Primal

Chapter Nineteen

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Chapter Nineteen

 

Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were. ~Marcel Proust

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She continued to travel alongside Aeron, but her heart still felt like it was broken with every silent footstep they took along the beach. She knew better than to say anything, but she couldn’t stay silent for any longer. If she didn’t admit it to both of them out loud, it would not have been fair to either of them. With the silence Noor was given a lot of time to reminisce, her mind flooding with images of her past.

 

Her mother stood in the doorway, her gentle gaze calming even with a raging storm as her backdrop. “We forgot to close up the stand, Noor.” She explained, trying to calm Noor down even though the young girl knew the dangers. They couldn’t stay in the air; if they tried to fly their wings would collapse under any pressure. The marketplace would only hold more dangers, the open area filled with falling debris and collapsing stalls. Noor was not stupid, and she was not gullible. She was completely aware that her mother knew Noor was aware, but her words still attempted to comfort her. “Everything will be just fine. Your father and I always come home by the end of the night, don’t we? Keep an eye on your sister, Noor. Yuna needs you.” Noor finally let go of her hand, waving softly as she slowly shut the door. Her little hands desperately clung to the window’s ledge, her eyes staring at the back of her parent’s heads. As they finally disappeared out of sight, she knew deep down that her parents would never return from that storm.

 

Noor sat down next to her sister who silently ate her dinner, her gaze still happy despite what was going on. Her sister always was oblivious to the world around her. Was that what her mother meant by watch over her? Noor gently touched the top of her head, kissing Yuna’s forehead. “Ew, Noor. You’re so gross.” Yuna whined, wiping off her skin as she continued to eat.

 

“Ew, Yuna.” Noor whispered, crossing her arms over her chest as followed Aeron across the white sand. He didn’t turn around and ask what she had said; he just continued to walk ahead.

 

When they reached the bottom of the mountain, he paused and waited for her. Her mind leaped to see him pause just for her, and rushed to catch up. They stood side by side, their gaze staring up at the daunting rocky mass above. “Are you ready?” He asked her, his hand slowly reaching out towards her. She didn’t know what his intentions were by the gesture, but she took his hand anyways.

 

“We’ll see when we get there.” She responded, a lump forming in her throat as she watched a large rock break off of a ledge and plummet to the ground.  It bounced against the slope, breaking off other rocks as it rolled along. Soon they moved out of sight, hidden by the edge of another mountain. “No, No I’m not.” She said, changing her mind as he gently pulled her ahead.

 

The slope was more upwards than she had thought, the muscles in her legs throbbing in protest against all of her motions. How was Aeron so comfortable in this stretch of the journey? He didn’t look like he was struggling at all, every movement graceful and smooth in comparison to hers. The sun was high in the sky above, beaming down in full strength upon them. She was so thirsty, her throat was scratchy and her head somehow felt both heavy and light at the same time. In all that she could remember, she had never felt as miserable as she did then.