On a steep cliff's edge stood a rock; it was a nice rock.
It was a round rock, pretty solid and spacious considering how old it looked.
On it sat the boy, quietly eating an apple he took from a fruit bowl back at the cabin.
He bit into the red skin, tasting the sour flesh before making a face and throwing it away down the cliff, watching the apple turn into a small red dot that disappeared within the tree tops.
Seeing this, he sighed and went back to enjoying the scenery cross-legged, humming a song he remembered.
Did I really get lost?
He asked as if he didn't know the answer already, turning his head to see nothing but forest covering his tracks, with the path he followed long gone.
Just hours ago, he was walking alongside the created path, carefully following it so as not to get lost in the forest since he knew there were wild animals inhabiting it, thanks to his previous encounter.
And yet, he got lost.
And on a cliff at that, the very thing that got him to almost die in the first place, thankfully not the one he actually fell from.
I'm still curious, though, what was that floating thing?
He mused under his nose, trying to remember its blinking form.
Was it... A Firefly?
***
Damn, it reeks.
Valentine grimaced, holding his nose while looking around at the wet, dark-green bushes that reeked of rotten flowers and wet mint.
It had been just around an hour since he left the cabin's premises, already losing his mind from the lack of human contact.
He kept looking over his shoulder at the faintest of sounds, realising it had been only a bird dropping sticks or a cricket waking up.
The forest of tall trees didn't look as if it would end any time soon, with the distant path being a dark, foggy passage he had been following due to a hunch that grew in his chest.
It feels strange to walk after so long; even though I feel stronger, I can't quite grasp how to balance myself well.
And yet he kept glancing back, thinking the cabin would appear behind his shoulder at any moment.
Snap!
"Gah!"
He swung his fist at the air beside him, closing his eyes.
Then, from below, a sound of chattering teeth made his eyes slowly creep open.
"A-a squirrel?"
Startled by his voice, the small rodent darted back into the bushes behind him, disappearing alongside the sound of the wind.
Val stood there frozen, looking at where the squirrel stood, then wiped his face and resumed his neutral pace.
I swear, if something jumps out at me like that, I'll just go back and learn more.
He remembered what Sunday had said about his curse, how it worked, and what it had done to his psyche. He didn't really understand what he meant by the memory loss part, but he perfectly knew what the side effects were; he had the front row seat to watch it at work.
No matter what happened, he couldn't stop himself from doing whatever he would rather not do, an annoying aspect that made him keep going forward despite being so against it.
Something snapped behind him? His neck could snap that way so fast that he would pray not to get killed. A bird would chirp above his head. He had to look up straight at it and watch it fly above him, ignoring his intense gaze.
The only comfort he could find in it was that he was also special like Sunday.
Though in a more bothersome and useless way.
At least I can enjoy nature...
From both sides, a wall of trees rose to the sky, covering most of the clouds. Each of them looked ancient with bark missing in some places, yet it was also that very aspect that made them look so imposing. It was like walking through ancient ruins, except for all of the rubble being exchanged for endless mossy bushes covering tree trunks.
He took a long breath, taking in the smell of trees that could melt his face off.
I hate this place.
Putting his hands into his pockets to feel warm, he turned to look at his feet, counting his steps one by one to distract himself.
It would be way better to stay and learn more about this world rather than going out as soon as he was healed up. Sunday himself was an individual with supernatural powers that had no proper explanation. There would most likely be hundreds more like him, and definitely not as kind as the literal Saint.
He could have guessed what that title meant by his behaviour, but he decided not to jump to conclusions until he was sure of its meaning.
If only I had something like him.
Pursuing his lips, he noticed a small rock next to his boot, making him stop.
He stared at it for a second, contemplating, and then kicked it forward.
The pebble rolled through the path perfectly straight, not even remotely close to falling through the bushes.
There is some luck for me after all!
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he sped up his stride, walking over the thumb-sized rock and kicking it through the trail.
This time, it rolled on the walking trails corner, just barely managing to stay on the dirt path.
Come on...!
Stepping over the rock, he twisted his torso, kicking the rock lightly with the side of his boot.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
It tumbled across the road unsteadily, and finally, stopping on its edge for a second, fell into long grass that made it disappear.
Awh.
'Tough luck,' Valentine thought to himself after seeing this. It was good to take his mind off the stingy nature, but he could always find a new rock.
Yes, that's what he thought while standing at the very patch of grass where his stone disappeared, looking down at the bush next to it.
Why am I doing this? It's just a rock.
He sighed internally, kneeling down and looking through the grass for the small pebble.
But there was no sigh of it.
It's gone, huh? Welp, time to go back to walking.
Val stood up from the ground, dusting off his pants from any fallen grass or leaves, and resumed his walk.
Voom~
"Huh?"
A strange hum came from behind him, somewhere where he had just checked.
He turned that way like always, for nothing to be there.
Must have been the wind.
With a shrug, he looked back at the pat-
"Gah!" Something flashed past his eyes, forcing him to take a swing at it.
It looked lousy, but somehow, he felt it was way more effective than his kick.
What is that thing!
Through his half-closed eyes, his hands swished in the air, aiming for a tiny yellow dot that kept dodging his fists with ease. The sound of his punches was identical to that of the dot, flying through the air frantically without a proper target.
Voom~!
Another humming sound came, this time from the flying dot that seemed to get bored with his strikes and circled around his head, forcing him to spin.
Wait, wait!
His whole body spun on its own, trying to catch the orb of light in its sight. But it was always at the corner of his vision, not enough for his curiosity to be satiated.
Urk.
Valentine's face began to turn pale, one of his fists stopping and going to his lips.
Not long after, both of his hands were at his throat, his mind still spinning along the tiny ball.
"Sto-op...!"
He squeezed out his voice after feeling something come up his throat.
The orb, seemingly understanding him, stopped.
Though the boy didn't, still spinning. It took him a couple of seconds to realise he was the one who had yet to stop, looking up at the ball of light with a burning throat.
It was just barely the size of his palm, glowing intensely as the fire sphere Sunday showed him. Its tiny insect-like wings were flapping in the air with a faint buzz that didn't quite match its humming sound, darting frantically in the air as if it could not be kept in place.
"W-what are you?" He swallowed, mid gasp. Trying to understand what it was.
Voom~
From within it, a low-pitched hum came out, like a muted horn.
It only looked at Val's sweating face and vanished from its place, appearing a few meters away from him.
"Y-you want me to go with you?"
As if answering, the tiny orb vanished, and appeared on his left a few meters further, hovering over a bush.
Wait a second...
Under Valentine's observant gaze, he noticed it going further and further into the thicket of the forest, heading away from the straight path Sunday might have left him.
"Damn it. I can't refuse even if I wanted to."
He looked down at his shaky feet that looked raring to run after the flying ball, to see what it wanted to show him outside the safe dirt pathway.
I'm definitely going to regret this.
He swallowed again with his burning throat, pushing the thick bushes for him to walk through.
***
I wonder where it disappeared to.
Valentine thought, looking back at the forest.
The strange flame led him to this cliff, disappearing as soon as he managed to get to its edge and look down its steep side.
His lips curled up slightly as he pulled on his black sweater, enjoying its texture that made him feel warm despite the wild wind blowing at his face.
Placing his hand on his chin, he pulled out the letter from his pocket, the one that Sunday left for him.
It wasn't anything special at first, but now it was starting to glow faintly with the sun going down, its vibrant colors were starting to shine like tiny gemstones in his hand.
The thumb that howeved over the letters was starting to feel warmer, something he also didn't expect from a simple letter or an invitation.
So it gets warmer the further I go from his cabin, but now that I'm not moving, it has started glowing.
It made him rethink throwing it away, since when the night came, there would be no other source of light besides it.
Although this letter wasn't the only thing that had such functions.
Rummaging through his coat's side pocket, he pulled out the black pen decorated with golden symbols of sun and moon on opposite sides.
Shaking it, ink started to leak from its steel tip, mixing with the green grass.
This pen, it somehow has an unlimited supply of ink inside it. It could have been a money factory back in my place...
Val brought the envelope under it, sliding his letter into his left breast pocket.
As Ink fell on the white envelope, he started to write a certain sentence that would not leave his mind, no matter how many times he tried to forget it.
I wonder what it can do.
Sunday didn't warn him about it, but his reaction seemed off whenever asked about its usage.
At the corners of his mind, he recreated those words on the small envelope, looking at the sentence with a familiar puzzled expression.
Clearing his throat, he opened his lips, singing the familiar hymn.
"Saltatio Solis... et Lunae!"
His voice, carried by the chilly wind through the cliffside, was louder than he would have expected, sounding like a ghostly echo that came back to him louder.
Birds scattered from the tree tops behind him, flying in different directions as if scared by his voice.
Even some rodents ran through the bushes, jumping down the cliffside with practiced ease.
Valentine watched it all with a frown, looking down at the envelope where ink had vanished.
...Hm? Nothing seems to be happening--
Shudder!!!
Chills ran through his entire body at a dark shadow brushing over his figure in a flash.
An inhuman roar of grated glass came from above the forest, sending shivers down his spine.