Find you at the end of the road
When Cal came to his senses, it was clear that nothing in the deserted city without Liam appealed to him anymore. He traveled, and once again did what he did best, aside from his painful misery,» make money.
Using his sharp mind, he got involved in big ventures and always got away with it, skimming the cream and filling his bottomless pocket.
Gradually he became known in business circles as the «white devil. People feared and respected him.
At the King's personal request, he advised the court and helped many people to enrich themselves without losing their own benefit.
No matter how many people tried to get him as a husband, lover, or minion the "white devil" rejected every one.
It was said that he had long been in love with his sister, or that he had killed his lover and would now be forever alone.
The first time he saw the automobile, he immediately knew it was the future and financed famous inventors, encouraging them to compete and develop the industry.
The investments made him an incredibly influential and wealthy man. He was constantly second-guessing investments.
Whatever his hand touched became gold. Everyone wanted to get him on their side, but he obeyed no one, remaining a free and deeply lonely man.
Years and decades passed, and Cal was still wandering the world. People passed through his life in transit, but it was as if his heart was petrified. Nothing touched him.
His once white hair turned to silver. Having traveled the world, having acquired the world, he never filled the void in the depths of his orphaned heart.
Gradually retreating from business, he was able to remain incognito. There were rumors about him, but almost no one knew Cal Xavier by sight. He was worshipped, he was hated, and almost everyone dreamed of destroying him.
His only interest was painting. He amassed a huge collection of paintings that later ended up in museums.
***
Nearly seventy years after meeting the Abbot and the Fifth Elder, Cal was driving in a luxury car along a beautiful country road. Heading for Liam's hometown, the elderly Cal planned to visit there one last time and probably meet his death.
Things had changed in the town.
His beautiful factory had become a museum. The city wall had already been restored twice, and the tree on the shore had been struck by lightning and burned. The castle was given to distant relatives of Glinier, restored, and closed to the public.
Cal walked slowly down the street that used to lead to the Bread Market. On either side of the street were cars of his making. Arrogant men and women got out of them without so much as a glance at him.
A decrepit old man with a long gray tail wandered down the road toward the river. Even his expensive, spotless suit could not make up for what a long and lonely life had done to Cal. He refused to be escorted by an assistant and went alone.
When he reached the river, he was surprised at how much it had grown shallow. Now he could easily see the topography of the banks and even the bottom. In some places, it was so dry that it could have been crossed on foot.
«Look Liam, the Meuse River is almost dry, soon it will be my turn.»
Cal often spoke to an old friend like this. He climbed up the bridge and noticed the hundreds of padlocks hanging. They all had the names of lovers on them. It was just another tradition...
He walked slowly, touching the railing with the tips of his trembling, withered fingers. The bridge was heavily overgrown with moss and grass. When he reached the halfway point, Cal stopped and looked into the distance. On the right was his factory, on the left the shore where he had last seen Liam.
Having become an old gray-haired man, Cal had not been shy about shedding tears, and now they were streaming down his face again. As he wiped away the salty puddles, he thought, «Why have I lived so long? What else have I not seen or done? Let me go, let me go...»
Cal gently stroked the railing of the bridge.
«You're gone and the bridge is still standing, you did a good job, thank you for making it for me so I could fulfill my dream,» The old man muttered.
«And did you hear who built that factory and bridge?» Heard Cal quite close by and turned his head.
«No, tell me!» A young girl was walking across the bridge with her boyfriend.
«Then listen!» They stopped just a few feet from the gray-haired old man and didn't think he was worthy of attention.
«They say that many years ago, the head of the city lost his parents and vowed to single-handedly rebuild the dying city. But he wouldn't have succeeded if his friend hadn't come to the rescue. One was like a saint, living for the people, and the other was like the devil, knowing only how to make money.
The girl gasped and pressed her handkerchief to her lips.
«The year the saint built the bridge, the devil walked across it to erect a factory. They quarreled over some nonsense, and Glinier left town forever, and the devil went around the world to look for him because he loved him more than life.
«Really?!» The story obviously shook the girl a great deal.
«My grandfather was a guard here, and he told me how the other man cried out one night, calling for his friend. Walked about the city like a madman with his clothes in his hands, clutching them to his heart...
«My God,» The girl opened her eyes wide with an overabundance of emotion.
«Ever since then, this bridge has been called «the bridge of lovers.» They say that if you take a vow to your loved one on it, you will be together in this life or the next. The bridge of lovers will bind your souls forever...» The narrator exhaled excitedly.
They passed the old man and disappeared into the distance. Cal pondered their words in silence. To him, the events of those days were always vivid and vivid. He could tell in detail what he had taken out of Liam's room and why he had walked barefoot.
Liam's pillow still lay on his bed and traveled with him... he had never forgotten his friend, his beloved, his only forever and ever...
So he stood there until the night before, unwilling to move a single step.
If a girl had not passed by and called out to him, he would not have moved. But her voice sounded familiar.
«Mr. Cal, there is a man across the bridge who would like to speak to you,» She said and walked as if nothing had happened, toward the factory. Cal turned his head and frowned.
How did he know that voice? As he followed her, he froze in surprise. There was a man on the shore who reminded him of...the Abbot?! But that couldn't be! Cal thought he must be losing his mind.
Stumbling, he walked toward them. The closer the old man approached the couple on the beach, the more his vision failed him.
Why did he see before him the very Abbot and the Fifth Elder over whom time had no power?
He was going mad, perhaps with a brain tumor. But suddenly they met him, supporting him under their arms.
«Have I gone mad?» The old man asked grumpily.
«If you still remember me and my daughter, I will say that your head is fine,» laughed the Abbot.
«But you haven't aged!» Cal protested.
«And that, my friend, is the secret techniques you never learned.
«And most importantly, you are alive.
Cal blinked. Is it possible to stay young? To not grow old and die? Isn't that what he'd dreamed of when he was young?
«I thought the Ancient Spirit killed you,» he remembered.
«So you would have been, but we were saved by the Fourth,» said the Fifth, and suddenly she bit her lip as if she had said too much.
The Guardian nudged her in the side, and they looked at each other. That didn't escape Cal's watchful eye.
"Tell the truth now!" The old man said in a commanding tone.
«Oh,» said the Fifth.
«I'll tell you all,» the old man said. And he told Cal the story of what lay behind the scenes.
«Mr. Fourth Elder had long intended to be Head of the Academy for the Gifted, in a special place called the Aether. But he needed a very capable student to gain the advantage. He was lucky to have a nephew. He turned out to be a true source! Such a person is born as rare as a deity.»
«It means Mr. Liam possesses the full protective power of the scarlet color you possess, and the full creative power of the highest blue color,» the Fifth continued, «such an apprentice has shocked everyone, making the Teachers crawl on their knees before Mr. Liam and ask to be his mentors. The man who brought him into the Academy automatically gained enormous influence, the support of the Council, and nominated himself for Head.»
«But the trouble was,» the Abbot interrupted her, «the apprentice had fallen into a state of longing. He refused to live and was lost in himself. That is when we met. There was a commotion in the Aether. I contacted the Fourth and told him about you, and it seemed to give him an idea. The Elder made some sweet promise to Liam, and it worked. He started going to class and doing his homework diligently. Time flowed differently in the Aether than on earth. It's only been three years there, so forgive us...»
When he got to that point, Cal flinched.
«Forgive you for what?»
Just now he felt as if a rain of grace had fallen on his dying heart, dried by years and loneliness... Someone had told him about Liam. He greedily absorbed every word and his whole being trembled with delight and happiness.
«Um, well…» The fifth elder simply knelt in the road dust with her head down. «We were ordered to fake our death and leave you behind, so that under no circumstances would you enter the Academy and distract Master Liam from his lofty mission, sorry!»
The Abbot knelt, too.
«My apologies, Mr. Cal. We're very, very sorry,» the Abbot wailed, «but we know how to make things right...»
Cal's spirits brightened as he heard the man's last words. He is not the man he was. Half an hour ago he wanted to die, but now for the first time in nearly a hundred years, he wants to LIVE!
«Get up now and tell me how to make things right, and why the situation is different now.»
Seeing his enthusiasm, Fifth and Abbot quickly stood up and surrounded him on both sides.
«The Fourth had fallen into the disfavor of the council...»
«The head of the Academy was suddenly Mr. Liam...»
«He is the most influential and powerful Head in the history of the Academy...»
«I imagine,» Cal smiled.
«The Seventh Elder and the Twelfth have contacted us. They are old friends of the Head's parents...»
«They believe the Chapter is in danger and that he needs you...»
«Me?» said Cal in astonishment. He felt as if he was part of a story in a tabloid novel, but he did not fit in with the color.
«We don't know what's going on.»
«We were given two months to track you down and teach you the basics...»
«Unfortunately, you can't get into the Academy legally. We'll have to cheat everyone, do you mind?»
«Who? I? Deception is my middle name!» The man exclaimed.
«Well, then the first thing to do is to get you cleaned up because you're almost dead from old age,» said the Abbot.
They took his hands and, eyes closed, concentrated. Cal felt invigorating energy pour into him. Like a sweet bubbly drink, it spread through his body. When they were finished, they were satisfied and informed him that they would have to kidnap him.
«No problem,» Cal managed to say, and then the Fifth touched the crystal on her chest, and the whole world around him simply disappeared. In a moment they were standing on a green hill.
In front of them was a sun-drenched valley, and behind them was a small house built right into the rock.
Once there, the Abbot and Fifth quickly emptied the large stone platform of paper scrolls and writing implements, and then the girl patted the platform invitingly on the palm of her hand, inviting Cal to lie down.
The old man obediently laid down on the stone bed and was surprised to note that it was... warm!
«There's a large spiritual river circulating nearby,» the Elder explained.
«Just what we need for our task,» the girl confirmed.