Till Death Do Them Apart

CHAPTER 5

As a wise person would say, nature is alive. The ground and dirt is a home. Trees are like a helping hand in danger. Water is like a friend you never thought you'd need. Animals are like the small happiness of each place. And the wind was like a messenger, carrying their words, carrying their emotions, carrying the screams.

Mer whipped his head around, eyes darting over the forest surrounding them as he tried to process what he heard.
A yell, a young scream, a voice full of grief and pain. It was a sound that hurt him, tore him apart as he instinctively felt worry build up in his body.
He was fast to understand someone was in danger, someone got hurt, someone died.
He shook his head, no, he shouldn't think about death, he had no proof and he prefers to stay oblivious, delusional and distant from what his mind was telling him.

"Mer?"
A warm, suiting voice pulled him out of his trance. A gentle hand on his shoulder as he met a pair of motherly like eyes, beautiful, beyond this world, he thought.

"Are you okay?"
Haru spoke again, expression deepening into concern as her grip tightened.

"Did you...did you hear that?"
He managed to say as the girl stared at him, suddenly confused and worried.

"What are you talking about? Are you okay?"
She asked him, pawm caressing his cheek. He subconsciously leaned into it and in that moment he felt somewhat of a comforting wave wash over him. He felt okay, scared but okay. Staring aimlessly into her eyes like she was a goddess.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't wish to sit and watch her for eternity, to be lost in her gaze and touch. Stay by her side forever and just live, live without worries, without his overthinking, without all of this. Just him, her, and their friends.
But as much as Mer wanted, they had no time for this. He shook his head and put a hand to Haru's, letting it drop as he tried finding words to explain what he heard. That scream full of pain and suffering, it was dreadful, a nightmare to hear. Worse, maybe it was one of them, maybe one of them died.
He tried to stop his thoughts from going down that trail.

"Chop, chop love birds, we got 2 hours, go have ur make out sessions after we finish this"
Miom broke the tension between them, sliding next to Haru as she blinked, face going red and hands dropping from Mer's shoulders to lightly slap the other on the head.
The fight quickly broke into a teasing session, most of it which ended in the older one reddening like a tomato. The boy was starting to worry she'd pop her blood vessels if she continued.

"OUCH! DON'T HIT ME I AM SENSITIVE"
Miom feigned a cry, eyes watering with crocodile tears as she pouted.
Haru cocked a brow and smacked her head again, earning an exaggerated frown in return.
Mer put a hand over his mouth as he giggled faintly, those two were a weird duo but they sure made him feel better.
Still. Every minute and then he kept going back to that scream, dropping worried glances towards the direction he supposed the yell came from.

"OH MY GOD I FOUND ANOTHER GREEN FLAG!"
Haru perked up, head buried in a bush, arm popping out with a triangular greenish card which read out the number 10 on it.

"Good job Haru!"
The boy patted her shoulder and gave her a smile to which she instantly melted. Staring and giggling like a hopeless puppy until someone interrupted them, again.

"I'm gonna flirt with Mer if you two don't stop"
Miom said blankly, getting the two to shut up as awful memories gathered in their minds.
For a matter of fact, her and the boy used to date as a joke despite their age difference. Truth to be told it was extremely cringe back then, a disaster none of them, especially Kiyo, wanted to be reminded of. But at the same time it was a good future story if people wanted to laugh, remember those hilarious and ridiculous moments they had together.