Ferðin út ljósin (Journey beyond the lights)

Chapter 12

  Emil couldn't believe this was happening. His whole family gathered before him, telling him he might just have some magic. Well Berwald and Toni weren't the ones saying that Emil had magic, they were just agreeing with Lukas and Matthias's theory about it. Which was ridiculous if you were to ask Emil.

  Magic was his brother's thing. He didn't have magic. He had never had magic before. But even if he did, did they really need to come all this way just to test that it? Plus, this place made Emil a bit uncomfortable if he were being honest.

  "So how are we doing this? How do we test it?" Emil asked, wanting to get this all over with. His hands were shoved in his pockets, to resist crossing his arms. Crossing his arms gave off attitude, the less attitude he showed, the most likely this was going to go quickly.

  Lukas and Matthias exchanged a look. It was almost as if neither of them had planned that far. They had thought it would take a little more time to convince Emil of the fact. But he just blindly accepted the fact without a second thought. To say Lukas and Matthias were shocked, would be an understatement.

  "Alright then. What we need you to do is think happy thoughts." Matthias said, he had picked up on Emil's mood and the ongoings with the Northern Lights a while ago. Clearly he wasn't as stupid as Lukas often made him seem.

  "And you expect me to fly? But we have no pixy dust." Emil couldn't help himself. He didn't see the point of it. And Matthias had given him the perfect opportunity.

  "Peter Pan!" Tino exclaimed, realizing what movie Emil was referring to. He looked so happy to have realized which movie it was and say it before anyone else. The sparkle in his eyes was obvious.

  Emil could help but smirk a little at that. There was just something about Toni's smile that radiated happiness. That's probably one of the reasons he was so good at spreading joy, especially around Christmas time. Tino always smiled around Christmas time.

    "Yes, Peter Pan, but that's not we're doing here. We're not here so you can try to fly. You're going to try and make the Aurora Borealis appear." Lukas said, crossing his arms over his chest causing Emil to raise his eyebrow at his brother.

  "You want me and try to do what?" Emil asked. Now it was his turn to be taken aback by the other's claims.

  "Try and make the Aurora Borealis, as known at The Northern Lights, appear. That's what you'll be doing. But we think you might have to think happy thoughts in order to do that." Lukas explained.

  Emil just stared at his brother for a moment. He was unsure of all of this, but he could see where they were coming from. Emil couldn't remember a single time he had seen the Northern Lights when he was sad. Each time he had seen them, he was happy.

"Why not just give it a try?" Tino asked, trying to encourage Emil. "Just think happy thoughts and see if it works. If it doesn't, then oh well. We can have a snowball fight or something after. That way we can still have some fun!"

A snowball fight. It had been so long since Emil had taken apart in one of those. Most of the time nowadays he was cooped up in his room, running his many blogs. He hadn't gone out and played in the snow since he was little.

  "Alright, I'll try and think of happy thoughts." Emil said although he doubted that it would actually work. He closed his eyes, trying to think of a happy thought. He had to do a bit of digging in his mind, trying to find the really happy thoughts.

  Before he could do that though, he was stopped short. He stumbled back, eyes snapping open. A cold sensation crept down the front of his shirt. He had been hit in the face with a snowball.

  "Forget that! Let's just have some fun!" Matthias yelled before throwing another snowball at Tino. Tino instantly picked up some snow, going to attack his attacker. Matthias laughed as he ducked behind Berwald, getting the Swede involved as well.

  Tino hit Berwald in the chest. Berwald's eyes narrowed playfully at his boyfriend before he picked up snow of his own to throw at Tino. As Emil watched, he knew Tino had purposely thrown the snow at Berwald. After all Tino never missed his target.

  "You guys are ridiculous." Lukas said, his arms still crossed as he stood next Emil. Emil glanced at his brother, only to realize Matthias trying to sneak up on him. But before Matthias could do anything, Lukas flicked his wrist and suddenly the Dane was covered head to toe in snow.

  "Aw Norge, I guess you want a hug now." Matthias said with a laugh. Emil watched as the two began a game of chase as Matthias tried to hug the normally stoic male.

  Emil watched his family play around like little kids. All of them with bit smiles on their faces. For once in their lives all of them were able to forget about the worries in their lives and play. Emil's heart warmed as he watched them.

  Tino, was pretty much always seen with a smile. He found joy in most things. He always looked on the bright side of things. And yet, his happiness infected others, brightening their days just by being in the room with them.

  Berwald didn't really show a lot of emption, but Emil had seen him smile a few times. Most of the time was when Tino did something that Berwald considered cute. He was clearly in love with Tino. Emil couldn't help but smile seeing the two together, fooling around and clearly in love.

  Lukas was someone who hardly smiled. It had to be a really good reason if it were able to crack his stone like face. And here he was, smiling and running from Matthias. He didn't throw insults at the Dane like he normally would. No, he was happy in the moment. It made Emil happy to know his brother was happy.

  And then there was Matthias. The one who often made Emil smile with his stupid playful personality. He often had a smile on his face, Emil would say he actually smiled more than Tino did. He was childish and playful, and his smile lit up his whole face. Every time Matthias smiled, years fell from his face - not to say looked old to begin with though.

  "Dane, I'm going to get you." Lukas called as he ran in Emil's direction, after Matthias who also ran towards him. Before Emil knew what was happening, Matthias picked him up, using him as a human shield, blocking the snowballs that Lukas hurled at Matthias's head.

  And just like that Emil was wrapped into the war they had going on. A smile making its way to his face as he played in the snow. A free for all which ended up with them ganging up on Matthias.

The Dane whined playfully, as he tried to fight back against the four of them. He fought hard, but the others fought just as hard. They would not give up, all of them were laughing and having fun. It was surely a treasured moment for all five of them.

As they played in the snow, each one took turns noticing that the Northern Lights now danced above their heads. All of them knew what it meant, but none of them bothered to say a thing, not wanting to risk the moment. Or because they were hit with a snowball and were instantly yanked back into the game.

  This adventure had been to prove that Emil had magic, just as Lukas did. But it was so much more than that.

Back when he was younger, it had been a quest to bring the lights back home for surely they had gotten lost. Emil only then realized that what he had done back then, had such an impact on the now.

Each time they had gone out, looking for the lights, it was never truly about them. Sure, the Northern Lights always ended up in the picture but they were not what was important. What was important was this. The little moments like this that brought them closer as a family. The moments that reminded them that they were here for each other no matter what. Emil only wished he had realized this before. But now he knew;

Everything that had happened, had truly been a journey beyond the lights.

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And that concludes Ferðin út ljósin (Journey beyond the lights)