Chapter 5: Speculations & Sculptures

Only barely evading the water drops that Jeremy caused when dipping his head into the water, I hurried to Jonathan's side. The big guy didn't take much notice of me as he was too focused on smugly observing Jeremy.

Apart from his head, which was fully underwater, his clothing was also partially wet, even though he clearly had pulled them tighter in order to avoid that.

"How long do you think he will hold? My bet is one minute and thirty seconds"

I observed the water that was once set in motion start to form a clear flat surface again. Every now and then small ones would appear when Jeremy moved a little. I looked over to Jonathan.

"Is this about endurance?" When I asked him that he grinned.

"To me it is".Pointing at Jeremy's hand he said " Do you see how hard his grip around the edge of the barrel is?"

A closer look proved what Jonathan said. His grip was strong enough to make his knuckles appear white

„You're right but why does he do that?"

Although Jeremy was underwater at the moment, Jonathan leaned closer and lowered his voice.

„You see, Jeremy may be a very clever guy but. But in moments like these, it's easy for him to act first and not think".

Bubbles arose out of the water. When they reached the surface the capsule of water couldn't hold the air anymore and popped.

„how stubborn he is. I change my guess to two minutes"

I observed Jeremy a little more.

„Hmm, then I'll take…. One minute and thirty-five seconds"

At that moment the surface of the water was broken once again.

Breathing in and out heavily, he looked at us through his bangs that stuck to his face. The rest of his hair was also wet, and the water was dripping on his clothes. Luckily, those few drops didn't change much, because it was already drenched and soaked. His trousers were the only thing that had been left intact.

"Hah! See? I did it!"

Jeremy smiled proudly and brightly. I would even go as far as to say that it was a blinding- nice smile, Jeremy.Good one. I wonder I Jonathan shares my opinion hehe.

"Fuck you Jeremy I was about to win" Jonathan replied.

I tried to suppress my laughter but it was already too late. You could almost hear the wheels starting to turn inside Jeremy's head. As did his expression. At first, it was confusion, his eyes blinked. But he didn't stay baffled for long. And we too didn't stay still.

Soon we saw ourselves running from him. He was fast and he purposefully wet his sleeves once more just to be an even bigger threat.

"I'm cold"

"Same here"

Jeremy crossed his arms, which were also shaking slightly.

"Stop complaining"

Lucky for us he didn't notice the tongues we stuck out at him.

We were once again walking through the streets. According to Jonathan, the alley we found ourselves in led to a fountain from where it would be a piece of cake to find our way back home.

I was thankful for that, the many corners, passages & backstreets were hard to navigate through. Especially since it was dark and the tall houses apprehended the light from fully getting to us.

If I'd been alone I would have surely gotten lost.

"By the way where do you live? Depending on how far away it is we could walk you home if you want"

"Oh no, I am staying at the bar. There are bedrooms upstairs"

Jeremy and Jonathan exchanged looks. They were clearly thinking the same thought at that moment.

"Wow, that's such a coincidence"

"Yeah, we also have to go that way again. To be honest, I was kinda afraid that you would say that you live all the way in the south area" added Jonathan, as if they had agreed to talk between each other sentences.

"Yup, 'cus that is" he didn't even utilize the pause to seriously think about how far it was away, and quickly continued "...well, quite a long walk"

"But we weren't sure if you were from that district anyway, it was only an assumption"

I had the wish to find out what it was about the south district but at that moment we stepped out of the alley.

Before us was a large plaza. There were many stores with varied sizes and designs, and not always could I decipher what they were supposed to sell. At day this surely was a place beaming with liveliness and colour. I let my fantasy run free, only led by the descriptions and portrayals influenced by the books and movies I had consumed.

Conversations being held, the sound of money being exchanged, marketers shouting their newest offers… Oh, and somewhere closer to the houses, maybe in an unknown stable back in the dark, horses would neigh.

I was wondering if the crowd would be a wild mishmash of colours or a calm current.

In the middle of the plaza was the fountain that Jonathan talked about.

The clear rippling of the water was only audible if one would quietly listen and pay attention.

A statue stood on a podium in the centre of it. It was a tall man in uniform, his left hand resting on his sword. Whoever did this sculpture must have put a lot of effort into it as the details were somewhat visible even though there wasn't much light except for the reflection of the moon and the stars. I wondered how good it would look up close. The man the statue was based on probably was some kind of hero or famous townsperson.

Hm?

Wait, I know I could be wrong. It's very dark after all… but, why do I have the feeling of having seen that person before?