Chapter 6: Giggling & goosebumps

No, that can't be. Why should I recognize anyone here? I mean, this is another world after…all… Oh, yeah, right. This is another world…

I stood there, feeling colder than ever, so cold that I couldn't move. The wind went through my clothes, only now did I notice how thin they were. Every breeze tickled my skin and at the parts where my blouse was wet, the clothing stuck to my body. The moist texture made me want to rip it all off and instead put on a jumper as my mom made them. They were the best thing in the world. An old memory was projected in my head.

I was younger and forcing my little body to give it all, to use all the power in my leg to get the bike through the windy rain. Once home, I took the soaked clothes off and took a bath. A nice bath, a warm bath. After that, that jumper waited for me to pull it over my head and eat fruit slices and read in my bedroom. That jumper never left my possession, not even in the hospital.

But point is, that right now I didn't have it and it wasn't waiting for me to enjoy its warmth.

I would never be able to wear it again. Not in this world.

No! Stop! Go away negative thoughts, I already decided to think about the hard stuff later, it's late and it's cold but I'm having fun. Tomorrow, when I wake up I can deal with that, right now I wish to enjoy the moment.

And thus, I turned my back to the statue and looked at what my friends were doing.

They were in the middle of a conversation and as I came closer they automatically turned to me as if I'd been there the entire time.

"Hey, do you have any water on you?"

"Uh… no, I don't. Why?"

Jonathan looked up as he let out a sigh.

"I'm thirsty, very thirsty. My throat feels like the desert"

Jonnathan put his hands intohis pockets.

"Yes, it sucks. I too have nothing on me… and I'm starting to long for some water too"

And as they said all that I also became aware of the itch in my throat.

"Maybe you have something Jonathan with all that pockets in your jacket"

"Why would I be asking if I had some mysel-" The hands that fumbled in the cloth stopped.

"Oh…" When he pulled out his hand he was holding a small glass bottle. Inside there was a transparent liquid.

"Wow." Said Jeremy and me in sync. Our tone couldn't have been more unastonished.

"Why is the bottle so small? That's not even enough for all of us!"

The water moved around in the bottle.

"It's a habit of mine to carry around small portions of basic needs. Normally. But today I kept them at the inn, well except for this one it seems"

With a subtle -cling!- the lid was taken off and he took a gulp of it. Before he could drink it out all at once I snatched it away.

"Hey! I wasn't going to leave it empty"

I held the bottle to my lips and took a sip. Because I would leave some for Jeremy.

The water was surprisingly warm, I had expected it to be colder.

"Leave some for me"

"Here, take it"

Jeremy had barely drunk anything when we noticed how Jonathan leaned himself onto the corner of the alley we just came out of. His face was reddened and he was wobbly on his feet.

Concerned about him, Jeremy asked him about his well-being. When Jonathan raised his head he answered:

"I- I don't know. Jeremy, please let me take a closer look at the bottle"

Once he was given the glass he looked at it closely and with his other hand, he searched for something in the pocket it was taken out from. Out he pulled a tag with a fine cord that was knotted to a circle. With widened eyes, he read what was written on the tag and showed it to us. Weirdly I couldn't figure out what was written on it.

"Oh fuck" Jeremy whispered.

I wanted to ask what the problem was but out of nowhere my body temperature rose and I didn't feel cold anymore. Also, the fatigue disappeared and energy travelled through my veins. I didn't know why Jeremy was so shocked, everything was fine! Haha, he should see his expression right now.

Jonathan and I locked eyes, it wasn't planned but we made a staring contest, and I won!

I wanted to celebrate it by taking a ride on Jeremy's back, but that jerk evaded me every time I tried. Jonathan tried his best to do so too and we bumped into each other. What a coincidence to see you here! As we caught a glimpse of Jeremy, whose face was wrinkled and eyebrows comedically furrowed, we giggled to ourselves.

In the joy of the moment, Jonathan had a wonderful idea.

Like they were sharing the same brain cell the two idiots were dancing and laughing. Well, I too will soon act like them, I also drank the damm anoria. Why did Jonathan have that on him? And how the fuck didn't he realise that what he had there wasn't water? Well, to be fair anoria looks and tastes the same at first, but the thickness and temperature should have given it away. What idiots we all are.

Anyway, I have to do something before the anoria takes a too strong effect on me too. I don't have the slightest wish to wake up with a cold and back pain here tomorrow, somewhere on a bench or leaning against a wall. I know from experience that the best drink isn't worth that outcome. Even if it is anoria we are talking about.

"Jeremy" the drunk Aria called with a smile on her face reaching from one ear to another "Jonathan fell over and doesn't wake up. Look at how I positioned him, just look how funny he looks hehe"

With her finger, she pointed at an asleep Jonnatah who was sitting straight with his legs overlapped and hands intertwined, forming a fist with only the thumbs and index fingers sticking out.

"Now he looks like he is holding a...GUN! Like in the woostern farms, farms? or was it foams?" while Aria was rambling indecipherably I pulled my hand back from Jonathan's neck. The pulse was calm and there was no way of waking him up, I knew that. Inside my chest, a warm feeling started to spread. Hah, I really wish for it to be winter soon. There's always someone selling hot drinks at that time of the year, the best ones also have anoria mixed in them, those really lit one's fire inside. Oh dammit! I'm getting off-track. Not a good sign.

"Heeey Jeremy"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the dares game? I'm the only one that hasn't done anything yet, that's sooo unfair!"

I put my hand on Jonathan's forehead to check his temperature. Behind me, my ears perceived the slight crunching of stones. And somewhere from far away a roof tile shattered with an echoing sound.

"You know what, If you ignore me anyway, then I'm going to give myself a dare"

"Sure, sure," I said. The sound of single shaking tiles clapping against each other was noticed again.

"I will boop the nose of the statue"

Normally, at daytime I wouldn't have perceived them but as it was night and there was no tumult either it was hard to ignore the noises…

Wait! What did Aria just say?!

I almost fell over as I turned around to look over my back. Aria was already at the fountain looking up at the sculpture of our lord. I was so in shock that even though I had a warm feeling inside my blood was frozen making me unable to move. All I could do was watch in astonishment as the girl climbed up the fountain and carefully stepped over the water to reach up to his face. For a second she stood still, lingering at the moment. Then she actually tapped his nose with her finger and nimbly made her way back down.

I managed to stand up, right now Aria had done something that most people wouldn't have dared to do. Because you never knew what could happen when making fun of our lord, he wasn't one to take a joke lightly.

And done! That wasn't too hard. I was a little scared of falling into the water though.

When I saw Jeremy looking at me I waved my hand at him. See? did it!

But that guy from the sculpture surely looks exactly like the male lead of the novel I finished a few days ago ahaha. He even has the same pointy chin and two moles under his eye.

That was when I caught sight of a petite name engraved in the stone. They should've made that bigger when they actually want to honour his name and keep it remmeber in history.

Suddenly behind me, the sound of two shoes landing on the stones reached my ears. Wearing a dark cape and a mask a tall man stood before me. A veery tall man. So big that he would've cast a shadow on me if the lighting were correct.

"May I ask what you are doing here?" said the man with a voice so raspy and cold that I got goosebumps.