In Between

Chapter Thirty-one: The Prophesy

Apryl raced through the trees until she made her way to the other side, and what she found was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. A waterfall spilled over a tall cliff into a single pond of the purest crystal-clear water one could imagine. There was a sun shining in this dimension that didn't quite look like the one she was used to on Earth, but its familiar light filled the atmosphere, dancing off of the rocks and seeping through leaves to spread its warmth in every corner.

Draven looked quite out of place lying on the ground beneath the waterfall with his black clothes soaking up the sunlight. Next to the miracles of nature around them, he appeared very small and insignificant. Apryl approached him wondering whether or not she should take a seat, speak up, or turn around and go back. Indecision had her rocking on her heels a few feet away until Draven muttered, "I heard what you said back there." His voice was quite calm, and that scared her because she knew that he was bottling things up as he had probably done his whole life.

"What exactly did you hear me say?" she asked with a poor attempt at sounding confident. Apryl worried that it came out sounding nervous instead. Am I nervous around him? she wondered, and the honest answer to that was yes.

"I hadn't gotten very far away when you started yelling at them about me. Don't hold your breath for me to thank you for defending my behavior, because all you did was make me out to be a poor, pathetic orphan who's hurting—which is exactly what I didn't want them to think."

"Sorry," Apryl whispered.

"I'm not interested in rejoining your pity-party."

"I know that."

"And I don't need anyone's sympathy," he growled.

"I know that too. Draven, we all know that. I didn't follow you out here because I feel bad for you. I came to tell you that I don't," Apryl explained.

He paused to look up at her then, and she could see that he was confused. "Don't you feel even a little bit sorry for me?" he asked sarcastically.

"I don't think it matters, because I admire you most of all."

"Please continue with the unwarranted compliments until I feel better," Draven said instantly.

"God, you're an idiot," Apryl told him, contradicting what she'd said earlier. "You're not understanding what I'm trying to say. It would be great if you could tone down the attitude for a couple of minutes, because I'd like to explain how your friends and I actually feel about you."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm kind of having a bad day here and would rather be left alone," he said seriously.

"That's your problem—everybody has bad days, but you don't have to deliberately suffer in silence. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the sense that you have a bit of a complex about never asking for help."

"You don't know anything about me," Draven told her indignantly.

"I know the things that you've told me yourself, and I know how I see you act. You were dealt a tougher hand than me in life, but you've managed perfectly fine. I admire you because you're strong, and I know that the others feel the same way," Apryl explained. She slowly got down on her knees and went towards him. Draven watched her every movement with wide grey eyes that betrayed his real fear. He was clearly too shaken to remain collected and expressionless, and she could tell that he was preparing to bolt again so that he wouldn't have to hear anymore. "I don't know if you've heard about these things called feelings, but I know that you have them. It's reasonable for you to have been upset hearing your long-lost mother talk about you as a child. You're afraid that what she has to tell you will be a poor excuse for what you've been through...That's why you walked away, isn't it?," Apryl asked gently.