On the Other Side of Heaven With You

Chapter two: Crystal Crown

The boy across the river seemed so kind, he didn't even notice him at first. Honestly he felt bad whenever he tried to copy him. He really didn't like not being able to touch things without killing them or sucking the life from the. He knew it to be something he'd eventually be capable of, as his father was able to. If his father could touch things without destroying them, then surely he could touch things without killing them or absorbing a majority of their life force! Well, he could hold animals without draining their life force, and when he accidentally drained some, he sometimes could return it! But that didn't change that he couldn't hold flowers without wilting them or entirely killing them. He really wished he could, the flower crowns the boy across the river made looked so nice and pretty.
With every wilted flower he became more and more saddened: he honestly hated his powers something.
He kept trying though, until he felt as if someone was watching him. He squeaked when he noticed the other boy had stopped messing with the flowers and was now staring at him. He hid behind the tree, unsure of what the other boy was thinking.
"Sorry!" He heard the other boy yell, he sounded embarrassed. Like he was a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar.
He wasn't sure what the other boy had to be embarrassed of, but at least he knew the other wasn't malicious.
Then, he noticed a couple Crystals that looked kind of like the flowers the other boy had been making flower crowns with! He smiled and ran over, picking them up, he could work with those. He wouldn't accidentally kill them, and they'd last forever!
With a wide smile, he ran back to the river bed. He held the crystal flowers carefully and sat down, waiting for the other boy to notice him.
He noticed that the other boy had flowers in his hair, they were red and white. Was he still embarrassed? Never mind that, the boy put on the most beautiful smile he'd yet to see. The other boy then started to show him how to make the flower crowns. He smiled as he copied it as best he could from his side of the river.
The boy was a breath of fresh air to him. Sure the dead were kind, but they only saught rest and rarely were willing to speak with him long.
Soon the boy looked over to him, holding a complete flower crown. The boy from across the river seemed to get more excited when he saw that he was also holding a flower crown, though it was made of crystals.
Then he realized that his mother probably wanted him home, back within the walls with his father, where they could protect him. He frowned, and resolved to sit at the rivers edge to see the other boy again.
He walked into the woods, sighing to himself. He then held the crystal crown, watching as it dully sparkled under the lantern light. The lantern of course told him he was at the walls of the castle. He smiled as he looked at the crown, putting it on his head before he re-entered the castle.
He decided to ask father about the other side of the river and what lay there, maybe he'd even tell him about the boy from across the river.
... He infact did not tell him much of the other side of the river. He only told him of a goddess and her daughter.
Then he mentioned the boy from across the river. Father said:
"So you've seen Gabriella, surely her mother will speak ill of us. She will poison her mind, and will convince him to not go to the river again. She does not like us, and I don't much like her either."
This confused him, the other from across the river was no more a girl than he. Why would father call him "her daughter"?
"Father, he was no girl! He is no more female than I!"
Father didn't dignify him with a response and sent him to bed. He decided that he'd see the boy again. He knew his name couldn't be "Gabriella", so he'd figure it out.
He sighed and went to his room, not wanting to see mother, she'd just try to convince him to meet the young goddess of wind again. He really didn't want to meet her, especially since mother and father seemed hellbent on an "arranged marriage". He didn't know what that was, and he knew it must be bad because they were talking about it behind his back, and the dead he'd asked wouldn't tell him.
He laid down and placed the crystal crown in the drawer of his bedside table. The boy from across the river plagued his thoughts, but he couldn't bring himself to mind it.
His smile had been cute, as was the little embarrassed face he'd made when he'd been caught staring. He really wished he knew his name, cause being able to put a name to a face was important to him in this case. He wasn't sure why, because usually he didn't bother much with learning and remembering names. The dead didn't, so why should he?
So why was the boy an acception? He didn't know, but it probably didn't matter much. It was likely just the excitement from today getting to him. He decided he'd ask the boy for his name the next time he saw him, because he refused to believe it was "Gabriella".
He tried to sleep, but found himself unable to. He sighed and got out of bed, grabbing the crown from the drawer. He put it on, and left his room quietly. He took off on silent feet to the stairwell that lead to the roof. Maybe the cool night air would calm his thoughts.
So he took out the blanket from it's little cubby between stones of the castle roof. He laid it out and took a seat. He listened as the wind sung. It was comforting. The wind was a quiet and old friend, one he dearly cared for.