Branley And The Land Of Cors

Chapter 5

Branley slowly opened the front door of his house trying to shut out the skreeking sound it made in an attempt not to alert his parents of his presence.

He was successful. He didn't want to engage in mindless conversation about how he was out late and he should be more careful. If only they knew ,he thought. They would have his head.

With steady foot steps he reached his bedroom and tossed his clothes on the floor, he had been a little too tired to mind, and his thoughts were elsewhere.

He lied down on the bed, his head resting on his hands and he looked at the ceiling. He imagined it was made of stars and galaxies and comets,and a distant memory rose to the surface.

6 years ago

It was a very cold winter night and everything had fallen still.The trees did not move an inch,the waterfall frozen for the past week.The only thing echoing were the voices of Branley and his blonde haired companion.

The two boys had sneaked out to catch a glimpse of the winter starry sky. 

They sat beside each other under the usual big tree, their heads resting on the wooden giant behind them. And they looked up. 

It was an ocean of stars, of worlds seeming to collide.

"You know" said Branley "I read somewhere in my father's books that there is a constellation for me!"

"There is no way that that is true, you're pulling my leg!"said Kyne only half-believing his friend.

"It's the truth!"the raven haired boy answered with a smug look all over his face, one that read, ofcourse there is one because It's me we're talking about here.

"You mean to tell me there's something there in outer space called Branley?"it was a rhetorical question. He did not believe one word.

"No but"Branley raised his head even more and a big smile appeared and dressed his lips."There truly is a constellation called Corvus or Crow. So in a way,yes, it is for me."The sound of his voice had lowered as he was drown more and more by the view." I wish I could go up there, I wish I could be part of something that big, something infinite."he now wore an unreadable expression. He meant it,Kyne thought. He wanted with all his being to become one with the universe, to get lost somewhere that not one person could cage him.

Something unknown and new rose inside the blonde. One wrong move and he will leave me alone, he thought. "That's good and all, but if you actually become a star we won't be able to see each other anymore. I couldn't bare it you know,not having you around."

 He sounded like an adult now, even though he was but thirteen,he realized. He had read proclamations like that,especially in books centered around romance and always thought them very distant to how he saw things. But now somehow he felt he could understand the writers and their desperation to explain how they felt. Because,he figured, if they did not,they would be alone.

"Okay then..listen. Even if one day there is somehow distance between us, I swear to you, that I will watch over you from wherever I may be, and if I can help it I will try and be by your side as long as you will want me there."Branley found himself answering without a moment's thought.

"What do you mean as long as I will want you there, there is no way that I won't!" Complained his friend.

"I hope so."Branley said in a small voice while turning around to look at his friend. "But you will have to show me that you want me there, or else I will not believe you,I'm stubborn like that, I can't believe a single thing if I don't have proof of it!"he raised a finger at Kyne and it all somehow felt like a lecture for a second.

"You should know by now that you're my best friend, I shouldn't have to say it all the time!"he thought it unnecessary since the young Kyne really felt as if there was nothing more he could do to show the young sorcerer how much he truly valued him.

Present

Kyne had promised him then, as simple minded as he was, that he would not let him go. But he could see that determination wavering in the face of his adulthood and its many changes. Disappointment filled him up, it was in moments like these that he felt the most alone,that he wanted to be somewhere else,to be something else entirely and forget about all those sneaky feelings that made him far more vulnerable than he would like to be. And truly he hated it with everything he was, when he let himself completely surrender to his human side, the side that even though looked meaningless compared to that of his magic, most of the times turned out to be the most troublesome. He did not need that.

He knew Kyne cared,but was that really enough?Was it enough when he could not feel it anymore?His friend had become more and more closed up over the years.The once young boy who had told him he could not bare his absence was now replaced with an adult who thought that affirmation was meaningless and maybe took Branley for granted altogether.

It really is horrible isn't it?Branley thought.Growing up.