Part Twelve: The Sunset
After the conversation with his Grandma Gertie, Arnold decided to take a walk out to his favorate spot to think about everything that he remembered from that terrible vision and his grandma's words.
When Arnold was little, one of his favorate places to think and daydream was a flat, bench-sized rock just beyond the farmland area.
He looked off at it and noticed someone already sitting there. It was Helga.
She was sitting there, looking off into the west, where both of the duel suns were setting slowly. She seemed to be deep in thought. Then, Arnold saw her shut her eyes in concentration and lift a hand towards a small pile of stones a few yards away. One of the stones actually began to move slightly, then lift a foot off of the ground, then it dropped suddenly back onto the pile. Her shoulders slumped and he could actually hear her sigh loudly in frustration.
Arnold smiled. Helga had made so much progress in the past couple of days, all she needed was some encouragement.
Helga turned, she could feel him approach her and looked at him, the frustration clear on her face.
"I'll never be able to learn this stuff," She said to him, looking so sad and forlorn. "I guess I'm just not good enough."
Arnold looked at her and smiled, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Helga. I mean, to be able to lift that rock at all this soon is something. It took me weeks to get it right." He looked into her large blue eyes and said, "Don't worry, you'll learn to control The Force, I promise."
Helga smiled at him a moment, then turned to look off into the sunset. The smaller of the two suns had already gone down, the other a large red orb on the horrizon. Already several bright stars began to appear in the evening sky.
Arnold walked over and sat down next to her on the rock, which was just big enough for two people with very little room for personal space. If the sunset hadn't turned the whole landscape redish, Arnold might have seen Helga blush very slightly.
Arnold himself found being this close to her very pleasant. He also looked off at the nearly set sun, smiling.
"You know, when I was younger, I loved to sit here and watch the suns set and the moonrise," he began, then explained, "the moon revolves the opposite way, so it rises in the west also." In fact, the top of the moon was already beginning to rise slightly next to the slowly setting sun, it's craters visible, even next to the red orb's brightness.
Arnold continued, "I would look up at the stars for hours and think about all of the planets and the people and places on them. I wanted to visit them all."
Helga smiled slightly, "You sound like a real dreamer, football-head." She then sighed heavily, "I never had time for dreams. I was always too busy trying to keep up with Olga to stop and think about much else."
He looked at the girl next to him sadly, "I think that's very sad, Helga. Everyone needs some kind of a dream, or life gets really boring."
"Boy have you got that right," Helga said, nodding to herself. "I've never had time to just think about things like that. No room for dreams."
Arnold looked at her. "You mean you've never watched a sunet before?"
"Oh I have," she explained, "In fact, there is a beautiful view from the palace on Naboo, but I just never had time to appreciate it the way you do." She turned to look at him and smiled. "I've never meet anyone like you, Arnold."
Arnold smiled at her, his half-lidded green eyes brightening up. That look made her stutter slightly, "I...I mean, someone who thinks about more than themselves. Most people aren't like that, it's pretty rare nowadays."
Arnold smiled wider as he heard that.
Then, it began to get really dark very quickly as the sun was close to completely setting. Without thinking about it, Arnold took her hand. Almost instantly, the sun at last completely set and, as if all at once, thousands of bright stars emerged and shown brightly underneath the two kids. The large moon began to rise, casting it's pale glow on everything.
"Wow!" Helga exclaimed, softly. "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Her hand closed around his.
Arnold wasen't looking at the stars or the moon, but at her, cast in the pale moonlight, which made her look softer somehow, a warm genuine smile on her face.
"Yeah," he whispered, almost in a whisper. "Really beautiful."
Helga didn't look at him, but smiled more to herself knowingly, then leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
She sighed softly, affectionately.
It was Arnold's turn to blush slightly now, he could feel the rythmic breathing as her body rested against his, smell her soft, blonde hair.
As he looked over at her, he made a promise to himself.
I will not fail you, Helga. Or give up on you. I won't let you down.
He knew there was no way he could, and that he cared about her alot.
For a while, the terrible vision he had in the smokehouse vanished as both of the young kids sat at total peace next to each other, just looking at the moon and stars in silence and in peace.
They stayed that way for a long time.
To Be Continued...
After the conversation with his Grandma Gertie, Arnold decided to take a walk out to his favorate spot to think about everything that he remembered from that terrible vision and his grandma's words.
When Arnold was little, one of his favorate places to think and daydream was a flat, bench-sized rock just beyond the farmland area.
He looked off at it and noticed someone already sitting there. It was Helga.
She was sitting there, looking off into the west, where both of the duel suns were setting slowly. She seemed to be deep in thought. Then, Arnold saw her shut her eyes in concentration and lift a hand towards a small pile of stones a few yards away. One of the stones actually began to move slightly, then lift a foot off of the ground, then it dropped suddenly back onto the pile. Her shoulders slumped and he could actually hear her sigh loudly in frustration.
Arnold smiled. Helga had made so much progress in the past couple of days, all she needed was some encouragement.
Helga turned, she could feel him approach her and looked at him, the frustration clear on her face.
"I'll never be able to learn this stuff," She said to him, looking so sad and forlorn. "I guess I'm just not good enough."
Arnold looked at her and smiled, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Helga. I mean, to be able to lift that rock at all this soon is something. It took me weeks to get it right." He looked into her large blue eyes and said, "Don't worry, you'll learn to control The Force, I promise."
Helga smiled at him a moment, then turned to look off into the sunset. The smaller of the two suns had already gone down, the other a large red orb on the horrizon. Already several bright stars began to appear in the evening sky.
Arnold walked over and sat down next to her on the rock, which was just big enough for two people with very little room for personal space. If the sunset hadn't turned the whole landscape redish, Arnold might have seen Helga blush very slightly.
Arnold himself found being this close to her very pleasant. He also looked off at the nearly set sun, smiling.
"You know, when I was younger, I loved to sit here and watch the suns set and the moonrise," he began, then explained, "the moon revolves the opposite way, so it rises in the west also." In fact, the top of the moon was already beginning to rise slightly next to the slowly setting sun, it's craters visible, even next to the red orb's brightness.
Arnold continued, "I would look up at the stars for hours and think about all of the planets and the people and places on them. I wanted to visit them all."
Helga smiled slightly, "You sound like a real dreamer, football-head." She then sighed heavily, "I never had time for dreams. I was always too busy trying to keep up with Olga to stop and think about much else."
He looked at the girl next to him sadly, "I think that's very sad, Helga. Everyone needs some kind of a dream, or life gets really boring."
"Boy have you got that right," Helga said, nodding to herself. "I've never had time to just think about things like that. No room for dreams."
Arnold looked at her. "You mean you've never watched a sunet before?"
"Oh I have," she explained, "In fact, there is a beautiful view from the palace on Naboo, but I just never had time to appreciate it the way you do." She turned to look at him and smiled. "I've never meet anyone like you, Arnold."
Arnold smiled at her, his half-lidded green eyes brightening up. That look made her stutter slightly, "I...I mean, someone who thinks about more than themselves. Most people aren't like that, it's pretty rare nowadays."
Arnold smiled wider as he heard that.
Then, it began to get really dark very quickly as the sun was close to completely setting. Without thinking about it, Arnold took her hand. Almost instantly, the sun at last completely set and, as if all at once, thousands of bright stars emerged and shown brightly underneath the two kids. The large moon began to rise, casting it's pale glow on everything.
"Wow!" Helga exclaimed, softly. "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Her hand closed around his.
Arnold wasen't looking at the stars or the moon, but at her, cast in the pale moonlight, which made her look softer somehow, a warm genuine smile on her face.
"Yeah," he whispered, almost in a whisper. "Really beautiful."
Helga didn't look at him, but smiled more to herself knowingly, then leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
She sighed softly, affectionately.
It was Arnold's turn to blush slightly now, he could feel the rythmic breathing as her body rested against his, smell her soft, blonde hair.
As he looked over at her, he made a promise to himself.
I will not fail you, Helga. Or give up on you. I won't let you down.
He knew there was no way he could, and that he cared about her alot.
For a while, the terrible vision he had in the smokehouse vanished as both of the young kids sat at total peace next to each other, just looking at the moon and stars in silence and in peace.
They stayed that way for a long time.
To Be Continued...