Chapter 22: Peace
Three pairs of hands piled up a mound of rocks in the snow free mountaintop, burying a compass, a pair of broken blades and the now resting body of their late companion. Soon, their work was finished, and with it, the orange lining of the sunrise began to show itself in the horizon, signaling the dawn of a new day. The group stood silent, each one with their own set of unspoken emotions showing through their waning, stoic façades.
Inigo broke it first. "Am I to be apprehended still?" Inigo asked Gudmand, no doubt trying to add some levity to the unbearable calm, betrayed by the light wetness in his eyes.
"You could keep on with your life of piracy and never would I, or whatever becomes of the regime, turn an eye. Of that I will make sure of, mark my words," Gudmand stated, with forced militaristic discipline.
"No need, I should have retired a long time ago anyway," Inigo chuckled and sighed. "Guess now is as good a time as any."
"It was an honor fighting with you Dread Pirate," Gudmand bowed with reverence. "Inigo," Inigo corrected with a small smile. Gudmand nodded respectfully.
Not long after the silence had reinstated itself, Aalik walked up to the mound and sighed deeply. "Aalik?" Inigo asked tentatively.
"…I still don't think there's much I can say," Aalik whispered, before turning to face Gudmand. "You knew him well didn't you?"
Gudmand remained quiet for a moment, his face forlorn as he tried to come up with the words he deemed most fitting. "I had nothing but my dirty clothes when we first met, but commander Esben saw more than my standing. He saw a promising trainee, a soldier, an equal and eventually...a friend…"
Gudmand closed his eyes to keep a semblance of composure, but the knot in his throat tightened with every passing moment.
"But who am I to be worthy of that title. His son fell in battle, his wife passed from grief, his life wasted away…and I could not do anything about it. No matter my skill, my honors or my rank, what is all that worth, when it is all useless?"
"No."
Gudmand opened his eyes and looked at Aalik quizzically, as did Inigo, both taken aback by the boy's brusque response.
"He must have wanted this for a long time," Aalik explained, his eyes fixated on the burial site. "Somehow, I could always tell, even if I never knew…but I guess…I felt it too."
Aalik paused and closed his eyes, growing accustomed to the sun's warm light, after what seemed to be an eternity of darkness not too long ago. Inigo placed a supporting hand on Aalik's shoulder, which the boy held tight.
"Wherever he is, he must be happy now," Aalik said, his voice welling up with emotion.
Gudmand said nothing. He simply nodded, misty-eyed, and gave Aalik a bow, one meant for an equal. Aalik responded with a thin, sad smile, accepting the honor without a hint of pride.
The silence returned as they laid their eyes on Esben's resting place, for one last time. Each one buried a part of their own, to be kept by earth, eternity and memory, and though they would still bear the weight for years to come, it was a compromise they had to make.
Wiping his tears, Aalik looked back and saw the mountains below. Illuminated by the revealing light, the peaks were now free of the deathly cold and the eternal grip of the supernatural. An open path was before him, no more different from the rocky shores of his home. It was time.
"Let's go."
The father flipped the last page of his stapled set and took a big sip of his coffee mug, downing it all in one go.
"So…that's it?" his son asked whisperedly, rubbing and wiping his eyes as he held back a yawn.
"Goodness no, I still have to come up with the epilogue…I kind of forgot about that," the father said sheepishly as he put the pages down. "What about you? You finally done with school?"
"I've still got one exam to go," The son responded absentmindedly, finally letting go of the yawn he had been holding.
The father gave the clock a quick side-glance. "When is it?" he asked with feigned sternness and squinted eyes.
"Tomorrow."
Another quick look.
"Did you study?"
"Nope."
The father shook his head exaggeratedly with mock disappointment.
"C'mon dad It's the last day of school," the son whined and laughed lightly. "Besides who even flunks PE?"
A memory flashed in the man's eyes. He began to snicker. Snickers became chuckles, which became chortles and soon after full-blown laughter. To his credit however, he did cover up his mouth, lest he wake up the neighbors, or worse, his wife.
"What? What is it?" The son asked, keeping his own chuckles down as well.
"Nothing, nothing," The father said, catching his breath. "Just a story for another time…likely never."
"Oh, come on!" The son grumbled, only to earn a quick hair ruffling.
"Its way past your bedtime. You know the drill, no ifs, no buts and no five more minutes, six hours from now," the father responded, giving his son a small wink. "I'll see if I can get it done before your mom drives you back home tomorrow."
And with that, the father tucked in his son, picked up the papers, empty dinner plates and coffee mug and headed for the door. "Good luck tomorrow! You might just need it."
"Right," the son chuckled and smiled, before closing his eyes. "Night dad."
The father turned off the light with his elbow. "Goodnight son."