Chapter 214 - Icarus and Helen

Icarus:

It was late, and we were bathing in the river.

I was ten years old back then.

"You're completely filthy," Helen scolded, giving me a look of disapproval.

"Sorry..." I murmured, embarrassed. There was really no excuse for what I’d done.

I’d been playing in the forest and accidentally fallen into a mud pit.

"Hold still. I'm scrubbing you," she said, giving me a gentle smack on the head.

Helen was washing my back, trying to scrub the dirt off.

"Don't turn around."

"Of course I won't turn around! I don’t want to see you naked, and I definitely don’t want you to see my... uh, ‘little buddy’..."

She let out a small laugh.

"Embarrassed?" Helen teased, leaning close to my ear.

"Stop it..." I protested, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.

She laughed again and went back to washing me.

"You're always getting into trouble, Icarus. Seems like I’m always helping you out of a mess."

"I told you... it was an accident. A branch broke when I was jumping, and I fell in the mud."

Helen gave me another playful smack on the head.

"And who said I'm complaining?" she chuckled. "At least you make my days a bit more interesting. But you need to be more careful. One day, I might not be here to help."

I turned around suddenly, out of reflex.

"No! That will never happen! I won’t let you go!" I said, only to be met with a light smack on the cheek.

"Face forward, idiot!" she said, covering herself with her arms.

"S-sorry..." I mumbled as I turned back around.

We fell silent for a moment.

"Don’t worry, Icarus. I have no intention of leaving you either. We'll stay together till the end. That’s a promise."

***

Some days had passed since I fell into that mud pit. Helen always forbade me from playing in that part of the forest because it was dangerous and because no one liked to go there.

"Which is exactly why it’s fun..." I muttered to myself.

I was running through the trees, jumping from branch to branch like an animal. It was exhilarating, but I’d learned it could also be dangerous. If not for the mud pit last time, I could have really hurt myself.

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When someone like me—someone living on the streets—gets hurt... it’s best to hope you’ll heal on your own. Otherwise, you’re left to die.

Helen had stayed back at our hideout, preparing food with whatever we’d managed to gather that week. Our routine was always the same: scavenge through the forest for berries and then dig through the areas where people threw out trash.

"Ouch..." I muttered, touching my stomach, which had been hurting since that morning.

I was carrying some berries I’d found in the forest.

"These weird little berries grew in the area she doesn’t let me go. Maybe if I show them to her, she’ll let me go there more often."

The berries were incredibly bitter. I’d tried a few earlier, just to make sure I hadn’t picked a bad one by accident, but they all had that same awful taste.

"Well, at least I know Helen will figure out how to make them taste good, even if they’re bitter, once she mixes them into our food."

I continued on my way to our hideout. Even though the sewers were a place no one wanted to go—people thought some monster lurked down there—I always made sure I wasn’t being followed.

"This time, I’ll surprise her."

Helen was always the best at finding food. Whenever we played a game to see who could find the best things, she always won.

"Ouch..." I mumbled, before collapsing to the ground. A sharp pain shot through my body, and for a moment, I felt really unwell. The berries I had been carrying fell a little ways off.

What’s going on…?

I lay there for a while, feeling worse with each passing second. My stomach hurt like never before, but eventually, the pain lessened.

"What’s happening?" I asked myself, sitting up with difficulty. Sweat was dripping down my face, and my vision was hazy.

"I can’t be late, or Helen will worry..." I told myself, gathering the berries from the ground and stuffing them into my pocket before stumbling toward our hideout.

By the time I reached the tunnel, I felt awful. The world spun, and my head was pounding with pain. I leaned against the wall to keep from falling as a wave of nausea overtook me.

"I’m almost there... maybe I just need to sleep a bit," I mumbled, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

I was used to eating spoiled food, but this felt different. I’d never felt such intense pain in my stomach. Every step hurt, and it felt like my body was fighting against me.

"I’m almost there..." I whispered as I neared the hole in the wall that led to our hideout. But when I crouched down to crawl inside, my body gave out, and I collapsed.

What’s happening to me?

I tried to get up, but my body refused to move. The nausea, the stomach pain, and a bone-deep exhaustion took over.

"Helen..." I tried to call out, looking toward the hole, but my voice barely escaped my lips.

"Icarus!" I heard someone calling me, and hurried footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Soon, Helen appeared, carrying a few mangoes in her arms.

"What happened? Why do you look like this? You’re so pale!" She shook me, trying to get me to stand.

I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn’t move. My body was shutting down, and breathing was becoming harder and more painful.

"Talk to me, Icarus! Please!" Helen shook me desperately, but I had no strength to answer.

In that brief moment of clarity, I understood what was happening. Summoning the last of my strength, I reached into my pocket and showed her the small berry.

"I’m... sorry..." I whispered.

Helen took the berry, and the moment she saw it, her eyes widened in horror.

"Please, Icarus!" She shook me, her voice thick with panic. "Don’t tell me you ate this!"

I couldn’t respond, so I just nodded weakly.

"This is belladonna! It’s poisonous!" She lifted me up with all her strength and pulled me through the tunnel.

"Icarus!" she cried as she laid me down on our makeshift bed, her voice rising with fear.

"Please, don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me, Icarus," she whispered, her tears falling onto my face.

My vision grew blurrier, the world around me fading. The last thing I could focus on was Helen’s face.

"I’m sorry... I can’t keep my promise..." was all I managed to say.

In a panic, Helen pressed her fingers to my throat, trying desperately to do something—anything to save me.

"Spit it out!" Helen shouted, her voice shaking with desperation. "Throw up, Icarus, please! Don’t leave me alone!"

I tried to force myself, but my body wouldn’t respond. Helen didn’t give up; she pressed down on my stomach while putting her finger down my throat.

With great effort, I managed to vomit a little onto the ground, but my vision was already fading. The world around me plunged into darkness, and even Helen’s voice began to disappear. The little I could still see was her face, streaked with tears.

"My sun..." I murmured with the last ounce of strength I had.

"No... you are my sun," she whispered, holding me tightly, her voice thick with emotion.

"I’m going to save you, don’t worry," Helen sobbed, hugging me even tighter as my consciousness slowly slipped away. And then, I closed my eyes, falling into the darkness.