Chapter 6: The Last Summer
"Ceci!"
Cecile was looking at the skies through the windowpane of their classroom. The bell had already rung but she didn't want to budge at all. The heat was her number enemy.
"Hey Ce-ci!"
Outside she could see how everyone was already dripping in sweat. This was maybe the hottest day of summer.
"CECI! Are you here?"
A hand waved in front of her. She looked at the person who disturbed her thoughts and gasped. She totally forgot to meet with Rio and Knite for lunch. She wasn't classmates with them.
"What's wrong Ceci?" Rio asked. Much like the rest, his clothes were already damped.
"Ah, sorry! I forgot!" She clapped her hands once again. "We still have time, don't we? How about eating here for a change?"
"That's fine with me. Hey Knite let's eat!"
Rio called Knite just outside Ceci's classroom. As he entered, many eyes followed him.
"It's Prince Knite!" said one voice.
"Oh my gosh, what is he doing here?" said another.
And the noise just continued as Knite finally reached Cecile and Rio.
"Sorry about that Knite," Ceci said, as she made a peace sign and smiled.
"Nothing I can do anymore." Knite just said as he pulled a chair to Ceci's desk. "But I don't mind eating something sweet and cold this afternoon. I'd prefer two."
"Hey no fair!" Rio exclaimed.
"I don't mind!" Ceci answered. "Rio, go with Knite this weekend."
A sudden silence that was then followed by laughter suddenly filled the whole classroom. For a while Ceci forgot about the heat and just ate and talked with Rio and Knite.
"To ward off this evil called heat we should all go to the beach!" Ceci suddenly proclaimed. "How about this weekend?"
"Right? Right?!" Rio seconded. "I told you we should go to the beach Knite!"
"And I already told you NO."
"Ehh… why not?" Ceci whined.
"Last time I checked, we went to the beach last year and suddenly found ourselves buried with assignments and studying for the exams."
"But you had fun too, right?" Ceci continued to complain.
"Yeah but after that was hell."
Rio and Ceci continued to pout, looking at Knite with pleading eyes. Knite just brushed it off and sighed.
"The two of you really are a match. How about getting married?"
"W-what are you talking about KNITE!" Rio cried out. "M-me and Ceci get-ting m-m-m-mar-"
"Why not?" Ceci interrupted. "You could be our best man, Knite."
"Aren't you lucky Rio? Getting married to our bestfriend." He grinned at Rio from ear to ear and finally gave him a slap on his shoulders. "Stupid, it was a joke."
Rio just kept a dumb look at his face and smiled strangely.
"That reminds me!" Ceci then exclaimed. "Were having an event at the café this weekend! Dad says you should come since you're good for the business."
Good for the business? How are we supposed to be good for the business? Knite thought.
Another afternoon arrived as Ceci begun her ascend to their HQ, alone. Both Knite and Rio were arguing about something non-stop until they began screaming at each other. And to add that they were fighting while in class. As punishment, they had to clean the garden.
She wanted to help but that would add to the days that her best friends would pay their punishments. That was one of the school policies.
The black clouds lurked ahead the horizon as Ceci finally reached the top of the hill. She extended a view below as it casted its shadow on the whole town. It kind of scared her.
It was probably just warning everyone of the rain… but why was she afraid?
She looked below where the school was and regretted coming here alone. And all the more that she was beginning to remember something from the past. Something horrible that she did.
Fighting the fear she felt, she suddenly sang a song. She really loved singing more than anything in the world.
The dry wintry wind breezes through, and the dry leaves flutter along.
As they await the day of their union, they walk along, counting the time they have.
It was already past 6 pm when both Rio and Knite made their way to their HQ. They were silent, not making any noise aside from the footsteps they made and the bushes they brushed along the way. They walked with haste as if in a race.
Both of them suddenly felt anxious about this strange night. The wind was still, no cries from the insects greeted the night like they usually do, and most of all the clouds that prowled since the afternoon worried them. They were worried about Ceci.
Colored by composed lines,
They were just half-way to their HQ when Rio stopped. Knite walked ahead before noticing Rio wasn't following. As he turned to him, Rio was staring at the sky and was trembling.
I dance instantly as I become crimson and excited…
Rio looked at him, shook and said as if a whisper to Knite, "The hole in the sky is getting bigger."
A piece of red leaf slips past my palm, and tells a story…
At the same time, Knite leaned to the nearest tree and looked as if he was going to throw up.
"This smell… it's overpowering," he said while covering his nose.
Having bid goodbye to their scorched hometown, they run along, led by the leaf's hand.
Rio continued to look at the hole in the sky, to the hole that continued to grow. And then they heard someone scream. It was followed by another and another until the whole town was filled with panic.
Things such as uneasiness about the invisible future, or even the leisure to feel uneasy, they have none.
The dry tree leaves flutter along, as the dry wintry wind breezes through.
Not letting go of their held hands, they fly along, counting the time they have.
Maybe the same thing was happening to the rest of the town; Rio though as he looked at the creatures that suddenly appeared before them. Some were animals with fur as dark as night, while some stood on two feet but a bit smaller and bulkier than a normal person.
"RUN!" Knite was the first to speak. Rio didn't budge.
"I said run stupid!" Knite repeated. "Ceci is all alone at the top."
"Ceci!" Rio exclaimed as his trembling legs begun to leap to their HQ. Knite followed Rio as fast as he could. Behind them were trail of the dark creatures that ran after them. But as they reached the top, their pursuant were gone.
Ceci was alone, resting her hands on the tree as soft sobs echoed throughout the demesne.
"Ceci…? Hey…" Rio walked closer to Ceci and tapped her on the shoulder.
Knite remained on guard but still no dark creatures came. Did they lose them somehow?
"Ceci, let's go somewhere safe. Something is happening! The hole in sky just grew and the…"
"I know," Ceci said. "The seal is finally broken."
The seal?
She looked from Rio to Knite. Her tears were still streaming down from her eyes. She suddenly took their hands and clutched it tightly.
"Hey, when you meet her, would you thank her for me? And also sorry since I took everything from her."
"What are you…?" Rio mumbled.
"I really had fun meeting you two. I love you Rio. I love you Knite."
Before any of them could speak, Ceci pulled them towards the tree. As her back touched the tree, it rippled like water.
"I'll remember the promise we made together. I'll try my best so you don't have to worry!"
She smiled one more time before she continued to step backward, entering the tree. Soon she disappeared dragging Rio and Knite with her.
"Where am I?"
Rio looked around him and only saw infinite darkness. But inside this darkness he wasn't afraid, instead he felt safer here than anywhere else.
He smiled and thought about bringing Knite here too and also…
He wondered. Was there another one?
No, I guess not.
He then closed his eyes and finally slept.