Drifting At Land

Theodel was going up, from the depths to the surface.

He was unconscious, but the dream he left in the deep was one of a gentle embrace.

He did not recognize her, yet he did not want to let go. 

As he started floating up, his hands traced her arms until their hands locked. He looked straight at her, while the current was pushing them apart. 

His legs were up, the only thing keeping him at the bottom was this person.

He couldn't make much of what she looked like, the best he could focus on was the hands that held onto him like one would with the edge of a cliff.

The current, which only grew bigger and fiercer kept working against Theodel who now barely held on with one hand.

She let go.

The flow propelled him upward. He tried gaining control using his arms and legs but couldn't stabilize himself. 

His ascent had him barely able to stay in one position, spinning the whole way up until he finally reached the surface.

"Is he fine?"

"It hasn't rained recently, right?"

"Should we help?"

A crowd formed around Theodel as he was lying in a puddle of water. His clothes were soaked and dripping on the stone-paved road under.

The sun was high above, directly hitting everyone as they stood around whispering. 

The first person to break through the crowd was a young woman. 

She wore a hat woven with flowers and plants found in a garden, under it a sweet violet decorated her hair. On her back was a white bag with plants and greenery pointing out of it.

She looked around quickly until she noticed Theodel in the middle.

"Is nobody going to help him?" she said, looking at everyone with a frown. 

They looked at each other, wondering who should step up. Some had already gone away, uninterested in the situation.

The young woman sighed loudly, ensuring everyone would hear it as she walked towards Theodel. 

As she got closer, she crouched, shaking Theodel's shoulder to wake him up. 

His face did not look at peace, as she expected from someone unconscious. 

As everyone kept whispering behind her, she tried again, shaking his shoulder and gently tapping his cold cheek. 

As she tried grabbing his hand, her heart skipped a beat as the first reaction she had received was her hand held tight.

It was unexpected and freaked her until she noticed the frown was gone. 

Looking closer, she noticed he didn't look local.

He wasn't ugly, and probably around her age. His clothes were not the ones of a peasant, but they didn't look like those of a noble either. 

An Apostle?

The first thought jolting through her mind, as she realized the situation could be more delicate than she initially envisioned.

No wonder nobody is walking up, she thought as she looked around at everyone concerned.

As she tried to step away and let go of Theodel's hand, his grasp became tighter, yet not enough to hurt her.

Anxious, she quickly started tapping his cheek with more fervor.

Just wake up already! she desperately thought.

In a flash, his eyes opened wide. 

As he did, he instinctively let go of her hand and quickly helped himself up.

 Looking around, Theodel was processing the information as quickly as his brain allowed him.

The crowd around him was still whispering as he stood there dripping in water. 

He looked left and right but nothing made sense; The clothes, the faces, and the whispers. 

"Look at him" "Is he from here?" "Is he fine?" "he's looking this way" "Why is he here?" "Should we alert the guards" "What's happening now" "Where's the water from" "Has anyone seen him before?"

His head spun as his breathing became faster and shorter. His eyes were darting left and right as he tried to look for something familiar to hold on to. 

From the moment he pressed yes on that roof to waking up in the street, only a brief moment had passed.

"What..." he started.

"Is he talking to me?" "I think we shouldn't get involved..." 

"Please, just a moment," Theodel continued.

"His accent is foreign isn't it" "He's still dripping, so weird" "Maybe he's cursed..."

"Run."

While he turned around quickly to look at who spoke, the girl quickly grabbed his hand and started running the opposite way.

As they reached the closest side of the crowd, she quickly pushed through with her available hand, barely taking the time to say sorry.

She tightly held his hand. He did his best to not fall as he put one leg in front of the other, following her wherever she might bring him.

Breaking through the crowd, she quickly led him down the street, where stalls arranged on each side offered a variety of different fruits and vegetables.

Most stalls didn't have anyone holding them, as they had been busy crowding him. Everything was spotless and organized in the stalls and the storefronts behind them.

The smell of freshly baked bread or the flowerbeds in between some businesses gave Theodel a rainbow of pleasant fragrances as he ran down the street.

Rapidly turning into an alleyway, the nice winds and scents turned sour. 

Turning left in another one further, the backstreets became narrower as they progressed. 

As they ran, his breath quickly became short. 

I've been running for less than a minute, how?

They turned again, this time to a small clearing of around 2 meters wide.

The small square was lodged in between 4 buildings that went meters high, barely giving light a way to pass through. 

Despite that, grass and flowers grew in the middle of it.

The girl finally let go of his hand as he was folded in two, catching his breath.

"Th... Thanks," he managed to whisper.

"I think... you need more exercise," she answered while poorly holding back laughs.

"Hey... I'm not.. in that bad of.. a shape. Oh hell.. why am I this tired..."

Poorly holding himself, Theodel's head was still spinning, but not from a crowd this time.

As the girl sat on the grass, carefully avoiding the area with flowers, she tapped the ground next to her, signaling him to sit down.

He quickly took the offer, sitting alongside her.

"I'm Syllia, what's your name?" she said while smiling.

"I'm Theodel," he answered.

As he introduced himself, the light that came from directly above softened until day looked like night.

Her face which looked bright a moment before, was now darkened.

All around, glowing embers started floating, filling the space.

A sudden feeling of despair and hopelessness filled both of them as the air became cold and sinister.

As he rapidly looked at Syllia who was frozen in fear, chills were sent down his spine as he felt something crawling, or sliding, against his back.