Over the Horizon

Chapter 3

The two ran toward the rest stop with Mr. Rover leading the way by several feet. The pungent smell of warm ashes filled the air, chiding against their throats. The sky turned from blue to orange to black as they progressed further in, as though they had wandered toward the center of a dense smoke cloud.

They eventually reached the rest stop. It was hard to see through the thick air, but it appeared that the villagers were hiding in their houses. The buildings' doors and windows were shut and locked. No one was walking around and the tram station which connected this village and the station above in the mountains was not in service. Kim quietly coughed as she whispered aloud to herself.

"Where…is everyone?"

A faint slamming sound came form one of the houses. A man stood in the doorway, waving them to come in.

"Get in! It's too dangerous to be outside!"

They ran into the house, being sure not to trip along the way. Out of the smoke they went. The man shut the door, locking it with several metal locks.

"You girls shouldn't be outside with this bad weather. You could develop breathing problems." Kim quietly coughed to herself once more. "Oh, that's not a good sign." He went down the small hallway before him and turned at the end. His voice sounded further away as he spoke. "There's cake in the kitchen if you'd like, but please drink plenty of water. I'm sure your throats are hurting from being exposed to the rough air for so long."

"Yay! Cake!" Aileen quickly slipped off her shoes and ran into the first room in the hallway, most likely the kitchen. Mr. Rover scampered behind her along the wooden floor. It was quite amusing to hear his feet patting dit-dit, dit-dit, dit-dit, dit-dit trying to catch up to Aileen.

Kim glanced around the house curiously. There was only a hallway with several entryways on the right. The wood interior seemed well furnished, perhaps mahogany or maple. It didn't matter much to Kim because wood is wood. She meticulously took off her shoes, untying her shoelaces which she had practiced tying days before. There was worry on her mind though, maybe for the townspeople who were hurt in the smoke or perhaps a sense of anxiety for leaving her home. Was everyone ok? Do they miss her? How will she tell them what really happened to her? Or why she even went? Maybe…

"Kim, what is taking you so long? Come in here!"

"Oh, coming!" Kim simply put her worries into the back of her mind and went into the kitchen. It was small, holding only a small dining table for two, a sink, and several cabinets, littered with condiments and cooking supplies. At the table was Aileen, indulging herself with cake.

"Here Kim," she said excitedly, "this is the best cake you will ever taste."

Aileen handed a piece of cake on a plate to Kim. It was yellow on the inside with white frosting outside. She could see batches of sugar sprinkled on and the appearance seemed to be very fluffy and puffy, much like how Aileen described it in her numerous stories.

"Thank you, Aileen." Kim sat in the other chair and took a bite into the cake. Instantly, the sugary flavor satisfied her taste buds. It was as if her mouth was filled with a sweet, heavenly sensation that was unmatched by any other bakery product in the world. If only someone could tell her the recipe, Kim would bake bundt cake every day, every meal of the day, all year. She took another bite and thanked Aileen again politely.

A small feeling of debt swelled in her. This wasn't the first time Aileen had been nice to her and given her something. A while back, during the time of the harvest moon, a merchant arrived bearing exotic candies and drinks. He gave out free samples to the kids who asked, and only one to each, no matter how much each child pestered or pleaded. Kim heard of this several days before, because the man always came to trade in Dali during this time, but she couldn't come ask for the snacks because her mom was preparing a heavy dinner and needed her help for the entire day. Inside though, even to this day, she loved magic. Then the next day, Aileen arrived with a chocolate ball wrapped up in a dazzling, striped wrapper and gave it to Kim. Aileen said it was an "Ether Chocolate" which made the tongue savor from even smelling its aroma.

"Have it," she said with a cheerful smile, "I smelled it a lot yesterday already. It smells nice but this one is yours since I asked Daddy to buy one for you and Van. Don't worry, I have some for myself."

Kim always felt indebted to Aileen since that time for whenever she went to repay Aileen with some of her homemade cookies or brownies, Aileen would refuse, saying she wasn't hungry. Inside, Kim felt that Aileen wanted some of her chocolate sweets. One day, hopefully, Kim would be able to give something back to her.

"Kim, you're really quiet today. Does your throat hurt?"

"No," was the short, concise reply from Kim.

"Okay then. Don't be so sad and quiet but loud and happy! We're traveling and supposed to be having fun!"

"You girls still heading to Treno?" The man, presumably the owner of the house, appeared under the doorway. He leaned against the wooden frame, his height a head shorter than the frame. "The smoke is dying down, and I think it would be safer to walk outside now."

"Yep, we're going to get to Treno when it turns dark."

"Well, anyone traveling would get to Treno at nightfall, no doubt. Alright, you two better be going or else the gates there will close. Did you like the cake?"

"Oh yes, it was very, very, delicious." Aileen smiled knowing that her plate was completely cleaned off. Mr. Rover did so as well, wagging his tail as if in agreement. His plate, which the owner so kindly placed on the floor, was emptied clean. Kim stared down at her dish, littered with pieces of cream and crumbs. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind licking the plate clean but her manners presided over her urges.

"It was good."

"I'm glad you two..." Mr. Rover ran up to the man, his tail merrily waving like usual as he patted the man's leg with his puppy arms. "I mean, you three, liked it. A while back, I had a dog. I named him Lucky because everyone liked him and he was so much fun to have. Oh, did I have fun. Have fun with him while you're still young. There's less time for fun as you grow up. You girls should get going now while there's still light out."

"Where did the smoke come from," timidly asked Kim.

"The smoke, you ask? I talked to some people and they said the smoke was due to a train wreck at the Airship Gate at the top of this mountain. It might have been repaired since there is less smoke now but we can't be sure yet. With less smoke though, you two can venture on. Leave the plates on the table, I can clean them up later."

"Oh, I can clean them for you," proclaimed Aileen, taking everyone's dishes to the sink which was just a little higher than her arms could reach.

"Aileen, we should really get going."

"Yes, don't worry, leave them for me. I have no trouble washing dishes." The kind man walked over and took the plates from Aileen's hands. He put the dishes in the sink and started to rinse them. "Now get your stuff if you want to make it to Treno on time."

The girls went to the front and started to put on their shoes, reinvigorated for the journey still to come. Perhaps the energy came from the sugar in the cake, but whatever the cause, they wanted to get there as fast as possible. The sun shone between the clouds as they opened the front door. The sound of rushing water stopped in the back, and the gentleman came into the hall shortly to see them off.

"Have a safe trip you two. Do stop by again when you have a chance. I love seeing children smile when they eat my cake."

"By any chance, are you the super, spectacular, special bundt cake baker?" Aileen squealed with delight that could not be contained.

The baker let out a hearty laugh. "Why, yes I am, although I don't look like it out of my chef uniform. Please stop by when you have the time and I'll be happy to serve you kids more."

"Ok, we will. Bye mister!"

And so, they departed with a wave. With their possessions on hand, they left the house into the small village. The man was right about dust being less prudent in the air, but hints of dust still floated about so they did not walk too fast just to be safe. Now there were some people walking about, but they walked with a touch of worry and panic, asking many questions with a quickened and moody tone.

Without any troubles from anyone or anything, the young group got back onto the road to Treno. Mr. Rover walked at a decent pace in front of the girls, waving his tail back and forth and panting as though he was ready to chase after something for fun. Kim gazed toward the canine's direction, not trying to examine the dog but simply contemplating some issues unbeknownst to Aileen. Again, she coughed quietly to herself.

"Kim, are you sure you're ok? You are really, really, really, really quiet today"

"Oh, yeah, I'm ok. I'm just," pausing to let out a sigh," kind of missing home."

"Well, don't worry Kim. We're here to have fun, right?" Aileen continued to keep her happy posture, but her tone signaled signs of fret. "Your mom and dad may worry a little, but they know you're having fun."

"I don't think so…"

"If it makes you feel better, we can get bundt cake in Treno, but it isn't as fresh as it is here."

Kim glanced away from Aileen, trying to hide her face and her melancholy expression.

"Did I say something wrong? Did I hurt you in any way?"

"It's personal."

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you later!" Kim yelled abruptly. Aileen was shocked. "Really Aileen, I will. Sorry."

Kim went on ahead, keeping her head down with her hands covering her face. She felt bad for what she just did, but she was quite upset…unusually upset. After the trip to the cave, she felt pain inside for not telling anyone what really happened, specifically Aileen, but she didn't want to tell anyone until she was ready. Maybe she'll tell Aileen eventually, but not right now. After all, she didn't lie, but she didn't tell everything that happened…

Aileen watched Kim storm off ahead. She looked over at Mr. Rover who simply stared back. His large puppy eyes showed a lot of concern.

"She'll be alright, don't worry."

She reached over to pet Mr. Rover, but before the young child could touch the hair on his head, the dog moved away to avoid being touched and ran off ahead toward Kim's direction. The horrid feeling came back to Aileen. Abandonment, loneliness, silence, emotions of her past worries manifested inside of her. She promised herself that she would be nice to everyone so that no one would abandon her but now Kim and Mr. Rover, her closest friends, have left her.

"She'll be alright…" Aileen said with a sniffle. Her eyes began to water and her vision began to blur.

"She'll be…alright…" she whimpered, trying to comfort herself.

It was hard for her to speak and her voice was cracking the process. Her breathing was heavier than before and she struggled to keep herself from crying. Instinctively, she shook her head and got up. Aileen ran after the other two, whispering to herself words of comfort as tears flowed down her cheeks.