Set Me Free

9. Be Happy Again

     "You saw the tears, didn't you?" I smirked.

     "You're not suicidal. I've known that from the start of 2017." Apollos said with narrowed eyes.

     "You knew this the whole time, didn't you?" I crossed my arms. "That I was supposed to be the one in your place?"

     "I..." the clatter of his hooves echoed as Apollos turned his back to me. "I didn't want to scare you."

     "I see," I felt my eyes fluster around with anxiousness. "Then...were all the victims for the past eight centuries actually your descendants?"

     His reindeer ears pricked up as he turned around to face me with a surprised face. That was a crystal clear "yes" to my question, no doubt about it. I sat on the arm of my long couch as Apollos and I kept at it with our stare down. I think there was more to this curse than he was letting on. I reached out with my right hand and grazed my fingers across his fur.

     Damn...he's soft.

     "Come here," I opened my arms.

     No one should have to witness their descendants die right in front of them.

     I wrapped my arms around the reindeer's body and squeezed it tightly out of grief. If he had the arms of a human, Apollos would have hugged me right back. Instead, I was the guy who was the healer, the quiet man who hated to see broken beings. It was just Apollos and I, two males related by personality, not exactly blood-brothers, silently sitting on the floor of my flat, hugging each other because of a damned curse.

     "I think you need to know something." I felt the muscles in his throat move against my shoulder.

     "Huh?" I let go of Apollos and sat with my knees on the hardwood floor, bearing a confused face.

     "You're the only one out of all nine who's able to cry red tears."

     "Really?"

     "Yeah."

     "W-what...what else?" I wanted to know everything that was different about me, if possible.

     "You're not the sole victim."

     Hold up...

     What?

     "What do you mean?" I inched away slightly.

     "The spirits of the other world told me. The ninth one faces something more difficult than a tragedy."

     "Fuck," I mumbled. "What'll happen to me?"

     Apollos was hesitant to say anything. I could see him contemplating whether to hold back the answer to my question. He's hiding something from me. But what? My eyes glared curiously at the reindeer that was slumped across from me. There was just too many questions to be answered, too many secrets held from my knowledge.

     I decided to ask a more direct and simple question. One that could be answered even with just the slightest of movement or emotion. I put my hands under Apollos' two front arms, pulling him closer to me before I chose to give my question to him. His heart was pounding heavily and quickly. He was nervous about something. That wasn't a good sign if he refused to share information with me.

     "Am I going to die on Christmas?"

     "...I-I...I guess...yes."

     "So ten days left for me to live, eh?" I shuffled uncomfortably. He nodded with teary eyes, refusing to utter a single word.

     "Any idea on who's the other one involved in this?"

     Apollos shook his head. He was lying.

     "Is it someone I know?"

     Yes.

     "Are they in London?"

     Yes.

     "Is it a family member?"

     No.

     So it was a really close friendship that I had with one of my mates. Suddenly, a bulb flickered with knowledge and realization in my head. Why didn't I see this before? Of course! The whole reason why Apollos refused to reveal details, I knew exactly why know. So I cupped his reindeer head and gently brought mine closer. I stared intently into his eyes before the words slipped from my mouth.

     "Everyone in Bastille is involved. Aren't they?"

     "Yeah."

     I stood up with a sad but relieved smile. At least I knew now. I slowly walked to the hallway, into my room. A framed picture of me and the others sat on my work desk. That was the day after we won the Brit award for British Breakthrough. That was three years ago. I heard the clatter of Apollos' hooved from behind me. Then a smile ran across my lips as I turned around to face him.

     "D-Dan?"

     "What do you want to do for the next ten days with me and the guys?"

     "What?"

     "I want to do something fun before I die."

     Apollos knew what I was letting at, and he nodded before entering my bedroom. The tips of his velvet-covered antlers reached the height of my forehead. Then he looked straight up at me.

     "I want to be happy again."