ODE TO THE END: A BALLAD OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 12

NAOMI

The sky was a blanket of blue with white clouds drifting on the winds. The thicket of oak trees danced in the breeze, and birds could be heard singing their early morning songs. Naomi waded through the forest, but her mother's words of warning rang in her ear. She soon came to a complete stop, her mother's disapproval weighing every step.

They were so far apart now, but was this the worst of it? Could Naomi truly lose what little relationship was left? She wondered when she would even see that woman again, but there was no way to tell. This consistent uncertainty caused Naomi to clench her fists. She soon wiped her face and marched on, but something suddenly pinched at her ethereal senses. Something entirely different from her familial anxieties.

Naomi's hairs flared as goosebumps dotted her freckled skin.

Something - Someone - was here. Or were they? Naomi shot a gaze to the thickest part of the dark wood, but only a bird emerged. 

"...Oh, just the wildlife." she said. Naomi giggled with relief, but the chills remained. 

As far as it looked, there was nothing there, but was that the truth of it? Naomi hurried out of the thicket after her brush with the unseen. She bit her bottom lip the entire way, but all her concerns vanished as the dark boy came into view.

Achim was leaning against the tree, arms folded, legs crossed, dozing even as he stood. Naomi could not help but stare. Her pupils dilated, but, when Achim stirred, Naomi began to shimmy in embarrassment. She had been looking at him far more intently than she realized. Her hair fell into her face as her allure came to light and she patted her heart twice to calm herself. She did not think Achim saw her floundering about so unseemly, but...

"What in the world were you spazzing out for?" Achim asked with an eye open.

"No reason," Naomi bashfully responded.

Distracting herself by setting down her things, Naomi scrounged inside her bag for an assortment of snacks.  "I was just thinking that you seem to have been resting in an interesting way."  Naomi looked up, glancing at the face of her moon-eyed companion.

Achim had already begun to doze again. Naomi smiled as the boy fell down and laid his head in the bed of grass.

"I didn't sleep last night." Achim said after a long yawn. His tone was plagued by exhaustion, but he forced himself upright.

"Why not?" Naomi asked. "You were already tired when I left. What did you end up doing for the rest of the night?"

"I walked around. Explored The Wall a bit." Said Achim.

"You mean York's Divide?" the girl inquired.

Achim scratched at his afro before shrugging. "I don't know. I guess? I actually got here at dawn." He rubbed his face and eyes. "... I get insomnia sometimes. Bad dreams."

"What sort of bad dreams?" Naomi's bright eye rested on Achim as she spoke. She could only recall a few times she had seen anyone look so utterly spent. Naomi set herself right next to him with an open invitation. "You can talk about it if you want."

Achim glanced at Naomi before letting out a long sigh. He closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. The sun-kissed girl did not expect such  a forward display. She did not expect anything at all, yet she had been rattled by the warmth that slithered from his form to hers. As his soft hair tickled her ears and pressed against her neck, his closeness allowed her nose to catch his scent.

Achim's fragrance was like an earthy incense. The kind that tempted her to lean further into him. She began to blush before turning her face toward his.