I don't care

It's been 10 days since they set out from those old dilapidated ruined village. They travelled through the weeping forest, It was a hard, arduous journey but they managed. With utmost caution and meticulous planning, Conrad and his companions successfully left behind those haunting nightmares. The dawn of a new day emerged, ushering in a fresh chapter full of exciting opportunities in their lives. But this victory couldn't have been possible by the sacrifices of those unfortunate enough to be a part of those nightmares.

Now,

They had left behind "The weeping forest" the previous day. Now, they were following a road taken by Merchants, and tourists who visit from the capital this time of the year.

A road that went through an ordinary forest, and yet they had 4 days until they would reach the city of Ustrax.

The Horses were carrying the carts and carriages at full speed, their hooves pounding against the ground, a rhythmic symphony of urgency and determination.

On the second Carriage, Elkdrack and Patrick were seated side by side. Patrick had taken the reins of the horse, his grip tight as he urged the animal forward. With each gentle tug, the horse responded obediently, its muscles rippling beneath its sleek coat.

As Patrick focused on maneuvering the carriage, his eyes stealing quick glances at the passing scenery, he couldn't help but notice Elkdrack lost in his own world. His gaze fixed on the towering trees rushing by, a distant look in his eyes. It was as if he was wrestling with his own thoughts, delving deep into the hidden recesses of his mind. Intrigued and growing restless, Patrick decided to break the silence, his voice laced with a mixture of curiosity and boredom.

"Elkdrack, you seem lost in deep thought."

But Elkdrack remained unresponsive, his distant expression unchanged. Patrick, determined not to be ignored, persisted.

"Elkdrack! Elkdrack!"

he called out, his voice rising with each repetition. Finally, Elkdrack snapped out of his reverie, startled by Patrick's persistence.

Confusion etched across his face, he mustered a half-hearted response.

"Huh?"

Concerned now, Patrick probed further, his voice imbued with genuine care.

"What happened, man? Why are you spacing out?"

Elkdrack brushed off Patrick's inquisition with nonchalance.

"Ohh... nothing," he replied, his gaze once again drifting into the distance.

Patrick, determined not to let the matter rest, continued to pursue the topic, his voice tinged with a mix of concern and curiosity.

"If something's bothering you...,"

he started, his words trailing off softly.

"You can tell me... I am all yours."

Once again, Elkdrack brushed off Patrick's offer of support, his response carrying an air of indifference.

"No thanks,"

he replied, seemingly unfazed by Patrick's sincerity.

However, Patrick refused to give up easily. He gazed deeply into Elkdrack's eyes, his own filled with genuine curiosity and a hint of something else.

Sensing the glimmer in Patrick's eyes, which, truth be told, was more reflective of his own boredom than intense interest, Elkdrack couldn't resist opening up.

"It's about that forest,"

he began, his voice slightly distant, a departure from his usual demeanor.

"What about it?"

Patrick asked, struggling to grasp the significance. Elkdrack continued, his gaze fixed on some far-off point.

"It felt... different,"

he said, his voice trailing off.

"The way it looked, the way it felt... It was as if something fundamentally had altered."

His words hung in the air, prompting Patrick to seek clarification.

"What do you mean?"

he inquired, his interest piqued. Elkdrack, still lost in his thoughts, elaborated further.

"The atmosphere, the aura... It was changed,"

he explained, his tone laden with a sense of intrigue.

"And I can't help but wonder... Could that be because of us?"

Patrick responded in a somewhat disinterested manner, his words lacking conviction.

"Yeah... You're right,"

he conceded, his attention already waning.

Unbeknownst to Elkdrack and maintaining his distant demeanor, he casually remarked,

"Strange, right?"

In response, Patrick's tone shifted, conveying a hint of seriousness and potentially an underlying message.

"Yeah, exactly,"

he replied sternly, as though implying that Elkdrack's remark held a different significance. Patrick then added a teasing tone to his words, further implying an unspoken meaning.

"Strange that you care,"

he quipped, subtly challenging Elkdrack's motives.

Confused by Patrick's insinuations, Elkdrack asked for clarity, his confusion evident in his voice, "What does that suppose to mean?"

he inquired, seeking to unravel Patrick's intentions. In a playful manner, Patrick chose to maintain the facade of seriousness, responding,

"I am genuinely surprised that you care."

Elkdrack, catching on to Patrick's lightheartedness, responded with a touch of sarcasm, his annoyance subtly seeping through.

"Yeah... real funny," he retorted, his words tinged with an air of exasperation.

Feigning seriousness, Patrick replied, his tone purposely heavy with jest.

"Yeah, really," he remarked, deepening the sarcastic undertone.

Elkdrack, still trying to understand Patrick's intentions, expressed his genuine curiosity.

"I am just curious"

he said, opening his feelings.

Deliberately continuing his banter, Patrick responded, continuing the playful tone.

"Yeah, exactly... strange," he quipped, further highlighting the amusing and strange nature of Elkdrack's actions.

Elkdrack, now slightly irritated, pressed Patrick further, feeling the need to clarify their dynamic.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

he inquired, his annoyance beginning to surface more prominently in his words.

Patrick continued his banter, disguising his lightheartedness as seriousness, with a touch of playful manipulation.

"Just think about it,"

he suggested, subtly encouraging Elkdrack to consider a thought-provoking idea.

"A person like you caring for worldly affairs," he remarked, perhaps implying that Elkdrack's interest in such matters was out of character.

He said in a way that seemed genuinely appreciative, expressing admiration.

"Never thought the day would come,"

Elkdrack, perceiving the underlying implications, responded curtly, with a mix of annoyance and dismissal.

"Ohh, shut up mate,"

he retorted, that he didn't take Patrick's remarks seriously and wanted him to cease.

Patrick, finding Elkdrack's response amusing, couldn't help but laugh .

Elkdrack, undeterred, redirected the conversation, persisting in discussing the initial subject .

"Seriously, you aren't a little bit curious?"

he inquired, suggesting that he expected Patrick to share his intrigue.

"How could that have happened overnight?"

he questioned, expressing a sense of skepticism.

Patrick, responding with a calm and confident tone, exuded an aura of authority that borders on intimidation.

"Ohh, it's just divine intervention,"

he proclaimed, presenting a fanatic explanation while infusing the statement with an air of certainty.

"The gods noticed our struggle and lent us a hand,"

he elaborated, conveying a belief in higher powers intervening in their situation.

Elkdrack, almost intimidated by Patrick's sincerity, observed his genuine conviction in the reply, prompting a mixture of fear and disbelief.

"You genuinely believe that... don't you?"

Patrick, unyielding in his stance, responded with a challenge, that he saw his explanation as the most plausible.

"Do you have any other explanations?"

he pressed, implicitly suggesting that he considered his divine intervention theory as the most logical. Elkdrack, recognizing the futility of convincing Patrick otherwise, burst out in laughter as he understood that further discussion on the matter would be futile. He understood that engaging with Patrick on the topic was essentially pointless, so he decided to let it go and move on.

Elkdrack, maintaining the flow of the conversation, directed his question to Patrick, indicating his willingness to share personal insight.

"You say I don't care much!, you maybe think I am selfish because I have a nonchalant Nature ... but that is completely true".

"About far from it".

"I used to care... even I had an insatiable curiosity ... but when reality hits you and leaves you hanging".

"Either you become insane in pursuit of truth or become detached like, I am".

he said, presenting a deeper reason for his detached demeanor.

Patrick, displaying an air of confidence, responded boldly, perhaps relishing the opportunity to express his opinion.

"That's simple, because you are a self-obsessed jerk ward,"

he declared, his belief that Elkdrack's lack of interest stemmed from a self-centered nature.

Elkdrack, taken aback by Patrick's blunt straightforwardness, voiced his surprise.

"You don't really believe that... do you?"

He questioned.

Patrick, unwavering in his stance, retorted,

"What else could it be?"

he responded, portraying a sense of certainty in his judgment, suggesting that he is correct in a way.

Elkdrack, prompted by Patrick's remark, began to delve into his past, his gaze distant and his tone tinged with nostalgia,

"It all started when I was 9," he began,

"There was an incident," he continued,

As Elkdrack shared his story, his face softened into a smile, a fondness and warmth associated with his recollections were resurfacing in his face.

He related a memory, painting a picture of a serene night under the starry sky.

"That night I looked up at the night sky, the moon appeared so angelic and divine," he shared,

"I think it was the first time I paid that much attention to it,"

he continued, this experience sparked a newfound curiosity and appreciation for the moon.

Elkdrack's smile persisted as he reminisced, his cherished memories from his childhood.

"And as I kept staring at it, I began to notice its scars and marks," he described,

"I thought to myself, even with those scars, it appeared so radiant," he mused,

As, Elkdrack's smile retained a hint of melancholy, reflecting the bittersweet nature of revisiting these nostalgic moments.

"Soon, I realized that the moon I saw every day was just its front side,"

he shared, a dawning realization.

"By reading books about it, I learned that it is actually a spherical object, and the side I saw every day was just its front side,"

he explained, as his hands simultaneously expressed a gesture to illustrate the concept of a spherical object.

"The one thing I remembered reading was that when it appears that the moon is slowly vanishing, it is actually revealing its other side," he added, injecting a note of surprise into his voice, as if expecting his audience to share in his astonishment.

Elkdrack's eyes briefly darted to Patrick's face, his anticipation palpable as he hoped to catch a glimpse of astonishment or intrigue mirrored in his friend's expression. However, to his disappointment, Patrick's face remained devoid of any visible signs of surprise, leaving Elkdrack to silently question whether his own fascination surpassed that of others.

"Maybe not," he mused, subtly acknowledging the absence of astonishment in Patrick's response, juxtaposing his own heightened curiosity with a touch of playful skepticism.

Undeterred, Elkdrack forged ahead, feeling compelled to share his perspective.

"Moving on, I had never seen its dark side, I mean, no one has, but put yourself in my shoes," he urged, proving his perspective.

"I didn't know that," he confessed.

Elkdrack's smile widened, the corners of his mouth widening relishing the amusement as he reminisced about his past self's insatiable curiosity.

It was as if he found joy in the innocence of that time, cherishing the wild imaginings and vivid fantasies that had characterized those moments.

"I became curious. In my mind, I was always thinking: How does it look like?" he shared, his voice dancing with a sense of childlike wonder, conveying the boundless imagination that had fueled his quest for knowledge.

"And each time, my imagination getting wilder and wilder," he added, a playful lilt in his voice.

"And I would try to see it from different angles, but it was always either shrouded in darkness or covered in clouds," he admitted, evoking a sense of frustration mingled with resilience, as if recounting the persistence with which he had sought glimpses of the moon's hidden side.

Elkdrack continued, his face lit up with a nostalgic smile,

"I was beginning to lose sleep on the matter," he confessed, admitting the deep preoccupation and fascination that had consumed his thoughts ended up making him stay awake at night.

"I read books, asked the servants throughout the mansion," he revealed, shedding light.

The mention of the mansion subtly hinted at a privileged background.

Patrick reacted with surprise, his eyebrows raising and his tone reflecting a genuine sense of astonishment.

His response, "Mansion," expressed both curiosity and intrigue, the mention of such an opulent residence potentially giving him insight into Elkdrack's background and lifestyle that he had not been previously aware of. He couldn't help but ask,

"You never told me you lived in a mansion?" .

Elkdrack replied with a casual air, downplaying the significance of his family's wealth and station.

"It wasn't something to be told," he admitted, Then Patrick's curiosity peaked, his interest piqued to the point of not being able to resist asking further questions.

The anticipation in the air was palpable, Patrick was driven by a genuine desire to understand and connect more deeply with his friend.

"What did your family do?"

Patrick asked, his words laced with genuine curiosity and a yearning to better understand Elkdrack's personal history and the origins of his family's wealth.

Elkdrack replied in a casual manner.

"We were textile owners," he stated, nonchalantly disclosing his family's business background.

Patrick responded in a typical manner, interjecting with an acknowledging

"Ohh...hmmm," providing a neutral response without any noticeable surprise or deep curiosity.

Elkdrack's gaze fixed upon Patrick, his eyes reflecting a distant look as he prepared to continue his narration, as if he were about to embark back through the corridors of his own past.

"Back to the topic," Elkdrack redirected their conversation, a determination to resume the discussion at hand.

He continued, his voice steady and resolute,

"I read books, ran around the mansion, asking everyone," his words expressing an earnest effort and an exhaustive quest for answers.

"But no one had an answer," Elkdrack confessed, his tone tinged with a sense of disappointment and resignation.

As he shared a distant look at his palm, Elkdrack clasped his hand in recognition, in a moment of personal reflection and understanding. The distant look in his eyes conveyed both a wistfulness and a sense of disappointment.

"It was not like they were hiding it from me," he explained, his words carrying a touch of empathy for those who were unable to provide him with answers.

"They actually didn't know," Elkdrack admitted with a hint of sadness, his tone tinge with a mixture of disappointment and resignation.

"Soon I had to face the fact that no one ever knew," he continued, his voice tinged with a solemn undertone.

"No one could answer my question," he said, his voice revealing a sense of disappointment and resignation.

He released his clasped hand, and as specks of horse fur flew from his palm, his gaze turned distant and disappointing.

"And I was no different, I would live and die without knowing anything about that," Elkdrack lamented, his voice tinged with a tone of sorrowful acceptance.

He continued, his words laced with a bittersweet undertone,

"It was a fact of life, there are some things no matter how much you desire, how much you beg to know about it, how much you add logic into it, it eludes you, and will continue to do so until the end ,"

"I had to accept that fact ... which led me to who I am ... a self obsessed jerk ward".

"So, if I found myself curiously wondering how the hell does it work? or how the hell does that happen?" Elkdrack mused, his words depicting those rare moments when his innate curiosity would resurface despite the apparent futility.

"I say to myself, It just happens. It is just how it is. It has no explanation," he reflected.

"And even if it has, the likes of me will never know," he admitted, his voice carrying a note of self-awareness mixed with a touch of resignation.

"I will only be disheartened, disappointed, and lose my outlook on things," he confessed,

"But still, once in a blue moon, I guess that 9-years-old part of me emerges," Elkdrack revealed, his voice softening with nostalgia and vulnerability.

"And then, it vanishes, leaving me hanging, just as it did back then," he concluded, the tone of his voice betraying a mixture of resignation and wistfulness.

The air around them was heavy with sadness

So, to lighten the mood, Elkdrack burst into laughter.

He turned to Patrick and remarked,

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that,"

But as Elkdrack looked into Patrick's eyes, he noticed them filled with tears, as if his story had touched Patrick's heart in a profound way.

Witnessing Patrick's reaction, Elkdrack bursted in laughter, his demeanor brightening with delight.

"You are too precious,"

Elkdrack remarked, his words carrying a touch of endearment and admiration.

"Man... that was refreshing,"

Elkdrack continued, his voice filled with a sense of satisfaction and contentment.

Patrick quickly wipes his eyes, embarrassed by the display of emotion.

He said,

"Let's not speak of this ever again," his words echoing with a sense of self-consciousness.

Elkdrack faced Patrick with a smile, his expression radiating warmth and reassurance. But as words were about to escape his mouth, a voice echoed from the cart in front of them, interrupting their exchange.

"Halt," Ikbal said, his command breaking through the conversation.