Beyond Eternity

DAY 9

Lucas woke up early once more, however Claudia was an hour ahead and was nowhere to be found within the watchtower. He tried to move his fingers, then his hands, then arms. Realizing that he could move them easily and painlessly now, he tried moving his feet this time, then his legs, soon enough, he was sitting on one of the very chairs he was lying down on previously.

“Well, my head still hurts but this is fine.” He said. In an attempt to stand, he pushed himself upward, and although a bit shaky, successfully stood.

He walked towards the door that led outside and opened it. Looking beyond, he saw a large grove of trees a short walk past the path, it blocked the entire view so nothing could be seen beyond it.

“I see, this must be why I was told to pass by the prisoner's quarters and the sewers to get here.” he said. “But wait, Claudia leaves and returns through this door, not through those same tunnels, then I guess she knows the way to get past this grove—”

“and get back to wherever I need to, yes.” Claudia, suddenly appearing without notice, stopped Lucas's sentence and resumed it with her own.

“Whoa! Where'd you come from?” the surprised Lucas asked.

“From behind the tower.” replied Claudia. “I had you go through the tunnels because frankly, that's the safer route, also, as long as you followed the right path which is mostly direct, it would've immediately led here. Thing is, if I had you pass this grove, there isn't a big chance you'd make it to the other side what with all the obstacles and all that.” She continued.

“And yet you can easily navigate your way through it?” Lucas asked.

“Why yes.” Claudia answered, “Having too much time in your hands lets you know even the tiniest details of this small place. Well, at first, I too was confused and got lost more than a few times, which is why I had you go through the prison instead.  Frankly, with a lamp or two, the entire prison and sewers combined is more easily traversed than this torturous forest.”

“Oh really now?” said Lucas, “Then have you ever run out of light down there before? The prison I mean.”

“Yes I have, twice actually, but I made my way back from the darkness to exit back at the prisons entrance the first time and here the second.” quickly replied Claudia. “Were you trying to make me feel bad by asking that?” She asked.

“No, no, of course not!” Immediately remarked the boy, “I just wanted to know, and I already assured you that I'm not mad! Really!”

“I'm just kidding, such a softie.” said Claudia, laughing. “Don't take everything so seriously now.”

“Phew, for a second there, I thought I'd lose bits of myself.” said Lucas. At this, they both laughed.

“You might be able to walk right now but I doubt we could go all the way back to the castle in your current state, so how about this, you keep resting for today and I'll get you food once more, I'll also keep you entertained.” said Claudia.

“I wouldn't want to pass by the sewers or the grove right now to be honest, so yeah, let's do that.” responded Lucas, in a light tone.

That day, Lucas kept walking around outside the watchtower to strengthen his legs, as usual, Claudia did the cooking for him, every now and then, they'd have full conversations about the island and its features and their locations. But when Lucas asked certain questions, Claudia kept avoiding them.

“Why are you alone?”

“I'll tell you at a better time, perhaps when we're back at the castle okay?”

Lucas just agreed and picked “safer” questions to ask.

Some time had passed and the sun had set, Claudia said. “Hey, lets’ watch the sky from atop!”

“Sure, that’d be fun.” He replied in agreement.

The pair climbed the stairs that led to the watchtower’s roof. Claudia had set up mats, pillows and blankets for both of them to lie on.

“The sky is clear tonight too.” as she tucked herself under her blanket.

“Indeed it is.” Lucas said as he kept staring at it.

He just stood there, looking at the deep dark blue accompanied by the twinkling small specks of light that is the stars, it was a moonless night and there were no clouds on the horizon then, streaks of light that are shooting stars struck the sky once or twice. To the boy, this was a beautiful sight.

He too tucked himself under his blanket after a while, but his eyes were still glued to the sky as is the girl's.

“Back where I'm from,” Lucas said suddenly, breaking the silence “I slept in a comfortable room, with a roof above my head, but it was also because of it that I barely see the night sky. I lived a good life there, you could even say it was a “rose colored” one, I was always surrounded by good friends and family. That is why this, being alone, lying in the cold, staring at the sky without light disturbance...This feels.”

“Feels like what?” Asked Claudia.

 “Hmm…New? I don’t really have better words to describe it, sorry.”

“Hmm...Magical? Enchanting? Peculiar? Unsettling? How about those?” Said Claudia.

“I'm not sure, it’s a bit of all of them of course but not one really stands out, I dont know.” answered Lucas.

“that's fine.” said Claudia while she laughed.

“Well, how about you?” Lucas asked, “How does this feel to you?”

Then silence, it stayed there for a while, the minutes passed without words but just as it was about to get deafening, Claudia spoke.

“How about me you ask…? Well, I've seen this very sky time and time again, it was starting to get boring and I wondered if I'm destined to just watch it forever as I stay here, by myself. Even now, I am still wondering.” She said.

“What do you mean by-” remarked Lucas.

“Then, after one stormy day, you arrived, your presence alone gave me a glimmer of hope, but instead of meeting you immediately, I was cautious and doubtful and instead, watched you from the shadows, only giving you hints of my existence through out of place events. After having you read those journals, I knew more about you without having to talk to you, how you reacted to each entry told me you weren't a bad person. And here, I had you come and almost caused your death... Great job right?”

“Yes, indeed it is.” responded Lucas. “And uh, no, I'm not being sarcastic if that's what you think! Don’t get me wrong!”.

“Then, what is it that you wish to imply?” asked Claudia.

“To me, you really did a good job.” Lucas said, “At first, you didn't act on impulse but on logic, you had to make sure I was safe to approach, and once you're sure, you led me where you wanted to see me, the lamp accident aside, you found me and did all that you can to heal my injuries, you couldn't leave me to die and even shed some tears in front of me then.”

“That was only because you're the first person I had seen in a long time you know?” said Claudia.

“You say that, but that doesn't seem to be the case to me,” replied Lucas. “I feel like you're the kind to help anyone who needs it whoever they are and whether they asked for it or not.”

“You think so? I don’t.”

“Your 'I don’t' won’t change my 'I do' you see.” Lucas replied smiling. Claudia hid her face under her blanket at those words.

“Aww, the princess is blushing, how cute!” He teased.

“Silence peasant!” She asserted. At this, Lucas only laughed.

“Well, basically, what I was trying to say is that, the fact that you’re just here all alone really changes everything for me, all that I had seen as bland, boring and repetitive until now had gained new meaning. It’s like I'm living my life anew, did that make any sense?” Asked Claudia.

“Well, more or less, I mean, I suddenly got here without wanting to so... I guess, you could say I do understand, or rather, at the very least, I empathize with you.” Answered Lucas.

“That really helps.” said Claudia.

“Sarcasm?” He asked.

“Nope!” She replied.

In a short while, the boy asked “So, what did you mean by 'I'm the first person you've seen here in a long time? Just how long have you been staying—”

“I guess it’s getting late, we should turn in for the night, yeah?” Claudia said, stopping Lucas's words in its tracks.

Yeah, you're right, we should.” He said. The boy understood that she didn't want to talk about it yet and replied by saying “

“Then, goodnight false king...” said Claudia.

“Goodnight creepy stalker.” Replied Lucas.

The pair closed their eyes, still beneath their starlit sky and the cold night wind.