Chapter 5 "How a picture behind the waterfall"

Time seemed a mere illusion as they walked towards Percy's house, their journey was superficially uneventful as both little ones were deep in thought. The sonata composed of the chirping of insects, the gentle travel of the wind, and the occasional whispers or shouts of the magical's around him accompanied his path, although certainly, no one paid attention to his surroundings.

Dennys was so lost in his mind, trying to make sense of the strange and grotesque images his gift had shown him but he certainly couldn't get past the image of his father with eyes filled with slightly glassy pain and drops of pure red blood. staining his face his pale skin, a cry of silent pain that gave him an even more disturbing vision of everything; that he was not aware of his surroundings until Percy shook him slightly and was greeted with reality by dark, concerned eyes looking at him gently.

Dennys sucked in air that he didn't know had stopped entering his lungs, his breathing steadied again and he relaxed on the brown sofa below him.

“Best? “ Percicum softly asked an already calm Dennys who nodded his head shaking his soft white hair estás If you are not sure about this it is not necessary to talk, we can continue with our plan to watch movies or we can go to your house and rest.

Dennys appreciated Percy's efforts to avoid discomfort from him but he couldn't escape this any longer so getting his courage back he began to speak.

“ From a very young age I dreamed of the day when the gift that the gods gave me could flourish within me, I remember that we spent hours and hours climbing trees because Lessandra had told us that if we reached the top we could see my gift “ Dennys together with Percy they let out light laughs as they were transported to that memory, with them angry when the adults did not let them climb too high so as not to hurt themselves “ When we were little the moment when my gift finally appeared seemed so far away, but…” Dennys stopped talking and Percy I sense the end of the sentence.

“ You have spent a long time waiting for this moment “ Sighing heavily Percicum averted his gaze from Dennys who strongly flapped his long and pointed ears, showing his anxiety.

“ Percy… this gift would bring me one step closer to my family. I should be happy and so, so proud to achieve it “ Dennys shrinks in on himself and covers his face in his hands trying to avoid letting go of the slight tears that were gathering in his eyes “ But… I have such a horrible feeling and I don't even know why what. But I know I need to know what he meant by what he showed me” Dennys gasped slightly, the moisture running down his hands and onto the couch.

“ Don't you know? but even if you did, we don't know what could happen if we look for its meaning “ Curious and worried Percy moved closer to the other.

Dennys chuckled and removed his hands from his face, slowly got up from the couch, and walked to the window behind them. Behind the fine glass, you could see an extensive garden overflowing with different herbs, flowers, fruits, and trees. The Polen Cocos family was known for being one of the largest suppliers of plants for medical laboratories and merchants in the capital, therefore their house would be overflowing with plants that are harvested manually. Dennys felt relaxed as he appreciated the peaceful view in front of him.

Percy remained seated on the couch, she was worried about her friend; she certainly didn't expect what they had thought when they were younger was nothing more than fantasies, but seeing how disturbed Dennys was after her first message did nothing but make her feel nervous.

Dennys scared jumps from his place when he hears the excited scream of Percy who quickly came to her side and squeezed his shoulder.

“ The Fruit “ Excited Percy shakes her shoulder while Dennys's looks at her without understanding “We can investigate the oldest documents of the place Come on!” Directly and with new energy, Percy leads them to her room on the second floor.

As Percicum picked up some things thrown in his room and tossed them on his bed regardless of the order, Dennys took a seat in a small chair in the corner of the dresser and silently watched as his friend stuffed some things into a small flower-shaped backpack. In his head, he prayed to the gods that they would find a way of knowing that would cause what appeared to be the possible death of his father.

●●●

Before leaving Percy's house Mrs. Polen had given them some sandwiches for the road that they both packed in their backpacks and she warned them to return before dark. Both children said goodbye and started on their way to "The fruit."

The slight hint of hope blossomed in Dennys's chest, as it was already late the noonday sun greeted them happily so he simply put on the royal blue shawl and the face shield, he did not want more burns on his skin and less now that they had something to look for.

They walked through the busy city park. The city where they lived, Upwind was the main of the three cities that made up the southern district of the kingdom of Sauropsida. Sauropsida was a kingdom inhabited by magical's and beasts although now there were only a few families after the war.

The park was full of life and color, the little ones played and ran while the adults rested or walked around the place, appreciating the wide views full of different flowers and insects that were accompanied by some magical's who gathered to share their music with others. Certainly in Upwind city vitality was not lacking and more so now that the harvest festival was in full swing.

After leaving the quiet park Dennys and Percy walked a bit to reach the market, a giant egg-shaped construction painted in various vibrant colors and murals of various things. They both passed through the tunnel under the huge construction, being greeted by various merchants who greeted them and offered their products that Dennys and Percy kindly refused.

Finally, they left the merchants and buyers behind, a lonely stone street gave them the way to go. The stone path was fresh and very clean, each stone had been carved with delicacy and love, at first glance it was noticeable, the path between them was silent, with Percy walking strongly and without taking his gaze from his goal, holding his backpack tightly. and Dennys walked, giving light jumps that waved his backpack, to be able to reach his friend his worries were still haunting his mind but surprisingly this long walk had taken them away.

At the far corner of Pic Street, a stately tree was the center of attention, as tall as the graceful skyscrapers that appeared in human movies, its strong trunk as wide as a tower, and its healthy brown color as striking as bronze. In the middle of the tree, an iron door was finely inlaid, the symbols in cursive letters formed the legend "As long as my memory is embedded in the pages, my soul will return each time they are visited again."

Percy pressed the bell on the door, the soft sound of bells covered the silence and slowly the door opened, both children entered behind the open door, the sound of the lock again closed after both passing, they found themselves in a small empty room where long black wooden stairs awaited them just ahead.

“ I think this is what I like least about coming here “ Dennys complained, looking tiredly at the stairs in front of them as he adjusted his shawl and backpack.

“ I agree “ Percy let out a sigh and adjusted his backpack on his back as he started up the stairs.

The steps were a bit low, so they were easier to climb but he contrasted because there were twice as many. Dennys was tired from so much climbing, his hair was shaking and he again adjusted his backpack on his back, because of his short legs he was a few steps behind Percy, which bothered him a bit but he let it happen.

Finally, the stairs came to an end, giving way to a light wooden entrance adorned by some yellow lights that gave a touch of softness to the frame.

“ Permission “ They both responded as they entered the place and held their breath delighted at the sight.

The semi-open windows gave way to light rays of the sun that bounced off the beautiful fine glass on the walls, forming various colors on the ceiling that looked like beautiful changing paintings.

In each corner of the place a finely framed bronze painting, the shelves were full of books of all kinds and were so high that even with his magic he could not easily reach the top, just on the right side a beautiful man was sitting on a finely carved wooden desk with plant patterns. Hearing a noise he raised his honey-colored eyes from the books he held in his hands with sharp claws and waved his long hairy ears, as he looked at both children standing in the doorway he smiled at them and gestured for them to enter.

Both slowly and still admiring the decorations, they entered heading towards the desk full of books, some titles that could be appreciated were: The Princess of the Moon, The Origin of the legend, Yellow Green and Mr. Blue.

“ Welcome, it is a pleasure to have you here“ He greeted you with a smile of sharp teeth “What brings you to the Young Fruit?” He asked, ordering the books on the table.

“ We come to investigate something super-secret, I think we can find the answers here” Percy tried to say it as seriously as possible while Dennys nodded in agreement.

“ Super secret? mmh I see “ With a slight smile he tried to keep the mood serious but his hairy ears said otherwise “ Well, they are in the right place, they can search the low shelves and if they need help they can always call me.”

“ Thank you!” They both answer, Percy grabs Dennys's arm and guides them to the furthest shelves.

In the distance the faint hum of a song was barely heard, coming from the librarian who returned to order the books around him.

●●●

"One, two, five, seven ..." Percy muttered, taking several books in front of her.

“ Do we need that many?” Dennys spoke with his voice muffled by the pile of books in his arms that grew more and more. If Percy continued like this, the pile would be the size of Dennys's himself.

“ If we can find things about that we must not leave a stone unturned “ Determined Percy took a few more books and placed them on the others.

Dennys smiled softly feeling something warm in his heart, he appreciated Percy's attempts to cheer him up but he was still hesitant to find anything useful here. But regardless of that, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself, furthermore, even if they found nothing he could certainly be distracted from what he saw.

Both children made their way to the table behind a column that held some flowers and Dennys desperately put the books on it with a snort. Percy sat in the chair on the right and Dennys on the opposite side, Dennys started flipping through the nearest book and his doubts arose.

“ Percy… What is this?” Curious Dennys showed the page to Percy, who came over to see.

“ There he says ‘For any diver, it is important to control the chromatic changes underwater, this field has been extensively analyzed to achieve the best underwater signaling. You should bear in mind the following: Without artificial light: fluorescent colors are undoubtedly the most advisable. Highlighting:

Yellow and green, for long distances (especially if the water is clear).

Orange: for short distances. With artificial lighting: we will opt for colors such as yellow, orange, or white. We must take into account the effect that artificial light produces on an object that is submerged.

On the surface: a combination of yellow and black will be the most effective for any type of signage. ’ “ After reading that passage Percy checked the cover where it read Eyes Under Water By Lance M.

They fell silent as they analyzed what they had read before and after a while, Dennys's spoke.

“ What does water have to do with clairvoyance?” He slowly asked the redhead in front of him.

“ I guess nothing, maybe I took that book by mistake “ He found an answer quickly.

“Ok “ Dennys didn't think about it anymore and picked up another book.

Thus the hours passed and between discussions and searches both children lost track of time, unfortunately, neither found anything useful. Their eyes weighed down and tiredness stuck to their bones, they ended that day with a fruitless search.

Noticing the time, they began to put the books back on the shelves, put their backpacks back, and said goodbye to the librarian.

“ Did you find what you were looking for?” Curiously, the librarian's ears moved smoothly.

“ Nothing at all “ Dennys let out a tired sigh followed by a nod of denial from Percy “ We still have thousands of books to search but it is too late.”

“ Mmh too bad, you can certainly come back another day “ He calmed them down by giving them a soft smile ー Have this for the road, it will surely cheer you up “ After saying that the orange-haired bent down and picked up a small purple jar, from it he took out two popsicles in shaped like paws and handed one to each “ Sugar always enlivens a gloomy day”

“ Thank you “ They answered excitedly about the sweets “Goodbye”

“ Have a nice trip! Don't forget to come back if you need to look for something. ” He waved them off at the entrance, gently shaking his ears and tail.

As they both separated towards their respective homes Dennys felt a weight return to his chest, although he did not find anything useful a spark of hope began to be born inside his, maybe he could stop whatever was hurting his dad Not?

●●●

He finally got home, the road had been fast trying to get there before his mother so as not to worry him, he was greeted by his uncle Rond who was eating in the living room, and by a cute black duck.

“ Welcome nephew!” He greeted getting up from his chair but stumbling when a black figure passed quickly “ Calm little friend” He laughed, gazing with joy at the huge red eyes that shot him a fierce look between the legs of the smallest.

Both magical's laughed and took a seat on the soft sofa in the middle of the room, Dennys placed his backpack in the corner next to the cushion and removed the shawl from it, leaving it folded on the armrest. Rond scooped Calamity into his arms and placed him on his lap.

“ And dad?” Dennys asks with a smile on his face as he takes a potato chip from his uncle's plate.

“ You know how my brother-in-law is, he's in his studio working on a new work for Mrs. Big nose and I had the day off so I stayed alone “ He complained but was silenced by the furious squawk and peck that the duck gave him in the leg “ Well, I was with this little thing all day while my sister and your dad worked. You can tell they love me” Dramatically he hid his face in the black feathers and Dennys couldn't help but laugh at his uncle's antics.

“ Mom said you shouldn't call others about bad things” Still laughing, Dennys remembered what his mom had said to Uncle Rond after hearing him call a customer buck teeth.

“ Ah come on! your mother should be able to see that those things are ways to bring out the beauty of others. You must see that nephew, you know that your uncle Rondy Londy is nothing more than a misunderstood artist “ With sheep's eyes and a pout Rond caresses the feathers of Calamity and fixes his gaze on Dennys who only sees funny.

“ Yes, uncle “ Dennys hid his laughter behind his hand “ Uncle… Do you know anything about how to decipher messages- “ Before finishing he decides to think better about what to say.

“ Mmh?” Rond is silent and sits upright.

“ Oh! no, nothing, just ... I wanted to know if you knew anything about how to send messages through screens. The last time I saw Lessandra do that with his friends from the Academy and I thought he could have a screen so he could do the same with Percy “ Somewhat desperate Dennys finds the first thing that comes to mind.

“ Messages on a screen?” Rond asks and after staying silent for a moment he puts a somewhat conflicting expression “ Nini, I know that Lele does that but you are still too young to have your screen, also all the legal procedure is somewhat complicated and honestly very boring so much to explain how to understand. I could talk about it with my sister and brother-in-law but you are still very young ... “ Rond tried to explain the easiest thing for an 11-year-old all the paperwork and the pros and cons that could entail possessing a type of human technology.

Certainly, Dennys could have thought of an excuse that would not bring him a long and boring talk just after several hours researching The Fruit Fantastic Dennys! But now, watching his uncle with beads of sweat from having to assume a responsible role while his parents worked was not a walk in the clouds for him either. A few minutes passed (Although it seemed like hours) where they both found themselves sitting on the soft sofas and Calamity went from one magic to the other, slowly the talk ended with the sound of footsteps coming from above.

A small but slim figure coming down the stairs, his white hair tied in a small bun, his light gray eyes covered by long curly lashes that further highlighted the pale pink scars under his eyelids, his pale skin was covered by a baggy shirt and short shorts, both soft in color. The paint stains on both his hands and his face brought out his fair skin even more, and what gave it the hint of softness was his characteristic soft smile on his face.

Relieved, Dennys jumped off the couch and with a little effort crashed into the open arms of his father who was waiting for him still on the last staircase.

“ Hello Sun, how was today?” His soft voice calmed the rapid beating in his chest and Dennys lost a moment in the delicate embrace, after a moment some small tears began to wet the chest of the magic “Is something wrong sun?” Worried about the weak sobs and the vibrating that he felt in his chest. He slowly cooed down his son and led them back to the soft sofa.

Dennys hadn't thought about it but when he finally saw his dad safe and sound without a drop of blood or pain in his eyes he could finally feel a real weight lift from his stomach, the feeling of his dad's softness calmed him even more. He didn't want to comment on anything he saw to his kind dad since he didn't want to scare him or worry about anything, so he quickly wiped his tears away and gave him a big smile.

“ No dad alone, I missed you so much “ With a watery voice and a big smile Dennys hugged

stronger the soft fabric his father wore.

“ I missed you too Sol “ he Slightly laughed and kissed the soft forehead of his son.

The family spent a few hours talking about their day, commenting on some things that happened and others that they hoped to do in the next few days or hours. The soft lullaby of voices covered the place and the warmth of the interior did not allow fear or doubt to enter and Dennys finally dispelled all his doubts about the messages.

It was obvious that not all visions would strictly be fulfilled and he had been driven by anxiety to think the worst.

●●●

The days passed with a clear and firm routine. In the mornings he would go to study, spend breaks with Percy, and sometimes with Lessandra, at the time of departure he would go with Percy to continue looking at The Fruit, the librarian (who told them to call him Chant amicably after the multiple times they appeared) he helped them look for books and when they left without much progress he gave them palettes to cheer them up.

And with the passage of time and seeing no sign of vision, calm returned to cover Dennys' routine.

Until that fateful night.

It was one of those days where Dennys and Percy had spent too much time in the library and lost track of time between so many books and words, this time even the first moonbeams were appearing in the sky. Percy and Dennys had separated at the same point as all the previous times but this time something was disturbing in the air, a somewhat bitter note was on the tip of his tongue but Dennys decided to ignore it and continue the path that had already traveled hundreds of times.

The road was slow, filled only by Dennys' occasional humming. The well-known stone path led him to a field of small white flowers, this was a place wherein the mornings the ranchers would take their young to graze, therefore the place smelled a bit bad but it was tolerable so Dennys did not bother to change his address and continued.

One, two, three, four, those were the steps he took before his breath was lost in the evening wind, paralyzed and with his eyes as wide as a basin, a cold airbrushed his neck, and the sensation of something sharp stroking his neck made him sweat with fear.

The breathing behind him was difficult, and the stench of acid crept into his small nose, he could slowly feel the fabric on his arms was cut and the burning in his neck made him shed a tear as if time had slowed down he could feel the drops of blood run down his back and get lost in his clothes before he could say anything a big growl made him jump.

But before he could do something firm arms took him and hid his face between a soft chest, before his eyes could close he gazed breathlessly at the small white figure, now stained with blood. Just like his vision of him.