STORM CHASING [Love in the Air | PayuxRain]

three

"P'Payu?!"

Rain bolted upright, jumping out of the bed. Not a few feet from where he previously was, he swayed and staggered back on the bed, his vision flickering.

He rubbed at his eyes and forced himself to stand up. The room was lit with only a gas lamp. The smell of smoke, like burnt leaves, was prominent.

He was alone in this bare room, windows open showing a deep and dark blue sky, the moon swallowed by the clouds.

His shadows against the thin walls were shaking, as well as the hand that tried to grab air.

"P'Payu?" he called, his voice hoarse. His body was protesting but he went on.

He finally found him. Earlier was not a dream. He wouldn't lose Payu a second time. He shook his head, trying to ease out from the fog in his brain. Before he could take a step further, a panicked young voice called to him from behind.

"Phi!" the girl's voice called. "Please do not move and leave the bed yet! The healer says you need to rest!"

Squinting, Rain turned to the voice over his shoulder and met a girl no more than thirteen by the looks of it. She was wearing a floral skirt and a shirt that said 'keep it cool'. Rain almost laughed. There was no way he could keep it cool.

"Please," the girl begged, tentatively holding on to Rain's arm to guide him back to the bed. "You still have a fever Phi. You need to lie down."

"I need to talk to P'Payu," Rain replied, pulling his arm away from the girl's hold. The girl grabbed him again.

"You will not find him here Phi. P'Payu and the elders will be having a meeting in a few hours."

"All the more I..." Rain swayed and felt his knees almost buckle below him.

"Phi... rest please. You're in no way to be moving about."

Rain stared at the girl's pleading eyes and looked up the wooden ceilings. His vision was rotating as if he was in constant view of a kaleidoscope. Eventually, he let the girl usher him back into the bed.

"Did P'Payu say anything about me?" Rain whispered as the girl busied herself helping Rain back into the bed and by putting a wet towel over Rain's forehead.

She didn't respond right away and just tried to feel for Rain's pulse. Weird for a girl so young to be acting this way but Rain was too far off to wonder.

"Phi... the healer said you're in a really terrible condition," the girl said as she finally settled on the wooden chair next to his bed. "When was the last time you slept?"

Rain closed his eyes. Sleep? What was it again? He forgot exactly how that worked. Exactly when? Even with the help of sleeping pills, all he had was restless and chaotic shallow shut eyes pestered by dreams of landslides and Payu being buried alive.

Rain bit his bottom lip. Months. Maybe years. It was a surprise he was still alive.

"The healer also said your heart is tired."

Rain smiled. That one thing was true. The most concrete thing he knew was that his heart was really tired of missing, longing, and constantly being in fear.

"Your heart is weak, Phi."

Rain opened his eyes and turned to the girl. "What do you mean 'weak'?"

"You need to go back home and rest. If you let that go on, it may become serious."

From the girl, Rain turned back at the ceiling. He stared at the empty socket where a light bulb should be, the little flame in the lamp flickering although there was no wind.