The evening had come to its play. The sun drops low, the quiet town turns gold. Street lights blink on, and soft smoke rises from small brick chimneys in the cooling air.
The carriage rumbled far beyond the town limits, wheels sinking softly into the quiet embrace of the countryside.
The rhythmic stamping of horseshoes against the gravel road finally died away, and three figures stepped down from the carriage.
Lisa paid the man before he left with the carriage. While Misha and Zack gazed out at the vibrant meadow of wild grass and blooming flowers.
Along with the grassy field there was a cottage with a barn alongside it. From a distance, there was a cottonwood tree all alone amidst the grassy field.
They were so lost that Lisa had to shake their shoulders vigorously to regain their sense of self.
"Whoa, it looks like I'm in a different world."
Zack made a faint grin, adjusting his brown leather coat. He finally broke free from the scenery's beauty.
Meanwhile the girls were murmuring some things with each other.
"Miss Fiona is amazing at giving choices."
A gentle whisper escapes from Misha's lips.
"Well it's certainly her home."
"Her daughter lives here right? So..."
Lisa could see a brief form of excitement attaching over Misha's cheeks.
"We'll go back by tomorrow morning. Miss Fiona had already discussed everything with her daughter."
They look at Zack to see he was watching the other side of the road they were standing at, on the other side.
There was a stream going to a pond. The pond water was unusually fresh and clean.
The splashing sounds of water brushing against the rocks, with the cold breeze embracing them.
It was quite an eternal experience. A kind of experience which was speaking they're free. Free from everything.
Zack's eyes seemed relaxed seeing the scenery before him. Relaxed from every single thing which was swirling around him. Within him.
"First we should meet Camila. Then everything else, ok?"
Zack gave a lazy nod, scratching his neck.
...
TAP!
TAP!
"Who's it?"
A raspy voice came from the other side of the door. They were at the cottage now.
"Miss Fiona has sent us."
"Oh you guys."
The door opens with a woman greeting them. Wearing a fine, elegant vintage farmer outfit. From the look of her face, she looked in her mid 25 to early 30s.
"Come in."
***
They were sitting on a couch with a small wooden table before them with tea resting over it. Along with some biscuits.
The girls were gossiping about things Zack didn't care to listen to. While the woman wasn't here yet.
Nevertheless, he finished his tea in a few minutes then took some biscuits before going outside.
Coming here, Zack's gaze went over the cottonwood tree. He marched his steps there before lying down, leaning against it.
"Damn, this is such a great place to take a nap."
He murmured, arms crossed behind his head.
From here he could see the beautiful view of flowers scattered throughout the field. To his right was the cottage along with a barn to its side.
Zack got up and started observing the tree, touching its sharp branches without a pause. Well his skin was quite hard for it to be pierced by such things.
"Why is this the only tree in sight?"
He mumbled, his palm covered over the cool stem.
After a while, he started roaming around the fields. Staring at the clear sky. As a cold breeze embraced him from behind, ruining his silky hair.
But he didn't care about it, instead his thoughts were drifting somewhere else.
~ If I had enough power. I could buy all this land. This is truly a place of my dreams.
A light smile appeared over his lips, before...
He gazed upon the running stream, which was on the other side, separated by a gravel road. He exhaled, before going towards it.
Arriving at the stream, he stared down at the rushing, crystal-clear water and reached out a hand to touch it.
To feel a chilling cold sensation run through his hand.
"It's colder than I thought."
He muttered, amazed. Then his gaze went over some pebbles scattered around.
He scoops up a smooth pebble from the ground and flicks his wrist.
The stone skips three times across the glassy pond, spinning silver ripples outward before it yields to the deep and vanishes.
Zack watched it all, though it was a beautiful scene crafted in front of his eyes, he wasn't much interested. As he began walking towards the tree.
At last he sat down, leaning on it. He didn't notice it before but the soil was perfect, neither too soft; wet, nor too hard; dry.
He looked at the sun rays scattering all over by the dense leaves. It was a wonderful moment, like he was in a dream. Dream of his own worlds.
~ Please don't end.
He stared in the same position, so much that he didn't realize how much time had passed.
"Hey! You didn't even meet Miss Camila! Jerk!"
He turned around to say Lisa was standing by his side. Her expression was unusually high, still he didn't have a thing about it. And made his response.
"I have no interest in meeting anyone today."
"Fine, then stay outside for the whole night."
She spoke with her casual grin.
"You acting like that's a hard job for me."
Realizing she had lost the argument, she let out a soft huff and slumped against the opposite side of the tree trunk, arms crossed as she kept her gaze fixed on the ground.
While a leaf falls down to Zack's lap as he begins playing with it, by twisting it and at last flicking it away.
"Where's Misha?"
He asked, observing the grass.
"Looking out of the barn."
Zack ran out of words as silence quickly shrouded between them. To not make the situation awkward, he decided to ask random things.
"By the way, have you ever sung?"
Surprised by the sudden unfamiliar question, she came to his side. Leaning against the branch, musing.
"I'm not very good at it. Iris taught me the basics, but I have not sung in a long time."
"I can play the piano well because my father started teaching me when I was just a child."
Little did he not know, or had forgotten. Lisa knew this fact already. She muffed, before realizing.
"You... don't tell me..."
She gave a steely gaze at him.
"I don't want you to sing for me though."
He shrugged, making an innocent look as much as possible.
"And why would I sing for you? Huh!?"
"I mean, just think like you are having a practice session. And don't worry, I won't share this with any—"
WHACK!
After taking a punch straight to his face, which gave him a small bruise over his cheek. Zack collapsed on the ground.
While Lisa checked her wrist, a bit astonished. As though she had overdone it.
At last, sighing, she sat by his side. Seeing he was still blacked out even though the bruise had quickly healed up.
"Idiot... open your ears."
She took a deep breath before finally beginning her tale.
Zack opened his eyes, finally awake. In front of him were leaves and leaves, through the gaps of these leaves, sunlight passed through them which embraced him.
It reminded him of the warmth he barely had, even though he was always surrounded by people. He was alone. All alone.
The breathtaking view, paired with her soft, low, and seemingly eternal voice singing a delicate melody, left him completely spellbound.
He closed his eyes. And began to wonder about things he barely had thought about.
~ It feels like I'm finally... free.. It feels like I have escaped from everything. Residing in my own world, though this isn't my world. I would like to have a world similar to this place.
She poured her heart into the song, her voice soaring sweeter and clearer than ever before.
It reminded him of the beauty of the world. The beauty that never was his, no matter how much he tried. Yet...
He felt clarity at this moment, truly real enlightenment.
~ It feels as if... I'm no longer a monster here. I'm no longer a burning star here. I'm no longer a knight here. I'm no longer Zack Darian Roy here... I'm just...
Her humming swelled into a richer, more radiant cadence, as if she were pouring her entire soul into the melody.
~ Zack here...
Before he could realize, his consciousness had already slipped away.
***
"AHEM!"
Lisa cleared up her throat, as a small portal appeared beside, where she shoved her arm to take out a water bottle.
And began drinking it quite vigorously. Before shoving it back in the portal as it disappeared.
Then she glanced at him to see he had drifted off to sleep. Startled, she began poking his cheeks to see if he had actually slept or was acting.
Eventually after some tries, he didn't wake up. Which made her ponder.
"Did I sing that good that he went to sleep or is he actually a pervert?"
Suddenly a voice came from within her.
– Calling anything pervert these days...
She ignored her inner voice, after a while, looking at him sleeping. She extended her hand and began to brush her fingers through his flaxen hair.
"Idiot."
Sooner or later, she felt someone approaching here. She tilted her head to see a girl wearing a full white modest dress coming here.
"So you two were here all along."
Misha spoke with a hint of tiredness in her tone. As her gaze went over Zack who was sleeping like he had no worries about the future.
Seeing him in this state, Lisa mumbled with a smile.
"He really looks adorable sometimes."
"That's the advantage of being the youngest in your circle..."
She brushed her hair over her ear, scratching her neck. Actually, the fatigue was pretty easily visible over her face, as Lisa pointed out with a smirk.
"It seems like you have checked every corner of this place."
Misha let out a light chuckle.
"You can say so.."
***
Zack floated in a quiet, ink-dark void, blind yet acutely aware. He could not force his heavy eyelids apart.
Around him was something which was telling this wasn't complete void. But something worse.
It was a river of his intrusive thoughts.
Though he was completely relaxed, as though he had fully shut down his ears, not hearing what the unknown was whispering around him.
And began wondering, began dreaming.
~ I wonder what kind of relationship I've with her. It feels as if I've known her for a very long time.
To think about it, that feeling he was experiencing was merely because of the speciality of her trame.
Because she had seen his memories, it was an aftereffect of that action. He actually knew this, yet still...
Abruptly, he found his thoughts drifting to somewhere else.
~ I thought... I was understanding her, but sometimes it feels like she's just a grand welcome mat in front of a bricked-up doorway.
He found himself puzzled, unable to understand what his thoughts were actually conveying. At this intense perplexity.
A voice called him.
"Zack."
Finally, at long last. He could open his eyes. He found himself floating in water, yet was able to breathe, in front of him was someone. Someone he knew very well.
"It's ok to dream, so dream and hope. That's what makes us who we are. We're born to dream, because dreaming makes us conquer things which we can't imagine in reality. And survive this ruined world."
Ruis spoke with a faint smile, leaving Zack astounded.