Silence

Chapter 10 - In The Night

A woman stood at the entrance to a cave, lit with a warm light, holding a small, crying child. She was trying to calm him, but to no avail. The father was in the make-shift kitchen, trying to find something to help the child's discomfort.

They had tried everything to soothe the child when he gets upset, but have found nothing to work. They've fed him, played with him, and even let him play with the Failen, but the child continues to cry.

Muffled footsteps echoed around the cave as the father approached the mother and child. He put his arm around them, letting the mother lay her head on his shoulder.

'Maybe we should take him out?' he sighed, looking at the squirming child. His four eyes were shut tightly, and his ears lay against his head. The mother stared down at the ocean, reflecting the evening sunlight between the trees.

'We could try,' she said quietly, running her hand through the child's hair. She was ready to try almost anything to help her child. The father stepped out of the cave and started down the hidden steps that led to the ocean below. The mother followed, holding the child to her chest.

The ocean lapped at the sand below, its surface calm and glassy. The mother waded into the water, the cool water washing over her legs. She kneeled down, lowering the child into the water. He immediately quiets, splashing his arms in the waves. The mother, puzzled, lowered him further, until just his head is above water. He smiled and laughed, kicking his feet.

'The water calms him,' the father observed, watching his child with sparkling eyes.

It was true; the child had stopped crying once he had been put in the water.

The mother smiled, her face warm. 'He takes after you, then,' she joked, looking up at her husband. He crouched down next to her. He leaned against her, kissing her cheek.

The child chirped, giggling as the water splashed over his hair. He blinked open his eyes, the moon reflected them. He smiled up at his parents, becoming drowzy, slowly closing his eyes...

☆

I wake with a start, confused. My face is wet, and my eyes hurt. Was I crying?

I look around me, trying to adjust my eyes to the gloom. It's dark and eerily quiet, only broken by the dripping of water farther away. It echoes around me, almost as if I'm in a cave...

I sit up fast, bumping Sal with my arm. We had come here last night to shelter and dry off after swimming all day. Even though it's not a long way from Ransumi to Dramitt, it took a while as both of us were tired and injured.

Sal stirs next to me, propping himself up on his elbows. He lights a fire in his palm, illuminating the red and brown cave walls.

"Mornin'," he croaks, his eyes half closed. I swallow, my mouth and throat dry. The air is stale, humid, and uncomfortably warm. I shift my back against the rock, ignoring the sharp pricks of jutting stone.

"Where are we?" I rasp, rubbing my eyes. He presses his hands together, creating sparks of red and orange.

"I think we are in the lower section of the Capil Mountain range, southeast of where we were on Jelimun, and on the opposite side of Jelimun than Senapri."