Amentia

Chapter 19 - A different galaxy

The girls weren't able to talk or breathe normally for a long while after they left the village. They were still worried one of those psychos was after them. But after an hour with no occurrences, they were able to relax. The only conversation they'd had until then was the direction in which they would walk. Nati had been told by Gina, the first woman who had fallen ill, that the best way to get anywhere on the continent was to follow the Crossing River, which, as its name indicated, stretched from the very east to the very west, crossing the entire world. She'd been told it was located north, so they just kept walking on the same straight line away from the village. And if they were to go off course, Zoe would notice right away since her feet were always in contact with the earth and she could tell where the river was; she was like a human compass.

For the time being, however, Zoe's main concern was Nina. Once they were sure no one was chasing them, she had put Nina down and walked with her. She had to have an arm around Nina's shoulders and gently push her to make her walk forward; otherwise, she just stood still, her eyes far away and expressionless. It was a look that didn't fit her. Zoe feared that that ugly man had taken away Nina's beautiful childish ways, which is one of the worst things a man can do to a woman. Zoe didn't say a word about it, hoping this was just the shock of the attack and that she would eventually have that bubbly energy about her once again, the energy that made the flowers happy when she walked by them.

They were all worried about Nina because it was strange seeing her silent for so long, but they tried not to think too much about it because it wouldn't be of any help. They should just give her time to recover first, before thinking the worst.

Nati was walking in front, taking in the feel of the forest, which was slowly falling into darkness. The purple leaves and grass looked breathtaking in the sunset light; there was a strangely satisfying sense of calm as the forest prepared itself for the night, familiar small animals retreating to their burrows, crickets singing loudly accompanied by the cool breeze, nocturnal species probably waking up to start their day. Natalia was trying to catch a name, any name, just to get a deeper connection to this beautiful place. Maybe if she paid enough attention, she could find the name of the tall trees that swayed over their heads; they sure looked friendly.

Just a few paces behind her, Meiko and Anna were walking side by side. Anna kept throwing cute side-glances at Meiko, who purposefully ignored them while trying to focus on not tripping so she wouldn't look stupid in front of everyone.

"That was incredible, what you did back there," Anna told her in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the silent peace of the place. "Both the tackling and the healing; you were like a superhero."

Meiko couldn't help but smile, lowering her head and letting her thin dark hair hide her face. "I wouldn't say a superhero..." she said in a frail voice.

"Don't be modest, you saved Nina's life."

They both turned their heads around to look at Nina behind them, still concerned about her distant eyes.

"Did I?" said Meiko.

"She'll be okay, she's tougher than she looks."

The girls walked for another hour, stopping at times to answer the call of nature or because they had gone off course and had to double back. As night fell, the girls were surprised to find that it never grew completely dark. They kept looking at the sky and finding it gray instead of black, as if it were overcast and about to rain, except it wasn't because they could see glistening stars all over it. They couldn't see too much detail in this dim light, but at least they could still see where they stepped and avoid tripping.

When they reached a small clearing, a bigger patch of sky became visible and the girls saw two big moons shining a bright, pale-blue light down on them; one of them was a half-moon and the other one was full, and they were separated by a great distance, almost like they were half a world apart, reflecting their light on each other and keeping Amentia safe from true darkness. The girls couldn't help but stay a few long minutes marveling at them before they continued their journey. Even Nina looked up, and the view seemed to get a reaction out of her, even if small. No one could've resisted this much beauty without being hypnotized by it, not even someone in shock.