The third Planet

03. Coldness

Claire's POV

We walked for hours straight. Never getting a break or eating. I didn't speak much and neither did Ana.
But the silence wasn't uncomfortable. We communicated through looks and short gestures.

It got colder the nearer we got to the peak. Even though we were so high now, there was no chance to see into the valleys because of the high trees. Snow was settling on the branches and the temperature was under minus two degrees. I was sure.

Going from Ana's shivering I wasn't the only one freezing. We'd die of coldness if we have gone the whole way up without the necessary clothing.

"Ana?" My voice level was low and I sounded completely frozen.

"Mhm?" she answered.

"We won't make it to the peak today, let's climb down again and look for another mountain." I suggested. She nodded leaning into me. Putting my arm around her I guided her step to step further down, always scared to stumble.

We came to a cliff which we didn't passed our way up.
"Let's go-o around it."
I signaled her that it would be okay and we made our way again reaching a single tree standing alone. I let go of Ana and started climbing.
"Ana" I shouted "you have to move. Walk some steps or something but you have to keep yourself warm."

I reached for the next branch always a little higher. My hands slip off it and I nearly fell. I felt fingers closing around my wrist and pulling me back closer to the tree. I turned my head. I saw Ana breathlessly smiling towards me. I offered a smile back and without words we climbed together up the tree.

We reached as high as the wood under us wouldn't break.
The view was amazing. 

Wide land, forest and seas layed in the valleys, spreading as far as the eye could look. Fertile gras covered the ground and birds flew over the meadows.

My eyes wide open and surprised. Where were we? The view was beautiful. The sun reached over the clouds, bathing us in light and also a little warmth.

I laughed. This is all I ever needed. A melody flew off my lips and I hummed some more seconds.

Ana starred at me. I looked back, asking what she was looking at.

"What did you do?"

Still not understanding I looked at her.

"The tune. It was really nice. Why do you know something like that? You met them too?" She asked with a little disbelief.

"I told you I didn't. Well...and I don't know where this came from. It just formed in my mind and stumbled over my lips."

I offered a smile. The intense look on her face was a little weird and I blushed. She smiled back, still unsure of what had happened.

As soon as we landed back on the ground a new melody came up in my brain. Careful and quiet it waved in my mind and intensified slightly with every new step we walked back into the valley. It was hard to suppress the urge to let it flow over my parted lips. But I didn't want to scare Ana, so I tried.

Ana was the joy herself again. Frollicking through the the now warmer gras, laughing and shouting. I started running and as soon as Ana noticed she joined me. Sprinting over the soil with bare feet and feeling the wind blow through our hair is probably one of the most wonderful feelings in this world.

Suddenly Ana stumbled, crashing to the ground and remaining still.
I ran towards her, concerned if she was okay.

"Ana? You okay?"

Carefully I tried to turn her body around. Her hair fell over her face and I brushed it away. As soon as I looked at Ana I bursted out in laughing like she herself.

She didn't seem to hurt but she was full of dirt and gras. I was fighting for oxygen and tears spill out my eyes from all the laughter.

We sat there a while. We started to battle for no aim and just relaxed.
Running again we looked for more challenges. We found a waterfall, ready for us to climb it. Reaching the top we jumped down into the fresh water, diving and splashing with water around us.

"Claire?" Ana asked when we lied down in the warm afternoon sun to dry.

"Mmh?" I replied. I was pretty tired from all the things we did. Eyes closed I just enjoyed the sun burning down at us.

"Do you know anything about yourself? I mean... Don't misunderstand me please. I was at their's. They thought me to write and speak, to walk and gave me clothing and so on. But you... You never met anyone except me, apparently. You are fully clothed and you never had a teacher to teach you all the things you do yourself. Do you know how to write?"

I over thought my answer. She was right. I was completely dressed, I knew how to climb and all the other stuff.

"Yes, I know how to write. I never did it but yes, I think so. I don't have the slightest clue where this all is coming from. And no, I never met anyone. Except you. I learned much about myself since I woke up, for exam-"

"Woke up? So you mean, you were born back then? You were born and you are so ... I don't know, mature? And not like a little you?"

"Ana" I laughed in disbelief "No. Of course not. You know me since my very first seconds of my own being, if you can say it like that. You didn't miss the first moment of myself. I lied on the ground, waiting and then there was you. Asking and I heard you. But tell me about the mysterious 'they'."

She signed.

"They thought me all the things I told you and they said to me: 'You are Love.' and: 'You'll meet others like you.' That was the last thing they said. Then I was in this darkness. And I bloody hate the darkness. I don't know why. I mean, I never saw them. There was always twilight and never real light. It was absolut quiet, No Sounds except my questions. The most things they answered me. But only through my thoughts. The moment I asked I knew the answer. That's all."

"I wanna know why I'm here. What's the reason for my life?" It was more a thought for myself but I felt Ana's eyes on me.

I opened mine and looked at her. Smiling I stood up.

"Let's go and get a place for sleeping."

She reached for my hand and together we walked for a long time, deeper into the land.

The night returned, leaving us in twilight and coolness.

We settled down, preparing a fire and collecting food. I thought about hunting but I was too tired. We sat down eating in silence like the last time.

I was nearly asleep when I heard a noise. It was like an animal but they never came so damn near to the fire. Quietly I shook Ana a little, keeping her silent and tried to let her know about the noises without speaking. She understood and scanned the forest around us.

Suddenly she noticed a light and pointed at it. It moved towards us. She held onto my hand and squeezed it out of fear. I stroked her a little, trying to console her. Through the light two shadows got visible and a moment later they appeared a few meters away from us. We stumbled back.
One... two steps.