Soil (Part 2)

All three of us are now seated on the slope of the hill near the tree’s root. The old man and Ms. Clairene wanted to get back home since it was getting late, but the three of us were watching the setting sun cover the entire village in an ocean of orange.

“Hey Celicia…” I called out, “It might be too late to ask this, but is it okay for me to be here?” I ask.

“Yeah…” Celicia nods as she gazes at the village in the distance. She then raised her head and looked at me, “Also, you’re one of my closest friends, so you also deserve to at least hear me out…”

“…”

“…You better not break her trust Otherworlder.” Siofra suddenly muttered.

“I won’t…”

“Hmm… Where should I start…?” Celicia muttered.

“…What about starting things off with how you feel about Grandpa?” I suggest.

“Let’s see…” Celicia gave a thought and pulled her feet close to her, “Grandpa was an extremely nice person and a good cook too… He can be scary when he’s angry, but he knows when to be apologetic when he goes too far… He may be a hardhead at times, but he loves helping other people when he sees them in trouble… The reason why I met Sofi was because of Grandpa.” Celicia looks at Siofra.

“Yeah… that old man is the reason why my parents could start that dining hall…” Siofra said as she looked towards the village.

“…”

“Yeah…” Celicia gave a tiny smile, “However, that all started to change the moment he lost his daughter…”

“…”

“…”

“…After he lost his daughter, his eyes looked as if he had given up on life, which also led him to slowly forget about everything about me, his family, and himself…”

“…”

“…”

“Despite all of that, he still remembers his daughter fondly, and probably the only thing that he’s clinging on to survive…”

“Celice…”

“…I’m really sorry,” I muttered.

I can’t even imagine what it must’ve felt like to be taking care of someone who is a completely different person in the body of your loved one…

“You’re incredible… Celicia.” I muttered.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“I don’t think… I would’ve been able to handle that…” I replied.

“Yeah…” Siofra mutters.

“...It never stops feeling like taking care of a stranger…” Celicia hugs her knees and continues, “The way Grandpa treats us, the way he talks to us, the way he acts towards himself… They’re all not things Grandpa would do…”

“…”

“…”

Celicia then stands up whilst cleaning her pants.

“Well… He’s already gone anyway, so it doesn’t really matter all that much…” She said as she stared into the village in the distance, the orange ocean almost completely replaced by the dark of the night.

“…”

Siofra then stood up as well whilst stretching her arms.

“…Hey Celice, do you want to go eat some food?” She asks.

“…Yeah.” Celicia nodded as she made eye contact with Siofra, “That sounds nice…” She said with a smile.

“…”

“Just for this once, it’ll be on me.” Siofra points towards herself.

“Really?!” Celicia asks.

“Yeah!” Siofra pumps her fist, “Just this once though…”

“I’ll still take free food!” Celicia then looks at the village and pumps her fist, “Uoooggghhhhh! Free foooood~!” She yelled out as she sprinted towards the village.

“Wait for me Celice!” Siofra sprinted towards her as well.

“H-Hey!”

…Is this really okay?

No… After everything she has said, there’s no way she could be fine.

However,

“I’m sure she’ll pull through…”

She may not be strong enough to deal with a lot of things on her own, but she can steadily hold her ground, hence why I’m confident that she’ll be okay.

“Hey! Don’t leave me behind!” I yelled as I chased them down.

If she stops running forward, I want to be there to help her continue. If she ever fell down in the midst of running, I want to be there to pick her up. If she’s ever injured, I want to be there to heal it. And if I want to be there for her…

I can’t be left behind.

…

…..

……