Concerning Human Understanding

We sailed for some time, the shore, Mr. Jason’s body all vanishing in the fog. It seemed like we were safe now.

Lady Scarlet cuddled me as I cried. I didn’t like the fact that Mr. Jason had died. There was no reason for it. He didn’t have to die. It hurt. I hurt. I don’t like empathy; it hurts.

“Care to explain who you are and what that thing was?” Lady Scarlet asked.

“What do you wish to know? I have already told you everything. I am the Journeyman, and that is the Laughing Man.”

“That is surely not your real name. Who are you? What do you know about that thing?” She asked.

“As I said, I am the Journeyman. As for my real name, I have long abandoned my name or perhaps only recently gave it up. Maybe I have not given it up yet. Time is a fickle thing. Perhaps I have forgotten it. Who could say in the Chaos Lands?” The Journeyman smiled, which was an odd sight to see for a skeleton. If, even for a moment, his odd smile distracted me from the sadness I felt.

“So what you are saying, Journeyman, is the name you call yourself?”

“That is correct, my dear fiery-haired compatriot. I am the Journeyman, the one who guides people like you to the chalice, warning them of the evil Laughing Man.”

“You know where the chalice is?” Lady Scarlet asked in shock.

“I have indeed laid my eyes… well, my eye sockets upon it.”

“Then why haven’t you taken it for yourself?”

“How would I consume from it?”

We all looked at his skeletal frame. He could not drink from the chalice, or it would just spill out of him. The thought of him drinking and spilling out made me laugh. Which also made everyone else smile. However, it was only temporary because thinking about Mr. Journeyman’s leaking reminded me of Mr. Jason.

“Is that land ahead?” Mr Ren asked, pointing in the direction we were sailing.

“Indeed it is,” Mr Journeyman responded without even looking. “That is our destination.”

“To the chalice?” Lady Scarlet asked excitedly.

“Well, we will need to go in this direction to get there, so I suppose you could say it’s our first stop.” He responded.

We shortly made land. Once we did so, the tiredness I had been suppressing consumed me. I don’t think I was the only one who felt tired. Even Buddy, who I had been carrying this entire time, looked exhausted.

“Let’s have a rest here for a bit.” Lady Scarlet commented though she didn’t look tired herself. I suspect she noticed how tired I was. She was being kind to me. To a stupid, useless girl like me.

We didn’t have much of our equipment; we had to leave it on the other side with the Galacs, so we couldn’t make ourselves too comfy. I managed to get my bag when I grabbed Buddy, but Lady Scarlet and Mr. Ren had to leave theirs.

Once I had caught my breath, I thought I would ask the question I had been wondering about.

“Mrs. Dinklebottom wasn’t real?”

“What do you think?” The Journeyman responded before Lady Scarlet or Mr. Ren could do so.

“What do I think?” I paused to give it some thought. “I don’t know?”

“Well, that may be the answer.” He responded.

“Of course she was real; I knew her for years.” Lady Scarlet interjected.

“Perhaps that was just the Laughing Man fooling you.”

“Impossible,” Mr Ren added, getting annoyed. I understood why Mr Ren was feeling upset. He had just lost Mr. Jason, and I, too, was still feeling upset about it. So I could only imagine how painful it must be for Mr. Ren, who had known him for so long.

“Is it truly impossible for this Dinklebottom to have always been fake?” The argument between the two left me even more confused. Was Mrs. Dinklebottom real or not?

The Journeyman continued, “Well, even if she were real, she would be dead now. That’s how the Laughing Man works. He kills and mimics. A Devilish Deceiver, a conductor of chaos, a maestro of misinformation. Truly a very evil being.

“What’s a Mae-stro of mis-information?” I asked stuttering, trying to say the hard words.

“A Maestro is someone who conducts music. The Laughing Man is always scheming, so I have referred to him as one, for he sees us almost like a musical piece being played according to his desire. It is one of the many names I call the horrid Laughing Man.”

I didn’t quite get it. That word Maestro was such a big word, just like the very mysterious creature that was Mr. Maestro; there was still so much I didn’t know. Both in terms of the universe and in terms of the many words I didn’t know.

“So he can mimic anyone, take on any form?” Lady Scarlet asked.

“That is correct,” the Journeyman confirmed.

“And he is the only one who is like that.”

“You can never be certain of anything within the Chaos Lands. Throughout the entirety of my existence, I have yet to see another like the Maestro, so I would suspect he is the only one.”

“If he is the only one and pretends to be others, maybe he is just lonely,” I responded before I could think.

“Look at our little philosopher go.” The Journeyman laughed.

“What’s a philosopher?” I asked. It was another big word I didn’t know the meaning of.

“Someone who has great ideas but will eventually fall into despair when they realise they have no future career ahead of them.” Mr Ren replied darkly. 

“Don’t teach her things like that. A philosopher is someone who has deep thoughts. They are really wise.” Lady Scarlet corrected.

I see, so I have good ideas? I guess that means they think I’m smart, but I’m not so smart. I’m a dumb girl. I have an empty head.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Anyone can be a genius with enough time, or perhaps the wiser we become, the madder we become as well. I wish I could simply get what I wanted, what I desired, but alas, despair is the only thing to come.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

End Chapter 20