Eli mentioning we might run into other creatures in the forest sent a shiver of cold sweat down my back; My palms felt moist and an almost imperceptible tremor passed through me. My heart began to pound and then it was in my head.
I could feel it to some extent — but my instincts tell me that walking through the forest is dangerous. Instincts don't lie. Even that may be the smartest choice right now, but who knows. I need to move faster if I need to discover my family faster. My hands were shaking as I stared down. 'Now, this is a time for my head and not the time to be in feelings.'
I could feel sweat beading on my forehead, and I wiped it away with my hand. And Eli stepped in front of her, offering a small bundle of gilunus.
"Eat this. It'll help you feel better," she assured, not taking her eyes from me.
She gave me the flowers, and I looked her in the eyes and said,
"The river route…" but my voice stuck in my throat.
Eli kept looking at me waiting, then she tilted her head just a little bit — which gave it away that I should speak.
"…Not in time if we go by the river… That is why… we are taking the forest road."
Eli looked like she expected as much, but I did catch a slight glimmer of regret in her eyes.
"Are you sure?" her voice quavered as she questioned. "In your current state, can you really make it through there?"
She could tell just by looking at me physically fine, but she could tell I wasn't doing well mentally.
"Yes, everything's fine. If we need to, we can leave right now. Don't worry about me," I answered assuredly.
But that did little to remove the skepticism in her eyes. She paused, thinking hard for a moment, before eventually going to take a seat. She picked up a handful of dry branches and threw them onto the campfire before saying in a low tone, "Well, then we will set out in the morning. Soon it will be night, and none of us knows what kind of things we might meet after dark. Furthermore, we have a long way to go. We need to restock first.
"With that she tossed the remainder of the boughs into the flames."
She was right, but I knew at one time, she was also looking out for me. There was nothing beside her now except the wide black sky, and she stood.
"Then I will collect more," said the girl as she took her sword and disappeared into the woods.
Evening came, and night fell. As the sky darkened and allowed stars to lightly cast their light through the leaves of trees and within but a few moments more, amongst the trees near at hand, tiny glowing dots began to show in perfect little green lights; and blue lights too; white ones, moving with unimaginable speed between boles; and shining ground-decked paths through lower branches.
It brought back memories of fireflies, even though none of the fireflies I ever saw were anything but green. These new colors were different, but also ridiculously beautiful.
Just then, as I watched over them a voice appeared from nowhere.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Eli asked.
I turned my head toward her. Eyes on fireflies in the forest. I nodded.
"Yes… beautiful."
And then, deep from my conscious, a memory so deeply repressed that it rose into my languid thoughts.
Once, before my siblings were born, we went on a trip — me with two parents. The only way to shake the noise of the city, we drove high into the mountains. My mum sat talking to my father who was driving the car. I observed out of my window from the back seat.
A little while later we reached a little shack that my dad had rented for temporary housing. It was hidden in the forest. It was a very modest setup on the outside, but once I got inside it felt homely. Dad would have a campfire going in the front and mom cooking good food.
The night fell again and we sat as one beneath the starry sky around such fire. And that was when all the fireflies came.
"What are those?" I asked my mother.
She answered softly with a tender smile on her face.
"They're fireflies. They—"
But before she could complete her sentence, my dad grinned and chimed in.
"They like to show their light to good families like ours at night."
The second the words escaped his mouth, and Mom laughed, one of the fireflies flew up in front of me.
A strange lightness filled my chest as the memory returned. My spirit felt… unburdened. I exhaled softly and gazed at the stars.
Eli must have heard me sigh because she said,
"What's wrong?"
The questioning was evident in her voice. I smiled.
"Oh, it is … I was just reminded of something beautiful."
She opened her mouth, she probably wanted to ask about it but paused a second,instead she said,
"Looks like I am standing watch first tonight. You should get some rest," she picked up her sword.
I leaned against the nearest tree and closed my eyes.
"If you get tired, let me know and we'll switch."
After some time, I fell asleep and woke up. It was still night. Resting on top of me was a long red cloak, the type that ancient generals wore to look grand and looming over others.
I glanced at Eli, who had already seen it too. She was at the campfire feeding the flames. I stood up and walked. She noticed me.
"Awake already?" she asked, turning her head.
Holding the cloak, I replied,
"Yeah…thanks for this," and handed the cloak to her.
She swatted my hand away with a grin rather than accepting it.
"I'm not tired yet. You can rest a bit longer."
She was being honest with me — but I could tell that she was little afraid, as well.
So I just said, "Thank you for the consideration but you need to sleep as well. If you lose tomorrow, I will blame myself till the day I die because I pointed out a strong creature."
Eli chuckled at my joke.
Then chuckled as she eyed her sword, "Don't worry, I'm more resilient than you give me credit for."
"Well… that doesn't mean you need rest," but she stared to the fire as though she had not heard.
"You can trust me."
After a pause, she said,
"Fine. I'll rest for a bit. Wake me if there's trouble." Getting to her feet, she used her sword to support herself and wrapped the cloak around herself.
"Good night," I called out after she was finished.
"Good night," she replied.
And soon after, Eli fell asleep. I kept it close and by the fire, not wanting it to die out. A silence now ruled in the forest, no firefly could be seen anywhere.
That silence… it made my chest ache with something uncomfortable at the thought of creatures— or Thorna, for that matter—appearing into view.
'That same unpleasant silence again.' I glanced around.
And just when I wondered, was that a voice? From the silent woods there came a cry.
"Rayan!"