CHAPTER 60
- Cody! I can't stand it any longer...
- What is it, Robert? Are you not feeling well?
- No... I like it here a lot, I even feel very interested in our new post, and I'm grateful, because we're going together.
- It's good that we'll be thirty kilometers from Hope Valle, but the best thing is that we'll be working together, looking for that jewel thief.
- I know, Cody. I'm very grateful to God for allowing us to be together on this mission. I'd like to have you as my partner for life.
- So... why are you upset and discouraged like this?
- I... I feel like my heart is missing something. It's like part of me is broken. I can't stand how much I miss her.
Cody smiled, a cunning, knowing smile... He knew that his friend had been in love for years.
- Alien?
- Yes, Cody... she's very special to me. Ever since she arrived in town, she's won me over with her easy-going way, and by accompanying me in my antics. She grew up with us. She was and is a girl who loves math more than her life, and she helped me a lot in this subject.
- I know, Robert. She also helped me a lot and I think everyone in the class, with little Opall, have always been inseparable...
- She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, Cody. I can't forget that smile of hers...
Cody laughed, his friend was only nineteen, while he was eighteen, alien was seventeen, almost eighteen, because she and Cody had birthdays only a few months apart.
- Robert! I think you've got the hots for Alien?
- I really am, Cody. To tell you the truth, I'm on all fours for that girl. I know she'll be my wife one day;
- What about you, Cody? Aren't you interested in anyone?
- No, Robert! But I'm going to tell you something, if you promise not to laugh in my face.
- What is it, Cody? We've never kept secrets from each other.
- I really miss someone. She's always in my thoughts. You know... when I'm tired at night, she comes into my dreams and holds out her little hands to help me, or she wipes the sweat from my brow, and she always smiles before she disappears into my dreams.
- When did this start? Robert asked, curious to know who this girl was.
- Shortly after we got here. I don't know, but I think I miss her.
Robert scratched his head and asked:
- Who is she, Cody? Tell me later, because I'm curious.
Cody looked away, making his horse go faster, feeling a little embarrassed, and spoke:
- Opall!
Robert couldn't have been more surprised. His mouth went dry at that moment and his eyes were filled with surprise. Little Opall couldn't be...
- Cody! You're not going crazy/ Little Opall, she's still a baby.
Cody smiled...
- Robert! If she's a baby, I can tell you that she's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen in my life. And he smiled...
- But she's about ten years old, isn't she, Cody?
Laughing even harder, Cody said:
- Of course not Robert. She's sixteen and will graduate in a few months after Alien.
- But is she so tiny, Cody?
- Yes, she is, Robert... or we're both too tall for her. But she's a sweetheart, and those eyes of hers make me go soft... I think that's how mountie Jack and mountie Nathan got for our teacher Elizabeth.
- Cody; you're in love with Opall;
- I... I don't know, Robert. All I know is that I can't forget our Opall.
- Nor could we forget her, Cody. She was always with us at school. So tiny, she made you want to protect her. And do you remember "Brauner", the bear she carried around during her childhood?
- Yes... she gave it to little Jack as soon as he turned one, saying that she would protect him. And she told our teacher that now she had you and me, and we would protect her from any danger.
- She was always sweet, Cody, and very cute.
- She was and is to this day, she welcomed me with such care and affection on my first days at school. I think that's where I started to fall in love with her, even if I didn't know it. But it was here alone that her absence hit me like a punch in the face.
- Cody, I know what you're feeling. You understand why I'm like this, Alien is very important, she's my soul mate.
- Robert, we're too young to love so strongly, and I know everyone will talk about it. But I know that I love Opall like I never imagined I would love anyone else.
- Cody, you didn't live in Hope Valle yet. To tell you the truth, the town used to be called Cool Valle. Once Gabe told Jack Thorton, after helping him at the first dinner he made for Mrs. Thorton, that he was going to marry Emily. I remember Emily was young, about twelve at the most, but he'd spent his whole life loving that girl and now from the last letter he sent me, he was about to go back to Hope Valle and propose.
- When it's right, it's right. No one is in charge of Robert's heart.
The soft crackle of the leaves under the horses' feet echoed as Cody and Robert rode towards town, their gazes fixed on the horizon. The gentle afternoon breeze stirred the horses' manes, creating a silent dance between the companions.
The sun was beginning to dip in the west, tinting the sky with golden hues that reflected the determination on both men's faces. Cody, with his serious expression, knew that the mission ahead would not be easy, but the confidence in Robert's eyes was the guarantee that they were ready for the challenge.
The two were young, but they were no different from the other fifty young men their age who had also been sent on a mission.
"Strength, faith and focus..." the words of their teacher Elizabeth, came back to both boys' minds.
The countryside unfolded before them, revealing green meadows and serene streams. As they advanced, the city materialized on the horizon, a cluster of buildings that told the silent stories of its inhabitants.
Without the need for words, Robert and Cody shared a deep understanding. Cody's horse, agile and determined, followed the steady rhythm of Robert's horse. Together, they formed a duo united by friendship and the purpose of protecting the city they called home.
As they approached the city center, the shadows lengthened by the twilight signaled that night was about to fall. The city, although peaceful at first glance, held dark secrets in its alleys and backstreets. The jewel thief, an enigma that needed to be solved, was the threat hanging over the community.
Cody adjusted the position of his hat, his eyes attentive to detail, as they rode through the narrow streets. Robert, with his piercing gaze, shared the silent commitment to bring justice to those who harmed others.
As they approached the site of the recent robberies, a tense atmosphere settled in the air. The glitter of the stolen jewels not only represented material value, but also the safety and comfort of the town's residents.
And so, without the need for words, Cody and Robert began their search, following the trail of invisible clues and relying on the mutual understanding that made them a formidable team. The town needed a resolution and they were going to fight for it.