The water went down terribly; it tasted like it had brewed in a rusted bucket for months. Not to mention the tearing sensation as it went down. Leaning against the wall, he handed the cup back to the girl. He swore he could make out a smile beneath the blanket of darkness. In turn, the corner of his mouth crept upward an ever-so-small amount.

She placed the cup on the ground, led by her following with it. They both sat there and listened to the muffled mumbling coming from the closed door. It was a soothing sound. He slid down the wall slowly and found himself sitting awkwardly on the floor.

His eyes were growing heavy, but the pressure from before didn’t decrease. ‘Maybe it’s because of the water I made earlier…’

Crossing his legs, he left the weight of his head on his palm. Slowly, his eyes drifted shut smoothly.

“Do you even know where you are?” she said.

‘Does it matter?’

“No…” he replied while rubbing his eye with a finger.

Bobbing her head back, she mumbled quietly, “Melanor, the village closest to the Corruption Terra. It spread here about two years ago. None of Paraphine’s guards wanted to come help, because ‘more important’ villages. What a joke.” Pointing over to the left door, she let out a light giggle, and devoid of emotion, she said, “You’ll never leave this village. Actually, you’re most likely going to fall at some point, or another... Everyone will.”

“...”

“What?” he asked under a light breath.

Opening her mouth, she was about to speak, but left it with a second pause. She left off with, “You’ll see…”

There was a moment of silence before a light thud sounded behind the left doorway. The panel slid back open. Both Elia and Garrick walked out into the hallway, led by the woman. There was a layer of tension between their body language, one he hadn’t seen before.

Elia pinched the bridge of her nose. Looking down at Aurin, she said, “We’re leaving tomorrow; there’s nothing we can get from here.”

The woman opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but quickly hesitated. She shifted her head down to the girl and gave a single nod. A slow one…

Confused, he continued to dart his head between the group. Then Garrick said, “Suppose you have a room we can rent?” he weakly laughed.

The woman sternly said, “Yes, but no need for rent. Money doesn’t matter anymore here, and probably never will again.”

Remembering what the girl said, his hearing muffled everything out.

‘Would dying be better?’

The girl slapped his shoulder, then sharply stood up. “You’re a weird one!” Now that the warm light from the candle entered the room, he could make out her features a lot better. She looked about his age, actually. Short auburn hair that reached only chin length, bright emerald eyes, and a rather pale complexion. Weirder than finally seeing her, she held a frail, almost sad smile.

Quickly, she walked over to who he supposed was her mother at this point. The woman looked down at her with a smile. She glanced back up to Garrick and hummed, “Oh, and yes, we should have a spare up on the second floor.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Gesturing them to follow, Aurin struggled to stand again, but eventually he made his way up. Putting out the candle, she went to the staircase and lowered the drapes. As soon as she did, the girl scurred past her up the stairs.

Leading them forward to the second floor, Aurin stuttered behind. Once he ascended the last of the steps, there wasn't anything in front of him. Except for a hallway to the right with railing going along the staircase. It was lined with four doors, probably the rooms that overlooked the street.

The others were already at the final door towards the end of the hall. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Probably in one of the rooms... Trailing behind them, the woman opened the door and waved them in.

“Sorry if it’s a bit dusty… this room hasn’t been used in a while.” Elia and Garrick walked straight in without waiting. Then she quietly whispered, “I’ll leave you be… just uh—remember not to use-” She was cut off abruptly by the door slowly closing in her face. Whilst this was happening, Aurin stood with his hand around the railing, waiting…

They usually didn’t leave him alone like this. So it came to be a bit of a surprise that they did; but then again, it’s not like he could leave as of now.

The woman stood facing the door, scratching her head. She turned to face down the hall, where she stopped next to Aurin. He couldn’t tell whether she was looking at him or the wall; it was just too dark. Although his confusion was quickly answered. She said, “I see… “

‘Can these two really hear my thoughts? And you can see?!’

“You could sleep out here if you want,” she said.

‘Wouldn’t be the first time…’

“But, we also have another spare room if you’d like…”

Going back down the hall, she creaked open the second door down from where Elia and Garrick were. “Well?”

He shook his head, then mumbled weakly, “I’m… fine.” She paused while holding the door open. Backing away, she said, “Mh—if you say so.”

Without saying anymore, she went down and through the door farthest from their room, and closest to the staircase. She shut the door quietly, the last sound he heard was the click of it.

It was silent.

Too silent.

As he clung to the wall ready to slither down, he noticed the door remained ajar. The one she offered. Hesitantly, he stood back up to approach it. Soon after, he found himself stopped directly in front of the looming door. Using his shoulder, he pressed against the door lightly. Watching it turn, the gap it left was about his width.

Staring at the height of the door, he thought back to what the girl warned him. 'Will I be able to reach that one day?'

Lowering his eyes down, he let out a stifled sigh. Stepping forward, he peeked his head over the corner.

The insides weren’t completely dark... Engraved into the middle of the far wall was a detailed window bleeding moonlight. The floor was old and unclean compared to the others. On the far right, next to the window, was a dark wood bed with an old checkered blanket laid on top of it. Beside the door on the right was a fairly old splintered desk and chair. A bookshelf on the left wall as well. As he walked into the room still unsure, something changed. Nothing in the room moved or did anything fancy. There wasn’t a difference in the dusty-smelling air, the temperature, or the sound of that horrible storm. But something was off…

Without shutting the door, he stumbled closer to the window. Going on his tiptoes to see outside, he barely got his eyes to see over the window ledge. But what he saw was outstanding. The moon was especially huge in the starry night, and the weather was finally breaking. It reflected off the shiny shingled rooftops, which is what gave the light in the room. Beyond that, this house was at one of the higher points in the village. So rows and rows of cottages just like this one, smaller or greater were in his view.

An unfamiliar warmth, almost an explosion of something dwelled in his stomach. It wasn’t a bad feeling though, but something he just hadn’t experienced before. The pressure was still lingering, but was distant. Lowering down, he gasped at his ankle bending in on itself. Losing balance, he braced the top of his head with his hands. But he never met that hardwood floor. Instead, something squeaked beneath him as he bounced on something unfamiliarly soft.

Groaning under his breath, he pressed his two hands underneath himself and looked down. He had fallen onto the mattress. Involuntarily, a small curve appeared on his lips, breaking into a smile. He giggled to himself, letting his back hit the bed again.

His legs dangled over the side of the bed, and his back sprawled across the mattress. Staring up at the ceiling for a moment without thinking, he let his heavy eyelids shut. Listening to the silent room with the leftover rain clattering on the window, his smile crept away. Moving further onto the bed, he turned to his side to think.

'Tomorrow...'

End of Chapter 4