Amentia

Chapter 67 - Don't forget

When the caravan came to a stop, everyone inside exchanged glances. It took them a few minutes to get moving. Even Az in the driver's seat was hesitant to jump down. But the longer they put this off, the harder it would be to get through it. So Az got off the front of the caravan and walked around to open the door, finding the sad environment he had been expecting. One by one, they climbed down, Meiko and Nina being the last ones.

In front of the caravan door was a wall made out of trees which marked the edges of the forest of the Temple. The trees were so tall one couldn't see the tops of them from below, and they were so leafy they looked like one single tree spread out to the sides. The caravan would've fit through the trunks, but no outside vehicles were allowed. When the troupe approached the trees, a group of five fairies emerged from hidden places among the leaves. They flew around the newcomers, inspecting them and commenting their findings out loud with each other. They did not mind saying mean things about their physical traits or their outfits. It was clear that their inspections went beyond such superficial things or they wouldn't be the Keeper's trusted guards, and that they were only trying to annoy them with those comments because, well, they were fairies. So the troupe put up with it. Azariah openly laughed at the comments he got.

Recognizing the five humans who had saved the world, the fairies opened the barrier to let the troupe pass, and returned to their posts inside the trees. As the troupe walked beyond the trees, the weather changed, turning warmer and more humid. The Amentian troupers looked around the area with wide eyes, as they had never set foot in this place before. It wasn't common for Amentians to visit the Temple because no one went to Earth anymore; the only other reason could be they were looking to borrow a history or magic book, but this was a rare happening because most knowledge was passed on verbally.

"There's a library here?!" Nati asked when the topic arose. "Why didn't the Keeper tell me? I would've spent all my time in there all along."

"That's probably why he didn't tell you," Anna commented, unable to hide her amusement, and being surprised by a pang of sadness in her chest. She would miss her.

When they reached the Temple building, the Keeper was already waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. He was making the hand gesture of welcome, his hands forming an X with the palms facing up. The Amentian guests made their own gesture in response: raising their hands to their faces, the fingertips of their left hand pointed upwards and the thumb was folded in; the fingertips touched the forehead, then the hand moved away and stopped at an angle, fingertips pointing at the Keeper. Meiko gave a small bow and the rest of the girls waved a hand in different speeds and widths. Anna smiled at the sound of the wind around the Keeper; she'd forgotten how interesting it was.

Before saying anything, the Keeper made another hand gesture, placing the fingertips of his left hand on the center of his chest and moving his hand in an arc to finish with the fingers pointing at the girls.

"Thank you for saving us," he said, posing his eyes on each of them.

The girls all nodded awkwardly and Meiko bowed again.

"I understand some of you have come to leave," said the Keeper in his peaceful and impassive voice. Of course he knew why they were here. "The portal has been expecting you," he added and led them to the stairs of the walkway.

Nina's throat closed more tightly and her heart beat faster with each step she took towards the portal room. She watched the back of the girls' necks, thinking she would've liked to throw a tantrum and refuse to walk until her friends said they'd stay. But that only works when you're a little kid and if you have compassionate parents, and neither of those things applied to Nina. There was just no way around this, no way to keep it from happening, and the portal room just kept getting closer and closer.