Ravissant

Chapter 4

Sanctus - Sanctuary

Neonella, Milos, and Olethea had no idea about the homeless people who lived back in the alley. The first time that they went through the portal, there was no single soul in the area. When they left the Old World, there was no one there as well.

“Maybe we stayed too late,” Neonella told Milos and Olethea, whose faces were beginning to turn pale in fear. Olethea was even on the brink of crying.

“It’s my fault,” Olethea said. ‘I shouldn’t have asked you to come today. I shouldn’t have stayed long with Lucas.” She was starting to cry.

Neonella immediately went to her friends’ side.

“Now is not the time for this,” Neo caressed Olethea’s back in an attempt to stop her from crying.

“Look,” Milos said, almost shouting, catching the attention of the people who were enjoying the head for the burning metal drum. They looked at them for a while then their focus went back to the heat from the fire.

Neonella and Olethea looked at Milos. Her face was now paler than that of Olethea. Fear, confusion, and shock in her eyes. Her hand covered her mouth as if she was trying to control herself from shouting again, then slowly raised her other hand, pointing to the alley.

The two followed what Milos was pointing at. It was the portal. Although it blended with the rest of the background, the wobbly images, the edges of the portal door began to shrink slowly.

Neonella could not help but squeeze Olethea’s arms. It was hard but Olethea didn’t manage to complain because she was as equally shocked as the rest of them.

Slowly, the portal door that was initially around 9 feet tall and 5 feet wide began to shrink. It was nestled to where a metal door was resting on a wall, beside a huge garbage bin. No one was near the portal but you needed to get past the group of people to get to the portal door.

They could not afford to jump inside the portal. The mundanes will definitely see them. They slowly watched in agony while the portal door shrunk and shrunk. They almost stop breathing when the portal door completely disappeared.

They froze for a while, It was Milos who first said a word. “What do we do now?”

The three of them jumped when two of the men standing near the fire started pushing each other. Then the two of them shouted at each other. Fighting over what seems to be a missing piece of bread. Neonella quickly pulled Milos and Olethea far from the alley entrance and walked towards the bookstore. She pulled them to sit on the bench located near the door entrance.

They sat there in silence. All of them were too confused and frightened at the same time to even start a conversation.

“We can try to open the door tomorrow,” Neonella finally said. “We just have to wait for those mundanes to leave.” She added.

“What do we do now?” Olethea asked.

“We wait, I guess,” Milos said.

Then they were silent again.

Then Lucas suddenly appeared with his skateboard in front of him.

“Hey, you’re still here?” He was definitely paying attention to Olethea.

“Our parents left, we are just waiting for them here to come back,” Milos said. She was the best among the three when it comes to situations like these. As bad as it may seem, she was good at lying.

“Are you done with dinner?” Lucas sat beside Olethea, but was referring to the three of them. “I know a nice burger joint a few minutes walk away from here.

Olethea looked at them. She definitely didn’t look scared anymore.

Milos gave a sigh that was only obvious for Neonella and Olethea. “Fine, I am hungry anyway.” She said, which was true. She felt her stomach complain a little.

They walked towards the burger joint. Milos and Neonella followed Olethea, who was riding on the skateboard while Lucas was holding her hand and back, helping her balance while riding his skateboard.

Neonella was still nervous but she was better now seeing that they are somehow safe with Lucas. At least, they have a way to pass time while they wait for those people to leave. They can make the most out of their stay before they go back.

“Do you think this can be a complication?” Milos whispered to Neonella.

“What complication?” She answered back.

“That complication,” Milos pointed towards Lucas.

Neonella gave Milos her understanding look. But deep down inside she knew that Lucas can indeed be a complication.

But for elves like them, having someone to like and like you back is a rarity. Right after they were born, they were already set to marry a fellow Elvin, decided by their parents. Although no one was introduced to the three of them yet, they knew that when they hit the age of 18, they will be introduced to Elvin whom they will marry.

“Just let her enjoy the moment.” She said instead.

“But you know Olethea,” Milos disagreed. “She’ll have another reason to come back.”

Milos was right. Olethea will have more reasons for them to come back. And the two of them would have a hard time refusing her requests. They will keep coming back as long as Olethea wants to.

“Let’s not worry about that for now.” Neonella held on to Milos’s arms. “Let’s just be in the present. For now,” She added.

Milos and Neonella were never too close but compared to the other elves their age, the three of them had the strongest bond.

Neonella placed her head on Milos’s shoulder. Milos gently tapped her head. “We are all in this together. We’ll definitely get back home later.”

Neonella looked at her and smiled. They walked hand in hand together following Lucas and Olethea.

After walking a few more blocks, they arrived at the burger joint. Olethea and Lucas ordered food while Milos and Neonella waited at their table.

When the two arrived, they saw the familiar french fries that they had back in the pizza house and Coke, the sweet drink that was inside a red metal bottle.

Lucas brought them burgers, the biggest ones available in the joint. Milos and Neonella looked at each other, wondering how they would proceed with eating the unfamiliar meal in front of them.

Luckily, Lucas immediately grabbed his burger with two hands and took a big bite. “Come on guys, let’s eat while the food is still hot.” He encouraged them.

The girls followed his lead. Neonella immediately tasted the meat in the meal. They rarely have meat in Omnia. As much as possible, they eat vegetables and fruits instead. The extract from these natural gifts from nature makes them more powerful and pure in spirit.

They do get to enjoy meat from time to time, but only during the celebrations in the castle. The solstice coming up is one of their rare chances to enjoy such meals back home.

Milos looked at her, with a stain of ketchup near her lip. She was definitely delighted with the meal. She picked up a tissue and cleaned up the ketchup from Milos’. She saw Lucas did the same thing to Olethea earlier.

“Hey guys, you don’t have to be too silent, let’s lighten up the mood,” Lucas said, definitely bothered with the silence.

Milos was the first one to break the silence. “Do you live around here Lucas?’ She asked.

“Yes, on the fourth four above the bookstore.” He said. “My parents own the place and we own the bookstore.” He said. “It’s our family business.”

“So you get to read all those books you have back there?” Neonella was definitely interested.

“Some of them. I am not really into reading.” He said, a little bit shy about that fact.

“What do you enjoy?” Olethea asked. Definitely interested and paying attention to him. Besides the skateboard.

“I know this sounds funny but I am more into woodworking.” He said, looking at Olethea. “I can show you some of my works if you want.” He added.

“That’s a good idea,” Milos interrupted. She tugged Neo’s thigh and looked at her, asking for a second motion.

“Yes, that would be nice, we would love to see your works. I am into the arts too, I love to paint.” The second sentence was true for Neonella. Even the first sentence. She was always interested in seeing the artistic side of every person she meets.

Lucas mainly supplied them with stories during their meal. They supplied the questions and he willingly provided them with answers. Lucas would ask a few things about them but it was Milos and Olethea who were eager to answer. Neonella was never good at lying.

“So do you live close to each other?” Lucas asked Olethea.

“Not really.” It was true. “Milos and I live a few houses from each other.” She said. “Neo here lives the farthest.” “She lives in this really big place enough to fit ten or even more of our houses.” She added.

Neonella was surprised and gave Olethea a warning look. She just smiled back at her, teasing.

“But Milos’ home is the best.” Olethea continued talking. “They have horses and goats and her mom owns one of the best flower gardens in our place.”

Milos slightly blushed.

“Do you enjoy gardening Milos? Lucas asked. “My Mom has a nice garden on the rooftop. That’s where I do my pieces. We can have coffee there once we are done here.” Lucas suggested.

Milos was more into her father’s work rather than spending time in her mother’s garden. It was her sister Lily who enjoyed gardening, not here. “Sure, I would love to see that.” She replied, with a voice of pretend enthusiasm which was not obvious for Lucas.

And just like how they agreed, they walked back to the bookstore to see Lucas’s place. There was a small service stair at the side of the bookstore that they didn’t notice. Lucas asked them to take that instead of the bookstore’s elevator.

“I hope it’s ok with you girls but the stairs bring us directly to the rooftop garden.” He said. “But we can use the elevator inside the bookstore if you want.”

“No, this is fine. Milos said, curious of the metal contraption. They didn’t have ones like this at home. Their stairs are mostly made of wood or rocks. As for ladders, she only saw wooden and bamboo gardens all her life.

Neonella was never good with heights but she was enjoying the view as they went further up. There were landing spaces for them to rest and catch their breath. As they went further up, the horizon of the area slowly peeked at them. The lights in the area made the journey upstairs worth the while.

When they reached the top, it was even more marvelous. The rooftop garden was magical, almost close to what the gardens in the castle looked like.

Olethea immediately walked towards the small gazebo located at the end of the garden. Lucas followed her.

“This is quite impressive here,” Milos told Neonella who was adoring the flowers. “Who knew mundanes have gardens like this one.”

Neonella looked at Milos. “What’s that?” She was pointing at the neon lights that lit the edges of a shed. It had huge mirrors and inside is what seems to be Lucas’ working area.

Lucas and Olethea were now by their side.

“So you saw my shed,” Lucas spoke behind them. “Come, let’s see the inside.”

The shed was a little bit small for a working area. But it was spacious enough to accommodate them together with all of Lucas' works and the raw wood pieces inside.

Neonella immediately went to one of the pieces that were still in the process of being carved on the table. It was a rabbit. “You made this?” Neonella asked Lucas.

“Yeah.” He answered, and walked close to the table. “Neat isn’t it?”

“It’s marvelous. It almost looks real.” Neonella said, amazed with the teen boy’s talent.

“What’s this?” Milos was holding a grinder.

“This helps me cut wood faster.” Lucas gently took the grinder from her. “Here I’ll show you.

He plugged the grinder and turned it on the life.

The three girls suddenly gave a jump when it gently roared to life.

“Relax,” Lucas saw them jump, surprised.

He showed them how he slowly chipped away the wood using his grinder.

“Nice,” Milos said. Lucas turned off the machine, unplugged it, and neatly tucked it away in one of the cabinets on the end of the shed. “So, do you girls like tea or coffee?”

“Tea,” the three of them answered in unison.

Lucas smiled, “Ok then, no coffee lovers around here. Tea then.” He walked towards the door of the shed. “I’ll leave you three here to get tea, would that be ok?”

“I’ll help you.” Olethea volunteered.

Milos and Neonella looked at each other, then to Olethea who didn’t pay attention and was already walking towards where Lucas was.

“Feel free to enjoy the rest of the garden,” Lucas told the two of them before leaving.

“This is going to be a long night,” Milos told Neonella.

Neonella looked at her, finally showing the worry in her eyes.