Two Worlds (Two Worlds #1)

Stars

Juliet felt how the hairs on her arm immediately arose when she dipped her toes in the water. It wasn't just chilly, it was extremely cold. There was no way she'd be able to swim in that river. Juliet sighed disappointedly when realizing that she'd have to walk all the way there.

Juliet had just recently made the boldest, most daring, and probably also the dumbest decision ever since she was born. Despite the repeated warnings she had been given her whole life, despite the Decisions, despite common sense… She couldn't help it. The giant wall became more and more tempting every time she saw it, and she felt that if she was finally able to take just a slight peek at the world behind it, then maybe her selfish desires would be satisfied for the future. Just how would the men react if they saw her? Would they chop her head off, just like that, or would they appreciate her visit? Juliet knew nothing about the men or their rules, not even how they looked. When thinking about it, would she even recognize a man when seeing one? Possibly not.

"Like women, but different", that's what they all said. It was a rather vague description, truth to be told. Oh, how she wanted to meet one!

The young girl shrieked when she accidentally tripped on an edgy rock. Ages had passed since she last walked on that particular road, and in comparison to the soft flowerbed outside her lovable house, Juliet found it terribly uneven and hard to walk on. For once, she was wearing shoes, and for that she was grateful. Although she rarely wore them at home, it was a very practical invention. 

Juliet came to wonder what kind of woman it was who created the shoes. Then, what if it was a male creation? Did men wear shoes as well, or even clothes? Juliet tried picturing some kind of deformed woman in her dress, but realized that no imagination would ever be able to reproduce a real man just like that.

Once again, she stepped on a sharp stone, and let out a pained sound. Her tender feet were not at all used to this insensitive treatment, and small bruises appeared on her sun-colored skin. Juliet kneeled down and rubbed her feet, thinking that at least the thin leather shoes helped a bit. It started to get chilly outside, and the girl wished she had brought better clothes. The further away she got from her home, the more she started doubting her stupid decision. Despite that, Juliet felt as if some immense power was pulling her towards the humongous wall. She thought that when night came, as it would before her reaching her goal, the stars would accompany her on her journey. For as long as she had lived in the comfortable valley, Juliet had always been surrounded by thousands of shining little friends, and they had always brought her light even in the darkest of nights. In her earliest years, the young girl used to be afraid of the dark. However, one night when she was crying in her room while still living in the orphanage, she spotted a bright, twinkling light up in the sky. No one had bothered by telling her about the stars in the sky, and Juliet came to think that her mother was smiling at her. When the little child climbed up on the windowsill to wave at her mother, she realized that the little light was accompanied by millions and trillions of other light buds. Her face was lit up by countless of new friends telling her not to feel sad, and young Juliet couldn't help but chuckle with her gentle, childlike voice as her heart fluttered by seeing so many people smile down at her. That night, she waved herself to sleep, and was found in the morning sleeping on the windowsill with a wide smile on her face.

With that pleasant memory in mind, Juliet regained the smile from her childhood and walked with new power towards the infamous stonewall.

Once the sun set beyond the horizon, young man Romeo began the most dangerous walk in his life. By that time, a certain girl in a neighboring country had gotten so far that she could see the mossy rocks building up the giant wall, despite her only being halfway there.

It was in the later evening that Romeo sneaked out of his house as quiet as he could. His guardian had gone to sleep nearly two hours ago, but Romeo was still very careful since he didn't know how heavy the old man was sleeping.

Outside, the night-colored little valley was silent and somehow lonely, even more now that it was empty from people. All lights were out, and even the horses seemed to be sleeping in their stables. Romeo felt a childish energy entering his body, telling him how bold he was to break the curfew supposed to restrict men's freedom even further. Unbeknownst to mr Mortimer, Romeo had already stepped out of the frames.

A cold shiver caused the young boy to twitch out of discomfort. Raven's voice was constantly ringing in his ears, telling him what an idiotic idea this was. He was risking his life because of curiosity, and if things went wrong, he'd die on the spot. He as a man was supposed to be the most rational being in the world, yet he did something not even dogs would dare to try. He started walking a bit more slowly, looking up at the lonesome night sky above the wall. There was one Decision, one Decision you absolutely shouldn't go against, and yet there he was. Romeo knew what he was doing, he knew that it was wrong, and yet he couldn't bring himself to turn back. When narrowing his eyes a bit, Romeo realized that the sky really wasn't as lonely as he first thought. Above him were millions and billions of tiny little light buds, cheerfully shining down on him as if sending their greetings. He knew that it was childish, yet Romeo couldn't help but feel as if the stars were cheering him on, and it made him feel a little less lonely. With his gaze set on the dull wall, and the scary-looking tower in which the giant door was built, Romeo started walking again with determined eyes that were shining brightly like a pair of newborn stars.