Chapter 10

The moonlight kept Chrystal awake, she hadn't admired the star since the death of her family, and it never seemed brighter than now. What was she supposed to do? How could she help Oliver if she needed help too? She let out a sigh remembering some of the many pieces of advice her mother used to tell her.

If he was on the run, he probably didn't know where to go... why, of all the people he could run into, was she the one he turned to? She wasn't exemplary; she didn't even trust herself; why should he?

Maybe... looking for safe places where he could take refuge and live in peace, or look for his parents or a family member to take him...

She let out a sigh and moved away from the window. She left her room and went to the living room to see the strange young man who seemed to have a pleasant dream. Why did Oliver remind her of her brothers? Why did he make her feel... more human? Did the world want her to go on living? What was the reason?

Soaking the gauze in the water again, she placed it on Oliver's forehead, noticing how the medicine took effect.

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The next morning the sun's rays woke Oliver up; he looked around, noticing a tangled reddish hair on the armchair next to him. He turned his eyes to the ceiling, grimacing; he had dreamt of his mother again. He didn't imagine that going out into the outside world memories of Collette would overwhelm him so quickly. He dreamed of everything they might have discovered together, the new adventures and stories his mother would tell.

>>We'll go to a happier place, we'll start over,

and I'll show you the wonders of this world. <<

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling a new squeeze in his chest; his mother's green eyes and a big smile appeared in Oliver's mind. He never understood how his mother could smile at him despite the dark circumstances they were in; he could not show any expression other than terror or anguish.

“You're already awake; I'm sorry.”

The redhead's sleepy voice distracted him from his sad thoughts.

“Are you feeling any better?”

Before he could answer, he already had the girl in front of him, removing the wet gauze and touching his injured face looking for signs of fever. Oliver stood still, feeling somewhat strange by her proximity, looking to the sides to not cross glances.

“It seems to have gotten lower,” murmured Chrystal, looking at the thermometer and the chestnut's cheeks. As the days went by, the bumps and bruises healed, and Oliver's face looked like a normal person's again, letting her see the freckles around his cheekbones and nose.

They both had breakfast in complete silence again; Chrystal didn't know how to strike up a conversation with her tenant, she didn't sleep for all the uncertainties that overwhelmed her head. She didn't know him very well, but she could tell that Oliver didn't even dare to look at her, as if by doing so, he was making the worst of mistakes.

“What do you plan to do now?” asked suddenly, catching the young man's attention. “You've already escaped; where will you head for?”

“The Gold Star.”

He answered automatically; perhaps deep inside, he wanted Chrystal Daly to ask him about that place, and so it had happened. His time to ask one last favor had come.

“Do you know where The Gold Star is?”

“Are you talking to me formally? I'm the same age as you.”

Chrystal Daly had the ability to show a cold expression regardless of whether she was in a good or in a bad mood, and it confused Oliver in indescribable ways.

“Just relax, I won't hurt you,” she tried to show him a smile, but he didn't look up again; a snort came from her lips. “You know, you can look at my eyes to make sure you understand or pay attention to me.

Oliver nodded and slowly looked up.

“What's in The Gold Star?”

There was a short silence that allowed Oliver to take the courage to speak. He was in the outside world, he was free, he could speak freely, and he could even look people in the eye.

“It's a second chance, to start over, to be free and... happy,” he explained quietly, with a spark of hope in his voice, “I have to meet Jack, Annette, and the guard Emer before the snowfalls.”

“Who are Jack and Annette?”

“The last of my family, my... friends.”

She was silent, processing the information.

“What do you mean, the last of your family?”

“They're all I have, we were born in the same place, and we take care of each other. Things got complicated when we tried to escape, and we split up. I don't know where they are now, I don't even know where I am, but they are all I have left. They are... amm... good guys.”

Oliver's chest tightened as he spoke of his friends; he missed them so much and longed for the day he would be able to join them again. It distressed him that he couldn't make it in time, or they would get lost... Annette was smart. They couldn't get lost with her in charge.

“And what will you do there?”

“We'll be safe, and we can be real people, live happily,” a tiny smile dazzles on his bruised face, shrinking Chrystal's heart.

“Live happily?”

Why was she repeating everything he was saying? Maybe he wasn't speaking clearly enough and she didn't understand him. Oliver nods and looks a little up, feeling more encouraged.

“A place where you can laugh freely, know colors, places, flavors, textures... the perfect place, a refuge. The Gold Star is our ticket to a better life, a life without monsters.”

He remembered with joy and emotion Collette's words from years ago, even though Bibi took it upon herself to erase those stupid ideas about a fantasy world, Oliver could never completely forget his mother's stories. He had lived on the surface for a while, the cell where they slept was huge, and a lot of natural light came in through a window overlooking a beautiful courtyard. Oliver believed his mother's stories because he had seen part of them as a child.

The redhead laughed at his cheesy words.

“There' s no such thing as a perfect place or a happy place; what you're saying sounds like a fairytale.”

The bitterness in her voice was evident; that boy answered in a way so out of the ordinary that she was thrown out of place for seconds. Either the boy was too stupid or too naive to talk that way; didn't he realize that his life was the opposite of a fairytale?

“That may be so; my mother always told stories about the outside world. Everyone called her crazy, but now I realize that her stories were real, most of them, and I think The Gold Star might be real. Do you know how to get there?”

Silence reigned again in the dining room.

“The Golden Star is a myth, a hidden city that reveals your greatest dreams, born of impossible love between a princess and a mercenary. The story goes that they loved each other so much that when their families objected, they ran north by sea until they found a refuge in the forest where no one would dare to look because of the tricky road. They were able to raise a family and spent the rest of their lives building their own kingdom, filled with abundance and opportunities for those who needed it most.”

“Those who go in search of The Gold Star never return, so no one really knows if it exists or if it can give you a new life.”