happened to have the room that belonged to me…well to my boyfriend to be exact”.

“What are you doing here? You dropped school anyway”.

She raised her shoulders.

“I still am allowed to attend my lessons you know”.

I looked at her disgracefully.

“That’s not why you’re here and you know it”.

She laughed flipping her black hair.

“You’re absolutely right. I’m here to make your life a living hell. You may have fooled dad but not me. You didn’t kill Sora eighteen years ago. There’s no way you did. You were head over heels for her. It’s just impossible, I know you well. Plus, if you had killed her, you wouldn’t be so wary of me. Am I wrong?”

I stiffen at her words. She was right. I hadn’t killed her. I just transferred her soul for one last time hoping not to meet me ever again. Speaking of which, now she’d be eighteen years old. Bad timing for her. This was the forbidden age. She would awaken now entirely if she came across something from our world. All those years that I had been transferring her soul from one body to another I made sure she didn’t turn eighteen. Things could get very complicated if she were to appear from nowhere. Complicated for both me and her. That, I wouldn’t bear. I wouldn’t bear her falling in love all over again with me neither letting myself give in. 

“You’re being delirious” I said and tried to walk past her. A cheerful girl named Hayley had asked me earlier to include her song lyrics to a painting of mine. It was surprising how she had spotted me holding it while walking out of the art studio. I didn’t even find the chance to tell her my name. She did tell me though the number of her room and to come by as soon as I changed clothes. But then Laylath appeared. She grabbed my arm.

“Where do you think you’re going boy?” 

“Away from your face”, I replied and I pulled my hand away from hers but her grip didn’t move an inch.

She pulled me close threatening my neck with the knife that she had shoved out of the case wrapped around her thigh.

“Listen to me Nathanael, I know that Sora is alive and I swear once I find her, I’ll make sure to kill her in front of your eyes and then send you to hell along with her. Hope I’m being clear enough for you”, she whispered to my ear while cutting my arm as a warning.

The sharp pain from her silver knife ran across my skin and the black blood that we shared slid down reaching my fingers. As soon as I clenched my teeth, she let me go and disappeared out of my room.

I immediately covered my wound with my palm. If the other tribes smelled or saw something like this, they’d demand explanations. I ran out of the dorms as fast as I could. I wouldn’t want anyone seeing me. As I was running I accidentally walked into Samuel’s shoulder and that guy was the last one I wanted to hit.

“Hey! Watch it Nathan!” he shouted at me but I really didn’t have his appetite for a fight.

“Bite me Samuel!” I shouted back at him walking past Luna and a girl. The girl looked surprised and for a couple of seconds my gaze met hers.

Oh God that was Laylath’s work. If she hadn’t mentioned Sora, I wouldn’t be mistaking her for that new girl. I didn’t pay further attention to her and headed for the infirmary in the second building.

From moment to moment I had burst into the infirmary hoping to not have caught anyone’s attention.

“Violet, I need your help!” I shouted closing the door behind me.

In a matter of seconds Violet had walked through some curtains. I understood he was busy today putting the infirmary together but I really needed his magic cream right now.

“Is something the matter Nathan?” he asked calmly.

Violet was the closest person to me. Someone who I could really call my family, even though we weren’t related. He was originally my mother’s fiancé. But thanks to my father’s appearance, they never got together.  My mother was a heroine. She had sacrificed her entire life for the balance of power between the three realms. If I was able to choose a father, the one for me would clearly be Violet. His white long hair was up in a ponytail and his icy blue eyes as gentle as ever. I didn’t answer him I just uncovered my wound for him to see.

“Oh dear…” he said inspecting it.

My blood was toxic for the moon children so he immediately put his gloves on.

“Is Laylath responsible for this?” he asked while cleaning it.

I nodded.

“For the love of moon, why does she treat you that way? My poor child…”

“Honestly Violet she doesn’t even need a reason to do it. She just enjoys it. Her favorite thing to do is making my life a living death”.

He searched into some of his shelves and found this crystal container of sparkling white cream. Moon Dust cream as he was calling it. He opened it carefully and took some of it to his fingers.

“Was it a silver knife?” he asked placing it on my wound.

“What else?” I said considering the answer to his question obvious.

“No wonder your arm ended up looking like this”.

Yeah, silver. That material was lethal for us all. Except from that our blood worked as a weapon. Our blood was toxic for the Moon Tribe. Moon Tribe’s blood was toxic for the Sun Tribe and the Sun Tribe’s blood was toxic for us, the Eclipse Tribe concluding the circle.

In matter of seconds I felt the cream’s soft and cold sensation wrapping my arm and easing the pain. I swear this cream was magical. Every time it alleviated this sharpness in a couple of seconds. Violet eventually bandaged my arm.

“Tomorrow it’ll be gone and you can take off the bandage”.

I slightly tested if the bandage was wrapped too tightly but it was perfect.  It almost felt as if it wasn’t bandaged up at all. I could still easily paint and make big moves.

“Thanks Violet. I owe you one”.

He smiled gently.

“Don’t mention it Nathanael. I’m always here if you need me, you know that. You’re the only person from your Tribe that I truly respect and adore. So will I be seeing you tonight?”

I smiled playfully.

“What kind of question is that? Moonlight Dance without me is like cookies and cream flavor without the cookies if you know what I mean”. I winked.  

“Besides, I always enjoy the Moon’s performance the most. Reminds me of mom…” I added.

He sighed.

“Aria right?”

I nodded at his words thinking about my mother and how happy would she be if she had married that man. I looked away embarrassed of the tears that were about to appear.

“It’s okay Nathan, I, as well, miss her a lot. Nothing to be embarrassed about.  In fact, feel proud that you can feel these kinds of emotions”.

“Thanks Violet. I’ll be taking my leave then. Keep up the good job of keeping the infirmary together”.

I said wiping my tears and left.

Now I needed to go to the girl’s dorm. Hope Hayley would be in her room. So, 56 was it? Perfect. I could use the balconies to reach that floor. It would be faster. I ran to the big alley at the back yard between the Dining Hall and the dorms. I carefully checked if there was anyone looking and I jumped up holding onto the floor balconies’ rails. Here we are, fifth floor. Thankfully at this kind of hour there were no students on the balconies due to the new arrivals. They all were either walking and trying to learn the Academy’s paths or meeting their roommates. I landed on the huge balcony and made myself into the corridor with the rooms. Fifty one, fifty two… Fifty four, fifty five… Fifty six. That must be it. I hesitantly knocked on the door. It seemed weird but I was so into seeing that girl’s lyrics that matched –as she claimed- my painting.

The door opened wide and an unexpected face appeared. She looked kind of terrified seeing me standing on the other side of the door. Was I mistaken after all?

“Excuse me, is this Hayley’s room?”  I asked baffled.

She shook her head.

“Ah yeah… sorry. I’m Claire, Hayley’s roommate. Can I do something for you?”

I was right after all. Claire huh?  So that was the girl I had mistaken for Sora. I stood there observing her. She looked so innocent with those low twin-tails and the black glasses. Pretty closed-up too. I couldn’t even take a glance of her neck. It was all covered from her skivvy shirt. I leaned on the door sides pretty curious I’d say for what she was hiding under those clothes. She was slim so why would she want to hide her skin?

“Eh… sorry but is there anything you need from Hayley?” she repeated and I understood that I stared for way to long.

“Yeah. Hayley asked me to come here. She said she had some song lyrics for me… Do you perhaps know something about that?” I explained the situation.

She stood there pensive for a moment and then walked towards a desk. She looked through some colorful papers and smiled.

“That must be it”, she murmured and approached me holding some pink papers. Her gaze traveled to my injured arm that I was trying to hide.

“Are you okay?” she asked troubled.

“Yeah, why?”

“Your arm earlier was… bleeding”.

My eyes opened wide. She had seen that?  And why the world would I be anxious about that? She was human, she couldn’t possibly have seen the black blood. It would appear to her as though it was ordinary red blood.

“I tripped and why did your eye even caught that?” I responded and she looked down.

“Sorry, it just looked so painful”.

It sure as hell was.

“It was just a scratch”.

“Was it infected?” Claire wondered and I started to sweat. Why would she ask that? It was ordinary blood what she saw, wasn’t it?

“I should get going. Thanks for that”. I ignored her question accepting the papers she was handing me. I tried to walk away but her voice stopped me.

“Is your name possibly Nathan?”

I turned to her confused. How did she know my name?

“Do I know you?” I asked and she nodded in denial.

“No, Samuel called you like that and I thought of confirming it, that’s all. Also, I know this may sound weird but I have the urge to tell you… your eyes are beautiful”.

My heart stopped for a bit. The only person who had complimented my eyes before apart from my mother was Sora. No one else. Ever. That’s all she said before closing the door. She didn’t even wait for my reply.

“Thanks…” I spoke to myself before eventually walking away.

I tried to clear my mind. It was weird, just weird. Not her compliment but the feeling that this left to heart. God please let the universe not be plotting against me again. I left her living a normal life, she couldn’t just reappear into mine. Then I decided. I’d keep my distance from her. Even if there were a slight possibility for her to be Sora, even the slightest, I couldn’t take the risk of her getting to know me nor getting close to me. It’d be a nightmare for me and a huge chance for Laylath to make her moves. No, it just couldn’t happen…