The Man With The Gloves (mxmxmxm)

31. The Sacred Place

"Despite your best efforts, people are going to be hurt when it's time for them to be hurt." (Haruki Murakami)

A/N : I forgot how dirty my mind was when I chose the title of this chapter. 😭 Now my thoughts are all going in the wrong direction 🙈

There was a sacred place where nothing hurt anymore. It wasn't that easy to access this place. Most people never found it - never even suspected its existence.

In this place, time didn't matter. Gone were the memories, the things most of us cling to, for better or worse. The future and its anxiety was equally absent. The present was nothing more than a mindless void. This was complete, absolute bliss.

On his worst days, back at the family's castle, he had longed for that feeling to not feel at all. That was it. That's exactly what the sacred place was.

There was a problem, though. The longer you stayed in the sacred place, the harder it became for you to leave it.

"Please, Headmaster,  I'm begging you. Do something."

"I'm sorry, Ash, but I've done everything in my power. Now all we can do is wait and hope he will wake up by himself."

"But he looks so fragile now. I can't stand seeing him like this. My poor, sweet boy."

"I know, but remember how tough he really is and have faith. I am sure he will make it."

The sacred place used to be silent, before the voices entered it. They disturbed the peace, bringing confusion and agitation to the otherwise deserted haven.

At first, he tried ignoring them. They were merely familiar little noises he couldn't bother to decipher. He knew somehow that the little voices could shaken the very fundation of the sacred place. That wasn't something he thought he wanted. Surely, what he wanted was to remain in the sacred place. That was a reasonable desire.

Before he was aware of it, it was already too late. He had gotten used to the little voices and he could no longer manage without them. He expected them. Every time they didn't come, his sense of agitation grew. The sacred place wasn't enough anymore.

The little voices were everything the sacred place was not. They embodied love, life and hope.

"I can't focus on my duties as a prefect. I miss this little brat so much."

"You have to try and get some sleep, Ake. Even supernatural creatures need a break sometimes. At this rate, you will get sick before he even has a chance to wake up."

"Every time I fall sleep, I have these nightmares where he is dying. I don't want to sleep anymore. I don't want to wake up and find out that he passed away."

"I can give you things that should help, but please, try to take better care of yourself. I know it's hard, but you have to remain strong for your three mates."

"With all due respect, Headmaster, you have no idea what you're talking about. The three of us are stuck in a living Hell"

The sacred place had turned into a gilded cage. Along with the voices, the memories had come back, bringing a loneliness only  three persons in the whole world could quench.

Now he could recognize all the voices. He could understand everything that was spoken and left unsaid.

Pain. There was so much pain in these voices. He knew instinctively that the only way to ease the pain was to leave the sacred place, but he didn't know how to do so.