How I Met Hena Chakelithp

Chapter 25. Srarori and Arvern

The next thing I knew, I was lying on a pile of leaves. I could tell by the way they smelled. A familiar, kind face was above me. I ached all over. Then I gradually started to remember what I was doing and where I was and take in my surroundings...

I was in that little hollow in the rock which Arvern had shown me earlier. He had draped a canvas over the entrance of it so that it was covered. The late afternoon light shone through the canvas. Arvern was kneeling over me. I saw that he had a black eye, several cuts and bruises on his face, and a bandage over his arm.

I've been in a battle, I thought. And I just...

Oh, Heplimah. Oh, Cheeliad! Had I just murdered someone? Especially a friend or relative of Hena?

"Arvern?" I said in a creaky voice. "Did I really just kill a boy?"

"That doesn't matter," he said softly.

"Yes it does."

"Ri," said Arvern.

"Huh?"

"Can I show you something?"

"Sure."

"I'll show you."

I felt a gentle hand brush a strand of hair away from my eyes and tuck it behind my ear.

"You can get up if you feel well enough."

I got up as if in a dream. Arvern took a hold of my hand.

"Walk outside. That's where the surprise is."

Arvern pulled me to a slope, which I walked up.

Soon the slope flattened out. My legs shook. I fell to my knees.

"Can you get up again?" Arvern asked.

It was difficult, but I did.

He took my hand again and led me a few more yards.

"Now close your eyes," Arvern said.

I did.

"Take a deep breath."

I did. Clean air filled my lungs.

"Now open your eyes."

I did.

We were at the top of a cliff.

I looked down and my stomach dropped. It was a two-hundred-foot drop down to the bottom, where the waves crashed against the side. But then, my eyes slowly traveled up to the horizon, where the sun met the sea in a blaze of orange light. The sinking feeling was instantly erased and replaced with the feeling of pure, uncontaminated relief and joy. It felt like the sun shone right into me, numbing all the pain in my body. Even my mind was cleared, and all the guilt and remorse of what I had done seemed to vanish faster than the disk of the sun on the sea. I stared at the sun and breathed in the salty air. It felt so good to be alive! My body was energized and my mind was focused. The sunset had brought me back to life.

"Ri."

I tore my eyes away, but my mind remained euphoric and crystal-clear, my eyes remained bright. I saw Arvern's face in plain sight, and momentarily forgot the crime I had committed. He was sitting on a rock. I sat down with him.

"Ri." Arvern gazed into my eyes.

"Nahk ziu ri."

A rush of happiness came. That's Hereaca for, "you look pretty".

My name, Srarori, meant "small and beautiful", but only those who were close to me called me just "beautiful".

"What do you mean?" I smiled shyly.

"The scratches on your face...the bruises on your legs... They say you have an adventure to tell and that you know how to survive a battle."

"That doesn't make me pretty."

"There's more to it. You still just have this... I don't know, this look in your eyes, like you could take a whole lot more than that and still be standing. And to tell the truth... You're strong, brave, smart, kind, and just a wonderful person. You're different, Srarori Coreter. You can take a lot and you're up for anything. That's why I like you."

"I like you too."

"Why?"

"Because..." I didn't know where to start. "When I first set eyes on you, I thought you were handsome, and nice, and I liked you, but now...now it's so much more than that. Now, When I look at you, I get the sense that I'll never be alone, that there will always be someone with me, whatever hell I go into, whenever I screw up my life or someone else's, that I will never, ever, EVER screw up yours."

"See? You just made up that amazing speech on the spot. You're pretty neat, Srarori."

He leaned forward and kissed me. No words were needed.

We watched the sunset for a few minutes, our arms around each other.

"We should probably get back," I murmured into Arvern's jacket. "Someone could steal the supplies,"

"All right," Arvern said. We got up and walked back hand in hand.

And boy, did we jump to see that someone was sitting on a rock next to our tent.

Someone I'd been avoiding for weeks and weeks.

Someone I was angry at and scared of at the same time.

Her hair and eyes as black as ever,

There was Hena Chakelithp.