I cracked my eyes open and found myself looking at a ceiling. I didn't
want to get up, or move. I guessed I was in a bed, and it was extremely
comfortable. The sheets smelled like jasmine, and I could feel myself
slipping off to sleep once more, but the sound of voices kept my ears open.
I could hear a woman's, and a familiar one I couldn't place. My brain
didn't want to work, and I didn't want to force it to. But the woman
walked in the room before I had a chance to close my eyes, and her scream
of surprise was enough to wake anybody up.
"Oh! Look who finally decided to wake up!" I heard her say, and actually, her voice was sort of comforting, like a mothers. It felt like it had been a long time since I had heard a mother's voice. Suddenly I remembered my own. I almost half wished that it was my mom who had said those words, instead of this person I didn't know. And then I shook my head. What was I thinking? I didn't want my mom here. She would only do her freak out mom thing and be stupid. I quickly forgot about her and focused on listening to the woman talking to me.
"Why, I was thinking you were going to sleep the day away!" She said brightly, and opened a few curtains in the room. The sunlight spilled in like magic, and every place where there was a window, a beam of light cast itself upon the floor, illuminating the whole room. I sat up in bed, and noticed that I wasn't wearing the same clothes I had bed the previous day before. It took me a minute to realize where I was, and it seemed funny that I didn't notice it right away. I was in Luein's village, and this woman I suspected to probably be his mother. I watched her as she scurried about the room tidying things up. She looked to be a little taller than Luein, with curly dark brown hair that came to her shoulders. She wore a white apron over a red dress that was designed with little flowers, and laced cuffs. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and she looked like she had been working for a while.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked me, with a big smile spread across her face.
"Uh yes, I did." I answered back
"Good! Breakfast will be ready soon, so you'd better get yourself up out of bed before it gets cold." She hustled out of the room, and closed the door behind her. I was still in bed, and I sat there for a second or two before actually moving. Slowly, the memories of the previous day were floating back into my mind. I remembered the shrine, Nerwen, the token she had given me, when Luein got angry with me, and the clue to the next task I was supposed to finish. I suddenly felt very glad and lucky to be in his cozy house right now, and not pressured to think about what I was to do next, which I would have had to do if I had never met Luein in the first place.
I got out of bed, and looked over at a chair to see my clothes and a wash basin. All of my other things had been put on a desk next to it. I saw my sack lying on the desk, still open. I looked a little closer, and saw that there was something silvery sticking out of the top. I walked over to it, and pulled it out. It was the silver box Lord Daeloneil had given me. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about this!" I said myself in surprise. I slowly opened it up to se that it was empty. All that was there was its velvet black lining. And then I remembered what Daeloneil had said about it. "As long as this box is closed, it cannot be opened by anyone but you." The words revolved in my head, until I remembered what Nerwen had told me. "Inside this bag you will find a token for completing your first trial. It is extremely important that you do not lose it. I can only give you one, so take great care in keeping it safe."
"The token!" I said aloud, suddenly remembering it. I picked up my sack and stuck my hand in it and felt around for the velvety feeling of the bag. My fingers brushed past it, and I let my fingers clasp around the bag and I pulled it out. I quickly opened the little bag and took out the stone. Now, in one hand I I still had the silver box, and in the other, the stone. It almost seemed stupid that I hadn't thought about this right after I had gotten the token. It obviously was something of great importance, and if I lost it, like Nerwen had said, I wouldn't be getting another one. I opened the silver box, and placed the stone inside. "Now nobody's going to get it." I said to myself, and felt a little better knowing I had better control of my valuable items. I started to put the box back in the sack, when I heard the sound of Lueins mom from the other room.
"Dear? Are you finished yet? Your breakfast is ready!" I heard her say, and quickly set the box into my sack and started to get dressed.
Once I stepped out of the room, the smell of breakfast reached my nose. My stomach rumbled and I could feel that hungry pain growing every second. I looked around for a second to see my surroundings, and it looked like I was in an old time kitchen. Everything was made of wood, and there more than a few spots where the wood was burned black. There was sort of a homey feel to everything, and it made me feel comfortable. I looked around a little more, and my eyes rested on how many different colors the room seemed to have. There were mostly reds and yellows, but a few greens and blues were mixed in too. The curtains were sort of a small red flowery print, and they reminded me of the ones my mom had made for our house at home. There were many candles around the room, at least 3 per table or stand. The room was a little dim, but I guessed this was because all the curtains weren't pulled aside.
I sat down at one of the tables, which was now covered in breakfast food. Luein was also seated at the table, along with two other people I didn't know. They were little girls, each looking to be about 7 or 8. Luein was teasing them, and lauging with a sparkle in his eye. He looked over at me amd smiled.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked me, while taking hold of one of the girls' hands before it dumped over a milk pitcher.
"Oh, I slept very well. Thank you." I answered. Both of the little girls suddenely stopped squirming under the hold of Luein, and looked at me with there big eyes.
"Hey! She's awake!" Both of them said in unison, and rushed over to me and jumped in my lap.
"Whoa!" I said, and laughed. The lady who woke me up turned around and started to laugh too, and soon, everybody was laughing. When we settled down a little bit, She walked over to me, and held out her hand.
"I am Luein's Mother. You can just call me Abby." She said.
"Ok. My name is Jennifer." I said back, now with a big grin on my face. I had a feeling I was really going to like this family.
"These two," she started, pointing at the ones in my lap, "are Mitsy and Lenny. They are my daughters, and Luein's sisters. It seems that they have made a liking of you, Jennifer." She said with a smile. "Now, breakfast is ready. Everybody settle down at the table so we can eat."
After about an hour, the plates were cleared, and the glasses empty. During our meal, I had learned a lot about Luein's family that he hadn't told me before. And actually, it was very interesting. I learned that his father wasn't here because he was gone on a long trip over a great body of water, and wasn't expected back for at least two years. He was on an expedition to help free immigrant slaves, who were being mistreated in the civilizations overseas. Hearing this saddened me. It deeply reminded me of the past events in my country. I decided not to say anything, and quickly tried to change the subject, but couldn't think of anything else to say. Luein seemed to notice this, and motioned to his mother to leave with his sisters. They cried and wailed a little bit, and I caught a few "B-But I want to sit with Jenfer!!" before there mother pulled them out of the kitchen and closed the door. After they were gone, Luein looked at me intently. I knew what was coming. I hadn't thought really thought about it all morning, and I didn't want to now either. But I knew I had to, so I prepared myself and took a deep breath.
"Listen, I've been thinking," he said. "About me going with you on this journey. I don't care what you say or do, but I'm coming with you. There's no way you are going to do this all by yourself," he finished. I didn't want to argue with him. It would be nice to have someone with me, but I couldn't help but feel guilty about it. What if something happened to him? What would I tell his family? The thought of it absolutely horrified me. I looked at him, and his expression wasn't changeable.
"Alright. I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you anyway," I said to him,. And his face spread into a pleased smile.
"Well now that that's decided, we should probably think about the clue Nerwen gave us about the next task," he said. "The next task." I said to myself. Now that I was thinking about it, the weight of it seemed almost unbearable.
"Let's review what Nerwen said about it," Luein said. "I think it was something like: 'Revitalize hope and seek out a miracle to help the souls in despair to be reborn."
"Yea. It was something like that," I said, now concentrating on those words. "But I think she said something else too. It went something like this: 'And what you lost. You will most surly find if you look in the right pla-," but I stopped. "What you have lost..." I repeated the words in my head. "What I have lost."
"My weather ball!" I said aloud, and jumped up from the table. "She was talking about my weather ball! I just know it!" And then I realized, that Luein probably had no idea what I was talking about.
"Is there something you haven't told me, Jennifer?" Luein said, and I sat back down. He was right. I hadn't told him anything about my weather ball except for the fact that something of mine was stolen.
"Actually yes. There is something you haven't been told." I said to him, and his face turned stern again. I took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell him everything that happened to my weather ball, until, after about an hour, Luein had known everything about me and journey I was on. "Well, there's no turning back now." I said to myself. "He now knows everything. The only thing I can do now is put all of my complete trust in him. And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing after all." We both sat there for a few minutes, staring at the wooden kitchen table.
"So um...That's all I have to say." I said.
"I see. Well, I'm guessing that finding your weather ball is an essential part of this trip, or Nerwen wouldn't have mentioned it." Luein said back.
"I guess your right. But what do you think she meant when she said I have to 'look in the right places?"
"I have no idea. But let's think. Maybe she thinks looking in the right places is something that you're supposed to do to find your treasure? Because you have to look in the right places to finish your tasks, right?" Luein said, his voice growing in excitement with every second. "Because if you don't, then you can't find your treasure!" He finished. I thought for a second. He had a point, but it seemed much to easy and to general.
"But what if looking in the right places for my tasks isn't it. It might just be looking in the right places for some other clue," I said. "But what if it means.well, wait a minute. Let me think." I racked my brain for what I was looking for. The person who stole my weather ball was dark, and in a black cloak. His voice had sounded familiar, the same voice in my dream. But still. There's something about it that seems so strange. I know what it is. I've heard it before." And then it came to me. My eyes grew wide, and I felt my mouth drop open.
"What? What is it?" I heard Luein say, but didn't pay much attention to it. "I've heard it before." I said again to myself. "No.I've read it before!"
"That's it!" I said aloud. "I read it! In my book!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Luein said, with a confused look on his face.
"I don't know why I didn't see it before, Luein! Its all fits! Remember when I was telling you how I really got here, just a few minutes ago? And how I read the ending of the book and made that wish? Remember the ending?" I said to him, my eyes growing wide. I saw him think for a second, and then watched his mouth hit the floor.
"Yes! I remember!" He said, "It's him! The one who took your weather ball! He's the stranger who killed Nerwen!" We both sat there, staring at each other with wide eyes. "Well, we certainly looked in the right place." I told myself, happy that we finally found a clue to help us out.
"Maybe that's what Nerwen meant," Luein said. "To remember your book so you would figure out her murderer was the one who stole your weather ball. But the only thing that still confuses me is how that is supposed to help us actually find your weather ball."
"Yes, your right. How would that help me?" I said to him, my hopes falling a little.
"Maybe she wants you to avenge for her death?"
"Hmm.Well, no I don't think so," I said, thinking. "Daeloneil said she sacrificed herself to save her people. And that I would come to help her finish the task, so I don't think she wants me to kill the one who killed her. But." I stopped, and pondered if I wanted to say what was on my mind. "But if it gets in my way of completing what I came here to do, then I will do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Even if that means." I couldn't say anymore. I really didn't want it to have to come to that. I didn't want to have to kill anyone. Then the little voice rose inside of me: "But if it gets in my way."
"Let's not think about that right now." Luein said, interrupting the thought in my head. "Let's forget about your weather ball for a minute and remember what else Nerwen told us. We still need to figure out her instructions to the next trial."
"Oh, I guess your right. We haven't really figured out anything for that yet, have we?" I said, my hopes dropping even lower. Luein shook his head. "Ok then," I continued, rearranging my thoughts of the nest trial. "It had something to do with making people happy. I'm pretty sure of that. What else was it that she said?" I asked him.
"She also said we have to find a miracle-to make someone happy. And.Wait! Didn't she also say something about a number of people? Not just one?" He said, his face brightening up.
"Hey, yea! I think she did!" I said, remembering. "Wasn't it something like: 'the many souls will be reborn?"
"That's it!" Luein said happily. "The many souls! There's more than one, but it almost sounds as if we are changing a whole community. The many souls will be reborn? I guess something horrible has happened to them." Luein finished, his face dropping into a frown.
"Yea, and we have to fix it. We have to find a miracle to save them all." And then a thought crept up inside of me, making me think of what I had to do. "Kind of sounds like my mission, doesn't it?" I said to Luein, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. His face was sad, and I could barley see it from him looking down.
"What is it, Luein? What's wrong?" I said to him, my concern growing.
"I've just realized what it is that you need to do." He said, his face still downward. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be something I was going to like, and I leaned over the table to lift his head up.
"Tell me, what is it? What's so horrible to say?"
"No!" He said aloud, standing up from the table, causing it to shake. "I will not let you go to such a horrible place! You have no idea what's there, what it can do to you." He trailed off, and I noticed a tear falling from his cheek. "This place is obviously not a good one." I said to myself, but I couldn't help the curiosity growing inside of me. I walked over to him, and put an arm around his shoulder to comfort him the best I could.
"Please tell me Luein. You know I have to do what ever it is, no matter what. And your coming with me, remember? I won't be alone." I finished, hoping this thought would comfort him. But to my surprise, he immediately pushed my arm away and looked at me with a horrible expression.
"I.I.W-will n-not go back there a-again!" He said, and stifled a sob. "I c-can't! n-not there! P-please not there!"
"Oh Luein, ple." But suddenly, the kitchen door burst open, and Luein's mother rushed inside.
"I heard someone crying! What's the matter?" She said with concern, and looked over at her son. "Oh my! What's going on dear?" She said to him, and attempted to hug him. But he pushed her away and struggled another sob.
"M-mother! S-she has to go to...t-to." Luein said, pointing at me. "T- to." Luein's voice dropped to a low whisper. "T-to.Orodreathin!" His mothers eyes got wide and she backed away from him.
"O-O-Orodreathin, did you say, Luein?" His mother said, with a shaky tone in her voice. He nodded, and she turned to me.
"I-I-advise you to not go there, Jennifer," His mother said. "If you value your life."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Oh! Look who finally decided to wake up!" I heard her say, and actually, her voice was sort of comforting, like a mothers. It felt like it had been a long time since I had heard a mother's voice. Suddenly I remembered my own. I almost half wished that it was my mom who had said those words, instead of this person I didn't know. And then I shook my head. What was I thinking? I didn't want my mom here. She would only do her freak out mom thing and be stupid. I quickly forgot about her and focused on listening to the woman talking to me.
"Why, I was thinking you were going to sleep the day away!" She said brightly, and opened a few curtains in the room. The sunlight spilled in like magic, and every place where there was a window, a beam of light cast itself upon the floor, illuminating the whole room. I sat up in bed, and noticed that I wasn't wearing the same clothes I had bed the previous day before. It took me a minute to realize where I was, and it seemed funny that I didn't notice it right away. I was in Luein's village, and this woman I suspected to probably be his mother. I watched her as she scurried about the room tidying things up. She looked to be a little taller than Luein, with curly dark brown hair that came to her shoulders. She wore a white apron over a red dress that was designed with little flowers, and laced cuffs. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and she looked like she had been working for a while.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked me, with a big smile spread across her face.
"Uh yes, I did." I answered back
"Good! Breakfast will be ready soon, so you'd better get yourself up out of bed before it gets cold." She hustled out of the room, and closed the door behind her. I was still in bed, and I sat there for a second or two before actually moving. Slowly, the memories of the previous day were floating back into my mind. I remembered the shrine, Nerwen, the token she had given me, when Luein got angry with me, and the clue to the next task I was supposed to finish. I suddenly felt very glad and lucky to be in his cozy house right now, and not pressured to think about what I was to do next, which I would have had to do if I had never met Luein in the first place.
I got out of bed, and looked over at a chair to see my clothes and a wash basin. All of my other things had been put on a desk next to it. I saw my sack lying on the desk, still open. I looked a little closer, and saw that there was something silvery sticking out of the top. I walked over to it, and pulled it out. It was the silver box Lord Daeloneil had given me. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about this!" I said myself in surprise. I slowly opened it up to se that it was empty. All that was there was its velvet black lining. And then I remembered what Daeloneil had said about it. "As long as this box is closed, it cannot be opened by anyone but you." The words revolved in my head, until I remembered what Nerwen had told me. "Inside this bag you will find a token for completing your first trial. It is extremely important that you do not lose it. I can only give you one, so take great care in keeping it safe."
"The token!" I said aloud, suddenly remembering it. I picked up my sack and stuck my hand in it and felt around for the velvety feeling of the bag. My fingers brushed past it, and I let my fingers clasp around the bag and I pulled it out. I quickly opened the little bag and took out the stone. Now, in one hand I I still had the silver box, and in the other, the stone. It almost seemed stupid that I hadn't thought about this right after I had gotten the token. It obviously was something of great importance, and if I lost it, like Nerwen had said, I wouldn't be getting another one. I opened the silver box, and placed the stone inside. "Now nobody's going to get it." I said to myself, and felt a little better knowing I had better control of my valuable items. I started to put the box back in the sack, when I heard the sound of Lueins mom from the other room.
"Dear? Are you finished yet? Your breakfast is ready!" I heard her say, and quickly set the box into my sack and started to get dressed.
Once I stepped out of the room, the smell of breakfast reached my nose. My stomach rumbled and I could feel that hungry pain growing every second. I looked around for a second to see my surroundings, and it looked like I was in an old time kitchen. Everything was made of wood, and there more than a few spots where the wood was burned black. There was sort of a homey feel to everything, and it made me feel comfortable. I looked around a little more, and my eyes rested on how many different colors the room seemed to have. There were mostly reds and yellows, but a few greens and blues were mixed in too. The curtains were sort of a small red flowery print, and they reminded me of the ones my mom had made for our house at home. There were many candles around the room, at least 3 per table or stand. The room was a little dim, but I guessed this was because all the curtains weren't pulled aside.
I sat down at one of the tables, which was now covered in breakfast food. Luein was also seated at the table, along with two other people I didn't know. They were little girls, each looking to be about 7 or 8. Luein was teasing them, and lauging with a sparkle in his eye. He looked over at me amd smiled.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked me, while taking hold of one of the girls' hands before it dumped over a milk pitcher.
"Oh, I slept very well. Thank you." I answered. Both of the little girls suddenely stopped squirming under the hold of Luein, and looked at me with there big eyes.
"Hey! She's awake!" Both of them said in unison, and rushed over to me and jumped in my lap.
"Whoa!" I said, and laughed. The lady who woke me up turned around and started to laugh too, and soon, everybody was laughing. When we settled down a little bit, She walked over to me, and held out her hand.
"I am Luein's Mother. You can just call me Abby." She said.
"Ok. My name is Jennifer." I said back, now with a big grin on my face. I had a feeling I was really going to like this family.
"These two," she started, pointing at the ones in my lap, "are Mitsy and Lenny. They are my daughters, and Luein's sisters. It seems that they have made a liking of you, Jennifer." She said with a smile. "Now, breakfast is ready. Everybody settle down at the table so we can eat."
After about an hour, the plates were cleared, and the glasses empty. During our meal, I had learned a lot about Luein's family that he hadn't told me before. And actually, it was very interesting. I learned that his father wasn't here because he was gone on a long trip over a great body of water, and wasn't expected back for at least two years. He was on an expedition to help free immigrant slaves, who were being mistreated in the civilizations overseas. Hearing this saddened me. It deeply reminded me of the past events in my country. I decided not to say anything, and quickly tried to change the subject, but couldn't think of anything else to say. Luein seemed to notice this, and motioned to his mother to leave with his sisters. They cried and wailed a little bit, and I caught a few "B-But I want to sit with Jenfer!!" before there mother pulled them out of the kitchen and closed the door. After they were gone, Luein looked at me intently. I knew what was coming. I hadn't thought really thought about it all morning, and I didn't want to now either. But I knew I had to, so I prepared myself and took a deep breath.
"Listen, I've been thinking," he said. "About me going with you on this journey. I don't care what you say or do, but I'm coming with you. There's no way you are going to do this all by yourself," he finished. I didn't want to argue with him. It would be nice to have someone with me, but I couldn't help but feel guilty about it. What if something happened to him? What would I tell his family? The thought of it absolutely horrified me. I looked at him, and his expression wasn't changeable.
"Alright. I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you anyway," I said to him,. And his face spread into a pleased smile.
"Well now that that's decided, we should probably think about the clue Nerwen gave us about the next task," he said. "The next task." I said to myself. Now that I was thinking about it, the weight of it seemed almost unbearable.
"Let's review what Nerwen said about it," Luein said. "I think it was something like: 'Revitalize hope and seek out a miracle to help the souls in despair to be reborn."
"Yea. It was something like that," I said, now concentrating on those words. "But I think she said something else too. It went something like this: 'And what you lost. You will most surly find if you look in the right pla-," but I stopped. "What you have lost..." I repeated the words in my head. "What I have lost."
"My weather ball!" I said aloud, and jumped up from the table. "She was talking about my weather ball! I just know it!" And then I realized, that Luein probably had no idea what I was talking about.
"Is there something you haven't told me, Jennifer?" Luein said, and I sat back down. He was right. I hadn't told him anything about my weather ball except for the fact that something of mine was stolen.
"Actually yes. There is something you haven't been told." I said to him, and his face turned stern again. I took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell him everything that happened to my weather ball, until, after about an hour, Luein had known everything about me and journey I was on. "Well, there's no turning back now." I said to myself. "He now knows everything. The only thing I can do now is put all of my complete trust in him. And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing after all." We both sat there for a few minutes, staring at the wooden kitchen table.
"So um...That's all I have to say." I said.
"I see. Well, I'm guessing that finding your weather ball is an essential part of this trip, or Nerwen wouldn't have mentioned it." Luein said back.
"I guess your right. But what do you think she meant when she said I have to 'look in the right places?"
"I have no idea. But let's think. Maybe she thinks looking in the right places is something that you're supposed to do to find your treasure? Because you have to look in the right places to finish your tasks, right?" Luein said, his voice growing in excitement with every second. "Because if you don't, then you can't find your treasure!" He finished. I thought for a second. He had a point, but it seemed much to easy and to general.
"But what if looking in the right places for my tasks isn't it. It might just be looking in the right places for some other clue," I said. "But what if it means.well, wait a minute. Let me think." I racked my brain for what I was looking for. The person who stole my weather ball was dark, and in a black cloak. His voice had sounded familiar, the same voice in my dream. But still. There's something about it that seems so strange. I know what it is. I've heard it before." And then it came to me. My eyes grew wide, and I felt my mouth drop open.
"What? What is it?" I heard Luein say, but didn't pay much attention to it. "I've heard it before." I said again to myself. "No.I've read it before!"
"That's it!" I said aloud. "I read it! In my book!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Luein said, with a confused look on his face.
"I don't know why I didn't see it before, Luein! Its all fits! Remember when I was telling you how I really got here, just a few minutes ago? And how I read the ending of the book and made that wish? Remember the ending?" I said to him, my eyes growing wide. I saw him think for a second, and then watched his mouth hit the floor.
"Yes! I remember!" He said, "It's him! The one who took your weather ball! He's the stranger who killed Nerwen!" We both sat there, staring at each other with wide eyes. "Well, we certainly looked in the right place." I told myself, happy that we finally found a clue to help us out.
"Maybe that's what Nerwen meant," Luein said. "To remember your book so you would figure out her murderer was the one who stole your weather ball. But the only thing that still confuses me is how that is supposed to help us actually find your weather ball."
"Yes, your right. How would that help me?" I said to him, my hopes falling a little.
"Maybe she wants you to avenge for her death?"
"Hmm.Well, no I don't think so," I said, thinking. "Daeloneil said she sacrificed herself to save her people. And that I would come to help her finish the task, so I don't think she wants me to kill the one who killed her. But." I stopped, and pondered if I wanted to say what was on my mind. "But if it gets in my way of completing what I came here to do, then I will do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Even if that means." I couldn't say anymore. I really didn't want it to have to come to that. I didn't want to have to kill anyone. Then the little voice rose inside of me: "But if it gets in my way."
"Let's not think about that right now." Luein said, interrupting the thought in my head. "Let's forget about your weather ball for a minute and remember what else Nerwen told us. We still need to figure out her instructions to the next trial."
"Oh, I guess your right. We haven't really figured out anything for that yet, have we?" I said, my hopes dropping even lower. Luein shook his head. "Ok then," I continued, rearranging my thoughts of the nest trial. "It had something to do with making people happy. I'm pretty sure of that. What else was it that she said?" I asked him.
"She also said we have to find a miracle-to make someone happy. And.Wait! Didn't she also say something about a number of people? Not just one?" He said, his face brightening up.
"Hey, yea! I think she did!" I said, remembering. "Wasn't it something like: 'the many souls will be reborn?"
"That's it!" Luein said happily. "The many souls! There's more than one, but it almost sounds as if we are changing a whole community. The many souls will be reborn? I guess something horrible has happened to them." Luein finished, his face dropping into a frown.
"Yea, and we have to fix it. We have to find a miracle to save them all." And then a thought crept up inside of me, making me think of what I had to do. "Kind of sounds like my mission, doesn't it?" I said to Luein, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. His face was sad, and I could barley see it from him looking down.
"What is it, Luein? What's wrong?" I said to him, my concern growing.
"I've just realized what it is that you need to do." He said, his face still downward. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be something I was going to like, and I leaned over the table to lift his head up.
"Tell me, what is it? What's so horrible to say?"
"No!" He said aloud, standing up from the table, causing it to shake. "I will not let you go to such a horrible place! You have no idea what's there, what it can do to you." He trailed off, and I noticed a tear falling from his cheek. "This place is obviously not a good one." I said to myself, but I couldn't help the curiosity growing inside of me. I walked over to him, and put an arm around his shoulder to comfort him the best I could.
"Please tell me Luein. You know I have to do what ever it is, no matter what. And your coming with me, remember? I won't be alone." I finished, hoping this thought would comfort him. But to my surprise, he immediately pushed my arm away and looked at me with a horrible expression.
"I.I.W-will n-not go back there a-again!" He said, and stifled a sob. "I c-can't! n-not there! P-please not there!"
"Oh Luein, ple." But suddenly, the kitchen door burst open, and Luein's mother rushed inside.
"I heard someone crying! What's the matter?" She said with concern, and looked over at her son. "Oh my! What's going on dear?" She said to him, and attempted to hug him. But he pushed her away and struggled another sob.
"M-mother! S-she has to go to...t-to." Luein said, pointing at me. "T- to." Luein's voice dropped to a low whisper. "T-to.Orodreathin!" His mothers eyes got wide and she backed away from him.
"O-O-Orodreathin, did you say, Luein?" His mother said, with a shaky tone in her voice. He nodded, and she turned to me.
"I-I-advise you to not go there, Jennifer," His mother said. "If you value your life."
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