The Amateur Archaeologist

Chapter 31:- The Canopy

Surprisingly enough, Hunter knew where Nathan would be.

On the hill our Villa was situated, there was a little entrance right around the backside of the hill, he'd said, but it was completely overshadowed by the canopy, no wonder it was abandoned.

I gasped in awe as I stepped inside, the place looked like a dream someone left behind. It wasn't any much bigger than the white hall in Cyclotron but this was far more beautiful.

The cave was carved in the mountain, the ceiling towered above which made me wonder how could the Villa stand the pressure. I could swear I saw clouds of mist from above as if the place had an atmosphere of its own.  Right in the middle downhill was a little pond at whose middle stood an abandoned place, not much bigger than my room.

"Hello Nathan," I greeted as I descended down the hill.

He was sitting at the edge of the grass, his feet dipped in the clean blue water. I couldn't recall the last time I'd seen anything as clean as that pond was, one could even find a drowned pin in there.

I sat down next to him, there was a bandage wrapped around his forehead from where I'd hit him, accidentally. He wasn't wearing his tattered robe, he had donned a clean shirt that exposed the latter part of his belly and pants which were a little tight around his waist.

I still couldn't believe he was the same person I saw in that photograph.

"Ivanka," he greeted, "Amelia managed to save you in the end."

I showed him my bandages, "A little late though."

He then showed me his, "Serves you right."

A chuckle escaped my mouth as I pulled my pajamas up, dipping my legs in the chill water. "How did you discover this place?" I asked, "it's so..."

"Magical?"

I nodded.

"That's cause it is," Nathan took off his bandage, where there was once blood, now there was nothing but a hairless scalp. Before I had the time to gasp he said, "can you guess what river this is?"

"Acheron," I said, "but that's... impossible."

Nathan chuckled, "Nothing is impossible Ivanka... the magic has been sniffed out of this place since forever. Now, it just heals."

"But it's not meant to heal," I complained, "it's the river of the underworld... people were dragged across to face their punishment."

"Well, in a sense," he played with the water, "it cleansed them of their sins, and now... it cleans injuries."

I could see his pain bounce from his eyes. He was alone and sad, but so was I, Amelia was dying, my aunt, my sister, and my second mother. If this water could heal then could it...

"Can it heal someone who's on the verge of dying?"

Nathan smiled, "Amelia is cured, Ivanka."

"But-"

"A curse cannot be cured, I'm sorry."

I wanted to cry but tears never escaped my eyes, my heart was broken and shattered. Amelia has said she was partially cursed, but I was fully cursed. If she was going to die, so was I, perhaps maybe even sooner than her then I wouldn't have to watch her die.

"But it can be broken," he looked at me.

My ears shot up, "What do you mean?"

He pointed towards the water, "There is something wrong up there," he looked at me, "this is the river of the underworld, with its full power it can suck you in, then why doesn't it do so?"