An Learning World

Over the next half hour, Caelum began to form the most basic understanding of Valeria’s language.

She was surprisingly good at teaching. Her speech was slow and deliberate, and her method was straightforward. She would point at an image, say the word aloud, and repeat it until he could say it back correctly. Then, she moved on to the next.

Caelum did his best to follow along and repeat the sounds and phrases back to her. It wasn't easy given how distracting her appearance was, but he persevered.

"Good!" She smiled at him as he correctly repeated the word for 'book' in her language. It was a bright, radiant smile that made her seem even more beautiful than she already was.

Ugh. Why was she so cute? And why did it seem like she was actually cared about his progress?

He wasn't used to this kind of positivity. Back home, he was much more used to getting either ignored or yelled at. But Valeria? She treated him as if he were... important. Like he belonged.

It was strange.

Frowning slightly, he thought back over their interactions so far. He barely knew anything about her or her culture. Maybe she was just naturally friendly, or maybe this was normal where she came from. But something about the way she acted toward him felt too… familiar? 

"…"

He glanced at her again.

She was leaning against him now. Her golden eyes sparkled, watching him with an almost adoring expression as she traced a finger along the words in the book. 

He felt his heart start to beat faster once again, but he forced himself to focus. Being a senior in high school wasn’t the end-all-be-all of maturity, but he should have possessed enough self-control to not swoon over her.

He bit his tongue. The end of the book was in sight. He just had to endure a little longer.

"Flower," Valeria said as she pointed at its illustration.

"…Flower," he repeated, trying to mimic the way she pronounced it.

"Good!" She clapped again, beaming like he’d just accomplished something incredible.

He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Why did she look so happy?

The last page of the book held an illustration of what appeared to be a city. Its buildings were tall, imposing, and unfamiliar; they weren’t like the skyscrapers he knew, nor did they resemble anything from history books.

"City," Valeria said, pointing to the word beneath the picture. "City, Caelum."

He stared at it for a long while, and a sense of unease creeped into his chest. He had almost forgotten. 

This place wasn’t his home.

"..."

He took a deep breath and tried to push the thought away. This was a chance to learn more about where he was and maybe find a way back home. He needed to stay calm.

Valeria must have noticed his shift in mood because she suddenly placed a hand over his. Her touch was comforting in a way he hadn’t expected.

He looked at her, startled. She didn’t say anything; she just gazed at him with quiet concern.

His chest tightened.

"Um, Valeria?" He hesitated before pointing at the book. "City. Is there… a way home for me in the city?"

He wasn’t sure if she understood him or if he was just reading her expression, but he hoped she got the message. She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded.

And then... she rested her head against his shoulder

"—!?" His entire body went rigid.

She didn’t seem to notice his internal meltdown, instead simply continuing to point at the book and reading aloud as if nothing had changed.

Yeah, no. She definitely didn't understand what he'd just said.

Once again, Caelum tried to recover and focus on the words rather than her presence. But it was too hard.

Her scent, her warmth, the softness of her skin, it was all overwhelming. He had been alone for so long, and now suddenly, this girl—this beautiful, mysterious girl—was acting like they were something more.

And the worst part? He liked it, way too much.

It wasn’t right! He didn’t deserve this feeling. They didn't even know each other!

"Umm, Val, this is embarrassing," he said, his voice higher than intended. "Could you… give me a little space please?"

He knew she couldn't understand his language, but he hoped she would at least get the gist of what he was saying.

She lifted her head and looked up at him. "Val?" she asked.

He blinked at her confusion and sighed. Right, her name was Valeria, not Val.

"Sorry, it's nothing."

She tilted her head at him. "…Cael want. Name, Val?"

He felt his cheeks heat up at the cute gesture. "That was a mistake. You don't have to shorten your name for me, and you don't have to call me Cael."

"Val? Good?" she asked again, still not understanding what he was saying.

"Valeria," he corrected, pointing at her. "Name is Valeria, yes?

"Caelum said Cael. Cael is good. Caelum said Val. Val is good." She pointed at him, and then at herself. "Cael and Val. Good. Yes?"

"…"

Aagh, why was she so cute?!

After taking a little to internally scream to himself, Caelum shook his head. "Sorry. Please just… forget about it."

He tried to look away, but the way she was staring at him made it impossible to avoid her gaze completely.

"Cael and Val?" she asked, pointing to both of them again with a hopeful look. It was clear that she wanted him to accept the use of nicknames.

They hadn't even known each other for a day, yet she was already insisting they use nicknames for each other.

"…Val," he muttered, finally giving in. He didn't have the energy to protest anymore.

Her entire face lit up as she grinned at him. "Good! Val and Cael!" she clapped her hands together and suddenly hugged him tightly.

He was so flustered by her reaction that he barely registered the sudden contact.

Why did she make him feel this way?

He wasn’t sure how to answer that. All he knew was that this simple interaction was making him feel something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

Caelum clenched his hands trying to calm himself again. It didn’t work.

"Okay, okay," he said, patting her back awkwardly. "Val can let go of me now."

She released him and pulled away with a wide and infectious smile; he couldn’t help but want to smile back.

But he couldn’t allow himself to get carried away. He was still in an unknown world, and he didn’t have the luxury of letting his guard down.

No matter how kind she was, the fact remained that he knew next to nothing about her. For all he knew, the only reason she was treating him well was because she felt guilty for summoning him in the first place. He had no reason to trust her.

His older sister had always been kind, too. But in the end, what had that led to? She had still left him the minute she could. Maybe it wasn’t fair to compare the two, but the truth remained: kindness wasn’t the same as permanence.

"Cael is good?" she asked, tilting her head. Her golden eyes still shimmered with excitement, but now there was a hint of concern in her voice.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Yes. Cael is good."

"…Cael is bad at kuocg," she said after a pause, pouting slightly.

He wasn’t entirely sure, but the look in her eyes now was a familiar one.

Had she just called him a liar, and a bad one at that?

"Cael is good," he reiterated. "Good."

He doubted she would accept the answer, but even if he tried to explain, he wasn’t sure he could communicate his feelings in a way she would understand.

Val seemed to recognize that too as she struggled to comfort him without knowing how to. Instead, she looked at him with a sad, almost hurt expression.

"Cael… Cael not talk to Val." She exaggerated her frown and pointed to her face. "Why?"

It seemed she still wanted him to talk about what was bothering him. It was touching that she was trying so hard, but it wasn’t going to work. "Cael not know words."

Her brows furrowed in thought before she suddenly perked up. She hurried inside, returning a moment later with paper and a pencil. Sitting down beside him, she began doodling simple faces with different expressions, labeling each with a word.

"Lettu," she said, pointing to the smiling face. Then she pointed to the others. "Fev, ecjsu, fwesav, fystsofav, wyosiyf."

Finally, she pointed at him. "Cael?"

He stared at her blankly, processing what she had done. It was actually a clever idea. They didn’t have the words to communicate properly yet, but pictures were universal.

After a brief hesitation, he pointed to the frowning face. "Sad," he said quietly, meeting her gaze.

Val studied him deliberately. "Fev?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She frowned deeper, then gestured toward the magic circle inside the house. "Cael is 'sad'. Hsip gleg?"

Caelum blinked, then nodded again. She was probably referring to the summoning. "Yes... But that isn’t the only reason."

Val's expression darkened, and she pointed to herself. "Val pema Cael sad? Val is… sorry."

A pang of guilt struck him. He wasn't trying to blame her. He was always sad. What he felt from the summoning paled in comparison to what years of struggling and people leaving him behind did.

"Val, no. Not the summoning," he tried to explain, shaking his head and motioning at the circle.

It didn't work. She looked like she was withdrawing into herself.

Thinking for a moment, he got an idea. He forced a smile and gestured for the pencil. "Val? Can I use that please?"

Val slowly processed the request before handing it over shyly.

Now with the pencil in hand, he drew a stick figure of himself surrounded by others turning their backs to him. He circled himself and pointed at the drawing. "Sad."

He wasn't the best artist, but he hoped he conveyed it well enough.

Val studied the picture, and her frown deepened. "Cael is… kicaku?"

There was no way for him to verify, but his best guess was that she meant 'lonely'.

His expression went blank as the word registered in his mind.

Lonely.

"…" He slowly nodded. "Yes."

Val's lips immediately quivered, and her eyes watered. "Cael… is hsip vohhasacg biskv. Cael family, friends. Not here."

"Uh, yes? But it would be more accurate to say I never really had any of those—"

Before he could finish, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Cael…" she mumbled, trembling against him. "Val is sorry. Rasu sorry. Val is bad!"

"Whoa, hey, calm down," he said quickly, startled by her reaction. He awkwardly patted her back, unsure what to do. "I'm not mad at you. I don’t blame you."

She sniffled, pulling away slightly to look at him. "Cael not home, not have family, friends." She pointed at herself accusatorily. "Daweyfa Val."

"Hold on. No, Val not bad. Val is—"

She didn't let him finish. "Val help Cael home. Val help Cael."

His throat tightened. He wasn't used to people acting this passionately for him, ever. It made him both confused and… perhaps a little warm inside.

"…Thank you, Val," he finally managed.

She nodded, though a flurry of emotions still flickered in her eyes.

They sat there in silence for a moment, the weight of their conversation lingering between them. Neither quite knew what to say next.

Then, Val’s gaze drifted upward, and she suddenly gasped. "Stars!"

Caelum blinked, startled by the sudden shift, but followed her pointing finger to the sky. She was right. The first stars had begun to faintly pierce through the darkening twilight.

"Pretty," she said in awe. "Cael, stars are pretty, yes?"

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and tilted his head back to properly take in the sight.

"Yes," he admitted, his voice softer now. "Pretty."

Val beamed, pleased with his answer, and for a few quiet moments, they just watched the sky together. The tension from before seemed to melt away into the cool night air.

Then, she yawned. A small, quick one, but enough to remind him just how exhausted he was, too.

"Is night," she murmured, rubbing her eyes. "Cael… sleep?"

The word reminded him just how exhausted he was. Now that he wasn't really focused on doing anything, the fatigue was beginning to hit him all at once.

"Yeah," he murmured, rubbing his eyes. "Sleep is good."

Val nodded, satisfied, and stood up before offering him a hand. He hesitated only for a second before taking it. She started to pull him to his feet, but the height difference caused him to stumble slightly.

Val giggled at his clumsiness, and despite himself, he let out a quiet chuckle too.