Hey guys... long time no see.
I'm sorry for a long hiatus, guys... there was an exam that I had to take care of a few days ago. But now, I have a little free time to continue writing. Speaking of hiatus... I want to tell you that Planet-X will be on hiatus for a while. I don't know for sure how long, but surely after this story is finish I will go back to working on it. I know, I just continued one of its chapter, and suddenly... hiatus again. I'm really sorry, guys... because I've very little time to write, I was forced to go back to focusing on just one story. If I write two stories in school days, it will take a long time. Even if I only focus on one story, it will take more than two or three weeks.
Alright... enough talking and now... happy reading.
*Ding-dong...*
Between the warmth of the late spring, the doorbell sound was heard at the Gunderson family residence. The one who had ringed the bell was a classmate of Blu Gunderson's mother while in college, Mimi. She and her daughter stood in front of a brown wooden door after sounding its doorbell many times feeling worried, for there was no answer from inside, except silence.
'Why doesn't he answer?' Mimi whispered to herself, then pressed the doorbell button again.
There is nothing different, except the silence emitted from inside the house...
Mimi then took out her cellphone, and held it close to her ear after pressing Blu's contact. Even so, the result is the same... there's only silence. After giving up trying to contact Blu using her cellphone, she then pulled the door handle... and she was surprised to find that the door turned out to be completely unlocked, 'He's really careless...' she muttered to herself.
However, there are one or two other things that make her even more surprised. She saw the shoes and backpacks worn by Blu yesterday at the art exhibition lying just near the entrance. The situation in the house was completely silent, without any signs of life in it... quiet and dark.
Realizing that something was wrong, Mimi immediately ran up the stairs while anxiously holding her daughter's wing. When she arrived on the second floor, in the long hallway in front of her... she immediately headed to a room on her right...
She opened the door loudly while shouting a name, "Blu...!" she saw Blu lying on the floor along with papers scattered around him.
Then...
"Huh?" Blu suddenly opened his eyes, and headed to a sitting position with feathers and a messy face.
"Ahhg... zombie...!" seeing what just happened in an instant, Mirai shouted in rather fear and hid behind her mother.
Blu looked at Mimi who was standing in the doorway of his room with his half-closed eyes, "Huh, Mimi? Good morning. What's the need to come here?" In a plain tone, he greeted her.
The veins around Mimi's forehead began to appear behind her skin. Apparently, she was holding back her resentment, until she couldn't bear it anymore, "Morning... you say?! It's already afternoon...!" her shouted voice echoing in the silence of the house, "You never answered my call, so I came because I was worried about you! Do you think how many times have I tried to contact you, huh?!"
Of course, Blu's sleepiness disappeared after hearing the sound of the trumpet sounding so loud. What's more, after Mimi raised his collar and made his face now very close to Mimi's angry face...
"Huh?" Mimi then realized something else, "You haven't changed your clothes since yesterday?!" she exclaimed, "No wonder you smell like Hoatzin...!"
Blu couldn't react at all when he was still in the grip of angry Mimi. He could only surrender to her scolding...
"You're still the same... can't take care of personal hygiene...!" yup, Mimi continued her scolding again, "You want me to bathe you again, huh...?!"
Mimi wants to 'disarm' the clothes worn by Blu. Of course, this scene looked strange in the eyes of a child like Mirai who had just been silent in the corner of the room looking at her mother who was about to take off his clothes after scolding him... Mirai covered her small eyes with her small wings from it.
Blu, who realizes that Mimi tried to take off his clothes, immediately rebelled, "Stop... I can do it myself. Don't just take my clothes off." shortly after he managed to escape Mimi's grip, he immediately ran out to the bathroom.
"Tsk... pretends to be a grown bird before me, huh..." Mimi grumbled to herself.
Blu's room looked dark, even the sun's light couldn't penetrate the curtains near his desk which were cluttered by papers and pencils. Mimi then walked to the desk and opened a window in front of it. To her surprise, shortly after opening the window and the curtains, the overbright sunlight attacked her face. She closed her eyes for a moment to adapt in this light. When she opened her eyes again, she could see the golden orange lake outside the window. A calm lake along with trees that are stiffly silent around it... truly a peaceful sight...
'Just like old times...' Mimi whispered to herself. She then turned around and saw a trash can full of papers next to the desk, 'You wrote overnight until you fainted...'
A few moments later...
"Here you go, Mi... Sis Mi... your black coffee." Blu handed over a cup of black coffee he made after finishing cleaning his body.
"Be careful... it's still hot..." Mimi slowly reached for a cup of black coffee.
Blu then turned to look at Mirai who was sitting on his bed, smiling, "Mirai, do you want a glass of milk? I can make it for you."
Mirai just nodded...
"You wait here a minute, okay?" Blu then walked out to the kitchen to make her order.
Then...
"Here you go, Mirai..." Blu handed a glass of milk to Mirai who was now sitting on a chair where he used to write, "Be careful... don't touch the hot parts."
Mirai with her small wings holds the glass of milk carefully, and blows it several times to lower the temperature before drinking it.
"Blu..." Mimi began to say.
Blu turned and their gaze met each other...
"I'm sorry for your book..." continued Mimi, her guilty feelings appeared on her tone and her face, "I couldn't help you at all, though I was the chairwoman..."
Blu smiled, "Don't be sorry, Sis Mi. I didn't intend to show off my book there, after all."
Mimi somewhat surprised by his reaction... she could only stare at his sincere smile, and wait for him to continue his words...
"I'm actually grateful to be able to come to the art exhibition after all these years. I could meet with various books filled with the feelings of many writers on each page."
After Mimi heard his sincere answer, she smiled, "I see... you are now acting like a wise-old bird, huh?"
"Haha..." Blu laughed awkwardly, "Do I?"
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The next day...
Blu's POV
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"Tomorrow has started summer break, eh..."
I said to myself, who was sitting in the room given by the vice principal to us after breaking the library's window... thanks to Gracie.
This very room is like our home base, even when we are having a lunch break we come here more often just to enjoy the calm of the summer wind that starts to feel when it comes in through the open window, where Gracie is sitting nearby reading a book. As usual Roberto, sitting across the table smiling while staring at his cellphone.
Two days have passed after the prestigious annual event held on a large scale is officially over... and that also marked the end of spring this year. Indeed the experience that I got at that time was arguably... very unexpected... my book was rejected outright because it was so bad, even that was confirmed by two young successful writers who felt disappointed at me.
Do I also feel disappointment? Well, I do feel something beyond that... this feeling is like there's something in my heart that pushes me to write... 'scratching' my ink on the white sheet. I have never felt this feeling before I met her... this selfish and cruel writer has given me something that was lost in my life...
Not long after that... the writer I mentioned came along with the sudden slamming sound of the door that broke this silence...
"There will be no summer break for us...!" exclaimed the writer I was talking about, Jewel. She suddenly said that a few milliseconds after she set foot on the floor of this very room while looking at me as if she knew what I had just said to myself a few seconds ago.
As a result, Gracie's and Roberto's attention was distracted by her excited presence...
"Behold...!" Jewel then lifted a letter from her school uniform pocket up to the ceiling with enthusiasm, then put it on the table.
We finally gathered around that letter curiously...
"The day before yesterday, I got a letter from Publisher Nobela Pantasya-" when Jewel in the midst of her explanation, I was interrupted her...
"Nobela Pantasya... publisher who always publish one special book in each season?"
"Right...!" she exclaimed firmly to me.
"Nobela Pantasya...?" Roberto and Gracie read the name of the sender on the front of the envelope. The sender's name is written with a red cooper black font that makes it so contrast with the envelope color that the name can be noticed by the readers.
"Nobela...?" after Gracie read the sender's name, she looked up at the ceiling... she seemed to be trying to remember something...
Jewel nodded, "Nobela Pantasya is a publishing company for various works that are well known throughout America. Not a few books published by this publisher are becoming a worldwide masterpiece. But the thing people are waiting for is one book published specifically in every season... spring, summer, autumn, and winter."
"Oh right... there used to be several Blu's books that were also published by them. His books were almost published every season." Roberto participated in this conversation, then looked at me,"Right... Blu?"
I nodded, and started deducing to myself...
It's really amazing... I rarely hear that name again since my deceased mother. So in the end, her finally book reached out to such a publisher, eh. Slowly, my subconscious turned my gaze towards the face of a happy-looking writer, and whispered to myself, 'Thanks to Rafi, I guess...'
"Then, what is written on it?" I asked her.
Jewel was silent and smiled for a moment... her gaze looked so happy. Even, for a moment, I thought her eyes were so beautiful, "The publisher respectfully wanted to publish a book on this summer vacation" she began to answer, "A book written by me... and you."
I don't know how to react. This news is really sudden for me who have never received such a request since my mother's death. Moreover, the publisher wants a book written by two writers...
"My books won the readers' vote at the book fair a few months ago. Then, after you make the review of them... the publisher is truly fascinated by your critical, meticulously and neatly language." Jewel, who looked at my confused face, immediately explained the reason,"As for the wild, and unexpected, storyline is my ability."
"Oh... the greatest couple will likely be born...!" exclaimed Roberto, commenting.
"How about you?" Jewel looked back at me. Her happy eyes, now only shows great hopes.
"Ah...?" of course at that time, I didn't know what to do. It's true that I can write agian, but...
"What are you going to do?" she asked again.
A few moments later...
"So, what kind of story will we write?"
I asked Jewel after Roberto and Gracie returned to their respective classes. In this room, now, there's only me with her...
When she heard my question, she showed me a piece of paper that was in her grasp, "I've finished sketching the story, and the title... now it's only a matter of making character development and the merging stage."
I grabbed it, and read its contents which made a flashback of my past showed up for a moment...
"We're going to write that story... Chapters of Life..." her statement justified what my mind just saw.
"Are you sure? This title sounds too simple, and less colorful..." I gave my comment on the title she had made, for my personal reasons,"Let's make another title that is more cool, for example."
"It's okay..." Jewel smiled, "I chose that title because there would be no writers using it for their books."
There is another writer who had used this title, though...
"But, this title is less interesting, and the readers can easily guess its story." I constantly refused the title she made.
"That's why we're going to write its story in an unexpected way... we're going to make the readers excited, and make the title embedded in their hearts." once again, her absolute answer kept me silent, unable to say anything.
'That's not what I mean...' I whispered to myself. There is a reason why I can't use that title... but I can't tell her...
When I didn't have anything to say to her... she walked towards her bag near the window. She took out her stationery which so caught my attention...
'A quill?' I whispered, as she pulled out a quill that have the same color as her feathers. It's very rare for people to use it. All I know is that my deceased mother used it to write her books.
Jewel didn't move from her place, instead she stared at her quill for a moment before she whispered to it. It was loud enough for me to hear her whisper, "I'm sorry... I hope you can still do it. Please, stay with me a little longer..." she then turned around, and looked at me with a happy smile, and said to me,"Let's start writing..."
When she looked at me like that, how could I say no to her. Because, that smile makes me now in this room with such a strange writer... she would never let me give up on this dark path...
I nodded, smiling, "Okay..."
Then...
Without us knowing it... it turns out that the sun has long been set and illuminates the other side of the earth. Both Jewel and I didn't realize that the school atmosphere had begun to be quiet, for the room we were using was on the top floor and very few people passed by on that floor. But fortunately, the night isn't too late... it's only been a few hours after the sun disappeared.
For tonight, I walked home together with Jewel once again... but instead of chatting casually while eating this ice cream on the quiet side of the road, we commented on the development of the story we're working on...
"I can't believe it... the great Hyacinthum G turned out to have difficulty naming his characters..." Jewel started it. She said to me in her irritated tone, "For seven hours you could only contribute one character."
"I can't do anything about it. I do have a bit of difficulty when creating new characters." I answered casually, devouring my ice cream.
"But we can't just lazing around, you know. We don't have much time." she advised me.
"I do know that..." I replied back, "After all, you've finished the story frame. We just have to build the plot, and correct all the punctuation mistakes you make."
"I did make a lot of punctuation errors. But please..." she denied again, "Will you start taking this seriously?"
"I am... we worked together for the first time. That's about what you should expect." I continued, arguing her.
We're now at the edge of Moosehead Lake. The lake that is so bright and beautiful during the day, it turns out when night falls, it is very dark... very dark in pitch black... even these eyes cannot catch a glimmer of light from the direction of the lake. At that time I realized, if at this time the weather is cloudy without any visible stars. That's why tonight feels hotter than usual...
"Oh...!" Jewel who walked beside me suddenly became excited when she saw something from the lake. Unexpectedly, she immediately ran towards the lake, left me behind.
'Eh...'
Of course I felt surprised, and thought of strange things. I thought she would throw herself into the lake again like yesterday. But when I caught up with her, she apparently stopped at the very edge of the lake where the weed plants flourished. For a moment I felt fascinated by the sight that was happening in front of me... Jewel... she was standing among thousands of fireflies that glowed brightly in the darkness of the lake. Even though their lights wasn't as many as the stars in the sky, at least they gave a glimmer of light.
I walked over to her who was smiling while seeing fireflies flying around us...
"Blu... look at this...!" she exclaimed to me who is now standing beside her, "This is very beautiful, isn't it?"
She's right... this is indeed very beautiful. Though I always stare at the lake at night, I have never seen this many fireflies before.
Jewel deftly and suddenly, swung her wings and caught a firefly into her grasp...
"Did you just catch it?!" I shouted, surprised by her actions just now.
Jewel slowly opened her grasp. Clearly I could see a firefly, which shined fainter than the rest. It remained silent on her wings, "So ephemeral and weak..." she began to say to me about this dim firefly on her wings, "But its shining with all its might. Thump, thump... like a heartbeat. This is... the light of life."
The fireflies then slowly flew back from her wing... it shined again in the darkness of the lake...
"Ah... testing, testing..." Jewel clenched her wing as if she were holding a microphone on her wing. She then turned and looked at me with a smile, "How was it? Your first book in ages?"
I see... she apparently acted as a reporter who was interviewing me...
I smiled as our gazes met each other, and began to answer Jewel who pretended to be a reporter, "I felt it there... that everyone has something deep in their hearts. For some, it might be hostility, aspiration, hopes, the desire to show off... to think 'let it reach them'. Feelings for a mother... we all have our personal emotions to lean on. Maybe it's not possible for someone to publish a book in an innocent state."
"What about you?" she asked again... this time the question really made my heart beat a little faster, "What did you have in your heart?"
I paused for a moment, thinking of a simple answer to explain the complicated feelings that flared up in my heart. While strengthening my determination, I answered...
"I had you..."
I am going on a journey. Pursuing that moment when my books reached them. Pursuing that sight of her with her back to me... the applause raining down... until one day, for sure... I've pulled even with her... until that day comes.
There was no particular response from her after hearing my simple answer... she just stood looking at me with a facial expression that I can't guess. With an awkward smile, I continued, "Let's go home. It's almost late." I walked first, leaving her who was still silent in her place while staring into the darkness of the lake...
3rd person POV
Shortly after Blu walked away leaving Jewel, who was staring blankly into the darkness of the lake, alone... from behind her back, she whispered to herself, "'You know, I'm not always going to be around to help you'...
Chapter 24 : Light of Life
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...Charlie Brown."
