THE IMMORTAL'S FRIEND

Chapter 20: A Hundred And Fifty-One

Third Person's POV

"How many stars have you counted tonight?"

Galen asked Miracle who is currently sitting on the bank of the river, back leaning up against the trunk of a tree, face looking up to the unreachable sky while she's busy playing with some pale leaf on her hand.

Just by glancing at her, you will immediately notice her pretty features—her round pinkish cheeks, her perfectly drawn nose and her broken lips. She has doe eyes that always look genuine whenever you glance at it. Her small face looked mesmerizing—giving more highlights and emphasis to her hair that is dancing with the gust of the wind.

Galen remained looking at the girl, but the girl didn't seem to hear his question, so he didn't hesitate to take his step into the water and gently pushed the branches to the side to join his friend.

The girl finally noticed his presence and she gave him enough space to take a seat on the branches of the tree beside her. As Galen settles down beside Miracle, they both look up at the night sky and stare at the crescent moon with the stars that are shining brightly above them.

They could hear the stark flowing of the crystalline river as the cold breeze of the air kissed their pale skin—making their hair also dance with the giant trees that are surrounding them.

"Why are you still awake? I thought you were already sleeping." Miracle asked Galen after a couple of minutes.

"Just to remind you, I'm a vampire and you're the human here so I should be the one asking you that. Why are you still awake and counting stars here?" He asked instead of answering her question.

'I can't sleep because my heart can't calm down ever since we danced earlier.'

Miracle wanted to answer that, but she decided to keep it to herself.

"Just because," She plainly answered.

Galen heaved a deep sigh.

"Then what about my first question?"

Miracle looks at him with a clueless face as she doesn't know what he means.

"Your first question?"

He nodded his head.

"Yes. I asked you earlier how many stars you have counted tonight." Galen asked the question again for the second time.

Miracle glanced at him for a split second before looking up to the sky for the nth time and began counting all the stars she saw to have an answer to the guy's question.

"A hundred and fifty stars?" she answered unsurely.

Galen sofly chuckles. He was just asking how many stars she had counted tonight. If she didn't count any stars, then she doesn't have to answer his question.

But Miracle, being the pure and innocent girl she is, always prefers to look for an answer to a question rather than answering a simple question with a no. She surely would find an answer especially when the question is about Science and stars.

That's what he realized while being with her in this black forest for almost a month.

"Are you sure that it was only a hundred and fifty stars? I can see one more star left that you forgot to count." Galen started to tease her.

Just like what he expected, Miracle's eyes grew wide as she immediately believed what he said. She really trust him a lot so he suddenly felt bad for teasing her, but he admits that he likes it whenever the girl puts her trust in every word he says. It also includes the fact that she got cuter whenever she stared at him with her confused look and she also looks like a child whenever her eyes grew bigger in surprise. She looks like a baby.

"So you mean it's a hundred and fifty-one stars and not a hundred and fifty stars?" Miracle asked with her curious face.

Galen nodded his head twice while suppressing his laughter.

"Yes, that's right. A hundred and fifty-one stars." he answered with a smile.

Miracle looked up to the sky once more. It was just her guess so she found it surprising that she only missed guessing one star.

"Aren't you going to ask me why it is a hundred and fifty-one stars?" Galen questioned when the girl became silent. Miracle shakes her head gently as an answer of no.

"I won't ask you why. I know that you mean every word you said so I trust you that it's a hundred and fifty-one stars without questioning you why." she stated. Galen smiled even more.

He couldn't help but to look at her with pure admiration.

When he was just alone in the forest, he always asked himself what kind of person he was when he was still a human. He wants to know the answer and remember it so he won't forget that he was once a human before he turned into an immortal vampire.

Now, he finally found the answer to that question. He is the kind of a person that when someone appreciates him, he would appreciate them more. Not in a forced way, but in a genuine way.

He can still feel that feeling until now, so maybe… just maybe, that is what keeping him from harming humans even though he is not a human anymore.

When Miracle sang a song to him, when they danced together earlier, he felt like he's going to explode. It made him so happy—he couldn't put it into words. It made him think if he deserves to feel such kind of happiness when he knew it won't last long.

In order to be with his sister again, he needs to turn back the time but after doing that, he would never be able to see Miracle again. Just thinking that he would never see her made him feel that he's going to lose another someone very dear to him. He already considered her as a friend.

He doesn't know if it'll be okay for him to turn back the time and lose her. He wants to see Shira but he doesn't want Miracle to disappear from his sight.

If only he had met her in different circumstances. If only he had met her when he was still a human and not as a vampire here in the forest, then maybe it won't hurt a lot to think about changing the time now.

"I hope the night will be longer…" Miracle mumbled in a sad and low voice.

Galen hopes the same because this night might also be the last night that they will be together.