The Sapphire Room

Chapter Three

The girls were silent as they made their way back to the Sapphire Room. Neither was quite sure what to say to the other. It was late by the time they returned, and all of the other students were already in their beds. Taking advantage of the quiet, Nina and Adelaida sat together on the velvet, indigo couch, watching the fading embers of the fire. They sat like that for a long while, the silence occasionally punctuated by a stifled sob, and it was enough just to bear witness to each other's grief. For once, Nina felt the silence was enough.

Nina woke before Adelaida and, from the soft light coming in through the stained glass windows, it looked like it was just past dawn. Never one for needing much sleep, Nina slowly pulled her body out from underneath Adelaida, as they had fallen asleep together with Adelaida's head on Nina's chest. She thought about sneaking back up to their room, to splash her face and brush her teeth, but Nina couldn't leave Adelaida to wake up alone. So, she stayed on the couch and carefully arranged her friend's head on a plush, sky-blue pillow, gently brushing Adelaida's thick strands out of her face.

Their bookpacks were still on the ground by the couch, and Nina grabbed hers, pulling out her tablet just to have something to do. A bright, silver notification greeted her as she powered the device on.

CLASSES CANCELED FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK.

Clicking on the notification brought her to a message with the school's lettering, giving the news of Maiara's passing. In her honor, and to allow space for the proper celebration of her life, classes for the remainder of the week were canceled. Nina stared at the message, reading it over and over. That was it then. It hadn't been a bad dream. Maia was really gone.

Nina thought she shouldn't feel so hurt by this loss — she knew Maia was old and she knew death was a natural part of life. She knew Maia's life was much greater than her friendship with the woman, which had lasted only since Nina's first year at Namina. But it did hurt, more than she would have expected, and this unsettled her. She wondered if Adelaida felt the same. Nina closed out of the notification and the last page she had opened on her tablet appeared. She was about to close out of that too when she remembered why she had been on that page — the hourglass.

Zooming in on the picture of the hourglass, Nina looked around to make sure the common area was still empty before pulling the delicate chain out from underneath her blouse. She brought the object close to her face, running her fingers over the engravings, turning it over to watch the diamonds trickle from one end to the other. What could it mean, she wondered, that this very object found in the attic of their school, that Adelaida had dreamt of, appeared in one of their school books?

Nina looked at Adelaida then, who was still sleeping, and felt a pull drawing her closer to her friend. The pull was coming from the hourglass, Nina realized, jerking back in surprise. Had she imagined it, or had Adelaida's face glowed as the hourglass moved closer to it? She shook her head to clear it. Obviously, she had imagined it. She had barely slept and was still exhausted from the previous day. Looking again at the hourglass, she saw no glow and felt no pull. Sighing, Nina tucked the hourglass back into her sweater and rubbed her eyes. She knew she'd have to make up this lack of sleep soon. She moved to turn her tablet off and put it away but hesitated for a moment, reading again the small blurb accompanying the picture of the hourglass.

The Rel'areni is thought to be an object of religious importance to worshippers of La Hijaia. Though the object has never been recovered, drawings of and references to the Rel'areni found in texts recovered from the temples in Tepúri suggest it was part of an important ritual to ancient practitioners of Deismo. Most historians agree that the Rel'areni was lost, along with numerous other sacred objects, during the Temporaia Perdida.

Nina frowned. Not particularly helpful. She would have to get Adelaida to help her with some research. That'll be a change, Nina thought wryly. But the hourglass could wait. The school was about to begin the seven days of mourning celebrations for Maia, and she knew the two of them would need each other to get through it all.

As the sun moved higher in the sky, the Sapphire Room began to fill with light and the dormitory began to stir. Most students had gone back to bed to sleep in upon seeing the notification that classes had been canceled, but some had made their way down the stairs. A few looked at Nina and Adelaida, still sound asleep, with confusion but others knew about the two girls' exploits in the Pantry and their friendship with Maiara. These girls approached Nina in silent comfort, squeezing her shoulder or sharing a quiet smile. Nina appreciated the gestures, but mostly she appreciated being left alone as she waited for Adelaida to wake up.

Nina must have dozed off at some point because, suddenly, Adelaida was gently shaking her.

"Nina," came a hoarse whisper.

Nina stirred and opened her eyes to see Adelaida's enormous eyes right over her face.

"Good!" Adelaida said, her voice still raspy. "You're up."

"I forget how easily you lose your voice," Nina grumbled, smiling to let Adelaida know she was teasing. Sitting up, Nina yawned and looked around. "I can't believe I fell back asleep waiting for you to wake up." Adelaida rolled her eyes, but smiled at Nina, a little shakily, the pain of the previous day still fresh in her mind.

Without saying anything more, the two girls made their way up to their room to wash up. After they finished, Nina went towards the door, but stopped herself.

"You were about to go to the kitchen, weren't you?" Adelaida said softly. Nina nodded, then turned back and sat on the edge of her bed. "You want to just lay here for a while longer?" Adelaida asked. Nina nodded again, and Adelaida joined Nina, the two curled up close in the single bed that was quickly getting too small for the two of them, but that they never paid that any attention before and they certainly weren't going to start today. Exhaustion and grief overcame them both, and they quickly fell back asleep.