Confined Together

Obviously!

By miracle, no one had the slightest desire to check if everything was fine with the merchandise or not: they took it and simply put it on the cart.

After a while, the carts started moving. About two minutes later, Hiroshi was the first to remove the lid and see if everything was alright.

Everything was alright: the two of them were in the cart where there was only merchandise and nothing else.

Slowly and carefully, he got out of the barrel and tried not to be noticed through the cart's windows. After that, he told Rania to get out too.

Both were covered in oil. Rania quickly went toward that small bag which, according to Hiroshi, contained every cure in the world.

Once she opened it, she became the happiest woman in the world since in the bag, as a change of clothes, there was meant to be a large and very thin blanket.

"What is this?" asked Rania in a low voice.

"The change of clothes."

"How much I want to kill you right now."

Rania somehow cleaned herself with that blanket.

"Hey Hiroshi, why does this blanket smell like sheep?"

"Because I stole it from the shepherd."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Ahhhh, if I weren't in this condition, you would have met a bad end."

"Okay."

A moment of silence.

"How long do we have to stay here?"

"I don't know."

"Whatever, let me see what you put for food."

Rania opened the bag again and saw eggs, cheese, meat, fish, water, vegetables, fruit, and more.

"What is this?"

"Food."

"I know, but where did you get it?"

"I stole it while I was having breakfast."

"How long can it last according to you?"

"If we eat in moderation, about a week will be fine. But only if we eat in moderation."

"So can I eat now?"

"No."

"Okay, but will the food be enough for both of us?"

"Yes, I had already sensed that you would ask me to come too, so I put more."

* * *

An hour passed like this, staying silent and doing nothing.

"Hey Hiroshiiiiiiii!"

"Yes, tell me what's up."

"I'm getting bored. Can I at least look out the window to pass the time?"

"If you want to be discovered, then yes."

"So what do I do?"

"Wait, like I'm doing."

"You're too boring."

"Okay."

* * *

Hours passed again and evening arrived. While Rania was going mentally crazy, Hiroshi on the other side was completely calm: he was resting and doing nothing. He had laid down and was staring at the cart's ceiling while thinking about what he had to do once they arrived.

Night came. The carts had stopped to rest and the guards were doing their patrol.

Rania and Hiroshi had already eaten, and Hiroshi was preparing to sleep but Rania wasn't: she wanted to do something, she wanted to be free from that situation. So, to have fun, she decided to tease Hiroshi.

Hiroshi lay down with the blanket COVERED IN OIL over his face, preparing to sleep.

From behind, Rania carefully approached and lay down next to him.

"What are you doing?" asked Hiroshi.

"Nothing, I just want to sleep next to you."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Fine, do as you want. But we can't talk too much, since it's night: if we make even a small noise we could be discovered."

"Alright."

But Rania didn't want to stop there, so she waited a bit and then at some point hugged him to see what reaction he would have.

But from the other side came no response.

She hugged him tighter than before, but nothing: Hiroshi was lying there on his side with his face toward the cart's wall, no reaction.

Why isn't he responding? Why is he lying there like that, without even turning around? What kind of man is he?

Rania wanted an answer! So she took him by the shoulders and turned him toward her.

As soon as she turned him, the two faces were very close to each other. Rania's heavy breathing could be felt resting on Hiroshi's face. Rania, for a moment, due to that closeness lost mental control over herself: her cheeks became red like tomatoes, her facial expression was like a petal that at dawn falls too soon from its flower, pushed by a light but uncertain wind, almost sudden. A normal thing but difficult to ignore.

But on the other side there was only an emotionless void that stared at the person in front of him with those icy eyes.

There was total silence, but Rania wanted to break that silence, to say, express, communicate something. But Hiroshi stopped her with the gesture of his hand, indicating for her to stay quiet or the guards would discover them. Having said this, he turned again to sleep.

Leaving a girl in that state. But Hiroshi wasn't stupid: in every action of his there was a reason, and this a stranger couldn't understand at the moment.

The next day

The cart began moving again toward the established destination.

In our protagonists' cart there was absolute silence: Hiroshi, like the day before, was staring at the cart's ceiling and Rania was sitting all curled up.

A few minutes later:

"Last night, everything I did had a reason behind it," said Hiroshi.

"I know, but you're too bizarre," replied Rania in a low voice.

"If we had talked at that moment, the guards could have discovered us."

"Hmmmm."

A moment of silence.

"What was it that you were trying to do? Why did you hug me?"

"I wanted to tease you."

"Ah, okay."

"What a nice answer," said Rania sarcastically.

"Come on, let's play something."

The unexpected phrase that came out of Hiroshi's mouth left Rania stunned.

"What? Play! And you're saying this?"

"Yes, what's wrong with that? I saw that you're getting bored, so let's play something."

"Are we children?"

"There's no need to be children to play something."

"Fine, then what do we play?"

"So, you see that sack full of cereals? Let's open it and start counting how many cereals are in there."

: )   : )   : )

"I expected this from you. Play that game by yourself."

Suddenly Rania had an idea.

"Hey! Let's do this: one asks a question and the other has to tell only the truth and nothing else."

"Fine."

"So I'll start first. Ehhhh, let me think... eeehhhh, soooooo... ah! Yes, tell me: have you ever hit someone?"

"Yes, as a child a boy who tried to take my things."

"After that time?"

"No."

"Your turn."

Hiroshi started thinking.

"Okay, what are your hobbies?"

"Hmmmm, sleeping, doing nothing, eating, and sleeping."

"Good, I expected this from you too. Go, your turn."

Out of curiosity, Rania asked:

"So tell me: what magic would you most prefer to have?"

"I don't know much about magic, but I think Healing Magic is good."

"Why that one? It doesn't help you in combat."

"If you use it with your head you can get many things from it. Whatever, now it's my turn: tell me your favorite magic."

"It's obvious: magic that helps me in combat. If I really have to say it, I want a mix with which I can fight hand-to-hand but at the same time I can target those far away too."

"Good, interesting."

So the questions continued: some good, others less so. Hiroshi always made sure the questions weren't about his past.

Then at some point Rania asked with a curious expression: "Have you ever fallen in love with someone?"

The answer was quick from Hiroshi: "No."

Rania continued: "What do you think of me?"

Here too, quick, no moment of thought: "You're a wonderful person. I can say that."

The answer struck Rania a bit, who wasn't expecting it. She went on to ask: "How wonderful?"

"There's no quantity to express it. I can only tell you this: that your presence is enough to make small the distance from this exact point where we are to the stars, because if you're there, space stops seeming empty."

The words were cold, coming out made by logic. Hiroshi didn't express emotions but knew very well what could make happy a person who was in front of him, so, to not make her become prey to his coldness, he decided to answer in a way that would make her calm. Even though he himself didn't know the meaning of what he had said.

We don't know about Hiroshi, but Rania was truly amazed, stunned: no words came out of her mouth for a while. She just kept staring at Hiroshi with bright eyes and pink cheeks.

The silence between the two lasted so long that evening arrived.

Then finally Rania spoke: "I didn't know you were a poet."

"I'm not. I just liked reading them, and it's just a badly made attempt."

"It wasn't made badly, it was beautiful," she said with a low, innocent voice.

"Good, then it served some purpose."

So time, even though it passed slowly, had become nice to spend for Rania.

After about a week of long travel, they finally arrived at their destination.