A Sky of Rain

Chapter Eleven

The car ride seems everlasting. The scenery passing the car is starting to become a blur, and I find myself constantly looking out my window, replaying the scene where that man ran up to the window in my head. Breathing deeply, I turn towards Lance. "Who was that man?" I inquire.

Lance glances towards me. "I already said that I would finish explaining once we get to Nyden."

I let my face turn in a pout, and I look back out the window for the sixth time. "You can't just tell me now...?"

Lance shakes his head lightly. "I probably shouldn't. This may be the harder part of the explanation to believe, so I feel like I should put it off until we're at someplace you can sit down that's not in a car."

I let out a breath of air and press a finger against the window, feeling the chill seeping in from the outside. "Understandable."

Lance looks at me again, and smiles lightly. "Don't worry, we're almost there anyways."

I nod absentmindedly. This really isn't what I expected from this explanation. It makes me rethink everything. "Can I still ask questions, though?" I ask.

Lance gives me a small nod. "Shoot,"

I take a minute of silence to collect my thoughts before asking. "Are there any other kingdoms...?"

Lance taps a finger against the driving wheel. "You could say so. There's a reason your town is so small, you know. Officially, we are all human, but most times we are usually associated as a different species. So if you go with that ideal, there are actually only a few communities of completely normal humans, your town being one of them. Usually we try to keep away from them, but when completely necessary, we go to them for help. With that being said, yes, there are people in those communities that know about the rest of the world."

I dip my head down in understanding. It seems like a weird concept to accept, but in a way, it makes sense. I have never really noticed before about how the news in my town shows only news from my town, not any other nearby town or cities, but now that Lance mentions this fact, it makes a bit more sense. I find it astonishing at how easily I am accepting what Lance is telling me, but in a way I feel like I already knew all of this, and Lance telling me these facts are just jogging memories of this I already have.

Lance continues on. "Now like you asked, yeah, there are other kingdoms, and not all of them consist of people who can control elements and have powers."

I glance over questioningly at Lance, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Are you trying to tell me there are kingdoms of elves and dwarves somewhere?"

Lance lets out a small, drawn-out laugh, and raises a hand to rub the back of his head. I wait patiently for his answer, but he never delivers one to me. He only turns his attention back to the road that he is driving on.

I roll my eyes, debating whether his laugh was because I hit the target, or because my question is silly. I turn away from Lance, staring out the window once again, this time with my thoughts in turmoil. The car drive then becomes relatively quiet, with only the whir of the engine and the wind whipping past the window making any sound worth listening to.

My eyes widen when I feel a wet substance splatter against my right cheek. Nonchalantly raising a hand up to my cheek so to not raise any curiosity from Lance, I wipe away the substance and analyze it. Tears. My tears...? I swiftly wipe at my eyes to remove and excess tears. Perhaps this is taking more of a toll than I thought it was going to. I wrap my arms around myself, desperately trying to comfort the ache that suddenly has presented itself in my chest. I suppose I merely did not expect us to leave so soon...or for it to actually happen.