Wistful Night

Note: As the story progresses, you may find the dialogue has some “[]” bracket on it. It indicates the word spoken in the native language of the world according to what Leonard had learned and unknown vocabulary still written in the original language. Honestly, I dunno how to differentiate between two languages but I find the brackets seem a bit easier to understand.

Despite the growing snowfall, they continued their tireless walk through the valley. While Leonard scanned his surroundings, something caught his eyes as he carried on the boy's shoulder.

“Hey!” Leonard patted the boy’s head. “Look at that!”

The boy took notice of Leonard's finger towards the left. As they explore further, Leonard could see torn-out palisades encircling a settlement. Upon entering, he turned his head left and right.

“It looks like a village,” Leonard whispered. “At least, what’s left of it”

Nature had already reclaimed most of the buildings, casting an eerie yet peaceful atmosphere over the abandoned place. One building stood the test of time in the middle of the village —a church.

Even though Leonard believed the village had been abandoned for quite some time, the boy’s restless face said otherwise; a hint of a possibility of danger lurking around the corner. With caution, the boy gently dropped Leonard on top of the house's rubble and signaled him to stay silent as he drew his sword, checking the village surroundings.

“I dunno why he left me alone here. Isn’t it more dangerous? Bah… I never understood his way of thinking.”

After a quick scouting, the boy waved his hand. “Ah, there’s my signal,” he jumped from the rubble and waddled away to the boy. As the day got darker, they planned to settle for a night by themselves inside the church, seeking refuge from the weather outside as the snow got heavier.

A click followed by a gentle gust of wind rushed through the main door. As they walked into the church, they were greeted by a dimly lit room. Moonlight filtered through the stained glass windows, casting a kaleidoscope of colors etched on the dusty floor. The nave was rather empty, save for the church benches and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

The fact that it is still holding up, it’s kinda a miracle by itself.

The boy walked down the aisle and stopped before the altar. The whisper of metal brushed against the leather echoed softly through the air as he raised his sword high. He knelt before the altar as the cold winter wind swirled around him, resting his sword and pointing it down. He paused for a moment, chanting prayers that Leonard couldn't understand.

The boy turned to Leonard with his sword still in his hand. With hesitation etched in his face, he took a long deep breath and sliced his sword at the old benches, splitting it into a few pieces.

“Leon, [come]!”

“Ah, another calling.”

“Wilretus [you] sneetar esdas houtera-houtera enar klueina stuesas?” the boy said as he handed out the wood to Leonard.

I still don't understand what you are trying to say, I know some words here and there but I think you want to cut it into smaller pieces, since I have the dagger with me. Well, I’m guessing he wanted it for the fire.

Leonard inspected the wood, quite brittle and porous, almost too convenient for firewood. I have watched too many survival videos lately. These kinds of woods seem good for firewood. It’s dry and easy to break down. With his dagger, Leonard split the wood into smaller pieces and whittled them into curls, preparing them as kindling. Yeah, I think it would help it to catch fire faster.

The boy set up the fireplace with the rubbles he found around the church as the stone hearth and gathered all the wood that Leonard had carved.

“So, how’re you gonna light it up?” Both glanced at each other awkwardly, expecting the other to know how to light up the fireplace. Of course, he wouldn’t understand. It was clear neither of them had ever lit a fire from scratch.

“Hectove Steendra!” remarked the boy as he fumbled with his bag.

“Huh… Hectove Steendra?” Leonard nodded along with him, though he still didn’t understand what it was.

While the boy was still searching for the thing, Leonard busy himself with preparing the fire. According to the survival hack videos, to make a fire out of wood, all he needed was to carve one wood into a stick by sharpening one end to a point, and to make a flat surface of wood then drill a small hole into it.

“[What are you] machient?” the boy asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Eh?” Leonard glanced at him, not sure what to respond. “Eh… [L-look] [me?]”

Leonard placed the stick on top of the hole and tried to rub it, while the boy sat across from him with an unruffled grin. Geez, don’t look at me like that. After three minutes in, the fireplace remained unlit. Leonard's plan crumbled into nothing as his hand couldn’t bear anymore to rub the stick any longer. He glanced at the boy, begging for help with the stick, but the boy remained unfazed.

“Ah… It didn’t work,” he said as a jagged breath escaped from him, slumping back to the dusty floor.

Leonard took a peek at the boy. A gentle tapping of chime resonated in the air as the boy brushed his finger at the red glaring gem. A rounded shaped gem, not bigger than a baseball ball, with a pentacular sigil on its center.

That’s what he meant by Hectove Steendra?

“Leon,” said the boy in a serious tone. “[I] wildear [you to] verbender detter za bankon,” he pointed at the benches. Leonard was not sure what the boy meant, but he understood that pointing meant he needed to go there.

The boy drew his sword and pointed it down at the gem. A loud crackling sound echoed as the boy rushed toward Leonard and hid behind the benches. Leonard had no idea what he was trying to do, but the boy suggested Leonard cover his ears.

A gust of wind burst from the direction of the fireplace, followed by a deafening bang that reverberated through the nave, drowning out all other sounds and leaving Leonard's ears ringing. He couldn't comprehend what was happening.

He snapped his eyes open, but all he could see was smoke swirling around them, tinged with a faint orange glow coming from the fireplace.

"W-what the fuck?" Leonard said, gasping for breath.

He glanced at the boy, only to be met with an amusement plastered all over his face. "Seriously, that little gem was a bomb?"

"[It’s] werkion, Leon!" the boy replied with a smirk.

"I know it's working, but was that all necessary to light up a fireplace?"

The boy shrugged and sat by the fireplace. “I swear there’s something wrong with this kid,” no matter what he did, his words didn’t seem to reach the boy. Feeling defeated, he too ended up sitting by the fireplace as the biting cold wind seeped into the church’s ceiling.

“Well, I guess you're right. At least the fireplace is lit now.”

***

For hours, Leonard tried to sleep, but something kept him awake. The awful silence between them left the air humming with none other than the whistling wind running through his ears.

A humming slipped out of his mouth against his boredom. A distant lullaby that his mother always used to sing when he was a little. Its tunes were soft like feathers, yet carried a melancholy melody, reminiscent of a life he once had. Once again, he found himself drowned in his thoughts and abruptly halted his humming.

He hated to think about it; he had let his thoughts toy with his feelings. Sinking his face down as it touched his knees. While only his eyes peeked through, watching the fire crackling. He glimpsed the boy across the fireplace, busy himself at the altar, picking up some old books from the shelves.

It made him wonder…

Who was the boy? What was his name? All those questions weighed on his thoughts.

“You know? It would be amazing if I could instantly understand the lingo.” Leonard said, breaking the silence.

“Oh? [You] hek nik zlapend novia, Leon?” asked the boy, walking back to the fireplace with a couple of books in his hand.

“I don’t even know what you are asking…” Leonard replied, tucking his legs inside and wrapping them around his hand. “I don’t even know your name. It would be awkward for me to ask for it, even if I learn the language.”

The boy sat across the fireplace, musing himself with the books.

“Bah! It’s no us—” A loud sneeze escaped from him, echoing through the empty hall. “—eee.”

“Oh, crap,” Leonard rubbed his runny nose. 

The boy's head turned to Leonard, noticing the sneeze coming from him. He took off his cape, wrapping around his cape around Leonard. Right now, he had been well-layered with extra tunics from the beginning. A hat, double layer fur-lined tunic, and mittens, like a typical over-sized winter jacket that parents gave to their children.

As for the boy, he had his own padded garment underneath the surcoat. Perfect insulation for the freezing weather. While Leonard, looking at himself, grappled with the cold; he tucked his legs inside and trembled, but he tried to gloss it over.

The boy sat beside him, Leonard surprised a bit as his hand wrapped around his shoulder. Ugh… this is embarrassing for me. But on second thought, I really need it too. Leonard glanced over at him, but the boy’s gaze remained fixed on the fireplace. A rather calm and faceless expression, but those eyes told another story. Leonard had no idea what they had been through prior to this. The more he thought about it, the more unanswered questions remained.

Does he know that I’m not the real Leonard? I’ve been speaking Japanese to him, does he not catch that? Or he thought I was just mumbling.

And

There are still many things that I don't know about this world. Everything looks fairly normal to me other than that red gem.

Another loud sneezing escaped from him. The boy took notice of Leonard and began cuddling him with his arm even more.

Leonard was a bit uneasy about it, but he had no other choice.

But… It felt warm to sleep beside him.