Sky: The Travels of Nirabata

[8] REJECTING VOYAGER

    Nirabata woke up inside the temple. For a second he was confused. He remembered losing consciousness after awakening the spirit, and that was it. Calesti wasn't around, so he got up and walked out.

    "Welcome again." Calesti greeted when he saw the little boy, who was rubbing his eyes, lifting his mask a little to be able to do it.

    "I fell asleep. How did I get here?"

    Calesti smiled.

    "I brought you."

    Nirabata cocked his head in confusion.

    "How?"

    Calesti just shrugged and started walking towards the left side of the temple. The boy immediately followed her. And there it was, another invisible barrier in which the constellation of the staff shone. Nirabata then realized that it was the same one that Calesti was holding.

    "Inside is the last spirit." The elder said, pointing into the passage.

    "After I wake up the fog will go away?" the boy asked, looking closely at the woman.

    "I think so." She answered in the middle of a sigh. "Don't worry if you fall asleep again, I'll be close to you."

    Nirabata scratched his head, looked at the constellation on the transparency of the barrier, and then said:

    "I don't want to sleep again."

    Calesti squatted down, drawing the boy's attention.

    "It is normal. Your energy is not enough for now, so your body weakens when you call the fire inside you." Calesti stroked Nirabata's white hair before standing up. "Nothing bad will happen to you."

    The boy sighed, approached the constellation and turned on his light so he could eliminate it. He descended slightly into the tunnel, finding the missing spirit nearby.

    Two men appeared and began to walk into the tunnel. One of them was carrying something on his back, it looked like a cubic vase. The other held in his right hand a tool with two spikes that extended like a cross. It seemed that both were looking for something.

    At the end of the path, on the wall was a mural of the same man with the long beard and the cane. He was surrounded by birds that ascended towards... A sun? Then the men stopped. The spirits dissolved into a small blue light and floated into the final statue.

    Again there was nothing in the vision, just the man with the vase denying. Nirabata didn't care too much, he was excited to see the mist go away. He didn't want to fall asleep the same way as before, so he ran out of the tunnel where Calesti was waiting for him, however, before reaching the threshold he lost consciousness.

    Calesti almost laughed as he watched him fall like a doll. Nirabata was a small moth, but still he seemed to want to discover everything around him as soon as possible.

    With her staff she made a movement, then a halo in the form of a cloud surrounded Nirabata, and made him float gently. Calesti walked to the front of the temple, the little cloud floating behind her. She sat on the ground and waited for a long time for her little companion to wake up.

    When Nirabata opened his eyes again, he hated himself a little for falling asleep again. Although he understood why it happened, he didn't like it. Eagerly he rose to his feet, seeing Calesti a few meters ahead of him, near the edge of the temple islet. He ran to her immediately.

    "I'm awake." Nirabata said urgently in his voice, skipping around the elder.

    Calesti let out a soft laugh.

    "I can see. Are you ready?"

    "Yeah!"

    Calesti nodded, closed her eyes, and spread her arms. She began to sing, though her mouth didn't move, it was as if her throat buzzed, a sound that came from deep within her. Then she made a movement with the cane, which was slow and diagonal. The wind blew hard, and then rose at incredible speed, the mist disappearing in an instant.

    Nirabata came out from behind Calesti where he had hidden and looked at the island in amazement. The sun's rays touched the surface sporadically, everything was sand. Although the panorama was bleak, it also had an incredibly calm aura, Isle Of Dawn began to fit with his name; although... Calesti didn't think so.