The Enchantments: Book 4 - The Key of Mulastef

Chapter 23: Midnight Sun

The sun in the distance to the west was a bright orange hue that appeared to Simeneon to be melting into the horizon. It was times like now where the troubles of the past and an unsure future seemed to dissolve away into the gloriousness of nature. She had always respected how the earth at the end of a day seemed to calm and the beauty of being alive at that very moment put her troubles into perspective.

She reflected back to a few days before seeing images of a blimp and the huge mountains that surrounded them on all sides. What did they mean? Where were the images coming from and why did it relate to her?

Riding the rails as she was at that moment was starting to get old and more monotonous than she expected. The troubles transportation she was enduring now was problematic in many ways. The constant berating from other passengers was starting to get old, fast. Keeping one eye open at all times kept her tired. Her lack of food and the deterioration of her body scared her more than she ever imagined. There were more times than not when she thought about calling the doctor and Fin, telling them where she was and having them come to take of her. She wanted that more than anything, but she knew she had to keep to her original plan no matter what. Mogat had tried to persuade her that her parents would not approve of how she was acting but she knew they'd understand her reasoning even if she doubted it herself.

She sighed staring at the glaring sun and worrying about the constant temperature drop occurring in the freight car. She headed northwest, and the feeling of heading into the cold made her cringe. Mogat floated nearby his concentration waning as if he were on the verge of sleep, she knew better of course, but the image made her smile ever so slightly.

Something had been off with her the last few days and coming to grips with the sensation that felt a tingle running up and down her body made her very nervous indeed. She had first felt the initial feeling a few days earlier like a bug crawling up her arm. At first, she swiped at her arm, but when she found no vestiges of bugs she put it off as random sensations, but as the awareness continued and grew steadier stronger and more persistent, she started to feel worried. After all, see had seen in the past few years and interacted with those signs she couldn't and wouldn't take for granted. Things like this seemed to take on a world of their own and that she would not ignore.

The train felt safe under her as it rambled its steady clicking and clacking under her. She closed her eyes ever so slightly thankful there was no one else on the train she had to keep observing. She breathed in deeply allowing the cool breeze from outside to fill her lungs as she felt her body relax. She should close the door to the amenities just a few feet away, but before long her body rocking with the train starts to drift off and she sinks her head now in her lap.

Simeneon woke with a start, whether it was her body waking her up or the fact that the train had stopped she looked out upon the vast wilderness of trees, green and sparkling. Large peaks set just behind the immense forest stood majestically in the distance glittering in the mid-day sun, the air cool and crisp wafted gently over her skin as she reacted to the feeling she had been sensing the past few days. The tingling was getting worse, and she reflexed her hand trying to alleviate the sensation. She drew her hands into her palms; she knew the sensation was getting stronger now giving her the urge to move around more.

She jumped the few feet to the sloped gravel ground walking a few paces waiting for the feeling to pass or at least calm. She stepped a few yards to the back of the train turned and reversed her steps. She was cognizant of her car and stepping too far from its confines she would run the risk of the train starting up again.

On her third pass she felt the wind change suddenly, at first, she thought it was because of the wind tunnel the train's length evoked, but when she looked up towards the back of the train, she saw a figure walking towards her. Her heart sank thinking it was the train's engineer coming back to remove her from the boxcar but the person' clothing was not the usual. Her heart sank even more as she recognized the person coming towards her.