Kissed by Chaos

Kissed by Chaos (15) - Raafi

If you're still reading, thank you for hanging in there :) I hope you enjoy this chapter! - Z

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Kissed by Chaos

Chapter 15 - Raafi

Though Elisabeth was my older sister, she was becoming quite the picture of a whiny little girl. My assurances that we were going to be there soon prompted her to ask the question, “Where is there?” No matter how frustrated I was by her constant questions and grumblings, I had to admit, the ambiguity of where we were headed was disconcerting.

With every step of our journey, it was becoming clearer and clearer that we would never reach our destination. Hunger clawed at our insides – most of our food had run out just a few days into our journey, and we were left rationing out stale pieces of bread and half rotten fruit between ourselves. Our way of living was truly pitiable. Yes, we had been and still were peasants, but never had I thought that my sister and I would have to live this way.

The weariness dragging down our bones made each step incredibly difficult. If we were lucky, we would find a small clearing where we could sleep with only a couple of rocks jabbing into our skulls. My whole body longed for a good night’s rest, but I knew that longing was futile.

I dragged Elisabeth by the arm into a standing position. “Come on, Elisabeth, please. Just a few more steps.”

She glowered at me for a moment before I watched her eyes widen with surprise. Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ shape as she let out a gasp.

“What is it?” I demanded, and whipped around to try and find what she was staring at. I had expected more brutal bandits, maybe even Dunya, but what I found made my heart soar with happiness.

Stretching out before me was an expanse of clear blue, achingly beautiful. I blinked frantically, begging my mind not to play such cruel tricks on me. But Elisabeth could see it too, and together we started toward it like blind men to an intoxicating scent.

The twilight sky, a magnificent mix of purple and orange and blue, was reflected on the water. My head spun with the beauty, the impossibility, the sheer magic of the fact that we had reached the body of water that could only have been the sea mentioned in our mother’s letter. I laughed aloud and when Elisabeth looked at me I saw that my happiness was reflected in her own weary eyes and she soon joined me in my laughter.

With tears of joy in our eyes, we carefully stepped down the slippery sand to where the water caressed the shoreline. Our feet sunk into the sand as we raced hungrily toward the water. I stopped dead and pulled back Elisabeth.

“What is it?” she asked, tugging on my arm eagerly.

“What do you expect us to do, Elisabeth? Swim across this sea?” I was immediately pulled out of my state of drunken happiness by my practical realization. Elisabeth stared hard at me, her eyes glistening with disappointment. She knew as well as I that it was not as easy as that.

A voice called us to attention. Elisabeth and I immediately huddled together and anxiously looked to where the sound had come from. Half hidden beneath a canopy of trees was a stout man with the clear shape of a long beard sprouting from his chin. His hands moved wildly about as he spoke in a foreign, twisting language.

“I’m sorry? I don’t understand you Sir!” I yelled. He paused for a moment before beginning to speak again. The language was winding and rhythmic. Had I heard it somewhere before? Curiously, I stepped closer, and saw the unmistakable curve of a small boat behind him.