ALICE POV
I worried a lot about Sophia’s condition, she hasn’t stood and she hasn’t stopped feeling cold since the rain stopped. And now that the sun has popped its yellowish head out of the sky and shine, warming our soaked body, and draining water out of our saturated clothes, it seems it didn’t help her health at all. It left it even worst.
No matter how hard she tried to get up, she would fell back flat on Henry’s lap, showing that she has lost her power. Her face is sweating, changing color, Lucy can only cry, Bella can only complain, but doesn’t change anything.
Henry didn’t feel comfortable seeing his baby in that condition, and I don’t want him to review his real identity yet until Reuben comes. I stood, thinking of what to do, to help her. Thinking where I would get the fever drugs. And before my brain would burst out much of a headache, I concluded that I should just go to the village alone.
“I need to find the drug before her health gets worst,” I said.
“I will follow you,” Lucy said
“No, don’t follow me, ” I said, “It won’t take me much time.”
“Lucy,” Bella said, “you want to leave me here alone, and you know that snake can come at any time.”
“Anabelle will kill it,” Lucy said.
“I know you want to follow her because you are scared of another snake,” Bella said.
“Who?” Lucy asked, “who is scared? I can sleep here alone at night.”
“You’re a lier,” Bella said.
“Time wait for no one,” I said, “I need to be fast.”
“Help us get food too,” Lucy said
“Where would I see food?”
“You want to meet us here, starving to death?”
“Okay then, I will try all my best to get everything, you guys want,” I said, “If Reuben gets here before me, you guys should wait for me.”
“Sure,” Bella said
“And don’t forget to bring water,” Lucy said.
“Anabelle,” I said, giving him a sign with one eye closed so that he won’t let them know his real identity. “Take care.”
“Bye,” he said.
“Don’t stay too long please,” Bella said
“I won’t,” I said, hurrying away, till I was out of sight and hearing Lucy’s voice shouting, “Alice, don’t forget to bring food and water.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ben got lost after realizing he was not following his footsteps, he has been walking around the forest throughout the night, thinking he would soon get there by tracing his way back. His eyes swollen, his lips dried, his legs weak, and he fell, helplessly, wishing for a drop of water.
A black snake dropped from the tree to his side, hissing, gazing at him. He couldn’t move even if he wants to. He gives up amid the fear and then closed his eyes praying for protection. And after some minutes, he opened his eyes, seeing nothing.
He struggles to rise and take a long and strong stick, walking alone like an old man. He was famished, thirsty, and weak at the same time. Lucky to him, he saw a small stream on the other end of a tree, he hurried there with the help of the stick and sat near the stream, and then lay, drinking the water as animals do.
He rose and sat after drinking to his satisfaction, leaning against an oak tree, relaxing, waiting for his strength to be filled up before he could stand again. And after some moments, the breeze swirled and his eyes were closed, dossing.
A rustling of legs stirred him up, and he remains still, listening, thinking, “Is that Edwin? I’m tired of this life. I won’t run if he gets here. I would be glad if he killed me. I want to be reborn.”
And after some minutes, two lovers show behind the trees, smiling at themselves. They had been blind in love, so blind in love that they couldn’t notice that Ben was sitting near, gazing at them.
The girl looks pretty, and her smiles charms, which reminds Ben of Erica’s golden smiles.
“No one can have her smiles,” he thought to himself, “her smile was rarely more than thousands golds and silver. I don’t want to die. I want to live to see her angelic smile.”
Suddenly, from the back of the two kissing lovers, an old woman walked there slowly, holding a long cane. Ben didn’t tell them anything, because he knows that if he tells them, and if they run away, he won’t have the strength to flee when the old woman wants to retaliate. And suddenly, after the woman raised the stick carefully, targeting one person, and after five minutes of targeting and she realized that she was wasting time, she landed several strokes on both of them. And they were scared, rubbing their hands on their necks.
“What did I told you?” The old woman boomed, “didn’t I warn you not to pay a visit with my child again? And you, you are so idiot, stubborn. Blinded with foolish love.”
She landed several strokes on them, and they knee down instantly begging for her forgiveness.
“Don’t beg me,” she said, “you two are just wasting your precious time, don’t you know that if he knocks you up, he won’t accept any child from you.”
She landed several strokes on her daughter telling her, “He would run away after having sex with. He won’t accept your pregnancy.”
“It’s not what you think madam,” the boy said, “I love your daughter more than anything in this world.”
“And you still have the guts to tell me all this,” she said, landing his necks with many strokes of the cane, “You are an idiot. You are proving that I’m an idiot? I don’t know what I’m saying? I don’t know what I experienced? I don’t know what is right for my daughter?”
“Mummy, please, stop beating him,” her daughter pleaded.
“Desdemona, Desdemona,” she said, “you are already be fooled to this extent, instead of you to collect the cane and to beat him anyhow. Do you think he loves you?”
She landed another stroke on her, and the boy ran for his life when he realized it was his turn to be beaten.
“You see,” the woman shouted, “he can’t wait to suffer with you, and now you are going to suffer alone. Let’s go home.”
“Please, am sorry,” Desdemona pleaded.
“Meet me at home or else,” she said and walked away, and Desdemona followed her, crying, imagining how bad her mother would beat her at home. She looks back and sees her boyfriend rubbing his body beside a tree.
And here, beside the stream, Ben laughed out. He had been laughing silently since, but couldn’t dare to laugh out because he doesn’t want the angry woman to say “why are you laughing? You are his friend, you need a cane.”
And then after he was satisfied laughing, his mood changes, he realized he was in the same place, in the same situation, he missed her. She remembers the old woman’s words and doesn’t buy her idea.
“Maybe she isn’t lucky in her time, or maybe she doesn’t love too,” he said, “yeah, you can’t have what you don’t give. Love and you would be love back. A guy that truly loves a girl won’t have sex with her when he knows that he can’t afford to take care of a child. He would wait for years. He would love her and he would love the unborn child. He wouldn’t marry her for the wedding’s night. He would simply loves to love her every moment. For love is timeless.”
Maybe because he slept well, or because the old woman made him laughed, or because he says those words, his strength comes back again, he stood, ready to continue his journey to find his friends.
He then remembered what Erica told him after many years of breakup, after many of them splitting apart. “Ben, the old love that died because you killed it, has resurrected in my heart for you, but right now, right now, it refused to die again.”
* * * * * *
ALICE POV
I hurried out of the forest and the sun, glinting from the sky, hurt my eyes. I looked down, guiding my eyes with my palm. Walking on sand, stones, empty bottles, and then suddenly, I remain still, listening to something strange and sweet. I thoughts it was a sound coming from birds on the trees, but wasn’t. It was a melodious sound of piano, traveling to my ears.
With astonishment, I said, “Wow! This is so sweet. Is human playing this or an angel from heaven’s land? I can’t wait to know the place.”
I hurried down the road, turning to the left, following the melodious music. I waited beside every house to know if it’s coming from there and then walked away to find it somewhere else.
And then, after some awesome moments, I get there. The sound was sweet near than from the far. I walked to the window, opening it, peeping into it, and I saw what my eyes couldn’t dare to look away.
It was a handsome boy. The breeze swirled in from the opened window, pushing the tie on his neck to one side, and then, the tie returned on his white shirt.
He was the angel playing the music on the piano. My heart becomes rich as he is striking his fingers on the keyboards.
And here, I wondered why I haven’t seen and feel this way before. I mean, I was pulled into a new world that is different from my own.
I whisper, “Is this what Sophia, Henry, and Ben were feeling. Is this love? Or lust?”
The more I asked myself, the more I fell in love, helplessly, unprepared.
The boy stopped, and then looked straight at me. His eyes glow with fire. It burned. It burned everything. It burned my pride. It burned my heart and turned it into gold. And here, I couldn’t look away. His lips moved, and I imagine how sweet it would be if he kisses me with his pink lips. How drunken I would be to ask for more.
And here, a new chapter was opened for me, a chapter of love, that I didn’t intend to write. I thought I would fell in love when I became an adult. I thought maybe it would happen after I get big breasts like my mom, but it happens to be unprepared. And it pulled me into a world that I don’t intend to go.
I sighed, forgetting everything. I forget where am coming from, where am going to and why I am here. And there’s one thing I remember and was him looking at me.
It’s not that I don’t want to look away, he has charmed my eyes, and my eyes was full of joy to such a angel. I feel love. Strange love. I feel at home. Strange home.
My heart lipped mountains of thoughts and feelings. He didn’t look away. And I don’t why I don’t just look away as I look Micheal’s eyes away.
I sighed, surrendering like a dove in an hunter hand. I surrender to the love that keeps me gazing at handsome. A love that starts from flaming eyes.