THE IMMORTAL'S FRIEND

Chapter 13: Aries The Ram

Time passed swiftly and it's been exactly 3 weeks and 2 days since the night Galen and I met.

I did count the days so I would know how long we've been searching for his sister and the celestial keys together, but until now, we still don't have any clue on how to find them.

The forest is incredibly huge. No matter how long we walk, we still don't know if we have already reached the middle of the forest or not.

We encountered a lot of snakes on the way, but there's nothing to worry about because Galen is there to lure the snakes away.

For those 3 weeks that passed, Galen and I became more closer. Every night we'll talk about some random things before I fall asleep. He likes talking to me about Shira—I could feel how much he cared for his sister. I also talk to him about Flare most of the time, but after that, I'm gonna start talking about myself to make him talk about himself too.

He told me a story that he worked at a convenience store before when he was still a human and he always got beaten by the bullies that were younger than him.

He said that he couldn't hit them because they were only students. I asked him if he'll beat them back if they are not, but he didn't answer and just looked down. He soon answered that he can't do it because he is a coward.

I don't think he is a coward though because not wanting to hurt people is not the same thing as being a coward. Kindness is never an act of cowardice. It should be something he needs to be proud of because not all people can show and give such kindness.

"This might sound crazy, but those bullies actually saved me that time by beating me. After I got beaten by them, I lost my consciousness and when I woke up, I saw them inside the convenience store and they were killed by a vampire. If I was also inside the convenience store at that time, then I'd probably be dead a long time ago."

I can feel his sadness while sharing that story so to liven up the atmosphere, I started changing our topic and told him some funny stories.

##

A hazy light flooded some parts of the black forest as the evening approached us quietly.

The sun was starting to bid its farewell to the East and began its descent in the West, leaving behind a trail of glowing light in its departure. 

I decided to sit on a huge granite rock while Galen decided to stand a few centimeters away from me. We've been exploring the forest to search for at least one of the keys, but we still couldn't find it even though we already did our best.

We don't have any plan to give up, but we still get disappointed and sad that until now, we still don't know how to collect the 12 celestial keys together.

"How do you feel, Iris? Does your heart hurt? Or do you feel like fainting?" Galen asked while looking at me with worried eyes.

It's not good for a person who has a weak heart to go on a tiring and long walk. I mean, walking is like exercise and exercise is good for heart health, but walking in the forest is dangerous as there are lots of shocking events such us encountering snakes and wild beasts.

I would lie if I told him that I'm just okay, but I don't wanna worry him too much so I only shook my head and smiled.

"I'm okay, let's just take a rest for a while…" I suggested.

He still looked worried at me but he agreed with what I said and also took his seat on the huge rock in front of me.

Silence filled us for the next 45 minutes. None of us speak and we just sat there silently while waiting for the darkness to finally consumes the skies.