The Crystal Odyssey

Chapter Thirty-Four: Reunion!

Chapter Thirty-Four: Reunion!

I gawked at the girl. As she walked towards me, I could feel my brain buzzing trying to figure out who she was. Finally I opened my mouth in disarray. I knew who she was, but I refused to believe it. Opening my mouth I shouted, “Stay back! Who are you?” She carried on walking, a sinister smirk formed around her lips. “What! Don’t tell me you have forgotten about your old friend.” Her words were devious; they slithered from her mouth and rattled about my ears. She jolted her arms towards me, causing me to flinch backwards. I was aware of her power and I didn’t want to take any chances. She ran towards me and leaped at me. I stepped back, readying myself to attack. Her arms spread out as she dived into me body, her body altering from a leap to a hug. “Arc, I’m so glad you’re safe. I have so much to tell you. How come I haven’t seen you till now? Didn’t you even think about coming to find me?” Her head caressed my neck, and then awkwardly moved backwards, glaring into my eyes. “We are still friends right?” I didn’t know what to say. “Arc, say something please?”

I focused on her eyes and just stared. She let go of me and took a step back and frowned. She tilted her head at me as I continued to stare. I slowly opened my mouth and whispered, “Niamh.” As the sound emerged from my mouth, I felt my body swell up with pressure. I fell to my knees and cried at her feet. My body shook, I was overwhelmed. The pressure built up until it finally burst and overflowed. “Niamh. I was so scared. I thought I was all alone. I thought you were dead. I thought everyone was dead. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I never meant to let this happen, it is entirely fault. I promise I’ll fix this I won’t let anyone suffer any longer I will fight and become strong enough to fight for all of us.” I took a deep breath to continue but I couldn’t. Tears gushed from my eyes as my lips chattered together.

She knelt down and hugged me. “It’s ok, I’m here now. It’s not your fault, none of this is your fault,” she hushed. I was so glad to see her and her words reassured me. I was surprised that she was so strong. The Niamh I knew was very quiet and shy; she must have gone through a lot to turn out this strong. Back on earth her hair was a lot shorter and I did not possess the shine that it did now. We weren’t best friends but we got along well and spoke to one another often.

We sat there for a good hour in silence so all that had just happened could sink in. After, I could hear a faint call in the woods. “Arcadio!” I quickly stood up and responded. I recognised the voice, it was Maya. Niamh looked at me puzzled but I told her not to worry. We soon reunited with Maya and retreated to the village.

We walked back in utter silence. Niamh said that Maya kept giving her awkward looks as if he didn’t trust her. I told her not to worry, “that’s just the way he is,” but she insisted on being quiet. Maya eventually noticed that she felt uncomfortable around him when I nudged him and quickly whispered in his ear. “Welcome to my village.” Maya proclaimed as we walked back into the proximity of the village huts. Turns out I had travelled east of the village. We went back into the hut where Maya properly introduced himself to Niamh. He told her about the history of the village like he had told me and made us a beverage for us to drink. “It has only been five hours since night fell, you still have roughly six hours till the sun rises. I am going to go to bed, you two are allowed to stay up but don’t make too much noise,” as he finished his sentence his face grew stern then he grinned and walked off down the corridor.

I turned back and watched him exit then looked back at Niamh. “We have some catching up to do,” I said in a childlike manner. “Exactly,” she replied,” you should start talking, we only have six hours left.” We both laughed. It was good to have someone who understood what I was going through.