Chapter 51: Chapter Fifty - Neil?

Jade, still sitting down against the wall, clutching her knees:

I don’t know what this has to do with the trial I had to go through, as I could never ‘adjust’ myself to accepting the sight in front of me. He couldn’t be real. He couldn’t be my lost companion.

“You’re not real.”

“You’re not real.”

I chanted over and over again, not believing the sight I saw just now, keeping my eyes closed as I didn’t want to give in to what my brain just wanted to process.

“Miss Jade. It is me.” The young man said.

“No, it’s not! You’re not real!” I shook my head and kept my eyes closed. My hands were now covering my ears, not wanting to hear anything that this person was saying to me.

This is just some awful trick. Someone is trying to break me down even further, and succeeding at it as well.

Suddenly, I shrieked to the side as I felt something touching my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw this young version of him… I didn’t want to acknowledge it… scrounging down on his knees and looking sad.

“I am Neil.” He said. “Don’t you remember me?” He asked but I couldn’t reply, my mind was blank. “I see, you have forgotten me already. That’s alright, you have more important things to attend to.” He said with an even sadder voice and stood to walk away.

“Prove it.” I suddenly blurred and he turned around. “Prove it that you’re him.” I cleared after clearing my throat, wiping away some wetness from my face. I didn’t know I was crying…

“When you turned hundred and twenty, only a year after I joined you on your journey, I had ordered a cake with hundred and twenty candles, and you laughed wholeheartedly when you heard the story of how I had to explain to the baker that it was truly for someone who turned that old. It had slipped my mouth before I came to realize that no ordinary human could turn that age, and it had embarrassed me a lot. But as the stubborn Englishman, I am, I dared not to take back that statement and just brush it off to the baker. I had to pay him off with a vast amount of money to keep him quiet and not tell his coworkers or anyone else.” The young man said and I laughed at that memory.

I never told anyone that story and no one else was there to have witnessed it, so no one knew that specific part of my life. I even smiled at knowing how much Neil had given the baker and how he was repulsed by me laughing at this embarrassment. He knew from that moment that he wouldn’t tell me any mistake he ever made or made sure he wouldn’t make any other mistake at all, just to avoid hearing me laugh on his account.

But then it dawned on me. This man… is Neil.

“But how…” I asked softly while looking at his attire.

“I didn’t want to shock you with my presence, looking like the Neil you just lost. I was afraid you might recoil from me seeing me that way. But I guess you did anyway, no matter how I looked. I’m sorry miss Jade.” He said, excusing himself. “And I also didn’t want to look like the old me, in case you had forgotten me, I could have just vanished looking like my younger self.” He continued and this time I had the strength to talk to him about this.

I stood up, angry about his statement. “How could I ever forget you! You are the one that guided me in my missions, that stood by me when we were in danger, that always gave me the right advice no matter the situation!” I yelled, stepping closer to him. “I lost such a big part of my life that I am embarrassed to tell you that I only noticed how big that part was until you were gone. The excuse is all on me! I failed to save you, to keep you alive! It is my fault that you feel this way, and I’m the one that feels the way you do now, and I’m the only one that should!” I said with tears on my face, holding Neil’s shoulders while his eyes were open wide in surprise.

He then showed me several emotions, some of which were sadness and confusion but also happiness and pride. He was so mesmerized by me standing in front of him, giving it my all, letting go of my emotions while I had never done that in front of him. He knew now what he meant to me, and it made me feel even more guilty that I have never truly shown him what I felt for him. Certainly, he must have known, but seeing me like this, probably shook his core.

He took hold of me and hugged me tightly, which I returned blissfully. We didn’t need to talk about what happened, we just stood there, accepting everything that we had now.

But I wasn’t ignorant of our situation. Even though I will treasure this moment forever, being granted another few minutes with him, I know this won’t last. Especially since he already explained he could choose any appearance he wanted, I know he is here on borrowed time.

“How long do we have?” I asked while clutching him tightly, nearly crushing him.

“Not much, I’m just grateful that we have this.”

We took a few more minutes like this, just revelling in each other’s embrace. But time was of the essence, as I knew he was meant to be here for a reason.

“I have a message for you.” He whispered.

“Just one more minute, please.” I pleaded as I held him even tighter.

He waited diligently, not wanting to ruin the moment until he truly had to. He sighed before he spoke again and I tried to listen to him, even though I tried to memorize his smell and voice, burning it into my soul.

“Miss Jade.” He called for my attention and reluctantly I let go of our tight hug, looking him in the eyes while tears stained my face. “I have given you plenty of advice, which you always followed, and I’m here to grant you that for one more time.”

As the unknown deities from above wouldn’t grant him the power to tell me what will happen in the future, he is going to grant me some advice that will guide me in the right direction, even though it might be cryptic. I just know he will.

“Keep Miria safe at all cost, she is important in your journey.” He said, not giving me true information, just some guidance like I knew he would be.

I smiled at the gesture, for him giving me at least this piece of information. Keeping Miria alive had always been my goal, but knowing that my goal had a purpose too, was something new. New questions arose from this as well, but I didn’t want to waste my time with Neil if he didn’t tell me the information himself.

“Could you please turn back into the Neil I lost? Even though it is for a limited time, I want to see you.” I asked him and he nodded.

Slowly he changed his appearance into the older version of himself and I looked into those glimmering orbs, edged with age and wisdom. I didn’t want to ask questions about Miria and why I should keep her close, I needed to see him, the way I want to remember him.

Seeing this version of him is something that has to last a lifetime, so I’m engraving his looks into the back of my mind, there where I can access it whenever I want to. At least until I can join him…

I put my hands on his cheeks, savouring the feeling of his day-old stubble and his old face. I pulled his face down towards me and I gave him a friendly kiss on his lips, knowing he would be gone in seconds.

“I love you old man.” I said while closing my eyes.

“I love you too, miss Jade. Don’t give up on hope.” He answered and I felt his body disappear from my touch.

He was gone, again.

But even though I was crying, I wasn’t breaking down. Not that I wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown, but this time I had given myself the chance to conceive some sort of closure. I know I’m blessed with his short appearance as no one else who has ever lost a loved one was given another moment to cherish that loved one again. So, I’m standing proud, wiping away my tears and getting grounded again. I’m a strong woman and crying over Neil is not something I’m going to do again.

He is with me, I know that now, so I have to carry on.

Taking a few deep breaths, another question arose as well. Why is Neil here, right now? Why in this moving house, where I’m supposed to follow this trial to get my next orb of power?

Hold on…

My brain started to work overtime and only now did something very different became clear to me!

I looked around the room, frantically searching for the orb of power as I somehow felt that this was the end of the trial. Don’t ask me how I know, but I just did, and when I saw another one of those columns just like the one I had broken in the first room, it gave me the confirmation I needed. On the column laid a soft red pillow and on top of that, my last empowering orb.

The grey marble had the same rune as the last one on my arm, so I quickly put it inside my pocket and rushed for the door in the first room, as this one didn’t have a door at all.

Not even surprised that it was unlocked now, I entered the hallway and was greeted by something rather odd.

Kallan, rolling his eyes to Trixie, right before Jade came through the door:

Jade looked at Trixie who was practically dry-humping Chariah, the Gorgon we have met a year ago when we were on her planet searching for a wife for me. I don’t know why Chariah was here, at all, but that didn’t seem to bother Trixie. She saw, she went and she conquered, and Chariah had seemed to have forgotten that she had a job here.

After fighting off the statue on the other side of the hill, half an hour ago, Miria came running towards us, telling us everything that had happened in her own childlike manner. It was confusing to understand her, but Trixie had been gentle enough to calm the little girl and managed to get some useful information as to where Jade was taken to by this Connely guy.

So far, we hadn’t managed to find him yet, and Trixie didn’t really seem to want to take her time to ask for any explanation from Chariah either, so I’m standing here, dumbfounded with Echo and Zeph, not knowing what to do.

Jade, however, did seem to have some sort of idea of what she was supposed to be doing and bolted straight towards Miria. Not even giving me a glance at the fact that I’m here right now. For just a slight moment I was hurt, but as she went on to Miria like this as if time was limited right now I knew she must have had a reason for ignoring me.

“Miria, do you have a picture on your arm?” She suddenly asked her and Echo stepped in to listen as well.

“Mommy told me to not say.” She said and Jade sat down and put the little girl on her lap.

Jade used some energy which seemed to be red now, at which I was confused but would ask about it later, and then brushed over her arm and showed Miria her markings. She told her that it wouldn’t hurt but that she would just want to make sure that something was there, and then Miria nodded her head, trusting Jade with her arm.

She then used that same oddly strange red energy and brushed over Miria’s wrist to find out that she indeed had some sort of strange marking on her skin. Apparently, Jade wasn’t surprised by this outcome, but Echo certainly was when he heard from Jade what it looked like.

Both Zeph and I took a step closer and wanted to see the marking for ourselves as well, but the little girl was a little intimidated by all the piercing eyes and burrowed her head against Jade’s chest and quickly covered her arm as well.

“Is it bad?” She asked afraid and Echo chuckled gently. “Not at all.” He said and clicked his sounds and lowered himself to be in reach of Miria, he reached out for her, to take her in his hold and Jade told her that it was alright.

She reluctantly let go of Jade and held her arms now tightly around Echo’s neck while they walked out of the stone house.

I was curious beyond reasoning but as Jade’s face was now turned to me, I noticed that she had been crying and instantly I got worried instead. “What happened?” I asked her as soon as I had her in my grasp, but she just shook her head and told me she would tell me about it later. So, as I missed her lips and wanted to taste her again, I grabbed her chin and ravaged her mouth like a thirsty Xentou, the mountable creatures that were standing on the white path near the dead humans.

“Oh, so that’s their name.” Jade said after I let her release my lips.

“Why, what do you think they were called?”

“Miria called them Kuddos.” She shrugged and I chuckled.

“Yes, that’s much more suitable for them. I’m going to call them Kuddos now too.” I replied while smiling.

We both sighed at the same time and I saw how she looked at Trixie while she dragged Chariah into a room and closed the door.

“I guess we have to spend some time here.” Jade said and we both chuckled at that.

“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?” I then asked her and she nodded her head. “Let’s use the time we have right now, then.” I said and kissed her again. “After we have taken some alone-time as well.” I continued and took her to the door she had left earlier.

Zeph was the only one standing in the hallway, not having a partner, not having someone to talk to, nothing. He just looked around him, baffled, feeling like some sort of the fifth wheel on the wagon.