Chapter -157: The Taste of Freedom
Sarajin's glide back home was about as steady as he could hope for after the earlier disaster. No heavy breezes to speak of, and no birds getting in his way.
But it was definitely starting to get cold out with the sun hiding behind the other side of the planet. His body shivering was currently the biggest obstacle threatening to send him crashing back down.
He just stayed focused, and kept moving forward. Home looked so small from a distance, but it would get to be the size and scope he was familiar with in a matter of minutes.
"Home sweet home." He thought, some melancholy setting in as he still longed to stay in the forest just one more day. Or he could've spent the night at Justek's place, the two of them laying on the ground looking up at the stars while exchanging stories.
But he HAD to return home. He had a promise to uphold to his mom.
Once the city was close enough he pulled down on his poncho's strings to let gravity carry him down gently. His heart pounded a bit as he let go of the strings and dropped onto his feet.
The ground cracked off at his heel but he was able to stumble forward to safety. He then settled down with a sigh and victorious remark of, "Made it!"
He then spun around and craned his head towards the tower in the center of the village. The windmill blades were slowing down for the evening, but their metal ends shone with the light of the numerous stars dotting the night sky. Even compared to the tallest trees in Tanglefae, the tower stood taller than them all.
And more than that, the tower served as Sarajin's guide post to get back home.
He was in no rush, but his feet ran quick through the more barren, rocky streets of his village. A few adults were hanging out, tending to the birds that had been flying around all day.
Some were put in boxed, wooden cages to be carried to the tower. Others rested on shoulder-high wooden perches outside their owner's homes, feeding on their share of seeds.
He was able to run on past them without them making a peep about him. Passing in front of dozens of houses, he rounded a couple corners and climbed a long set of stairs close to the west side of the tower.
Passing under the tower's shadow, he angled his gaze up briefly to see how it looked up close. It stood the test of time with its gray stone mold showing no age or cracks. There were windows carved into every floor that let those who climbed it see the city from above along the way. At the very top there was a massive nest made of straw, where the Titan slept.
Sarajin would see this tower every morning and be captivated by its size and presence...But now he found himself only admiring its size. In terms of presence, Ividae's domain was still glued to his eyeballs, a memory he wouldn't soon forget.
And because of that, he hung his head and let out a sigh, longing to still be resting atop the Titan's soft, leafy skin.
Leaving the tower's shadow, all he had left to do was cross a bridge between isles and he'd be home free. And if there's one good thing about that...
"Why do my feet hurt so much?!" He was trying not to think about it but the bottom of his feet were throbbing for a while now. Had he really walked THAT much today?
He was going to be carrying a lot of proof of his brave adventure today back home. The redness of his feet, the dirt on his clothes, and the herbs given to him by Mos and Ividae.
One more set of stairs down, and then he'd just have to take a right turn and there it was: Home.
A humble abode built under the staircase. Two levels tall and made of solid wood logs, it had glass windows on the second floor and was in the perfect position to receive sunlight in the morning. The door was a tall, green wool cloth with zigzag gray stripes and aside the steps was a wooden perch. A vacant wooden perch.
Sarajin's heart skipped a beat and he smiled against his will, "Moses isn't here? Then that means dad's...!"
Talk about luck! He was going to get away with sneaking down to the surface!
He rushed to the cloth door and pushed it aside, taking no precautions as he shouted excitedly, "Mom! I'm ba-!"
Past the stairs to the second floor was the living room. And inside the living room were three large cushions stuffed to the brim with wool, with a table centered between them all.
And on the far most cushion was his mother. She had less color in her skin than he did and her cheek bones stood out a little on her face. She wore a dark brown poncho that extended to her elbows and had tiny tassels around the edge. It was patterned with the village's floating balloon sheep, the Wispy Wools. Underneath her poncho was a long-sleeved buttoned up shirt and beneath that was a skirt with two layers, draping down to her ankles. On her right hand, a small ruby ring, the gem hardly bigger than her pinky's fingernail. And around her neck, she wore a kaleidoscope held on by a tight wool string.
Her hair, a medium-length auburn brown feather cut, was one thing Sarajin associated with the word "comfort". The other being the soft, if not somewhat tired gaze of her auburn brown eyes.
But right now she wasn't aiming her gaze at him. She was looking upon her lap, where a medium-sized peach colored bird with four wings and three long, orange feathers extending from its crown to its rump was resting itself, being fed a seed at a time between her pinched fingers.
Sarajin's face froze in the most awkward position imaginable, for as much as he wanted to, he couldn't just shut his mouth to take back what he said out loud.
While the bird enjoyed his mother's finger stroke on the back of his head, she looked up at him and spoke calmly, "Welcome home, Sarajin."
Sarajin bit his teeth down hard and crept towards the living room, peeking around at the vacant rocking chair in the corner of the room. He then hastily moved a few feet ahead, taking a moment to stare at his mom and murmur, "H-Hi mom!"
He then peeked around the wall to the left at the kitchen. There was a fresh basket of eggs on the wood counter and no signs of the cooling box having been opened recently. His heartbeat was quickening until his mother answered what his mind was thinking.
"Don't worry, your father isn't home." She said with a giggle.
Sarajin gripped the corner of the wall and hung his head with a sigh of relief. He then turned around and dragged his weary feet to the cushion to the right of his mother.
Once he sat down he felt all the pressure coming off his shoulders and his feet. ESPECIALLY his feet. The sudden influx of relief shot up his body and made him let out a very long breath.
"Looks like somebody had a busy day." She said in a playful motherly tone.
The bird hopped onto the table and let out a couple coos as it advanced towards Sarajin, who tried to lean out and pet him.
"Hey Moses. Did mom get you full tonight?" When his hand was within reach, the bird jabbed his triangular beak into his palm, making it withdraw.
"Ow!" Sarajin pouted and murmured, "Why'd you do that?"
Sarajin's mom reached out to the bird and started speaking in an immature manner as she petted it, "Someone's just gwumpy they didn't get a farewell."
Moses cooed some more, spreading its wings for a quick series of elated flutters.
Sarajin's mom smiled, only to then lean forward and be forced to cough into her fist. It was sounding tough on her throat, like mucus was caking up inside.
Sarajin leaned out and touched his mom's shoulder, staring at her with his eyes sagging in concern. She was looking like she was in pain but he never knew what to say to make her feel better.
"I-Is it..." He hesitated, not wanting to force an answer out of her that he knew he couldn't stomach to hear.
But she expertly read his mind, and as the coughing settled down she smiled as bright as the sun and looked at him like her eyes were being lifted into the sky by hundreds of birds.
"Like I always tell you, this is normal for me," She then took her hand to his head and rustled his hair around, "I'm the one whose supposed to be taking care of YOU. Do you want to end up getting gray hairs like your father?"
Sarajin put his hands atop of hers to get her off, blushing and murmuring "N-No" as he ultimately welcomed the warmth of her touch.
"Good!" She proclaimed happily, stroking her hand down the side of his face and giving his cheek a light pat before she returned it to her side. She briefly glimpsed at her palm and sure enough, there was bits of dirt dust on it now.
"Sarajin, you got yourself all dirtied up." But she wasn't reprimanding him for that. In fact her smile never left her face as she took her hand in and rubbed some of the dirt off his cheek with her thumb.
Sarajin tried to pull away but she was unstoppable, and her effort made him laugh with a mix of embarrassment and amusement, "I-Its proof of my adventures mom, c-c-cut it out, hahaha!"
"My son the adventurer," Her smile was full of pride, and as she pulled her hand back she laid it on her lap and asked, "So how was it down there? Did it meet your expectations?"
Sarajin rubbed the spot she had cleaned off with a loving smile as he told her, "It was better than that, mom! There's people living on the surface outside of the Tribes!"
"Really?" Her eyes were aglow with fascination.
"Yeah, and I even made a new friend! His name's Justek, and he's very smart. He reads books," Sarajin's face was lit up with unsurpassed joy, "The people of Tanglefae had books too!"
"Did they now? Did you manage to pick one up?"
"No..." Was a brief sour note for Sarajin, as he bit his teeth down full of regret, "But Justek did when we met the leader of Tanglefae. He writes books in his spare time!"
"And what about the village?"
"Beautiful, mom! There were a lot of bright colors and so many plants down there, I can't describe them all! And the trees were so tall! Ah, I really wish you could've seen it..."
"Mmmm, don't worry about that," His mom chuckled with a hand below her chin, "What matters is that you finally got to live your dream out, Sarajin."
"Yeah..." Sarajin's smile softened and with a grimace of his brows he suddenly dug into his right pocket and pulled out the herb he got from Ividae, "Oh! I also managed to get the herb you told me about!"
His mom held back her hand momentarily from reaching out and grabbing the herb. She was staring into his face and seemed to be suffering from a strange mix of delight and confusion, "Y-You found the herb?"
"Yep! I got to meet Tanglefae's Titan and got their permission to bring the herb back to you! And I even made another new friend along the way! His name's Carmine Rose, and he's buddies with the Titan, can you believe that?"
His mom took the herb and hovered it before her face, ultimately laying it gently on her lap and pushing a smile towards her son, "Yes, I do. You'll have to tell me more about your adventure later though dear."
Sarajin wouldn't have to ask "Why?" because Moses took fluttering off from the table and onto the wrist of a man entering the house.
He was a tall man, not too old but not young anymore either. His hair was in shambles, much like Sarajin's, mostly brown with a few gray strands near his ears. He wore a draping gray poncho that went down to his hand, both of which were covered in healed scars. Trails of light-blue silk hung off his shoulders. Beneath his poncho, he wore brown suspenders and a delicate leather coat underneath that. Unlike most people in Arc Hurricanos, this man had a hood on the back of his poncho.
Moses was held level with his face, whose gaze looked ready to meet with Sarajin's the moment he stepped through the door.
Sarajin hung his head a lot and didn't direct his full attention to the man as he said quietly, "...Dad."
His dad was looking over his body slowly, because he just had that ability to pick up on things even when Sarajin tried to hide them away. Not like it was a secret that he was covered in dirt though.
But from how tense the silence in the house got, Sarajin knew it was more than that. His dad knew he had gone to the surface. Somehow, he just always knew everything.
He could say no words, being feared into silence as his dad took a few steps forward, letting Moses flutter out the door with a squawk.
Sarajin couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. He was just waiting for his dad to do something, ANYTHING beyond the dead silence he was giving him.
He bent down before him and his eyes looked no different than they had when he entered. He reached up, and for a moment Sarajin flinched when his hand touched his other cheek.
His dad rubbed the dirt off gently with his thumb, and then pressed down on the center of the cheek. Finally his mouth opened, and he spoke in a small and wobbly tone.
"Are you hurt, son?" He said, applying a little more pressure to Sarajin's cheek until he winced his eyes shut.
"O-Ow!" He murmured.
"I knew it, you have bruises all over your face," His dad's tone got more stern and taut, "Who or what did this to you?"
Sarajin repelled his dad's hand with a forceful swing of his arm while telling him, "No one did this to me dad! I just fell a couple times."
His dad narrowed his eyes and remarked in a tight tone, "Fell? You should be grateful that's the only consequence of your reckless behavior."
"How many times have I told you not to go to the surface, and yet you deliberately disobeyed me and went down anyways." He was taking up that lecturing tone that Sarajin hated, and he could not tune him out this time because of how overbearing he was being.
A tense pause lingered in the air as Sarajin grunted and bit down on his teeth. His dad sighed and pleaded to him as gently as he could, "Do you have nothing to say for yourself? Or on the stress you put me and your mother through?"
"I...didn't-"
"You didn't...what?" His father's gaze narrowed and he stood up, his presence eclipsing Sarajin's will to speak back.
Sarajin pursed his lips shut and stood up meekly, still refusing to look his dad in the eyes.
"Haaaa..." The man sighed and shook his head, "Just go upstairs and get cleaned up, then go to sleep. We'll continue this talk in the morning. But rest assured, I forbid you from ever going back down to the surface again."
As he made this declaration as a parent, Sarajin's eyes lit up and without warning he exclaimed, "T-That's not fair!"
"Not another word, Sarajin. You WILL listen to me this time." His dad replied, holding his hand up to block Sarajin's defiant words.
Sarajin threw his fists down and exclaimed, "But you're wrong! All you adults are! Its not dangerous down there at all, I-"
His father's brows descended like fierce storm clouds, his gaze as piercing as a lightning bolt. With Sarajin's body stiffened up, he declared with the utmost gravelly tone of voice, "I said not. Another. Word."
He then turned aside and thrust his pointer finger at the stairs, "Now march upstairs, son."
Sarajin put his hands in his pockets and dragged himself to the stairs, throwing out one last grumble of "This isn't fair" before going upstairs.
Once the sound of his footsteps went quiet, his dad put his arms against his chest and sighed. His shoulders sagged, and he just felt lethargic all over.
"Why must he be so difficult..." He bemoaned.
"He's just at that curious age, dear," His wife said with a smile, "You remember what that was like, don't you?"
He turned around and murmured, "I was never this bad about it."
His wife playfully raised a brow and he hung his head in shame, shaking it while pinching his temples, "...I certainly didn't give my parents this many headaches."
He took a seat on the cushion to his wife's left and hung over the table, "I just don't understand where he gets this from."
"Now this could just be me taking a wild guess, honey, but maybe it has something to do with your many attempts to keep him stuck up here?" Replied his wife with a small but wily grin.
"It doesn't help when you encourage him, dear." He replied back, in a tone that was mostly in good humor between them, albeit with a bit of dismay.
"Maybe he would be more inclined to listen to you if you didn't get upset at him every time." She suggested.
His face scrunched up into an uncomfortable mess and he leaned back to stare vacantly up at the ceiling, "So am I expected to just cave in to his wants and needs, even at the cost of his safety?"
"Wouldn't it feel worse if something happened to him because you pushed him away?" She said rather bluntly in such a soft voice.
"That's a dirty comeback, Misty..." The man hung his head and sighed, "But you're right."
Laying a hand upon his forehead and covering his eyes, he squeezed his fingers around his face and grit his teeth, murmuring with a sense of desperation to his tone, "Yet sometimes...I feel this compelling urge to smack some sense in that boy of ours. But Lords help me, if I were to ever hurt my boy..."
When he put his hand down there was a single tear coming out of his tired gaze towards his wife, whom he asked with all his heart, "What am I supposed to do, Misty?"
She smiled and shook her head, "There's not much either of us can do now."
It was a painfully honest truth that he had to brace himself to hear, even if he could not accept it, nor what she said next, "He's gotten to taste freedom. It's only a matter of time before he'll want it again."
"And we should support his dreams, because I'm his mother, and you're his father."
He hung his head and shoulders to say, "I...I can't do it."
Misty nodded and admitted, "I know you can't. But you're going to have to try...No matter how much you see of yourself in him, Darnia."
He raised his head as high as the weight on his shoulders allowed with a meager smile that to him, only got there from looking at how pristine his wife's smile was facing him.
"I just want him to be safe and happy. Is that so wrong?"
"He'll never get to be both up here," Misty smiled and finally withdrew the leaf her son had given from her lap onto the table. As Darnia's eyes lit up in shock, she told him, "You should have seen the look on his face when he was sitting down and telling me of his adventures. I've only ever seen him that happy when he first learned to glide on the outskirts of the city."
"T-That's..." Darnia's face paled as he stared at that bright leaf.
"I asked him to get it for me, but..." Misty gave a wily smile and curled part of her hair around her finger, whistling innocently, "I might have just been using that as a motivator. I didn't actually think he'd find it."
"He managed to convince Ividae? That son of ours managed THAT?" Darnia whispered, fighting off a proud and bewildered smile as he picked up the leaf and stared longingly at it.
Misty started to cough, with it sounding like there was gravel in her chest. Darnia stood and hunched towards her, patting her on the back to help the coughing settle down.
She weakly leered at him with a smile and a bit of blood now put on her fist, "Are you mad at me for convincing him to go?"
"That's not important," Darnia slanted his brows up and murmured, "I just wish you would have asked me for an herb."
She tried to smile a little more, and with such a weak will to resist it, Darnia smiled back and kissed her on the cheek, "And I can never be mad at you, my love."
She turned and caressed the side of his face with a long, silky smooth stroke of the hand, ending on his chin. She pulled in and kissed him on the lips, whispering sweetly into his ear, "I know."
…
…
One week later...
Morning's come and gone on another day in Arc Hurricanos. With his trusty poncho on him nice and clean, Sarajin makes his way out of his house to be greeted by a gentle breeze passing through the street.
He stretches his arms up towards the sunny afternoon sky and lets out a little yawn.
He then looked at Moses crouched down on his perch and patted him on the back of the head, "Hey Moses, dad letting you rest today?"
The bird cooed warmly and pressed its head against Sarajin's palm. When he was satisfied, he brushed his wing up to let him know.
Sarajin grinned and pulled away with a wave of the hand, "I'll see you later, ok?"
He ventured off by taking the stairs and crossing the bridge to the southern part of the village. He was taking his own pace, not really in a rush to be anywhere.
With his hands held comfortably behind his head he took in the fresh breeze coming off the tower's windmill blades as comfortably as he would a feather pillow.
Once he crossed the bridge he noticed there was a large number of kids playing around down the stairs. He hopped down to the bottom and then quickly ducked and ran underneath the ball they tossed, turning to wave hello to then.
He then got down the street until he was close to the edge of the village overlooking the surface. He got there just in time to see a flock of white-winged birds leaving in a "V" formation. Once away from the village, they dove towards the surface one pair at a time.
He couldn't stop himself from bending over the edge and following the birds until they were too small to see anymore.
"Haaaa..." His heart felt heavy from envy towards the bird's ability to leave, while he was stuck here.
He stood and lifted his right arm to look underneath his poncho. All his slats were in order, but the pull strings were gone.
He hung his arm and could still remember how it happened. The morning after he came back home from Tanglefae, his father had taken the pull strings off.
There was a heated argument that Sarajin didn't want to recall because of how uncomfortable it made him feel, but he recalled what his mom had said afterwards.
"Just be patient with your father, dear."
It soured his happy mood and made him want to curl his fists in anger. But he didn't. It was tempting, but he didn't.
"He hates me..." Was the most vitriol that could be gotten out of him.
He turned away to get the thoughts of the surface out of his mind. Easier said than done. He wound up taking just a couple steps before having a ball come his way.
He flinched and then instinctively jumped up high to catch it, making a clean descent with the help of his wind.
"Hey Sarajin, pass it here!" Yelled a kid his age a few yards away.
Sarajin smiled and passed it back to him so he could play with three other kids, two boys and a girl. He then walked over, causing one of the kids to put the ball under their arm.
"Do you want to play?" They asked.
Sarajin shook his head and remarked, "Another time, I'm just taking it easy today."
"You? Taking it easy?" The girl gasped in shock.
"I guess your 'trip to the surface' took a lot out of you." The boy with the ball said with mild sarcasm and a chuckle.
Sarajin stared awkwardly at them all as they continued to banter between themselves.
"Did he get to the surface? I heard that he just jumped off and flew around the bottom of the village for a while."
"No, MY mom saw him wandering the streets at night with dirt all over him, he must've gone to the surface!"
"No way. Big Bird would've picked him up like he always does when he falls!"
"Are you calling my mom a liar?"
"Either that or she was seeing things."
"Says the guy who can't see without his glasses." The girl teased.
"Hey, low blow!"
And they kept on that for a while as Sarajin just stared blankly at them all and thought, "The gossip of adults gets around fast."
Eventually all his buddies came together to agree on one thing, "Hey why don't we ask Sarajin?"
"Yeah!" "Good idea!"
Sarajin flinched back and then was assaulted by the small group asking in unison, "So what happened?!"
He froze up for a moment with the only thing that moved being his smile, widening bigger by the second. With a firm nod to set the mood he was ecstatic to tell them, "I DID make it to the surface!"
The only one who didn't gasp was the guy who thought he circled underneath the village, "No way. Prove it!"
"I-I don't really have any proof ON me but..."
That guy then gestured at his friends and declared, "See I told you! He didn't do it!"
Sarajin pumped his fists and declared, "I did do it though! I also visited the Nature Tribe of Tanglefae!"
That shut them up for a moment, allowing him to let someone else hear of the fun experiences he had down below, "I got to explore the forest and see all different kinds of plants! I even got to eat their food! And guess what? I had an encounter with their Titan."
He smiled proudly and declared, "He even gave me an herb to help my mom out!"
When he opened his eyes he found his audience's captivation was dwindling fast, with one of them quietly rubbing the back of his head, and another letting out a cough.
"You encountered another Titan?"
"Uhhh, why would they appear for y-" One of their comments was stopped by the girl elbowing them in the gut, "I mean, sure. Of course you did."
Sarajin tilted his head as the group turned and started to walk away, "Wait, where are you all going?"
The kid with the ball looked back and came up with a clearly forced excuse, "We're just...going to play elsewhere!"
"We're not trying to avoid you or anything. We just think it'd be better if we played somewhere that just happens to be away from you."
Sarajin watched as they turned and kept walking away, the last thing he heard being a not-so-subtle jab at him, "Where's he come up with these crazy stories?"
"Must be because of his weird dad."
Sarajin felt his fists clench by his hips as he muttered aloud, "But it's true..."
He hung his head and let out a sigh, then decided to turn around and make his way back to the edge of the village, though ventured further out until he was at the far east part of the city. There was a lot of open space out here where the wild birds tended to flock and pick bugs and food off the ground.
Here Sarajin sat on the edge with his legs hung over and his hands flat behind his rear. The gales were a little stronger out here, enough to keep him from hearing the birds cooing behind here.
He looked up at the sun and squinted his eyes, shading them with his hand over his brows. He loved the sun. It shone brightly in the sky every single day. Even when he had a rough day, the sun was there to make it easier to get through.
But the sun looked even prettier under the canopy of the forest. Watching all the individual rays of light hit the plants and make their colors bloom vibrantly...How could he be expected to forget that, especially with how gray his home was in comparison.
He couldn't just pretend to be happy and forget about that day when there were so many other places he had yet to explore. He just wanted to get up right now and dive off the side of the village. His heart was on fire, impatiently waiting for him to just cut loose and follow his dreams.
But he just continued to sit there, unable to do what he really wanted to do, because the iron grip of his dad's stern attitude was surrounding his heart.
And his mom was feeling better now. Still coughing, but not as frequently. So he didn't even have the excuse of going down to get another herb to motivate him.
"I don't want to stay up here the rest of my life," Sarajin muttered aloud to himself, "But what can I do?"
When he felt the breeze sweeping across his face, he was reminded of what Carmine was saying about speaking to the plants.
"I wonder..." Sarajin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the wind blow against his body, enveloping his skin and all. He didn't know if it was going any deeper than that, but it felt like it was tickling him.
"Wind, do you have any ideas?" He whispered.
The wind whistled in his ears, but little else. He squeezed his eyes a little tighter and waited a little longer for the wind to reply.
"Hey, kid!" Came a fruity sound from behind.
"Is it working...?" Sarajin's brows perked up and he tried to speak up, "Hello there wind, can you hear me?"
"What are you doing, cotton puff?" When the voice got a little more jokey, it came across as familiar in a way the wind couldn't have replicated.
He opened his eyes and suddenly he found a shadow hanging over his body, and looked back to see the one casting it standing behind him.
With his knuckles on one hip and a sack knitted out of string dangling from his other hand, he was an adult man with a constant smile and carefree air around him. He wore a unique poncho made of white, gray and black feathers over a leather sleeveless jacket. The jacket was orange with black wavy lines which, having gone to Tanglefae, Sarajin could compare to the patterns on butterfly wings.
Beneath THAT was a little gray sweater with puffed cuffs that attached to some black leather gloves. Covering his cedar brown hair was this strange, stiff domed hat with goggles on the front. A golden ring pierced each ear, with his bottom half protected by dark gray pants and light brown slippers. To top it all off, he had a knitted sack on his back that seemed filled to the brim with heavy objects...Not that he's ever asked him what exactly.
Sarajin's face lit up and he turned towards his guest so fast his hand almost slid across the ground, "Uncle Nimus!"
"Still going with 'Uncle' huh?" The man chuckled and took his free hand out to mess up Sarajin's already messy hair, keeping that up until he took a seat beside him.
"I'm in the prime of my life, too spry to be called an 'Uncle'. Why don't you try calling me 'Big brother' sometime? 'Big brother's' a cool name for cool people, like me!"
Sarajin patted his hair back down to something more neat looking and told him, "But you're the same age as my dad. You're like...old."
Nimus let out a wet sputter and faked sounding insulted, "37 is NOT that old! I'm not even halfway to the goal!"
He lifted the bag onto his lap and opened it up. Inside were two sandwiches filled with cold cut chicken meat and a white sauce to moisten them up.
He leaned the bag towards Sarajin's salivating face and playfully wiggled it around, "I was going to share one of my village famous chicken sandwiches, but I guess if I'm too uncool and old to hang around with you anymore..."
"I-I was just kidding!" Sarajin said, clawing at the bag that was continually being pulled out of reach. Eventually, Nimus gave a smile and wink and let Sarajin take one of the sandwiches out of the bag.
And right on time too, as Sarajin's stomach growled, prompting him to dig right into the sandwich, which caused his face to melt into bliss.
"So good...!" He couldn't wait to swallow to get that out of his system.
Nimus took a bite of his sandwich and was enjoying his work maybe a little too much, "No one makes a better sandwich than me. And if they say so, they're lying."
After the two enjoyed a couple bites in peace, Sarajin glanced aside at him and asked, "How did you know I was out here?"
"Oh I didn't," Nimus brushed off without a care, "I was going to feed the second sandwich to the birds."
Which deflated some of Sarajin's enthusiasm a bit, "Oh..."
"Buuuut," Nimus leaned back to look at the sky and chuckled, "Then I saw a silly kid sitting by his lonesome chatting it up with the wind and figured I could give him a pity sandwich."
Sarajin puffed his cheeks and then jabbed Nimus with his elbow. The man pretended he was hurt and floated his hand over his arm to mimic rubbing it, "Ow...! When'd you get so strong?"
They went back to eating for a little bit until Nimus curtly asked, "So c'mon, what's up with the wind chatter?"
Sarajin put his sandwich down to his waist and glanced out from the corner of his eyes, "Promise you won't laugh?"
"When have I ever laughed at you?" Nimus said with sincerity as he patted him on the shoulder.
Sarajin lifted his head and slowly told him, "I was trying to have a 'spiritual connection' with the wind."
"'Spiritual connection'?" Nimus did give a brief and snide chuckle, "You trying to become a Sage or something?"
Sarajin hastily shook his head and blurted, "Not at all!"
He then made a sincere attempt to look this man in the eyes and tell him without any hesitation or worry to hold him back, "I did it, Nimus."
Nimus paused and could look right back at him with a full understanding of what that entailed, "No way. You finally did it?!"
And he sounded as happy as he dad should have been for him. Celebrating by giving him a firm pat on the back, Nimus shouted out, "Hahaha! I knew you'd do it eventually, kid! Course, took you long enough, but still!"
When he withdrew his hand, he had a question to fire off right away, "So? Where'd you go first?"
"Tanglefae."
"Oh really?" Nimus grinned, "So, what'd you think? Did it live up to the stories I told you?"
"You bet!" Sarajin was quick on the draw in answering with some of the experiences he had down on the surface, "I got to explore vast forests full of colorful plants! There were all these small creatures flying around too! And I got to explore it all with a new friend I made, Justek!"
"You made a new friend too? Heh, that's wonderful news!" Nimus lifted a knee and used it to prop his arm and then lay the back of his knuckles below his chin, "Alright you got to tell me. Did you get to eat some of their fruit?"
"I had these round green things that were really juicy..."
"Grapes? Oh, I LOVE grapes! Whenever I'm in the area I always swoop down and pick up a few to snack on," Nimus snapped his fingers below his chin and pointed Sarajin's way, "Next time though? Grab an orange. They're these round orange colored fruits with a bumpy rind, but oh man, you peel those back and-"
Sarajin's head sank and Nimus stopped to say in his carefree way, "You've got a storm cloud hanging over your head. What's up?"
"If I ever DO get to go to Tanglefae again." He mumbled to himself.
Nimus blinked a few times and then bluntly remarked, "What do you mean 'If'? You've gone once, just go again."
"..." Sarajin tilted his gaze towards him and asked, "How do I get to be as free as you?"
"Well that's impossible, no one's as free as me," Nimus played up his boast humorously, then laid his hand on Sarajin's back and pointed at him with the other finger, "Adults just have more freedom than kids do, its a common fact of life you got to just accept."
"...You think it's 'dangerous' down there too, don't you?" Was what Sarajin immediately jumped to.
Nimus wagged his finger and told him, "I didn't say that. See, here's what you got to understand about adults. They think they're smart, just because they've grown up and dealt with all the trials and tribulations that came with it."
"But we never stop learning and never stop growing. That's why I'm such a cool guy while all the other adults in the village are lame. Because they're satisfied with what they've been taught and don't bother learning what lies beyond the scope of their homes. While me? I go wherever my heart tells me to go and let the world teach me as it wishes."
Nimus poked Sarajin's chest and looked deep into his eyes, "I look at you and see an unstoppable drive to learn and explore."
"But you've got to be willing to use that unstoppable drive to fight for that freedom. You can't just plant your dandelion roots in the ground and wait for the wind to ferry you around the world."
Sarajin responded in a rather wishy-washy way, "I-I don't want to worry my mom or anger my dad..."
"Someday you're going to have to live life, kid." Nimus emphasized with a pitying sigh.
"Like, take it from me. Parents are fine and all, but when they start dictating how you live your life, it's better to just cut them out."
Nimus pulled back and put his hands behind his head, leaning back into the nice breeze passing through, "When my parents stopped being a part of my life, it was liberating!"
Sarajin leaned back to look him in the eyes and ask, "You didn't get along with your parents?"
"Sure but it doesn't really matter now, seeing how they've been dead for sixteen years now." His tone briefly tangled with melancholy.
"Oh..." Sarajin murmured.
Nimus sprung back upright and shouted, "Who cares about what's in the past though? I'm talking about your future."
"And the way I see it, you're never going to be satisfied living up here in the sky now that you've tasted the ground," He then stood up and took one last bite out of his sandwich before turning so his back was pointed over the edge, "It's ultimately your decision though. Just give it some thought."
He then hopped back off the edge, flicking two fingers from his face as a farewell signal before he dropped rapidly below the city. So much so that when Sarajin leaned out, he was already gone.
And he left some incredible food for thought. Even though some of it flew over Sarajin's head cause of the odd way Nimus spoke...
The message the boy did receive loud and clear, however, was one that resonated with him the most in his time of need, "He's right...I want to go back to the surface. I want to keep hanging out with Justek! I want to visit Carmine and Ividae again, and enjoy the plants and fruit! I want to explore new places, and learn new things!"
He stood up tall and proud and with his head pulled back as far as he could, he clenched his fists against his chest and shouted, "I want to enjoy life to the fullest!"
That was the determination he made that ignited the dormant fire in his heart. With his heart racing, he knew he couldn't let his dad hold him down.
He picked up his feet as fast as he could and ran across the entirety of Arc Hurricanos to return home. His mom was the only one there but knowing his dad, he could be right around the corner at any given moment.
His mom was currently in the kitchen dicing up some carrots for a later meal, but stopped when her son came into the living room.
He was sweating all over and panting to catch his breath. He looked his mom in the eyes and could tell she could see right through him.
"You're planning something, aren't you dear?"
"Mom..." Sarajin paused and stood perfectly upright, transitioning into a bow, "Can I please have my pull strings back so I can head down to the surface?"
His mom wasted no time grinning and nudging her head upward, "Your father hid them in his bottom drawer."
Sarajin's smile lit up and he turned to rush for the stairs, but before he began to climb his mother stopped him with one comment, "And Sarajin?"
He peeked around the corner to see her looking at him, "Just remember that you've always got a home to return to here."
"...Thank you, mom."
He braved the stairs and turned right into his parents' room. Quickly diving into his father's wood drawers, he found his pull strings laid out on top of his poncho and plucked them out.
He then wasted no time starting to tie them back onto his poncho's slats as he ran down the stairs and barreled out of the house.
What he failed to realize, however, was that his father was present. He was leaning against the wall to the right of the living room entrance, just out of sight, his arms crossed against his chest and his eyes closed in solemn contemplation.
Misty smirked and approached him with an almost bragging tone, "I told you so."
"...Haaa..." Darnia pulled away from the wall and made his way for the door.
"Are you going to try and stop him?" Misty remarked.
"I don't need to do anything of the sort. He'll learn what it's really like down there soon enough." He exited outside and then, pulled a reed flute from his pocket, whistling a pleasant tune for his bird friend.
Moses spread his wings and with a powerful shriek, flapped off towards the sky in pursuit of Sarajin.
Darnia then quietly put his flute away and commented, "I just hope he won't be hurt in the process..."
Without any hesitation in his legs, Sarajin made it to the edge of the village and took a daring leap right off, spreading his makeshift wings and taking flight.
He was going to go where he wanted to go. And he already had a destination in mind...But first, he had one other stop to make.
Meanwhile, at Justek's house, the snarky young boy was currently leaning back inside his home reading a book. It was a time for him to just relax and enjoy reading up about the planet once more. The current topic was of old wildlife.
But the relaxed smile would quickly be obliterated by the voice he had hoped he'd never hear again.
"Justek, are you home?!"
Justek's glasses slid down to the bottom of his nose before he caught it and pushed them back up, standing upright with his eyes aimed straight at the door where Sarajin presently stood.
"What in the..." Justek bit down on his teeth and, foolish as it may be, he got closer to the boy and asked him bluntly, "What are you doing back here?!"
Sarajin glanced at him with a lot of sweat glistening on his face and this very annoyingly blank expression, "I told you I would. What, did you not believe me?"
"I just didn't think you'd come barging brazenly into my home," Justek grumbled and turned his head aside looking annoyed, "Whatever. What do you want now? Fell on your face again?"
"Nope! I took my lesson to heart and made a clean flight over here!" Sarajin pronounced proudly. Justek looked at him from out of the corner of his eyes and if nothing else, saw that there was no dirt or bruises on the boy's body.
"Hmph..." He murmured, mildly impressed.
"Remember when I said I wanted to explore the world?"
"Yes? What of it?" Justek said, hoping his dismissive attitude would sink in on the boy's mind eventually.
"I'm going to start traveling now. And I could really use your smarts."
Justek winced his lowered brows and began to turn his head towards Sarajin with some manner of interest present, "You need ME?"
"Yeah! You really helped me out of a bind in Tanglefae cause of all the books you've read," Sarajin clutched his fists against his chest and pleaded, "I know you told me to figure things out on my own, but-"
Justek swung his hand out and remarked, "Not another banal word out of you."
He then flashed a smug grin and chuckled, "Since my superior smarts have been acknowledged, I shall bother to join you one more time."
"You will?"
Justek mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, "Anything's better than wasting away here, I suppose. Plus..."
He stared at Sarajin and chuckled.
"Why are you smiling?" Sarajin said with a flurry of blinks.
"Oh I'm just...excited to go to another new place," Justek said with some mild sarcasm, "So...where exactly do you plan to go next?"
"I was thinking about the place closest to where our village is hanging over. Uhhh, it's the place with all the water?" Where Sarajin struggled, Justek could answer in less than a second.
"Aquamoria?"
Sarajin snapped his fingers and grinned, "That's right, Aquamoria, the Shore of Azure Waves!"
"Hmm, where the indigenous people control the element of Water," Justek nudged his glasses up and remarked, "Well, at the very least it won't be as much of a pain to my nose."
"Shall we venture out then?" Justek suggested in a haste.
"Don't you want to tell your parents first?" Sarajin inquired, only for Justek to grab him and turn him around, shoving him towards the door.
"No no, let's just get a move on."
Sarajin shrugged and then kept a move on on his own, leading his buddy out of his village and out into the lands beyond. They started to head north, preparing to venture forth on the next leg of their journey...The Tribe of Aquamoria awaited them both!
Next Time: Flipping Flopping Flounders