Over the Horizon
Chapter 1
"Aileen, what are you doing?"
"Watching the sunset, daddy," replied the young, farm girl. She smiled, daydreaming of adventures as she stared out into the grassy distance from her bedroom window. The sky was a blend of ascending orange and engulfing lavender. The wind blew against her face, cool and invigorating as the day quickly merged into night.
"Well, be sure to rest up for tomorrow, honey. You will be traveling to Treno and you will need the energy."
"Alright, have a good night, daddy."
Quietly, the door shut behind her. Sure that her father has left her alone, Aileen quickly turned around and jumped on her bed, scaring the sleeping puppy on her soft bed as the springs launched the puppy about two feet in the air before it landed back on the bed.
"He-llo Mr. Rover! Are you sleepy already?"
Mr. Rover, for a moment, watched Aileen with his large puppy eyes, but simply went back to sleep, knowing she meant no harm. To see in the fading light, she reached over to the nightstand beside her bed and lit a candle. Now with a little more visibility, Aileen searched under her bed and pulled out a small book. There was a pencil in the spiral binding and the front cover was striped red and green. She flipped through the pages, turning to an empty page and taking the pencil out of the spiral binding.
"Dear, diary..." she spoke as she wrote, "Tomorrow, I am, going, to Treno. It is, the time, of the year, that, I, sell, flo…" Childishly, she spelled out each letter as she sounded out the word. "Flowers, to, help, daddy." She closed her diary and put it away, feeling accomplished for successfully add another entry to her journal. With no desire to sleep, the young girl decided to talk to Mr. Rover, her beloved companion.
"Mr. Rover, ready to go tomorrow?"
Carelessly, the dog rocked his head back and forth in his sleep, eyelids still shut. Aileen picked him up and raised him above her, startling the poor canine.
"At least pretend to be interested! If mommy was still here, she would take me there, buy me candy, take me around the city, and show me so many super-duper awesome things!"
At this point, Mr. Rover was wide awake, staring face to face with Aileen. He gave a small yelp, sounding a little confused.
"Oh, you don't know mommy, do you? I love mommy, but when she passed away, daddy was really sad, and that made me really sad. She would hold me when I cried, and sing songs to put me to sleep. Sometimes, she would sit by my bed and tell me stories, but I did not understand too well since I was still too young. One time, she told me about the nymphs who lived in the forest, and they sang songs to travelers who were truly kind at heart. Also, every day, mommy would take me outside and show me the sunset. My dad thinks I got that from my mom," Aileen whispered to Mr. Rover as though not to let anyone eavesdropping hear.
Mr. Rover struggled out of her hands and licked her in her face. She was surprised, flinching and struggling.
"Alright, enough, Mr. Rover! I see you want to sleep. Wake up bright and early tomorrow!"
Aileen blew out the candle on the nightstand, although taking couple of tries to accomplish her goal, and slipped back into bed. Mr. Rover readjusted himself at the edge of the bed, drifting back to sleep beside his young mistress. Slowly, the young farm girl followed suit as her eyelids grew heavy and her mind submerged into a heavenly dream, regardless of the anxiousness of tomorrow's adventures.
…
The warmth of the early sunbeams which peered through the edge of the blinds pulled Aileen out of her sleep. She got out of bed quietly, careful not to wake up Mr. Rover. With a tug of a long string, the young girl pulled up the blinds, illuminating the room in a vibrant orange. The dew on the flowers which sat atop the windowsill shimmered with light and the family picture next to the flowers shined with a glare. Mr. Rover squinted his closed eyes, trying to sleep, but involuntarily woke up.
"Good morning, Mr. Rover!"
The puppy dog drowsily yawned, showing his small, sharp teeth. Aileen faintly smiled and started to get ready for her day.
…
"Aileen, don't forget to visit the Morris family in the observatory before you go, alright? Van and Kim want to go from what I hear."
"Really?" Aileen quickly ate her toast, enthusiastic for the day ahead with her favorite playmate. Van was two years older than Aileen, and he was always fun to play with. Often, when the adults were working in the field, the two of them would go off into the forest to play, even though the adults told them not to. Kim, Van's younger sister, stayed inside every day, helping mother cook dinner.
"Say goodbye to everyone before you go, alright? I'll be waiting for you to come back before sunset." The two of them walked onto the front porch, Aileen's dad locking the door behind them as they went. Mr. Rover followed behind Aileen, still half awake.
"We'll be sure to say bye, right, Mr. Rover? Bye daddy!"
With a hug goodbye, Aileen ran off into the small street that ran through the village. Her small pack on her back rattled as the bells attached jingled. Not many people were in the streets this early, and of the few that were awake, Aileen greeted courteously. Past the houses, she walked onto the road out of town with nothing but calm plains and lush greenery to greet her and her canine companion.
It didn't take long to reach the mountain observatory. She had walked down the path so many times, memorizing literally every nook and cranny around. Mr. Rover jovially followed, each of his light footsteps patting the ground. The plains disappeared at the end of their eyesight and were replaced by the empty air which loomed over the gigantic valley below. The observatory overlooked the flat land still in front of her as she stepped onto the front porch of the house at the bottom of the mountain.
"Van! Kim!" She knocked on the door sincerely. "Are you guys ready?"
A minute passed slowly. Then another passed as well. No response.
"That's odd. Is no one home?"
Mr. Rover looked behind quickly toward the sound of familiar footsteps.
"Aileen, is that you? No one's home at the moment."
She turned around to see Mr. Morris. He, as usual, was walking around on his cane in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Oddly, though, he did not seem as happy as usual. It was if more wrinkles appeared on his face as his usual smile shifted to a gloomy frown.
"I'm sorry to say this to you, dear, but Van got lost inside the ice caves outside of town."
The words stunned Aileen, unable to take in the words that Mr. Morris had just aside.
Van…lost…? That can't be right.
Mr. Morris shook his head as he continued on. "We have not seen him since yesterday. His mother and sister are waiting by the entrance, waiting for him to come out any second now. Some of the villagers are helping search for him, but hope appears bleak. He may have been killed by wandering goblins or fell off a rock and got a terrible wound. Oh, look at me, mourning when he could already be found. Would you mind helping an old man walk back?"
Aileen remained frozen, still in shock.
Lost? But…but…we were supposed to go to Treno together!
Slowly, her intangible trance returned to reality as Mr. Rover gently rubbed his nose against her leg, as if to wake her up or to ask her something. Aileen shook her head and saw Mr. Morris offering her his frail hand. With a nod, she took the hand and led the way.
The young girl couldn't believe what she had heard. Van got lost in the caverns that they played in almost every day? It couldn't be possible. Hopefully, they found him already, she thought to herself as she conjured hope.
…
"Aileen! It's so terrible! We couldn't find him!" Van's mother sat on a smooth rock outside the cavern entrance, sadly greeting Aileen and her husband as they came closer. It was easy to tell the mother was trying hard not to let her voice choke. She held Kim closer, who sat beside her. A few other villagers sat with them as well, carrying the same expression. Mr. Morris talked to a few people and came back to Aileen with a question.
"I know you want to go to Treno, but maybe you want to head back home or stay with us? From the look of things, Kim doesn't want to go anymore and it would be dangerous for you go off by yourself."
A part of Aileen wanted to stay behind, but she couldn't go home because her father wouldn't be home until sunset and she did not want to burden the Morris family by staying at their house. Plus, the flowers she had packed would wither if she did not sell them in a day or so, and after she had spent so much time picking them…
"No, it's fine," she replied, "I have to get going if I'm going to get to Treno on time."
She politely thanked Mr. Morris and walked off toward Kim. Kim held on her mother's arm like a child who fears losing their way. Asking her to come along would be too much for her to handle.
"Is there anyone to come with me," Aileen courageously asked. No one would go with her. John Long, the owner of the tavern, had to manage the mead stored in his cellars. Tim Arish had to tend to his livestock. No one could escort her to Treno except for Mr. Rover, her loyal companion.
"Well, Mr. Rover, shall we get going?"
He replied with an energetic yelp. With that, the two went on their way to Treno, the city of eternal night.
