Barry looked at the book, which did not fulfill his expectations. Again.

“I still can’t believe this is the book we risked our lives for. Are you sure this is the one?” he eyed the book resting on Freya’s lap as she turned pages, engrossed.

“I’m going to stop answering that question now. It’s the fifth time you’ve asked me that.” Freya replied without meeting his eye.

She brought her finger near her lips and went back to turning the brownish pages. The pages of the book almost looked like coffee, brown-colored but fragile. Freya was carefully turning the pages. The last thing she wanted to do was tear up a page with important information.

“Well, it looks pretty ordinary. That’s all I’m saying,” Barry sighed.

It indeed did look ordinary. However, Freya knew there was more to it. The bookcase was ornate as if carved by a person with a profound love of literature. The engravings were of leaves, autumn berries, and birds on the wing - so sublime as to invite the fingers to take it in just as much as the eyes.

“So, what now?” Barry asked, “We know what to do next?”

“Hmm, yeah. Kind of. It says here we can leave if we find the red diamond. The person who wears the ring after dropping three drops of their blood on it, apparently he gets the power of every creature on this Island,”

“That’s insane,” Barry commented,

“And, with the ring, he can leave the Island, so I guess if I wear the ring, I’ll be able to leave the Island with you.”

Barry scratched his chin, “Weirdly enough, that makes sense….”

“Yep, that’s it.”

“Okay, so we find the ring?”

“Yeah,”

Barry got up on his feet, “Alright then, where it is?”

Freya looked at him with an obvious face, “What part of ‘find’ did you not get?”

“Wait,” he looked at her with wide eyes, “You mean we search a small ring in this whole Island?” he pointed at no direction in particular.

“Sounds about right.”

“You’re kidding me,” Barry let out a nervous laugh,

“Let’s go, attaboy.” She smiled and walked into the forest, leaving behind ‘a very confused’ Barry following her as he mumbled under his breath,

“This is unbelievable. Where will we find it? It’s so stupid. There has to be a hint somewhere. It’s-“

“God, can you stop for one second?” Freya turned around, “We are not searching the entire forest.”

“We’re not?”

“NO! I know a place. Let’s go there. It has to be there,” Freya mumbled and started walking again.

“Okay, what if it’s not there?” Barry asked, walking behind.

“Lord knows then we’ll have to search the entire Island.” She mumbled, low enough for Barry to not make it.

“What?” he asked from behind,

“NOTHING!”

__

The road was unbelievably clean. It looked like no one had ever walked on it.

“Not every road untravelled is worthy of the imprint of your soles. Some are best left that way, forgotten and erased by the passage of time. Yet when we find the entrance to new untravelled roads, when the urge to travel them comes from the loving impulse, from the callings of the heart, when they echo the soul in ways that feel like home, I say we travel them together. Let us be explorers on these paths that lead to greater birdsong and the regeneration of nature. For this sense of love, we are all born to seek is a real sense, real sanity, and our inbuilt navigation system.”

Freya recalled Banshees’s words.

“This path is so clean. Has no one ever been to this side of the Island?”

Freya shook her head, “Just mum, dad, and me.”

“You’ve been here?” He asked,

“Just once. I don’t remember it clearly. I was just a kid, but yeah, I remember this road because of how awfully clean it was. The cleanest part of the Island.” She smiled as if remembering an old memory.

Before Barry could reply, the scene unfolded right in front of his eyes. It looked like something straight out of a movie. The two mountains in front of him were cut into half, and right in the middle of both mountains was an entry to a cave. There was nothing between them and the cave; the whole path was clear and empty except for a few huge mushrooms.

“That’s where the ring is.” She pointed.

“How do you know?”

“Dad kept it there.”

__

They both walked in silence. Barry asked her more about the connection between her father and the ring, but Freya was hesitant to reply. Needless to say, Barry dropped the topic, and since then, they had been walking in complete silence.

“Wait here. I’ll get it.” Freya said as they came closer to the cave.

“No, we’re going in together,” Barry replied in a firm voice.

“I told you to-“

“Yeah, I heard you. And had the situation been different, I would’ve listened – like I always do. But not right now because I’m not sure what’s inside there.”

Freya sighed, “I’m perfectly capable of protecting-“

“Yes, ‘I’m perfectly capable of protecting my own self,’ but it doesn’t mean you have to always, Frey.” He replied.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Freya looked at him – Barry made complete sense. Freya wasn’t hesitant in letting him take the lead and guide her.

She was tired of leading the way. For once, she wanted to be guided.

“Alright, fine,” She sighed, “We go in; there’s a box of crystals inside. We don’t touch anything else, open the box, take the ring and come out. Clear?”

“Aye, captain.”

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“Agreed.” He nodded.

As Freya suggested – inside the cave – there was a box made up of crystals pointing upwards. Barry wasn’t sure how it was supposed to open.

“That,” Freya pointed as her voice echoed in the cave, “We gotta open that.”

“Open? How?” Barry questioned,

“Guess we’re gonna find out.” She replied and started walking towards the box.

The cave was weirdly cold and windy. The wooshing of wind was clear and loud, but still, their voice would echo. Right in the middle – where the box was placed – sunlight shone on the crystals through the opening in the middle. The cave was cut from the middle top as the sunlight made its way on the crystals; it reflected all around. Adding color to the cave.

“We can’t open that,” Barry stood right in front of the crystal box,

“We can’t take it outside. We can’t move it,” Freya pointed out,

“Alright then, what do we do?”

Freya turned to shoot him a look, “Why do I have to come up with solutions? I’m so tired. Can you use your brain for once?” Freya exasperated,

“Woah, okay there, drama queen,” Barry said under his breath and started focusing on the box again,

“What did you call me?” There was a hint of surprise in her voice,

“What?”

“Did you call me drama queen?” She let out a warning laugh,

“No?” He lied.

“You know, if I’m such a drama queen, why don’t you figure out what to do next? Huh?” She pushed him a bit,

“Don’t start things you can’t end, Freya. Let’s just focus on-“

She pushed him again.

“Stop.”

She did it again.

“Freya-“

Before he could be finished, she pushed him again. Barry stumbled on his feet and almost fell behind.

“That was a close one,” He laughed as Freya pulled him in.

Both of them stood on their feet about to laugh the situation off, until they heard loud shattering echoing through the cave.

Both of them realized what had just happened.

“Did the-” Barry couldn’t finish his sentence,

“Don’t even say it….” Freya put a hand to cover his mouth.

Barry had his back towards the crystal box, and Freya stood in front of him. She moved Barry to her left, slowly. It wasn’t seconds after she gasped.

“Oh god,” she touched her temple, “Shit shit shit,”

In front of them were pieces of crystals – hundreds and thousands of pieces – scattered on the floor. The ring was right in the middle of the pieces. It was ornately blackened by age the way antique silver does; it was as pretty as a copper patina, especially when viewed as a whole with the bluestone.

“Pick it up, pick it up!” Freya yelled, and Barry did as asked.

“Let’s get out of here before this thing crushed us to our death.” Barry picked the ring, held Freya’s hand, and made a run for the exit.

But of course, you can never to too prepared for the Island.

The cave started shaking before the scene could proceed, almost as an earthquake struck. A huge rock fell on the opening, blocking their way.

“Look out!” Freya yelled as an enormous rock fell right in front of Barry.

He raised his arm to protect himself. The rock hurt his little finger drops of blood fell on the surface of the black cave.

“Fuck!” he groaned in pain, “Where’s the ring!” he yelled on top of his lungs.

“What?” Freya repeated as the cave shook uncontrollably, and she tried to find an exit.

“The Ring!”

Both of them ducked left and right, saving themselves from the rocks and looking for the ring.

“Found it!”

Freya shouted as she found the ring, wrapped in red blood. She slid the ring in Barry’s fingers, “Don’t take it off until we’re outside!”

Freya couldn’t add more to her sentence as another enormous rock fell on the top of the one blocking the exit, and both of them rolled off.

Freya and Barry looked at each other in shock, almost ready to laugh at how they got saved.

“Let’s go!” Barry held her hand and ran outside.

But what awaited them was worse.

It wasn’t only the cave that was shaking; it was the entire Island.

“What the-“

Barry’s mouth opened wide as he saw huge trees shaking till the top, lave bursting out of the mountain afar, birds flying away from the Island.

“Oh god,” Freya whispred, “Island is…”

“Destroying itself.” He ended her sentence.

Both of them stood, too shocked and glued to their feet, as they saw long trees falling down flat, cries of animals afar, the hot and boiling lava making its way down the mountain.

Barry cast a look at Freya, who looked like a lost kid.

“Frey?”

“My home…” She whispered as a tear rolled down her eye,

“Frey, hey look at me,” Barry turned towards her, “it’s alright. We’ll figure this out, but first, we gotta get out of here. We can’t die here. Alright?”

Freya nodded, “I – I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry,”

“No, wait, uh – the – the chant.”

“Chant?” Barry asked her,

“Yeah, the chant. There’s this chant. Uh – I don’t remember the chant….”

“There has to be another way, Freya!” The tension in his voice was clear.

His heartbeat started rising as he saw the mushroom in front of his blow up into tiny pieces.

“Chant – I can’t remember. I – wait!” Freya said, “Bring it here, the ring!”

She took the ring from his hand and took out a knife from her bag. She cut her finger and dropped a bit of blood on it,

“Freya!” he took the knife from her hand,

“Think of your home!” She said,

Barry nodded and closed his eyes.

“The person who touched it last can activate the portal!” She exclaimed,

“Your father touched it last,” He pointed out,

“That means…”

Before Freya could end her sentence, a strong wind wooshed from behind her, throwing the book off Barry’s hand.

An enchanted portal opened, making a complete circle. It looked like a magical doorway.

“That’s it.”

“Where does it lead?”

“The place you thought about.” Freya smiled.

“Home?” He asked.

“Home.”

Barry nodded, “Hold my hand. Let’s go.”

Freya smiled and held him by his arm.

He took in a deep breath.

“Barry? Do it now!” Freya yelled as the ground burst, and hot lave poured out of it.

“Let’s go!” Barry yelled and jumped into the portal.

__

Barry fell on his bed.

The smell of fresh cupcakes was the first thing that hit him. His room was as he left it. His posters, books, jellyfish, everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. He smiled, almost relieved until his smile dropped.

“Freya?” He said, looking around the room.

She wasn’t there.

He looked down at his ring. The ring wasn’t there anymore; neither was the knife he kept in his pocket.

Everything was not how it was supposed to be.

Freya was left on the Island.