Chapter 4
An Envelope With A Broken Seal
As it becomes dark outside, there are sounds of clinking plates and kitchen wares downstairs while at my bed hugging my pillow. The sound stops before it changes to the creaking of the floor—getting clearer.
"Boy, come out it's time to eat." apar said behind the door.
I get up the bed—leaving the pillow behind and opening the door to find apar with a candle waiting for me.
He pats my shoulder and calmly says, "Come now."
We proceed our way down the stairs with apar's hand on my back. Approaching the dining area in the kitchen area, I sit on my chair with grilled meat and a bowl of stew already in front of me. The area is bathed with warm light coming from above and my surroundings find no signs of Imar.
"What about Imar?" I asked.
"Don't worry... I'll take care of her."
I stare at my dishes—grabbing my knife and fork with a neutral but gloomy look. Apar watches my action while he chows down his food.
"What's wrong? you don't like medium rare?" he said.
"No, it's just..."
"You're worried." Apar with a hint of a smile said, "You won't be able to apologize to her if you die of hunger."
His words put a bit of an awkward smile on my face.
"All right, apar.. thank you."
I dig in and savor each bite while we exchange gestures throughout the meal.
{-Ω-}
Cold rays from the window beams into my face, waking me up. I get up from my bed as I look at the mess that still looks the same from yesterday. It did not go well from my expectation, only leaving me desperate after being scolded by Imar. My hands are on my face, rubbing each other and slapping both my cheeks to get myself together.
I hop off my bed to get out of my room to the hallway—resonating with the only boiling oil sound coming from downstairs. The staircase creaks as I go down and Imar is in the kitchen cooking with a giant pan. She looks focused on her cooking with her eyebrows furrowed while I just stand by the entryway. As she turns off the stove and turns around with the pan, her eyes catch me—softening her expression.
"Rafyr, is something wrong?"
I look down with a gloomy face and my hands rubbing each other.
"W..well.. It's about what happened yesterday."
She places the pan back on the stove and says, "I'm listening."
"I..I'm sorry, Imar."
Her eyebrow raises with her hand on her hips.
"I was not careful.. I should've—"
"That's enough.... I forgive you."
I raise my head to her and she wears a smile, but her eyebrows are furrowed with sadness.
"Imar..."
She places her hand above my head and says, "Just clean your room next time... it reeks of dust, you do not want your entire room to catch on fire... including you, got it?"
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I nod while revealing a smile, "Got it."
She takes her hand off my head and walks to the living room.
"Since you admitted... there's something I wanna show you."
Imar reaches for something on the couch and pulls it out revealing an envelope with a broken red wax seal.
"What is that?"
"Well... It came from your apar's relative."
"Relative...? from the capital?!"
"That's right, we'll be heading there by 52nd."
The 52nd reminds me of a midwinter celebration she taught me about.
"We're celebrating Myoor there?!"
"Well.. that is.. if you stay behaved." She said as she walked back to the kitchen. "So don't burn the house down alright."
I nod with a straight face—giving imar a slight smile. The stairs creak catches my attention as Apar walks down with messy hair.
"What.. did I miss?" Apar asked with a tired heavy tone.
"I'll tell you while we eat our morning meal." Imar said. "So take a seat."
"Sure... I need to use the toilet."
As I watch him go to the washroom, I take a seat in front of Imar.
It does not take too long for Apar to exit the bathroom, approaching the dining area to sit next to Imar. Imar, with the envelope, shows him the letter, and he is overjoyed with relief, making our planned capital visit the topic of our morning.
{-Ω-}
This morning's the 51st, a day before Myoor. I am by the door wearing a black hooded fur coat with our suitcase beside me. It is quiet down here with a slight noise from my parents' mumbling conversation upstairs. They exit their room with their voices now clear and walk downstairs where I can see them.
Apar's wearing a thick black fur coat, and a fur hat of the same color with ear-covering flaps. While, Imar's wearing white fur earmuffs and a coat of the same color with golden fur—covering her neck.
"Have you brought the things you need, Rafyr?" Imar asked
"In the suitcase."
"Good, let's head out."
Apar lifts the suitcase and we all head out together.
There is less snow on the ground, but enough to paint it white. The smoke from our chimney slowly fades as Imar locks the door of our house then we proceed down the hill where I can see our frozen watermill. Crunching of snow and sounds from unfrozen parts of the river resonate our surroundings with groups of small fish visible underneath the ice. Most of the trees are bald with some leaves left that are coated in ice—forming spiky icicles.
Our house is now the size of my thumb as we reach down the hill, nearing the station. We cross the giant train tracks and proceed to a bridge made of stone over a small river nearby. A giant smoke by the trees from a mile becomes visible then roars a loud horn. We walk up the platform of the station and Apar settles the suitcase beside us as we wait.
The train gets closer and it is huge, resembling the one I saw back then, even crashing through the ice coated tree branches. I move a bit to the front to get a more clear view of the train. As it is about to reach the station, Imar pulls me back and the train passes in front of me. A blur of black metal streaking by, in a matter of seconds. The platform vibrates slightly and the wind generated by its passage blows at our clothes and hair.
Apar lifts our suitcase again as the train slows down and comes to a halt—revealing a steep metal staircase that moves past us, leading to a single door. We walk to where the stairs end, then ascend with Apar carrying our suitcase on his shoulder behind us and Imar in front of me. Imar slides the door open and it greets us with a sweet flower scent that warms my nose.
We enter the train as Apar closes the door and settles our suitcase again to carry it. The walls and ceilings are dark brown colored and all wooden with the floor being a plain black carpet. There are three sets of seats with four seats in the middle and luggage racks above them. As we walk past the empty seats, the train moves as I hold onto them. It is quiet with only the faint rumbling sound of the train that resonates around us.
Imar slides a door open by the end that reveals a hallway on either side of cabins. The window doors of the cabins are covered with black curtains from inside. Imar stops in front of a door with a plate that says 'vacant'. She takes it off, slides the door open and we enter a cabin that's about the size of a single bedroom. It has three beds in one single bunk bed that extends high up to the ceiling and two black sofa booths beside them—facing each other with a table in the middle.
"Rafyr, you sleep on the top, is that alright?" Imar said.
"Sure."
We take off our coats and hang them on a coat rack located on our right side of the door. Revealing imar's brown ribbon tied white puff sleeve blouse with long brown checkered skirt, and apar's black vest with pants of the same color.
"I'll go get us something to eat, is there something you guys prefer."
"A hot coffee is enough." Apar said.
"How about you, Rafyr?"
"Sour soup."
"Anything else?" She said as she was about to exit the cabin.
"That's all."
She exits the cabin and walks to the right side of the hallway. Apar lays down on the bottom bed that's exactly the same size as him.
"It's going to be a long trip... so rest too, boy."
He faces the wall as I take a seat on the sofa booth and watch the trees passing by. There are mountains and small villages from far away with smoke on their chimneys. I lay my head down on my arms on the table and slowly close my eyes while hearing the rumbling sounds of the train.