Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 125-

Day: 188

Days Left: 5292

Lives Saved: 1

After the blood moon had ended and the prisoners had settled from the aftermath, Corinna decided to throw a dinner party to thank everyone involved in saving her from the sandwyrm in the underground tunnel.

Several tables and chairs were set up outside of the trading post with lit candles. The guests were responsible for bringing their own food, but Ivette also put out a plate of the new fruit that she had been growing, yet to be given a name.

With music provided by Harmony's gramophone giving it a lively atmosphere, the dinner party was a huge success. All of the guests delved into their food, complimenting the fruit Ivette had grown and enjoyed each other's company and conversation.

Harmony sat at one of the ends of the long tables and watched the others as she stroked Reggie, the rottweiler's head resting on her lap. For two years she had been all alone in the Eternal Abyss, isolating herself, unable to talk to anyone. Though she had Ivette, they were hardly close. But then Corinna arrived and now...

She wouldn't have believed it if she had told her past self that she would have found so many friends in this rotting world, let alone the amphibian or the imps. It wouldn't have been possible without Corinna. She had changed so much of Harmony's life in just a week of meeting each other.

Harmony glanced over to Corinna who was currently admiring a drawing an imp had done. Meanwhile, Calixte was attempting to teach the rest of the imps proper table manners, but they were all distracted by Sumit challenging them to see how far they could catch food in their mouths. Rin and Salim sat a distance from the rest of the party due to the chaos so they could talk about books in peace.

No... Harmony could definitely not have predicted this.

As she ate another forkful of food, someone tapped on Harmony's shoulder.

It was Ivette.

"How is the fruit?" asked the old trader.

"Good!" Harmony said with her mouth full which received a look of disgust from Ivette. "Very filling. Tastes good mixed in with stew."

Ivette's frown of disgust worsened. Fruit was definitely not supposed to go in a stew. But she stopped herself from explaining this to Harmony as the odd flavour combination seemed to make the young woman happy.

"Are you having fun?" asked Harmony.

"Oh, yes." Ivette beamed. "I always love guests. They're just like customers, but you pay each other in compliments instead of wares."

The two paused in talking as they ate.

"I heard that you almost escaped that day," Ivette spoke quietly.

Harmony hesitated. "Got the timing wrong."

"Really?" Ivette smirked. "Your dear friend Calixte had a very different account. He said that you would have escaped if you hadn't chosen to save Corinna instead."

Lowering her head, Harmony replied, "I-I couldn't go without a clear conscience. I... I wanted to make sure that she was safe."

Ivette smiled. "You said before... that you didn't understand me. You didn't understand why I chose to stay." She paused. "Do you perhaps understand me better now? Even just a little?"

"I..." Harmony glanced back at Corinna, seeing her smile and laugh as she joined in with the game of throwing food into the imps and Sumit's mouths.

"You care a lot about her, don't you?"

"Yeah..." Harmony frowned. Something in her chest twinged in pain, swelling and twisting yet somehow filled her with a sense of giddiness and made her lightheaded at the same time.

Oh...

How long had that feeling been there?

*

After everyone had finished eating, some of them crowded around a table to play board games whilst others lounged on the ground peacefully listening to the music. Harmony, however, wandered away from the party. She stared off into the distance where the Land of the Lost summit poked up above the horizon.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Harmony turned to see Corinna.

"Hey." Corinna smiled, her hands held behind her back.

Harmony hesitated then managed to mumble out a "hello," back.

"I... I wanted to give you something," said Corinna.

"Huh? You don't need to-"

"But I want to," said Corinna firmly. She produced the objects she had kept hidden behind her back.

It was a polaroid camera and the photo album that Harmony had traded with Ivette months ago then traded back.

"You said you were planning on redoing your memory notebook," explained Corinna. "Since you thought that writing wasn't your 'strong suit' then maybe you could use pictures instead."

Slowly, Harmony took the camera and the album and stared down at them with a gentle smile. She swallowed, preventing her eyes from watering. "Thank you," she said.

Corinna looked away, hiding a grin, then stood by Harmony's side and stared up at the Land of the Lost in the distance. "Don't worry, Harm," she said, continuing to look at the opening and closing portals, merely a speck this far away. "We'll get you out of this place."

Harmony glanced back for a moment at the portals in the distance, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop looking at Corinna.

"Well, I'm gonna head back," said Corinna, stepping away. "They're gonna play Jenga next." She smirked. "Wanna watch me thrash everyone?"

"Wait!" Harmony grabbed hold of Corinna's hand, unsure why since she wasn't going anywhere yet. Lowering her head, Harmony mumbled, "could we take a photo?"

"Yeah! We should take a big group photo!"

"Ah, yeah. We should..." Harmony paused. "But I also kind of wanted one with just us."

"Okay."

After gussying up her hair, Corinna put her arm around Harmony's waist, making sure that they were close enough to fit into the frame. Once she had finished counting down, Harmony clicked the button on the camera.

The polaroid, at first, was just complete darkness but soon faded into light, the image now with colour.

This was to be the first of many pictures, thought Harmony.

END OF BOOK ONE

Lives Saved:

Rhea Earl