From Shadows to Starlight

A Friend and a Teacher

Chapter Seven

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. --Anonymous

In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn--Latin proverb

A Friend and a Teacher

Alana could have slept for hours and hours, but something pulled her from her dreams and she woke. She soon realized she was alone in the dim cave chamber. Where’s Erik? she immediately wondered, and then she heard singing. A man’s voice, deep but beautiful. The sound was haunting, full of sorrow.

 Erik.

She got to her feet and set off through the cave tunnels, trying to follow the sound of the voice and find him. It was difficult; she was walking through a labyrinth of faintly lit tunnels and his voice echoed through all of them. She knew she was getting closer though when she was able to distinguish the words of the song he was singing:

Think of me

Think of me waking silent and resigned

Imagine me

Trying too hard to put you from my mind

Recall those days, look back on all those times

Think of the things we’ll never do

There will never be a day when I won’t think of…

Suddenly the singing stopped, but Alana was close enough now and when she turned a corner, she found Erik. He was lying on the ground, his whole body shaking as he wept uncontrollably.

“Oh my goodness! Erik! Are you all right?” Alana asked as she hurried to his side. Stupid question, she thought to herself. He was clearly not all right. She sat down next to him. He was lying on his side and she couldn’t see his face, just the mask he wore. There were tears in the eye she could see, and they were both underneath the mask and running down it. Alana thought it would be best for him if she took it off while he cried, but she didn’t dare remove it now. However, he hadn’t acknowledged her presence at all; he just kept sobbing, holding the ring around his neck tightly with both hands.

“There, there,” Alana said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. She felt him flinch, then actually relax a little at her touch. “It’s all right. Don’t worry. I’m here.” She rubbed his shoulder gently. He still wept, and her heart broke for him. The elegant, aloof, talented, impressive, strong-tempered man she had met was gone, and in his place was a small, fragile child. “It’s all right,” she whispered. “I’m here. I’m your friend. You’re going to be all right.”

Slowly, the sobbing grew slower and his body relaxed. His iron grip on the diamond ring loosened, and Alana took his hand. To her surprise, his hand enveloped hers and he gave it a little squeeze. Alana found herself smiling, and continued rubbing his shoulder with her other hand and whispering words of comfort to him. Finally, she felt him start to stir, and she moved back a bit to give him some space, but she couldn’t go far. He still held her hand, more tightly than before. Erik sat up, smoothing his dark hair with one hand, then rubbing his right eye and wiping away whatever tears were left on his face and neck. His eyes were swollen from crying, and his face was red and splotched, but  in spite of all this Alana noticed that he was still handsome. Extremely handsome. The hand he was holding grew hot, and she felt that electric feeling  she'd felt that first night she'd spent at his house, when she was sick. She felt almost feverish again now.

Erik sighed, seeming to gather what inner strength he had, and he opened his blue-green eyes. "Thank you," he whispered, gazing intently at her. Alana felt all warm inside, but cold as well, as if she were happy and yet, afraid of something.