Somewhere different from here

One step after another, they walked together with the mob. It had already been some days without the wind blowing, so there was a strong smell of sweat in the air thanks to the high concentration of people. Not only that but, positioned at the middle of the column, which had been walking through a path narrower than usual, at the bottom of a canyon, even now that he was 13 instead of 11, Nico couldn’t see very well beyond the shoulders of so many people.

With the absence of the wind and its usual noises, the sound of feet meeting the ground and of the words said by the crowd was predominant. Besides them, somewhere at the distance, he could also hear someone coughing.

Thanks to the cliff walls, which blocked a good portion of the weak light which existed in this world, it was dark there at the bottom.

A dark, crowded and small place, instead of a vast empty land. It was a weird feeling, as if they had discovered some unknown land.

“Urgh, this smell…”

Nico heard Gray’s voice. He couldn’t see his face very well because of the dark, but he could imagine him waving his hand in front of his nose, as if this would achieve anything.

“Is it annoying you?”

“This place is just terrible.”

“I don’t really mind it that much.“

“It’s not only the smell.”

“So what is it-”

Before he could complete what he was saying, Nico nearly tripped over someone else.

“See?” Gray gave a light chuckle.

“Ok, it can be a little uncomfortable. But it’s not that bad.”

“Are you really saying that just after nearly falling into the ground?”

“I am.”

Gray sighed, without saying anything.

“I just found it… how can I put it… enthralling I guess? Like… it’s a completely different experience from the usual. I don’t want to only be in an open, windy and empty place for my entire life.”

“…But the usual is more comfortable. Here it is dark, smelly, humid, crowded…” rebutted Gray.

As they talked, suddenly a light appeared. It was coming from a nearby lamp that was lit by someone, probably so he could walk more safely. With this light, Nico now could see that Gray had cracked a smile on his face.

Since he started to change his attitude, he would always start smiling at the weirdest moments when chatting with Nico. It might be weird, but it also was probably part of the reason Nico could just talk like this now.

“Maybe I just like having something a little different from the usual,” Nico giggled. “So-’

Cough cough

Suddenly, Nico was interrupted by Gray, who started coughing violently. He hunched slightly, and put his hand over his mouth.

“Gray?” Nico called as he hesitantly approached Gray, not knowing exactly what to do. “Are you okay?”

Cough “Y-yeah, I’m oka-”

Cough Cough

“Take this” said Nico as he handed over to him a canteen full of water he was carrying in his pocket.

“Thanks,” replied Gray with a hoarse voice. Next, he started to drink from it, and soon he took it out of his mouth and gave it back to Nico.

It was still half-full, and the canteen was pretty small.

“You could have drunk more, you know?”

“It’s already enough,” Gray said and took a moment to breathe once again, “you don’t need to worry.”

“Huh...” murmured Nico as he glanced at Gray.

“That’s what happens when you’re in a dirty place like this, see?” Gray said jokingly.

Nico didn’t say anything in return. Instead, he just sent him a worried look and continued walking.

Gray was the one who took care of him and helped him to lead a happy life. And even though he wouldn’t say “it is like he’s a new father to me” or anything of the type, they had nonetheless grown a lot closer over the years and there was one thing he could safely say:

He was one of, if not the, most important person to him now.

But, anyways, they continued walking, always paying close attention to what was near them in order to avoid stumbling into someone amidst all these people. At least, thanks to whoever had lit that lamp before, they could at least see decently well their surroundings now.

Most people were concentrating on talking or not stepping on someone else’s feet, but, once in a while Nico always would notice someone staring at him. A lot of times, this “someone” was Natta, but that didn’t mean she was the only one.

It had already been 2 years, which seemed like a long period of time to Nico, since that day, but, alas, people still remembered his “blasphemous words”.

The existence of someone outside of the Flock… Despite all this pressure, he still believed in it, even if he hadn’t talked about it with anyone since the day he met the Shepherd. As long as he had Rocco and Gray near him, he could still stand by his words.

The idea of someone who comes from outside the Flock wasn’t one he had before meeting that man, that said, it wasn’t the first time he believed in something that went against common sense.

When he was younger, his imagination was populated with images of lands different from his own. Beyond the boundaries of this world, somewhere after the Sky, somewhere under the ground, somewhere across the end of the world.

These beliefs might sound crazy even to him now, but if he one day believed in them, maybe he always was bound to one day come to the conclusion that there are people who aren’t part of the Flock.

But he was still to find someone who believed in the same thing.

He could see a hunchback old man, and he was sure he didn’t believe in this. He could see a muscular young man, and he was sure he didn’t believe in this. He could see a mother with her daughter, and he was sure they didn’t believe in this.

A blond boy around the same age as him bumped into him as he strode forward, and he was sure the boy also didn’t believe in this.

“Sorr- Wait, Nico?”

But it was alright, for the boy was his friend.

“Rocco?”

“It’s you!” Rocco exclaimed and immediately went for a hug.

“Y-yeah, it’s me, dumbass.”

Since the Flock entered this canyon, it was the first time the two met, as it was hard to find someone in a dark and crowded space like this.

“Oh, Rocco?” said Gray, noticing the boy.

“Hi Gray” greeted Rocco, looking at Gray for only a moment as he let off Nico.

“You seemed in a hurry. What were you doing?” asked Nico.

“Oh, er… I was going to fill our canteens with water” answered Rocco, showing three empty canteens he was carrying. “I’ve heard that going forward there’s a place with a great pond.”

“Hm, it might be a good idea to fill ours too…”

“Do you want me to do it for us?” Nico asked Gray.

“Go for it.”

“Alright” Nico said and took the canteens Gray had with him “let’s go.”

And so, Nico and Rocco started walking their way through the column. And as they did this, frequently they would bump into someone, and sometimes someone would step on their feet. Orienting yourself was also difficult, since they couldn’t see very well, especially with so many people around them. They only had a general direction to go, and nothing else.

“…Hey Nico,” murmured Rocco.

“What?”

“What if we get lost here?”

“Oh, so you are scared?” teased Nico.

“N-no, of course not…” Rocco stuttered.

“If we get lost…” Nico said and paused, glancing at Rocco, who was behind him and whose eyes darted from one direction to another. “If we get lost… we will be left here, in the dark, and no one, absolutely no one, will find us…”

“…A-and what will happen after that?”

“Oh, what happens next? …We will stay here in the dark, alone, without knowing where to go, and starve to death” answered Nico in a grave tone.

“T-that would be pretty bad…”

“Indeed.”

“If we don’t know what will happen in a dark place like this… shouldn’t we be somewhere safer?”

“Hey Rocco, do you have a fear of the dark?”

“N-no! I don’t! Obviously not!”

“Then why are you shivering?”

Turning his upper body slightly towards his back as he walked, Nico pointed towards Rocco’s arm, which was trembling uncontrollably.

“I-I’m not shivering!” Rocco shouted and made a face at Nico.

“Ok, ok, you aren't,” chuckled Nico.

“Yeah, I’m not,” asserted Rocco with his arms crossed. “Anyways, look over there, we’re reaching it.”

Rocco pointed towards an area illuminated by three lamps. Surrounding it, there was a crowd.

“Why are there so many people?” Nico asked.

“Probably because of the same reason we’re here.”

The two of them approached the place, joining the crowd.

In front of them, located half inside a small hole, like it was a cave, in the wall, there was a pond larger than any Nico saw in his life, although that wasn’t much to go by.

Water dripped down from the Sky to the ground through the pillars, and usually accumulated on the lowest points possible, so the presence of such a large pond there was nothing more than logical. That said, this didn’t mean it wasn’t something impressive for Nico’s young eyes.

Thanks to the lamps, the pond was receiving light, and the two of them could see their reflections on the water as they filled the canteens.

“Look, it’s like a mirror,” Rocco pointed towards his reflection.

“Must be a broken mirror then, it’s so weird I’m looking ugly in it” joked Nico.

“No, no, if you’re looking ugly then it’s probably perfect.”

“What are you talking about? I’m the most beautiful man alive.”

“Let’s go back, you look better where there’s zero light.”

“Oh fuck off.”

After the two finished filling their canteens, they went back, passing amidst the crowd.

Rocco and Gray might not be too fond of this place, but he really was. He might not believe that something like other worlds exist, but he surely desired that suddenly, here in the dark he would find the entrance to another, different place.

But alas, this is the world he lives in, this is the world he has to accept.

———————————————————

The brazier was lit and the fire started to illuminate all of them. Recently it was only in hours like these that he had the opportunity to see everyone well.

And so, on one hand he could properly see Gray as he complained about how hot it was thanks to the many braziers in such a claustrophobic space, which, well, was true.

But on the other hand, it reminded him that Natta was there, seated at the side with her hands on her knees, leaning on the cliff wall.

Nico liked to act as if she didn’t exist since they had entered this huge canyon, using the darkness as a way to forget about her. But when she was there, in full view of him, he couldn’t do this. It was as if the gods were reminding him that life won’t just always go his way.

Not that he needed to be reminded of that.

At one point, he noticed that Natta was staring back at him.

Her eyes were pitch black, and her gaze was completely fixated on his face. As she continued doing this, she blinked not even once.

She would always do this, staring at him as if she was marking his soul with hot steel, and he would always be the first to break eye contact, turning his head to some other direction.

And once again that was what he did.

He could feel her stare burning at his back for some time, but soon, it stopped. After a quick check, he confirmed she was back at looking down towards the ground.

In front of a firmer posture from Gray, she had stopped openly insulting them, or at least, in Gray’s presence, but this death stare of hers just wouldn’t ever go away. It was like this was her daily reminder for him that his happiness made someone else miserable.

He didn’t know why she did this, after all, he hadn’t ever done something to her, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t free himself from it. Maybe she had a specific reason to hate him, maybe she hated him just for being alive. There wasn’t anything he could do to know, nor a way for him to stop it.

But as long as he had Gray and Rocco he could just continue living just like normal. And that was why he simply tried to ignore her.

“Natta…”

And so, the one who called her wasn’t him, but Gray.

“…do you want something special for dinner?”

She slowly raised her head again and looked at Gray.

“…No. Why?”

Gray opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he diverted his gaze from her and slowly closed his mouth.

Not having received an answer, Natta started lowering her head again.

But she was interrupted.

“…You’ve been seeming a little down recently…” Gray started to say hesitantly, “I wanted to cheer you up a little-”

“I don’t need your worry, '' she said immediately and recluded herself again, shutting down any conversation.

After hearing this, Nico could see Gray’s shoulders lowering a little. It didn’t seem like he was relieved, instead, it seemed more like he was disappointed and frustrated. He took some ingredients and started to sluggishly prepare them, without looking at either Nico or Natta.

“…I see,” he murmured.

And so, silently, Gray immersed himself in cooking and his own thoughts as the two watched.

If she just disappeared, this wouldn’t happen… But it wasn’t because Nico wished it to be this way that this would happen. 

Author Note: Probably I won’t post next week because of school tests, but soon I’ll go back to work, so don’t worry.