The Lost Orion- The Land of Wind

Chapter 2 - The Land of Wind

Dan was on vacation for two weeks, so we spent the next few days in the woods hunting new places, nattering about things and cackling around the forest. Those were probably the only days I cherished from my childhood.

By then, we knew the forest inside out. We went on long trips through the covers never once, losing the lay of the land. Dan had to be credited for his unerring sense of direction. Unlike me, he could somehow remember each and every bush we crossed.

We chattered about anything and everything on his life and mine. It was mostly about how he had to work hard to live up to his family's name and how I could never live the life of a privileged child.

I learnt a lot about my birth place from Dan. Starting from the people of the Land of Wind, the Goods Street being one of the largest bazaars of the eight Great Countries, the Wind Security Force, Famous Orions and their adventures, the famous Tomb of Secrecy built at the core of the mainland and the Council of Wind to his lessons at school, his teachers and classmates. Dan was popular with his mates and mentors because of his family's reputation and distinguished performance at school. Despite having all that attention, he could never come close to calling any of them his friend. I totally failed to understand why.

Uncle Gen's extended absence had started bothering Aunt Chira. He was supposed to be back in a week's time but it was over a fortnight without an update on his whereabouts. Aunt Chi and I visited the city factory to inquire on the cause of the delay, where Mr. Moore confirmed that the order had already been delivered about a week back and they had been apprised on Uncle Gen and his team's safeness. The delay was most likely due to poor connectivity to the Land of Fire.

I was deeply relieved to hear of his safety but the news of his soon return did not bring in any happiness. His return meant absolute cessation of my meetings with Dan. His return meant reverting back to my desolation.

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I had to tell him. I ran through the forest to meet Dan at our usual meeting spot. If I was to never meet him again, he ought to be told to keep away...forever. Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled past the covers.

Dan was sitting on the black rocks our grassland. We had decided to make it our secret spot. It held very important memories that wished to keep to ourselves.

I wiped my tears and walked up to him. "Dan..."

Dan got up and turned. "What took you so long?" He was in his usual jolly mood.

I looked down trying to hide the stream of saline trailing down my cheeks. I thought I was prepared for this. Clearly, it was an erroneous consideration.

"Dan, I..." I started but couldn't find the words to say goodbye. My voice trailed off amidst my sobs. "I..." I couldn't. He waited. It felt like a long wait.

"It's okay. I understand." Dan wrapped his arms around me pacifying me. On the contrary, it only made things worse as I sobbed harder in his embrace.

"Stop crying." He patted my back. "We'll meet again." I looked up to his face and he nodded. He released his embrace and held me at arm's length. "I promise." His eyes showed firm resolution. How was he so certain?

I didn't want to lose him. He was the only one I had. This was the day I had feared but it didn't seem to be the case with him. He was calm and sure. He was not going to let go.

I smiled through my tears and nodded. He wiped my face with his sleeve.

"We still have today, Cela. And I know just the place for our last trip." he smiled and held my hand, pulling me towards the place where we first met. It felt so comforting. He just relieved me of the pain I had. He was not going to leave. He would not let our friendship fade. More than relief, it was satisfaction.

We had never gone past those roasted barks before, but Dan simply knew where he had to go. All I had to do was follow his instincts.

We walked for a good half hour before coming to the end of the covers. The trees led us to a short patch of grass but that was not what we were there for. We stood on an escarpment bordering sea of colored blocks. I walked towards the edge of the barranca. My eyes widened in awe at the sight before me.

"Presenting you, The Land of Wind, Lady Celestia." recited Dan.

There were oodles of polychromatic houses artistically located on a landscape of yellow and green stretched over a large area. The structures showed varied shapes, height and color. Some were circular, some cylinder and some towered high to kiss the sky. The country looked like a live map. There were well formed houses, tall scrapers, connecting roads, oddly shaped buildings, large patches of green, huge rocks and waterfall at the far end.

"Beautiful" was all I managed to say. I couldn't have believed any of it if I hadn't seen it myself. It was unthinkable that a world like this existed.

Dan grinned.

"I knew you'd like it." He was happy with himself. "I couldn't think of a better parting gift." He winked.

That just took away the energy I had gained on seeing my birth place. I had almost forgotten this was supposed to be our last encounter.

"Sorry" he apologized, immediately realizing the flaw. I looked away, I didn't want him to think I was weak and I just couldn't hold back my tears.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "This is not the end, Cela. I never go back on my word." He smiled. I looked at him. His optimism was off the charts, but I knew better. Still, his faith in himself showed a ray of hope in dim reality. I smiled back.

We got up from the ground as the sun dipped. There weren't many words exchanged but that day was unequivocally the best part of our brief friendship.

"You should be going or you'll get your Aunt worried."

"Yes!" I didn't realize the time sitting by the edge of the escarpment admiring the landscape below.

"Bye, Dan." I wish we didn't have to say goodbye. My eyes started to fill up again.

I didn't have the courage to say a proper goodbye, so I turned off to run back into the woods. But what I saw made me regret that at once. Right in front of me, blocking my only way home, was the last person I wished to see that day.

"Uncle Gen..."

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Celestia is in deep trouble!

Next Chapter- Will Celestia be isolated again?

Will she never be able to meet her friend?

Is this the life she was destined to live?

Read on.

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