At Distant Sea

[Tuesday]

It was morning. The dawn came calling for their name through the thin wall with truth and clear air—a perfect day to set sail for fair.

The first to wake up was the librarian, with her face pointing upward to the window. The sun gleamed through her face with wonder by the west meadow. Her eyes wandered to the bright sky, where the clouds were blowing to the west—no longer was the water wry.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

"Eugh, it's Tuesday. Yet another library visit again...ugh..."

She pauses, "Wait, no! This is the day! It's time to sail!"

"Come on, you two! Wake up!" Eve dragged them out on the floor.

The cleric rouses up from his warm mattress with a new head, perhaps with a melancholic thought after a dream of dread. It is difficult to say that he was waking up happily after the storm. But the cloud and the wind believe there's a little hint that he may have forgotten the rumble after the snore.

"Wake up, Cyrus! The sun is up." Eve pushes his body.

"Aah, mom! I'm coming! I'm coming!" Cyrus rushes out of the bedroom—dazed and confused.

"Aah! I'm late to school! Aagh, Eve's waiting for me!"

*Faint* "Wait, this isn't my bathroom! Where am I?"

*Faint* "Mom, did we move to another house??"

*Faint* "It feels cold here. Unusually cold."

"The sun is up, Cyrus! Don't brush your teeth today!" She prepares her other friend in the drawer.

The Tin Man rested so peacefully with eyes frozen that the librarian thought of him as dead. This might have been only his comfortable sleep throughout his life, for his joint is as dead as a broken twig. And once in his life, the first thing he saw was not his tin ceiling but a ceramic plate.

"Wow, what a dream!" He mumbled, but he paused,

"W-where am I? What is this place?"

"Come on, Charger. We have a lot to go!" Eve yelled at his face while changing herself into an appropriate dress.

"Ah! Stranger! I'm sorry! I'll leave! I'll leave!" He mumbled with fear.

"Get to the bathroom, now!" She holds him like a toy, twisting his winding key before releasing him onto the floor.

"Okay! I'm sorry!"

But in that moment of awakening, the Tin Man remains unrest with the terrifying thought of a second storm on his shoulder. It was not just one that had struck them. It was only the beginning.

"We need to be quick." Charger peeked at the dark sky on the window.

"We're having a second storm."

"Fuck!" Eve yelled.

"Eve! Watch your mouth!" Cyrus peeked from her door with a lecturing eye.

They rushed, they quicked, and they hasted. All their hopes are staked at this very moment of their lives. They could not toil with the time or wait for another—for waiting, perhaps, is the storm's wish for them. So they brought everything they could into the cart rather than being tainted by calamity.

The woods heard their whimpers, grunts, and pants from every bark they were thumping with their feet. The forest thought they were dancing, but they were not. The Tin Man was the first to leave the house, then the cleric and the librarian. Each came with their trinkets in a hold, holding a memory with a heart bold.

They took a second look at their town on their way to the coast, gazing at the people they would've missed on a long voyage. It wasn't too bright with the oncoming storm tailing from the east. So the three had to make it in a hurry, for the air is as cold as the long-lost heart of the librarian, there would be little to miss from the second coming.

"Well, I'm gonna miss this view when I'm returning home. Too many memories were made here..." Cyrus uttered.

"Don't you agree, Eve?"

"Yeah..." Eve uttered hesitantly with her eyes rolled out.

The town was empty, barren than even the loneliest day a stone could ever have. Everyone had followed the prince after the first day, and the street dust crawled on one another. It was a rare sight, but it was not something worth looking at.

"Where's everyone?" Charger looked around.

"It's the Carven boy. He held an event here in the morning, so now everyone is going onto Ashenwill." Cyrus peeked at the Northwest, where music can be heard by a faint thump.

"You think anyone is still here?"

"I doubt it. We're exactly at the most living point of Great Stone. There should be at least 2-5 people here, but..." Eve replies.

"Hey, Cyrus!" Someone yelled.

The librarian held her first book with mourning on a foggy morning at the hills. She had never finished the chapter since she lived in this town, and everything had already been done beforehand. She looked at that old page she'd never looked at, and awe came into her eyes as she finally made it to the hundredth page.

"Ah!" Charger hides under.

"Ugh!" Eve hides under the cart.

"Lisa? Trude? What are you doing here?" Cyrus walks out of the cart.

"We were just looking out for you. Where have you been?"

"And why are you carrying that theatre cart in the free lane?" Trude peeks out.

Eve signals from the cart at Cyrus to leave the two. Cyrus quickly grabs the cart and prepares to leave.

"Oh, me? Don't mind me! I was just—carrying stuff for Dion—I mean, Mr. Carven for his party. Why aren't you yet in the party? I mean, why don't you just go there first? While I go get this one out?"

"No, no, wait! Wait! We just want to talk." Lisa stops him.

Eve signals Cyrus again, but he looks away.

"Oh, uhm—sure! But be quick! I'm in a hurry!"

Lisa and Trude bring Cyrus to a safer space from Eve's reach, where their words are deaf to her. Eve peeked her eyes out, hoping to spy on their conversation.

"Eve, I don't understand why don't you ever talk to them?" Charger peeks out.

"Didn't we talk about this? I told they're not my friends."

"It's not like these people even saw me. I mean, I've already poked my body halfway from this cart and they haven't seen me."

"Yet?" Charger added.

"Nope. Never."

"I don't know about you, Eve. But if I were you, I'd be on that group having much fun than you ever did."

"Then why aren't you there?"

"Because I'm not a human. And I'm too much to bear for them."

After a few minutes, the two parted ways with Cyrus and headed to the Ashenwill.

"Don't worry, Lisa! I'll see you soon, too!" Cyrus waved back as the two girls did.

"Can't wait to see you too!"

Cyrus looks around for Gold Creek one last time, still doubting about going away with Eve and Charger.

"Should we be worried if the others wouldn't come looking for us? We don't even know if they did."

"They will. But how will that stop us?" Eve replies.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Eve." Charger mumbled.

"Then what can you do about that, Charger? Wanna"

"No, I mean—"

"That's what I thought. Now get into the front and don't look back!"

And the cleric was silenced, not to look back even after everything that had happened. The only thing he'd for the town is his amulet, which now means nothing but to him.

The three arrived at the coast with their raft is still intact and clean on the shore. The tin house had already been decimated to piles, leaving tins scattered on the sand or swept by the ocean away.

"Aww..."

"Finally! Do you know how hard it is to carry all of these in one go??" Eve left the cart with her belongings.

"Which is why WE used this cart, Eve!" Charger rolled the cart onto the raft.

"Wait, are you sure that thing would float, Charger? I mean with the cart?" Cyrus dragged the raft closer to the coast by the anchoring rope.

"Yes. The aluminium you've requested had already been tested with the cart, which is crucial for us to use after we reached the gate on the island."

The Tin Man prepares the raft, the cleric analyzes the pattern of wind and ocean, and the librarian works on the map. While the sea is filled with lives and the waves are flat, rowing today would be a perfect opportunity to reach the other island quickly. So they worked harder than ever, trying to use every second they had in this town.

*Transporting luggage* "Alright, settle in! We don't need luggage check right now, so feel free to bring up any illegal weapons if you want."

"Whoa, Eve. Is that a suitcase? Why did you bring a suitcase?"

"Because we need a cloth wherever we go. Charger, are you sure this map is correct?" Eve re-read the red mark on the mapping.

"Yeah? Did you read it from the north?"

"Yes! And it doesn't make any sense! Are we supposed to row from the north? Because that's impossible with all the terrain on Wellspring!"

*Flip map* "Eve." Charger mumbled before leaving onto his raft again.

"Oh, yeah...that makes more sense now."

They have never made it this far, but now they are. The raft is ready to row, and the town is nowhere behind them anymore. The librarian and the cleric would be the last to step out of the town for the last time. The dawn sun shines over the hill, reminding her of the homeland before she leaves it at once.

*Screwing* "Eugh...hmph..." Charger's twisting his wrist with a screwdriver.

"What are you doing, Charger?" Cyrus packed the last tin into the backseat.

*Screwing* "Refining my cloaking device before we can leave."

"Cloaking device?"

"An analogue information counter and light refraction device."

"You can go invisible??" Cyrus stares with awe, waiting for the show.

*Cloaking* "Bingo. Now you know it." He disappears before his eyes only by a tap of his watch.

"Woah. Charger, you're on every list of my party. Note that."

*Uncloaking* "Pfft! No need for the flatter! I just knew you couldn't resist it! Nobody can resist this greatness! But, thanks for the offer..."

The librarian shed a tear of sadness, waving back at Gold Creek with a mourn as the raft slowly coursed into the ocean. She had never felt scared to be alone until now. Her toes slowly touched the raft's edge one by one until every foot came into the ocean and left the sand at once.

As the first flag was waved over, she could feel the wind boasting at their raft with such power. The scent of salt mixing with metal on the shore filled the librarian with determination. She wears this scent like a bandage to her forehead, a garment that brings pride.

"Alright. There it is..." Eve's heart beat so fast. Happiness came with such news for her.

"This is it. All those years of seclusion and now I'm here..."

"With only one footstep, I shall walk into the unknown myself. Never to be the same." 

"I'll never be the same again. Never. And it's good—good for me, and for everyone."

"And when I'm back. Everything is still the same but me." She puts her hand into her chest in a pledge she swore to none but herself.

"Bye, bye! Gold Creek! I'll miss you!!"

Cyrus throws a bottle of wine into the anchor, releasing the mooring with a shatter.

The journey has begun. Far into the west, slowly leaving the ocean and nothing more but a clear sky, watching the storms polluting the east. She stayed resilient, waiting for the wind to bring her forward as the adventure goes.

The raft is also resilient, keeping her safe from drowning and cold. Alongside her, the cleric and the Tin Man were waiting while their arms held at the sail, following the wind's pattern. And so far, the librarian hasn't yet puked. They flair the farewell flags with mourn and grief as they see their town one last time.

"Oh—oh, we did it! We really are sailing away! Woo!" Eve celebrates.

"Woah! Woah! Hey! Watch out for the hull, Eve! It could break if you keep stomping!" Charger navigates the ship with the sail.

"Oh, my bad." She stops.

The voyage began in the North Sea, with the sky so bright as heaven, pushing their raft into paradise. There is silence, with only their voices to intervene. The sound of water flowing and fishes comes along their journey.

"Alright. Let's see..." Charger opens his map.

"Now, where's the Isle of Man? It should be somewhere over here..."

"Huff, I can't wait to be on that 'world' up there and start writing about my legendary adventure after taking over a throne of dragon with my bare fist." Eve grabs a bottle of water from the ration cart.

"Me, too. But I really wish I could come home any sooner after this. Maybe with some rings of sorceries in my fingers?" Cyrus jokes.

"Pew, pew, pew—magic..."

"Magic doesn't come with slinger. It comes with staffs." Eve offers a sandwich for Cyrus.

"Wrong! Magic comes from hand. But can we not eat the best treat until we've got halfway from the island? Where are we heading again, Charger?"

"Isle of Man. It's where the gate would bring us out. But that will be a long way from here. I'm trying to keep an eye on the boat straight from here..."

"Hehe, yeah. The longer, the better. Right?" Cyrus teases Eve.

"Definitely." Eve grabs for a soda.

A few hours passed on the raft, yet the ocean was still silent—too silent for something terrible to happen. The librarian remains wary in her journey while the cleric and the Tin Man enjoy the little of their lives on this floating wood as the sun sets higher. But nobody could recall the hours or if it was still dawn.

Cyrus and Charger lie on the first floor while Eve is sitting on the second.

"So, like...how far? How exactly are those stars you came from?" Cyrus grabbed a binocular and surveyed the ocean.

"I'm not sure. But if it took me three days to arrive, then probably three light days away? A lot of time, arriving down to this planet can alter the time between Quasarian and Earth."

"Any sign of island around here, Cyrus?"

"No, but I think I could look better if I'm above? It's too dark in here..."

The serene beauty marks only the escapade from which the ocean is still a hazy maze for these adventurers. The sun is basking warm above their heads, while the water is pristine orange as the dawn. But as the librarian thinks the escapade is flowing on the line, the ocean turns against her.

Eve sat on the raft, navigating it by a steer controlling four long paddles at the water. Each angle determines how strong the other paddle would row, allowing her to turn left and right.

"Phew. I didn't realize rowing could be this hard."

"Sorry, Cyrus. But I have to be the captain here! This boat is mine!"

"Hey, this is our boat! And second, it's no boat! It's Charger's new friend." Charger peeks out from under her foot.

"Oh, please! As if I wasn't the one who came up with the idea of this...boat?" She pauses hesitantly.

"Anyway, did anyone bring a compass? I can't really tell if we're heading west or east from here."

The two ransack their pockets, only to realize they have none. Their face turns alert, and Eve immediately reads it.

"Really? I can't believe I have a team so lackey like you!" She replies displeased.

"Do better next time."

"What? Can't you just look over the sun and see where the north goes? The sun sets on the west, so we're supposed to follow it." Cyrus points out to the sun.

"Don't you see I'm wheeling? I can't do that! I could have drifted this thing into the abyss by now."

"You mean you can't just look up?" Charger peeks out.

"No."

Charger clenched his fist, slowly holding it down his wrist before pointing at the sun.

"*Sigh* Just follow my fingers."

"No. I told you I can't look there."

"Then what can you do right now? I can't help but look at you, too!" Charger yelled.

The salt on the ocean affected the Tin Man with madness. Rust replicates across his skin, and he yells desperately for help that is nowhere to be found. The poor man and his curse only worsen by even the weakest wave to his skin.

But the librarian could not heal a woundless flesh. The growing rust in the Tin Man's skin is only a dying scale that awaits to be decayed and sink to the depths of the unknown. The two could only cover the man in a towel from the water, preventing more suffering in an inevitable curse. But that wasn't enough to hold him from spasming on the floor.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Cyrus stops the two.

"How about I just row the boat instead? Maybe it'll make you two better?"

"No. I'm the one steering now. Don't intervene my adventure..."

"*Sigh* Let's just leave her to the duty." Charger descends over to his resting place.

"Come on, Eve. That's not funny. Charger did a lot for us today..."

"What gives into your mind lately?"

"My mind is clear as ever, Cyrus. This journey needs to be taken seriously and I have to count everything from this boat and the ocean at best."

"Okay, but what's with the harsh—"

Eve interrupts, "Do I have to remind you that I'm here to have fun in an eternal lavish like no other?"

With the sail standing clear, the librarian perched at the horizon with a straight gaze and deep glare into the west. Knowing the dangers ahead, she rows the boat as soon as possible to prevent a disaster like the Tin Man from happening again. But in her mind, she couldn't resist questioning yet at her adventure clearly.

What awaits on the horizon? What challenges the librarian's mind like the storm? And most importantly, what would it take to leave from heaven?

"So, are we heading to west or what now?" Eve asked again.