A Cave of Books and Starlit Eyes

“Meeooow.”

A cat? Again?

Slowly, Hale opened his eyes.

A dark rock wall shimmered damply in the pale light of the morning.

Only the steady dripping from the ceiling broke the silence, and a faint breeze brushed his face, drifting in from the mouth of the cave.

Yawning, Hale pushed himself upright and rubbed his eyes.

“A... cave?”

But there was no cat to be seen.

He was lying on a bed of moss, his gear and poles propped against the wall not far away.

Despite the cool breeze, he felt warm; sweat clung to his skin.

As he rubbed his arms, he noticed a faint bluish spiral glimmering around his right wrist.

What… is that?

He touched it carefully, and gasped.

“Ice!?”

But the chill didn’t spread. His arm stayed warm. Only his fingertips sensed the cold radiating from it.

This… isn’t frostbite is it?

Then, an image flashed through his mind, a figure gently touching his wrist.

There had been someone...

A dull ache pulsed in his temples and he rubbed them with a groan.

“Hngh...”

Gradually, fragments of memory returned, blurred like a dream.

The harsh climb up Mount Fuji, the storm, the strange girl.

"That girl..."

Hale leapt to his feet as it all came rushing back.

But she was nowhere to be found.

He tried to piece together what had happened.

***

She'd led him to a cave not far from the rock spire.

The sun had already sunk below the horizon, and he’d been too dazed, too exhausted, to argue or to run away.

So he just followed.

The cave was pitch dark at first, but then an icy-blue glow filled it as she touched a crystal mounted on a slender pole at its center.

Towering stacks of books rose around them, and in one corner lay a modest bed of moss.

She twirled gracefully in the glow, the light shimmering in her star-filled eyes as her shadow danced across the walls like something alive.

Then she smiled at him, head tilted, waiting for his reaction.

Hale stood frozen, words lost as his gaze drifted.

A dozen questions tangled in his mind.

What are you?  he could have asked. What do you want from me?

But when he finally spoke, all that came out was:

“That’s… a lot of books.”

She blinked, looking almost surprised, then giggled, amused by his remark.

Reaching for one of the books, she opened it and whispered in that same strange language he’d heard her speak before.

“Théra... théra nenn var kallin mír falyn eðra…”

The book glowed in a cold, blueish light, pages filling with lines of writing that seemed to form by invisible hands.

“I love reading,” she murmured as the light faded and she closed it again. “But even more, I love filling books with stories.”

Her eyes lifted to his, curious, almost hopeful.

“Every soul carries a story… what’s yours?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to answer.

“My story? I don’t think it’s a story worth telling,” he muttered, eyes down.

“Oh… that’s a pity,” she said, genuinely disappointed.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

“So, will you stay?” she asked at last, not meeting his eyes.

“Well…” Hale started, then stopped as he looked at her.

She turned her head aside, tracing her arm with her fingertips, hesitating. 

A brief blink, a twitch of her lips, something unsaid trembling there.

Wait. Is she… lonely?

His fear slowly loosened its grip, and finally he asked the question that had haunted him from the start.

“Who are you?”

She looked up again, tilting her head slightly.

Her eyes blinked, tiny galaxies swirling behind thin rings of silverish light.

“Koori.”

“Your name… is Koori?”

She nodded, saying nothing more.

The silence lingered until he realized she was waiting.

Hale rubbed the back of his neck, uneasy under her gaze.

“My name’s Hale,” he said at last, almost to himself.

Her lips curved into the faintest smile, like she had just learned something important.

“Hale,” she repeated softly. “That fits.“

Her gaze drifted toward the bed of moss.

“Aren't you tired, Hale?” she asked, her voice eager and hopeful. “Wouldn’t you like to sleep here?”

Hale hesitated. 

He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came. 

I should refuse... I don't even know what she is. She might be dangerous...

Yet something in her voice, that soft, uncertain warmth, held him still.

“Well, to be honest…”

But when he saw the hopeful look in her eyes, the protest died on his lips. 

There’s nowhere I could go now anyway...

"I guess I could use some rest...", he finally said.

Her starlit eyes widened, her worry melting into genuine joy as she grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him toward the moss.

“Wonderful! Come on then, take off your pack and lie down, I’ll help you!”

“Uh, really, it’s fine, I can...”

But despite his protests, she was already pulling off his jacket and beanie, revealing his wavy blonde hair, a few sweaty strands clinging to his forehead.

“And… where will you sleep?” he asked as he lay down, puzzled.

She smiled.

“Next to you, of course. There’s plenty of room.”

Hale hesitated.

“Uh… are you sure?”

She nodded, and soon they were lying side by side on the small bed of moss.

Hale was bone-tired, yet sleep refused him, as Koori lay on her side, watching him with a smile.

He stared up at the ceiling, feeling her gaze on him like a touch.

How am I supposed to sleep like this...

Cold crept through the cave, and he shivered.

So cold...

Koori’s expression changed to worry.

“Can’t you sleep? You’re cold, aren’t you? Wait, I'll try something! It’ll be better in a moment, don’t run away!”

She closed her eyes, concentrating.

The air around her suddenly flickered, then grew warm, radiating from her like a quiet fire.

Hale turned to her, staring into her star-filled eyes in surprise, as she opened them again.

“How are you doing that?”

Koori only shrugged, as if she didn’t know herself.

Then, for some reason he couldn’t explain, a thought came to him, a small, nagging memory.

“Say Koori... do you happen to have a cat up here?”

At once, the shimmer in her eyes dimmed.

She looked away. “A cat?”

“Yeah,” he said, trying to sound casual. “I kept hearing it meowing. Sounded close.”

Koori hesitated, then met his gaze again, her expression worried.

“Promise me something, Hale?” she asked quietly.

Hale raised an eyebrow. “Promise you what?”

Her expression darkened.

“Don’t listen to the cat. She lies.”

Hale blinked. “She... lies?”

Koori turned toward the cave entrance; for a moment she looked frightened, fragile, as if something out there unsettled her.

Then she suddenly moved closer, pressing herself against him, her fingers digging into his shoulder.

“W-wait a minute, what are you doing?”

But she only pressed closer.

“Eþn…” she whispered, her breath warm against his neck, “…þhou er halyn. Og hér. Svo… vaþ lir anrún.”

He didn’t understand the words, and yet, somehow, he did.

As she held him, her body warming his, drowsiness pulled him under.

His eyelids grew heavy.

And finally, he slept.

***

The next morning, standing alone inside the cave, it all felt like a fading dream.

Yet the mark on his wrist and the piles of books around him told him it wasn’t.

That really happened.

“Koori…” he murmured.

He turned around, but she was nowhere to be seen, only the dripping from the ceiling answered.

What kind of being was she? She seemed lonely. Maybe even sad.

Hale sighed, pulled on his jacket, and stepped outside.

The sun stood high above the horizon, and the valley below was veiled in clouds of mist.

Suddenly, he heard the tinkling of a bell and he spun toward the sound.

A fat white cat waddled through the snow, the bell at its neck jingling with every step.

He watched it passing by.

A cat? So I wasn’t imagining it after all.

It stopped, turned its head, and stared at him for a long moment.

“Hey, kitty. This isn’t a place for a spoiled house cat like you.”

Almost offended, the cat turned away and continued on, indifferent.

“Hey, wait! Come back! Pspspspspsp!”

He sighed, zipped up his jacket, and followed, driven by a strange urge to catch it.

As he walked, Koori’s words echoed in his mind.

Don’t listen to the cat. She lies.

“I wonder what that was supposed to mean…” he whispered to himself.

But only the wind answered.