217 Nighttime Lake

I kept my eyes trained on the tent that Luna had just entered. If I remembered correctly, that tent is shared by Luna, Erith, and Alvelyn. They must be asleep by now as the tent was dark and showed no signs of light. I am fairly sure that Alvelyn is asleep as I felt a sense of serenity in that extra area in my mind that had appeared when Alvelyn had appeared. I don't want to ask her if she's awake or not since I am not sure if that will wake her up if she is in a state of slumber.

Not satisfied with my current state of mind, I decided to continue my stroll. Maybe in a bit, maybe after walking for a while longer, I would be able to fall asleep. Maybe if I just follow the stars, walk in the direction that the wind blows, maybe I'll find something. What it is, I do not know. However, I know that after finding it, my mind should be able to be put to rest and succumb to slumber.

I continued to wander down the dark, mountain trail. Aimless was the direction, and leisurely was the speed. There was nothing in this nighttime world that would disturb me now, and when the night seems as long as this, I have all the time in the world. There is nothing in this silent world that might be of an issue.

The light cast by the moon overhead illuminated the oath before me. Although it was still dark, my eyes had adjusted to the point such that I am able to see the road ahead of me with the aid of the moonlight. However, even with the illumination, it did not change the direction that I walked.

The forest around me soon gradually cleared in front of me, and I continued walking on. In the distance, past the clearing of the trees that lined either side of the mountain trail was the sparkling clear waters of the lake. In the center of the lake, the water reflected the round shape of the full moon overhead. However, the gentle breeze that blew by rippled the water surface, blurring and distorting the image.

As if in a trance, I stared at the lake, wondering if this was what I was searching for. My eyelids were getting somewhat heavy, so this might just very well be it. However, the sudden sound of splashing and water dripping off of something and falling back into the lake caught my attention. I looked over in the direction of the sound and noticed something that I had not noticed earlier.

I looked over in the direction of the sound and noticed something that I had not noticed earlier

The sight of Mura rising from the shallow banks of the lake made its mark on my memories. The thin, white robe that she wore absorbed the water and clung onto her skin, making it such that the colors of her flesh showed through the now basically transparent fabric. My eyes seemed to automatically be attracted to her hips, and when Mura turned to look at me, my eyes glanced over to her breast. I quickly forced myself to look away after catching a glimpse of her naked breasts in its entirety underneath the soaked fabric. I ignored the two protrusions from her breasts and focused my eyes such that it met with Mura's.

"It's you," she smiled as she covered up her breasts with one arm and allowed the other to hang low to cover up her privates.

"Shouldn't you be more...surprised?" I asked. "Like you're student basically just saw you naked."

"You I don't mind," Mura chuckled as she started walking over to the banks of the lake and towards where she had rested her towel.

I kept my eyes on her as she moved. I wanted to look away, but my eyes seemed to be naturally attracted by the smooth and elegant movements of her body. Because she was soaked, this scene appeared rather erotic.

Mura grabbed the towel from on top the grass and started drying her hair with it. She did the bare minimum in protecting her body by turning away at an angle such that I would not be able to catch a glimpse of her breasts and her privates. However, that still did not cover up her body's natural curves as she had both arms raised above her head to dry out her hair. This pose of her's seemed to emphasize the natural lines of her body, making them seem even more alluring and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

"Why don't you use the shower?" I asked as I finally forced myself to look up at the moon.

"I did," Mura explained as she continued to dry her hair. "It's just that if I don't soak myself in water, I won't be able to sleep."

"But this water is cold," I observed. "Would that help with sleep?"

"It won't," Mura chuckled. "But it's good enough to calm the mind. It was getting rather hot in the tent. It's weird cause Spring had just begun, and yet we feel as if the temperature is higher than it is."

"Is it because our bodies are more accustomed to the winter cold?" I hypothesized. "So the slight uptick in temperature is very noticeable."

"I guess so," Mura smiled. She seemed to have finished drying her hair to the best of her abilities. The strands of hair on her head was still somewhat damp, but the wind should dry it up soon enough.

What Mura decided to focus on next was her body. It seemed that she had prepared spare clothes to change into as the clothing items rested on the ground next to where she had placed her towel on standby.

"Can you turn around?" Mura asked me. "I want to dry my body and change."

"You didn't mind earlier," I jokingly said in a serious voice.

"That's with clothes on," Mura answered. It seemed as if she took my joke seriously.

"I know," I sighed and chuckled as I turned around.

I allowed her to change peacefully in silence without any disruptions, meaning I just stood there and listened to the sound of her bath towel rubbing against the smooth skin of her naked body. It wasn't long before she finished drying her body and had stripped herself of the wet clothing in exchange for her dry ones. When she was finally finished, she notified me, allowing me to turn around and face her once again.

"So why are you out so late and not asleep yet?" Mura asked me as she tidied her hair.

"I couldn't sleep," I responded in a somewhat sluggish manner.

"That's a rather simple excuse," she chuckled as she then sat down on a rock nearby. "Since you're not tired yet, let's talk for a bit."

I saw that on the rock that she had sat on, there was an empty space right next to her. I assumed that it was for me to sit on, but I'm not entirely sure.

"What're you waiting for?" Mura patted the empty spot next to her. "Sit down."

Without saying anything, I followed her orders and had a seat next to her. The rock wasn't exactly large to begin with, so that made it so that Mura and I were sitting quite close next to each other. However, it wasn't to the point that we were pressed together or anything like that. But just in case, I sat down at an angle such that my back was slightly turned towards her.

"So how're things going for you lately?" she asked.

"Nothing much," I responded. "There's nothing to report on."

"That's nice to hear," Mura nodded her head. "So, have you thought about what your plans are after high school?"

"That's a rather abrupt change in topic," I chuckled. "No, but I guess I'll just go to college and spend another aimless four years there."

"You should really have a focus," Mura said to me. "You're almost done with high school and will have to choose a major for college. Those four years in college, if you just spend it aimlessly passing time, will be lost forever."

"I know," I nodded.

"You should really be thinking about stuff like that," Mura continued. "You're almost done with school."

"Yeah," I sighed and leaned back slightly on the rock, using my arms to support my upper body as I stared at the nighttime sky above.

In a few months, Luna and Erith will graduate. Then in a year, the rest of us except for Zaksus would graduate as well. Even though it looks like it's still a long time from now, it'll be here before I know it. This peaceful daily life...it won't last forever. I'll have to continue on with my life, no matter if I succeeded in my plans of revenge or not.

Revenge...there's really not been much progress at all. I'm still at the same point as I was when father died... I'm just merely passing time aimlessly and tricking myself into believing that I have a purpose in life and that purpose is to take revenge on my mother. But to be honest, I don't even know what revenge will be. What would I do? I've always thought that I would have a plan for that once I found where she is, but...I'm not even actively looking. I'm just stalling, a faker in this real world. The real fool isn't anyone that have their future planned out and are working hard to achieve it. The real fool is me.

"Mura," I called her name as she had wanted me to when we're not in a formal setting. "What made you want to be a teacher?"

"Me?" She paused momentarily. "It all started because I wanted to leave home. My family's situation is...complicated. I'm sure you might have a general idea already and Muria probably told you some of it before, but...growing up, our father was always away because of his job. Then there is our mother, who used to be with us constantly when we were younger, but ever since my father divorced her and she lost custody of us, life has just been...different. Our step-mother did try and improve relations with us, but...Muria and I just didn't have the same connection with her. When "I had the chance to leave, I took it. But then, there's Muria. I couldn't leave her behind, so I decided to become a teacher. My parents ultimately allowed Muria to live with me, and that is in large part because of my occupation."

"You became a teacher all for Muria?" I took my sight away from the sky and looked over at Mura. Her hair had dried somewhat from the gentle breezes that occasionally blew by and she seemed to be also gazing at the mesmerizing starry nighttime sky overhead.

Then

"That was the main reason why," Mura smiled. "Now what would you think of me as your teacher?"

"Your still my teacher," I answered her. "It doesn't matter what reasons made you a teacher, but you wanted to help me. You actually care, so that's all that matters."

"That's nice to hear," Mura laughed softly.

Then, the two of us sat there in silence, enjoying the gentle nighttime breeze as it blew by and rippled the surface of the otherwise still lake. It was rather tranquilizing listening to the sound of wind and the rustling of leaves while staring at the starry sky with the moon gazing back down at you.

"Time will always flow forward at a constant rate," Mura continued. "It might be slow when you focus on it, but once you take your attention off of it, it just seems surprisingly fast. Our relationship with our parents...it can't last like this forever. I'm thinking of one day, maybe try moving back into our old home and see if the relationship can be improved."

"Would Muria agree to it?" I asked.

"Probably not," Mura sighed and lowered her head. "But when that time comes, you'll help me convince her, will you?" She looked over at me and smiled.

Seeing the smile on her face that seemed to be laced with a hint of sadness reminded me of Muria's countenance when she asked me something similar while on the school trip to Saroff. The two requests seemed to contradict, which is rather surprising that the two sisters, the older loving the younger and the younger admiring the older, would ultimately end up having opposing point of views.

"It's getting late," Mura said as she grabbed her belongings and got up. "We should head back."

"Right," I nodded.

I forced myself onto my knees and started walking after Mura with my hands in my pockets.

"Mura," I suddenly called out loud my teacher's name.

"Hm?" She stopped in her steps and looked over her shoulders at me.

"What job does your father have that makes your family situation like that?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Oh, him?" Mura turned her head such that she was looking at the road ahead of us. "The CEO and President of the Edel Organization."

"..."

What Mura nonchalantly revealed to me surprised me. The Edel Organization, one of the largest corporation in Vilheim and in the world.