Revenland

IX

I ran after him screaming his name, all the while the feeling of dread steadily rose inside me. My thoughts were frantic with what I would do if I lost him.

My mind imagined me coming out of the Faery ring alone, Nan waiting and all I can do is shake my head.

No.

I won't let that happen.

With a new found determination I called out his name, already feeling my throat going raw with the effort.

But I didn't care.

Initially I thought that he couldn't hear me calling, but as I came closer he continued to glance behind him, meeting my gaze and refused to stop.

"Peter!" I screamed as he neared the mouth of the cave. "Don't go in! You'll die."

He tried to ignore me and started to enter when I pushed myself forward and grabbed his arm.

"What is wrong with you? Stop running!" I exclaimed, my anger and frustration coming out in rushed words.

He shook his head repetitively in a desperate manner, trying to move forward but I dug my heels into the pebbled ground.

"Stop resisting, lad!" Finnegan yelled as he and Knit ran towards us, still not close enough to help.

"I can't." His eyes were frantic as they met my burning gaze. He desperately tried to pull away from my grip but I held on.

"What's wrong with you?"

I've never seen him so desperate, so serious.

"What's wrong with me?" His voice cracked with emotion as his eyes glistened with tears.

"I'm dying!" He yelled out, his confession seeming to boom and echo across the land.

Peter gasped as if the secret caused him great pain to keep to himself and he shakily leaned against the stone wall for support.

I let go of his arm as if it burned my hand.

"What?" I muttered, stunned.

Knit and Finnegan finally reached us, but they didn't say a word, the sound of their painting filled the air.

Even though Peter was free from my grasp, he made no move toward the cave, instead he shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I've been dying for a while now." He muttered looking down at his feet, his hair hanging in his face and covering his eyes.

"The doctors don't know what it is, but my body is basically shutting down."

I didn't want to believe it.

Peter, who was so youthful and full of life, could not be dying.

That just couldn't happen.

But the more I thought about it, the more things suddenly made sense.

That strange chill I had felt when I first shook his hand and his strange behavior that night at the fire when we talked about the future.

"All this time?" I croaked out as tears spilled from my eyes.

He finally looked up and there was fear in his eyes.

He was afraid that I was angry with him.

"I couldn't tell you or Nan. If I did then, well, I'd have to think about it constantly. I just wanted to forget"