The Creature of the Woods (BxB)

Chapter 14: The Sun

Araki approached his window, looking outside like a child sadly anticipating a snow. With him being sad, my heart gradually felt sad too, like somehow, I'm connected to him. Of course we are. We are lovers bounded by a spell.

He then faced my way. "It used to be bright here."

I look up at him, seeing his sad black eyeballs. "H-how?"

"We had a sun. A very bright sun made by the creatures to sustain us and our livelihood, after we totally shunned ourselves from the Earth Sun." He stopped talking. "You don't have to know it this deep. It doesn't matter."

I approached him, asking him to sit down beside me. "Araki, I want to know everything you know. Everything is important."

He nodded. "The sun is a massive shinning rock held inside the Flero mountain. The highest mountain just outside. At certain hours, they haul it out, as if the sun is rising, then put it back down for a realm rest. It has become our cycle, our.. our treasure. But one day, it was stolen."

"Stolen?" I asked in disbelief. "You mean somebody can steal that big mass?"

"It's not that big. Maybe just as big as this house. You can definitely carry it using those big trucks you humans have. It's just really bright so it looks big, and it gives of an aroma that benefits our land. Our King, Dimito, concluded the humans stole it. After that, our investigation unit went up to your world to look for it. At those times, we did not know how to disguise as humans. We were spotted right away and that made a huge scandal out there."

"Were you a part of that investigation unit?" I asked.

"No. I'm one of the doctors who attended to hundreds of patients experiencing diseases connected to the loss of our sun. The livestocks are gone. Diseases were spreading. The cycles of our lifestyles are getting ruined. Our psychologies devastated... all officers were busy, but we still cannot stop the population dying into half. During those periods did my little sister die."

I looked at his eyes and saw an impending drop of water. I cannot help but feel sorry. However, instead of saying apologies, I caressed his arm then leaned on it. He continued his story.

"Our King went up himself, having partnered with the World below Deutsche (Germany) on their research about human disguise. He learned the trick of the disguise, went up, and met your Uncle. He kidnapped him and interrogated him about what he knows, but he doesn't know anything. However, he promised a hand on the investigation, for he believes it was also the matter he was investigating on. I don't know anything further about their investigation or relationship because I was way too busy in the hospital. But after three months, I just learned Jerry Karait died, and our king was very devastated. Since then, he stopped pursuing our artificial sun, and focused more on revenge."

"Revenge?"

"He killed people who had contact with Jerry. Nobody tells him where the sun is anyway. He just gave up and asked the survivors to leave the country to benefit from other suns abroad. A handful left. And because I'm a doctor, I decided to stay for those handful of people. They said this country was so done for. It's failing. It lost its main factor of economy. And they were right. We really fell.

A few days later, the bastard humans blew up our main Balete tree. It's our neural connection to the world above, connecting us to the Breathing of the Earth, connecting us to our sense of enlightenment. And because it's our women population who were dependent on the Breathing of the Earth, they all died as well, including my mother."

In the end of his story, he stood up from his seat, took my hand, then gently pulled me to his window. He made me look at the dark city with faint glow of lamps and glowing flowers. However, the lit houses are very few. You can count how many houses were lit. The city looks hallow, depressing... dead.

"Yes. That is the amount of people left in this country. They are concentrated here because they still want to look over our king. We believe he is not stable, but we still want him to be well. He's our only hope. He's our political figure, of course."

I cannot hold back my tears any longer. The thought that my kind had devastated this country for greed made me ashamed for being human. Humans are naturally greedy, and I cannot deny that I have that nature, too. It just makes me feel more sorry.

"Why are you crying, Hansel?" Araki asked, lifting my chin with his slender gentle hand.

"You must have hated us so much. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. But despite of that, you still saved me that day. I just can't..."

"My love." He called my name in such endearment that made my heart flutter. "When I saw you thrown down and shot, I knew you were just another victim of injustice in the hands of your fellow humans. Plus, I'm a doctor. It's in my instincts to help someone injured."

"Araki, your heart is so kind. If the entire human population is just like you maybe, maybe... things would stay perfect."

"Nobody and nothing is perfect." He muttered.

"You are perfect." I said and smiled at his shading face.

"That's the love spell speaking."

I laughed. "Maybe."

He was about to say something, but I cut him off with a kiss.