Something's Wrong With the Different Realms

Twenty-Eight: A Failed Attempt

Horizon Drottisylvro

One Saturday evening, Allaira and I decided to test out Malum's theory about the cave behind the waterfall that we emerged from. Fleur had insisted that she and Gillian accompanied us for safety reasons. We let her since we needed her to take us to Blank since without being able to fly, it'd take a very long time for us to walk there. Also, Fleur was probably skeptical of Malum as well. Allaira and I had invited them to tag along since we needed their energy detecting skills to be able to tell if a portal was going to open today.

We decided to meet at the parking lot. Malum was already there, leaning against a box-like vehicle called a truck when Fleur pulled up at the small parking lot. She stopped the car and opened the door. She walked to Malum first and glanced at them with a scrutinizing look.

"You must be from Shallngsea as well," Malum whispered in the common tongue of Shallngsea. "Your energy is similar enough to Horizon and Allaira's."

Fleur's mouth fell open, "I— I'm Fleur."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Malum grinned.

Fleur nodded her head as Gillian pushed his glasses up his nose and introduced himself. "I'm Fleur's son," he shook Malum's hand. "The day's not going to get any brighter so let's just go."

We headed into the trails and the forest. While I walked, I took in the sights. The forest sprawled endlessly and consisted mainly of reaching spruces and had the musky smell of fresh dirt. A breeze rushed and I immediately shivered. Even though it was late May, it could still get quite chilly. One moment, bright sunlight shone overhead beating down your face, the next, a gust of wind would rush by, giving you the chills while the trees and flowers would sway to its rhythm.

Even though I knew it wasn't appropriate, I knew I had to take a photo of the forest to remember its magnificence. So I whipped out my phone as the group reached a clearing in the trails. The sun hung high overhead, poking its bright rays into my eyes from the lack of trees covering the spot. What a perfect photo opportunity! I thought as I steadied myself, narrowing my eyebrows in concentration, contemplating the best angles. I tilted the phone up and focused. Zooming in slightly, I captured the sparkle of the trees and the sparkle of the evening sunlight. Perfect.

"We don't have all day," Allaira called out cynically.

"One... moment," I said, taking one last photo before jogging to catch up with the group.

We moved ahead on the rocky, paved trail, bits of sticks, stones and dirt sticking out every once in a while. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we began hearing a low rumble which indicated that we were getting closer to the waterfall. Motivated, Allaira and I sped up and led the rest of the way to the waterfall.

When we reached it and looked up to glance at the waterfall, it was just as I'd remembered it. It was roaring and grand and surrounded by tons of flat, gray rocks and if you looked closely, you could see a dark hole that indicated the cave that was hidden behind the waterfall. Looking back now, I realized that it was a miracle that I wasn't injured when I woke up that first day I'd arrived on Earth since I'd somehow stumbled out of the waterfall, fell into the river and drifted downstream.

"This looks... dangerous," Fleur gritted her teeth.

"Yeah... I don't know if you should be climbing that," Gillian agreed, pointing at the hazardous rocks surrounding the foot of the waterfall.

"Don't worry!" Allaira chirped, "I climbed it before during the winter and I made it out alive so I should be fine. Besides, it's safer now since there's no ice and snow so it'll be easier to climb and not fall down and crack my head."