Nomen:
So close, but equally as far. My hands can almost reach out and touch The Garden, but the one that currently sits in the palm of my hand is too small; it’s easy to misunderstand it at this distance. None that have made this journey truly grasp the magnitude or reach of this place. How few have even made it across that sea or to the final trial? It is difficult to remember everyone’s stories, but a few of the interesting ones stick around in my mind. Will that be what happens to them? I thought as my eyes peered over to their blanket-covered bodies. Will I forget them like most of the others, or will they make it far enough for me to remember? I do not see Maleki making it past this next trial. Not after the energy he used climbing the mountain, the injuries he gained from the Aeternae, and the added weight he carries. How he even walks after those cuts and gashes he received amazes me, and I was the one who bandaged them, so I know their depth.
Perhaps, I should’ve told them…No, I did not have the heart. It would not change anything, and they would have gone anyway if there was a chance. The result does not matter to me. I am sworn to this place, yet despite its beauty, I resent it. They sense admiration from me for this place, but they are as misguided as I am. Their hearts are not pure, but whose is? Does that make them lesser? They are different than the others, that is true, but that doesn’t change the result. This ends the same; I’ve seen it before. Everyone has been unique, some sicker, some weak, some gods…
Selfless actions might empower you briefly, but this journey drains every last drop from you until you are lesser than when you began. Miko and Maleki are innocent, without majik in a world dominated by it, and yet they proceed with confidence in their talents. Yes, that is a difference they possess. While I and the rest of the world limit themselves with the possession of otherworldly gifts, they have empowered themselves with natural ones, unaffected by the imaginary constraints that societal constructs have imposed on our ability to think beyond ourselves. They have already made it farther than those stronger than them, people who were strong both in majik and in body. Can their minds and bodies endure further than most since they reached the halfway point? No, of course not. I shook my head at that thought. Halfway was a fool’s marker for this journey, and even if they make it past this next trial, no one is prepared for the last two.
I try to rest as they do, but peace does not find me as easily as Miko and Maleki. I envy them; the way they push so hard for their goal. It gives them purpose. My purpose is The Garden’s purpose. That was the deal I made.
I watch Maleki as he wakes and gathers their belongings. His resolve is firm, and despite his injuries, he looks as confident as I am, though his burdens are twice mine. They talk and bicker amongst themselves, cuing me in for their conversation as we proceed down the mountain to the sea. Listening to them converse reminded me of my siblings and the way we spoke to each other. There was not much difference between Miko, Maleki, and my brothers and sisters. Oftentimes, I blinked in confusion at them, seeing my brothers in their place, hearing their voices instead. In many ways, they resembled each other, which made me drift out of reality far too far often. I must not be present during these trials. Watching them fail or get too close to doing so might make me act outside of my guiding role.
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Despite Miko’s condition, he does all that he can to remain himself. On the days down this mountain that he can’t speak, he listens. On the days he can speak and not hear, we mouth our words clearly. He has grown used to the language barrier, and we have adapted to his cyclical disease. None have possessed as conquering a disease that has attempted this journey. To suffer such an illness at a young age is a terrible fate. He reminds me of my youngest brother, even more so.
Learning quickly is their strong suit. I will give them that. Despite their rumblings about how long it took, Miko advised them to play it safe, and Maleki listened. He was probably too tired to disagree. They initially tried to find ways to skip ahead and speed up their descent, but they soon realized the difficulty of moving down a mountain. A descent made exceptionally more difficult by added weight. Maleki is far too wounded to climb down a flat wall with Miko, so his only option is to walk down the open winding path. Up here, the air is thin — creating resistance against quick movements. It is best to move methodically, else you step wrong and meet the end of a long drop.
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“Two and a half…weeks….” Miko said through short breaths as he laid on his back, looking up at his brother, “It took like a week to get up there from the bottom. Why did it take so long to get down? Was the mountain range longer on the back side?”
“Well-“Before I could explain, I was cut off by Maleki.
“Why in the hell are you so tired? You’re not the one who just had to carry someone all this way!” Maleki spoke through even shorter breaths while hunched over.
Miko stuttered to retort. “I-, Hey, that’s not fair! It’s not easy clinging on to your stinky back.”
“Clinging? My stinky back is the thing holding you up, idiot. All you have to do is lock your arms.”
I tried to intervene, “Gentlem-”
“It’s not my fault I’m like this!” Miko yelled.
“Not my fault, either!” Maleki yelled back before purposefully falling back onto his rear and lying exhaustedly beside Miko.
“You’re the idiot….” Miko said through a laugh.
Maleki grabbed Miko’s raggy hair, stretching his fingers until his palm covered his scalp. “Just a little farther, Miko. I promise we’ll get there.”
That seemed to quell their argument, at least for the moment, so I interjected to answer Miko’s original question. “It is a mixture of the two. The mountain range is one and half times as long on the side facing the sea, but that is made more difficult by Maleki’s waning stamina and injuries gained from the last three trials.”
“Thanks, Nomen. I had a feeling that was the case, but I’ve never walked this far in my life, so it was starting to become maddening.” Maleki said, wiping sweat from his brow. “At least the temperature is fairer down here than at the top half.”
I turned away from them to disguise any emotions that might give away information. If that was the most Maleki had ever done, he is unprepared for what comes next.