Beyond Eternity

DAY 4, P.M

Day 50

I’m hiding now, I saw a man clad in white killed a woman walking in the path, he noticed me there and is now chasing after me, I am with my family now inside my house, I hope the person doesn't come in here.

“Hmm? It seems that the kid’s entries stop here, where’s the rest of it?” The boy wondered. He flipped the book to only find blank pages, that is until he reached the last few, it read:

We found Nate's family murdered within their own home, all four of them, lifeless. Their bodies lay there, their blood staining the walls and floor, Nate himself holding her sister’s body close as though desperately trying to protect her one last time. It was… A horrendous sight.

There were no eyes who saw it, but the few neighbors who were still awake at that time claimed to have heard a few noises that ended abruptly, but didn’t think much of it. When everyone began searching for evidence on who might have been the culprits to the ones killed that night, I immediately sought out this journal, which I found under the boy’s mattress, based on the final entries written here, it appears that an assassin was hired to kill Vicky, the herbalist that Nate mentioned as the woman killed in the path, her body has been taken and given a proper burial, we are planning to do the same for the family. How I grieve their death's, they did not deserve to die like that, not Nate, not his parents, not his sister, no.

My greatest regret now was not being able to help him in his time of need when he was always there to help me with my tasks, some might say there was nothing I could do then since I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I regret not being there regardless. I also should not have let the ambiance of the place get to me, I missed talking to him more… After reading this, I realized that I made his last days sadder than it should’ve been, I was pathetic, I should’ve just made him happy, like the days before the murders.

The murder was assumed to have happened right after sundown, around the time I have the boy go home, but still a long time before the curfew sets in, there was some new meat brought on the house on the scene of the crime, I assume Nate was asked to buy some that time, which would explain why he was outside at that time, at least, that’s what I think.

I myself know of a few things, one, that the Vicky the herbalist had always been giving medicines to the people of the village, she also sometimes delivers special tonics to the royalties, I barely knew her, only visited her shop a few times myself, but if I am to think of a reason for her murder, I can only imagine that it has something to do with the ensuing power struggle from within the castle, after all, none of the townsfolk hate her, no, the opposite in fact. I don’t see anyone killing her over personal matters since she was said to be a good natured person by those around her.

When most of everyone failed to find a lead, I went to all the clothing shops around the kingdom and asked if anyone had purchased a white cloak there, there was one shop, the one nearest to the castle owned by a friend and he said that there was one person who did purchase a white hooded cloak, one of the royal guards it seemed. That there makes me think that the royalty is somehow involved in all this, perhaps a prince or princess found Vicky to be a nuisance in their ambitions? Sadly, that is all I could Infer.

It appears that Nate just happened to be on the scene when she was murdered, the culprit only noticed this after doing his job, he probably had to make sure there were no witnesses and so chased after the boy who took shelter in his own house. Now with his family, the culprit no longer has a choice but to kill all four of them, as defenseless as they were. How very disheartening.

I once gave this journal for Nate to write on, and he did, I will take it home with me along with the broken doll owned by his little sister and keep it there as a remembrance of the family.

The boy checked the same drawer he found the book in, among the tools there, he found the doll, glued back together to be whole.

“I see that he really did keep it.” Said the boy, and then he continued reading.

I will be there to attend the family's burial, I have also decided to join the fight against the corrupted noblemen and royalty who are ruining our kingdom from the inside, there will be justice.

“Okay” said the boy “So in accordance with the chef's journal, the people being 'fed up' is mostly due to these murders. So what the chef was seeing from the inside managed to affect what was outside too. Now the scale of the problem has grown far larger.”

With a feeling of sadness, he returned the book on the drawer beside the doll and left the smithy. With a heavy heart and several thoughts on his head, he made his way back, walking in the directions he recognized, he soon left the village area and was back at the path to the castle.

By the time the boy nearly reached the castle, he noticed that it was nearly dusk, “Did I stay and read for that long?” He said in a more somber tone than usual.

“Well, I guess the ramparts can wait until tomorrow, it’s not like I'm in a rush for anything, after all, I can't really leave anymore.”

The girl was nearby then and heard all this “Looks like that book along with his own isolation spiked up his loneliness.” she muttered to herself. “I guess the ramparts will have to wait then.”

She skipped towards and past the castle’s entrance after making sure the boy had gone ahead, after a short time, she found him again at the dining hall, sitting with some fruits in hand. The girl took the very same lute she had from nights before and returned to play it, sitting down on the same spot she played it on before, she began playing the instrument, producing melodic tunes. The boy listened to it though still couldn't trace its source and soon enough, gave up trying to pinpoint it.

“Whoever or whatever you are.” He said, “I appreciate you keeping me company. Thank you.”

at this, the girl only smiled as she kept playing.

“That tune is truly beautiful.” He continued, complimenting the music.

For a while, time flew by just like that, with the sound of a lute being played where one was the performer who could see his only audience who on the other hand, could not do the same and see the performer, but only listen. No words were said, and no movement done apart from the plucking of strings.

The girl just kept playing on and on until the boy eventually decided to speak again “Ah, it was fun, castle ghost, see you in the morning!” He said aloud.

At those words, the girl slowed down to a stop with her playing and left the throne room ever so cautiously as to not attract unwanted attention and risk being spotted. but this time she had a lasting smile that stayed until as she left the watchtower and skipped away.

She was happy that night, and her usual journey for the watchtower felt much shorter than ever, she arrived at her destination without the slightest bit of exhaustion. Now back at the watchtower, she again, lay down facing the sky on a thin mat over a stone floor, uncomfortable as it may seem, the girl was too preoccupied with her thoughts to care, she thought things until her dreams took over and she was awake no more.

As for the boy, it was late into the night and yet he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep despite laying on the soft and comfortable royal bed. He was thinking about all those mysteries and the thoughts that he brewed did not bring him peace. He did not talk out loud this time for he was deep in thought with questions around his head.

“Do I have a reason to be here?

“What's with all the seemingly supernatural events lately?”

“Am I truly alone here? Are ghosts real or is a person behind all this? And why?”

“What will those journals tell me when I find them?”

“Why am led to where they are?”

“What happens then? Will I just die here after all that? Then what’s the point of all this even?”

He wondered all about it, he was still worried for himself and could not find a way to quell it. But eventually, those very thoughts at some point in time brought him into a not so restful sleep.

…

Bones littered the floor, the cold bite of the wind could be felt, everything was gray and foggy, but dead trees and crows were still within view, the boy was there, somewhere he could not recognize, he noticed then that he was in the middle of a thin path, he looked behind him but could not see it’s end, neither did he see anything beyond him. But beside him lay a few more paths, parallel to the one he stood on. Far enough that he barely noticed, but still could tell they were there.  the boy then decided to walk on his own path.

As he moved onward, he saw that the path only extended further, he did not stop however, hoping to reach somewhere, he walked up until it looked more like the trees were moving behind him, for the path itself and the grass almost seemed like they were still. Just like his path, the ones parallel to him extended further.

Then he saw some of the distant paths stop. They trail just ended abruptly and he wondered why but just kept going. Soon he noticed some paths intertwining and again he wondered why.

And then, one path intertwined with his, it changed to a diagonal direction and intersected with his at some point, then went straight ahead again. The boy again, just moved onwards. After some time, he saw more paths intertwining with others, and occasionally, with his own.

He barely noticed at first, but he realized later on that slowly but surely he was aging on the way, from the appearance of a young lad, he changed into a grown man, and again, more paths diverged and intersected. He then grew wrinkles, a long time had passed and then he felt himself losing weight and found himself looking thinner, and older. Eventually, his journey felt more and more exhausting and he wanted to rest, but decided against it.

He reached a point where his own path ends without really leading anywhere, looking to his side, he found that the first path he saw to intersect with his and the closes one still extended further, beyond his sight. But rather than focusing on it, he looked at what was now directly in front of him. On the patch of grass just a few steps ahead stood a dark hooded, faded figure, he stood still rather than draw closer. When his movements stopped, he saw the figure reveal at a large scythe, suddenly feeling weighted down, the boy, now looking so old, knelt on the ground and watched as the figure swung its tool at him.