The Keepers' Evil

Twenty-Two: Time? For what?

Song- Girl of my dreams: Guti

"Time? For what?"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

People sought after peace like it was forever destined to run away from them, but maybe it was people that were always fated to chase what they most desired, never preordained to receive.

But as the rain howled like a lost soul outside of the window, screaming and battering the leaves and branches of the barest winter trees against the glass amongst their fistfight with the wind, and the steaming mug cupped around my fingers swirled with camomile and cinnamon, as Sebastian sat with pages and scrawled notes of last-minute studying atop the silky sheets of his bed, as Ominis' cheeks pulled into a smile every few minutes with the humour of whatever novel he had sought his happiness in, as I tucked my knees to my chest as my head leant against the stone walls beside the stained-glass window alcove of their dorm room, peace caught me.

I watched the rain tidy the nature which felt like just a picture book from the comforts of the castle, the storm never-ending, but thankfully. Both Sebastian and Ominis had found frustration at the end of the lightning, and their huffs and groans of annoyance at the Professors' advice to stay inside had irritated me a little, because I felt my mind swimming in the puddles and oceans that overflowed with the rain that helped nature grow, and as I sat silently to watch the rain fall with the mindless contentment around me, the world felt like it wasn't against me anymore, maybe it wasn't against them either.

"Are you okay, Madeleine?" Ominis hummed gently from the sleepiness of resting silently with his book upon his bed, an almost radiant smile peering down on me as I found comfort in the least comfortable spot on the hard wooden floor. Ominis had spent a lot of time in that past week away from us, seemingly avoiding me more than Sebastian which was an odd form of heartbreak. Though I valued Ominis' friendship over any of my others, the time he spent away from me seemed to tinge my heart in a strangely melancholic shade of blue, and all of a sudden, I cared too much about where he was and what he thought of me.

"Perfect, Ominis." My voice was practically a whisper, but Ominis smiled like it was the loudest shout he'd ever heard. There was comfort in the alcove of this window, there was comfort found in the dark clouds of the late evening, there was comfort in knowing that it was still the weekend and the expectations of routine were stuck in the forgotten past Friday, but I sought something else, maybe comfort, but maybe acknowledgment to confirm that the misplaced feeling of losing him, a friend, through my relationship with Sebastian was indeed misplaced.

I uncurled my legs from the jumbled cross from around each other, unfurling my fingers from the warmth of the cup's ceramic handle to place it on the large wooden chest of drawers that separated the spaces that the boys each occupied. I almost felt like I was gliding, the softness of my slouched clothes lazily allowing my body to move freely, unlike the confines I found myself in when the uniform tightly clung to my arms and legs.

Sebastian briefly looked up with a slight smile as I sauntered towards the free edge of Ominis' bed, the neat arrangement of the duvet and pillows reminding me of a time when this had been my side when Sebastian's space in his own bed had become almost permanently empty, yet his mind full of the curse that his sister had been forced to endure.

"Can I-" the question didn't feel right to finish, and the words halted in my mouth as if by muscle-memory, like my throat physically would not let the word stay be heard anywhere other than in Ominis' mind. Though he smiled, it almost looked strained. He sat taller, his back practically crashing against the wooden backboard, his eyes narrowing as if he was trying to make sense of my unfinished question that he didn't quite understand.