Helping a Friend

Running outside the house, Elias did not even wait to find out whether the old man was still alive.

He was not filled with sorrow, for he has known loss before, but he felt guilt.

'Why do I fail when it matters most?'

He was the hunter! The healer! He was the savior…

He rescued the boys from certain death, He healed Drea and allowed her respite from pain, He saved the village from demons again and again!

And yet,

He failed to protect his father, he failed to become strong enough to look for his mother. And now, he failed to save one of his only friends from the feeling of loss.

He failed.

Because of that very mindset, it was that Elias became blinded by what was, not what could.

He overlooked his young age, his inexperience, he overlooked that the burden was not his in the beginning.

But it was also because of that mindset that Elias always improves with desperate effort. It was because of that rabid chase of power and knowledge, that Elias steps closer to the peak every day.

##

I dipped into the darkness of the night, standing in the middle of the town plaza as frustration gripped my being and guilt my mind.

I felt so, useless…

'WHY! Just why does everything turn to shit the second I get a moment of peace.'

My hands brushed my hair back aggressively as I craned my neck to glare at the heavens. My old grey tunic rushed up my torso, its end reaching my midriff allowing the cold fingers of the night breeze tickle my stomach softly.

"It's not your fault, brave shepherd."

A gentle voice suddenly wafted into my ears.

Snapping my neck towards the voice, I was met by a bare foot lady. Blocking the moon, its light struck her head, creating the illusion of a nimbus floating behind her golden ocean of hair.

Frolicking in her white night gown, Drea approached somberly, her footsteps graceful and filled with purpose.

In my fluster, I did not comprehend what she was saying. All I could focus on was her ill figure out in this cold night

"W-What are you doing here?!"

Closer she stepped, unbothered by my stuttering mess.

"It's not your fault, brave shepherd" she repeated.

"What are you talking about? You need to go home! You'll get sick!"

Finally, she stood right before me, her heterochromatic eyes bearing down with gentle worry.

"W-What are you doing?"

Hunching over, her faire face met mine, and her warm hand sat atop my head.

My eyes crosses slightly looking up at the hand on my head as her dainty fingers brushed through my hair. That simple gesture of platonic intimacy sent tremors through my very being. There was a whole gallery of thoughts running wild in my head.

But they all went silent when she spoke again.

"It's not your fault Elias. It's not your fault, none of it is."

Maybe it was because I over analyzed what she said, or maybe because she really could read my mind, but her words struck home.

I broke down in tears, my hands awkwardly held in front of me. I was so confused and emotional, that I did not know what to do with my hands, or any part of my body for that matter.

Suddenly my head was smothered in Drea's embrace, and my hands found something to hold tight. Oh how long it had been since I have last known such warmth.

My crying was nothing pretty.

Snot, saliva and tears, dyed the shoulder of her gown different shades. But she did not mind, even the pain she must have felt from kneeling down to embrace me did not seem to faze her.

###

Back inside the house, Patrick and Leo consoled their friend. Rubbing his back warmly, they whispered words of encouragement.

Teresa and her husband stood solemnly, their faces had sad smiles as they looked at their child help his friend. Loss was hard for children, they are either to immature to understand, missing the valuable lessons of it, or too mature, letting it scar them deeply, fracturing their little bubble of happiness.

Amidst the dingy atmosphere, a knock sounded on the door.

Eset was the first to burst out, her figure teleporting immediately. Curious, Teresa opened the wooden door only to find a pouting red faced Elias holding the hand of a grinning Drea.

Shocked at such a pairing, Teresa struggled to find the right words. Luckily, the cold of the night brushing past her face and broke her out of her trance.

"Hurry inside, it's chilly out!"

Pulling them in, Teresa closed the door and quickly questioned.

"Drea honey, what are you doing here? Don't you feel tired?"

Filled with worry, Teresa nagged Drea.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Besides I had to bring back a certain lost child~."

Elias's brow twitched at her mischievous quip and his hand clutched his trousers, clumping them up in his fist.

"I wasn't lost…" he muttered.

Drea's grin widened as even her eyes seemed to smile. A brilliant little remark coming into mind, one that would annoy Elias even further.

"Hush, don't interrupt the adults and run along to your friends now"

Pushing him by his back Drea waved with her other hand for him to move, mouthing the words 'Go now', slowly.

Turning back to his friends, Elias planted his gaze to the ground, ashamed at both his outburst and inability to help.

[You could not do anything Elias, he was not breathing in the first place. You are no God! You can't raise the dead...

B-but you did your best, I am proud of you b-brother…]

His eyes trailed mechanically to his sister's, the last of his tears leaking from his eyes yet these ones mixed with a bit of sweetness.

Once again, his little sister warmed his crumbling heart.

[I see, thank you… sister.]

Wiping his tears away, Elias bravely walked forward and knelt down beside Lester whose face remained latched on to the white cloth covering his grandfather's face.

"I know that there is probably nothing anyone can say to make you feel better, but just know that we are here for you. Everyone is, Aunty Teresa, Leo, Patrick… Everyone."

Lester was still mute, his listless eyes stared at Elias as his dry lips parted lifelessly.

"W-What now? He is all the family I had, he was everything"

Screaming out, Lester stood up and grabbed the collar of my tunic, his face barely an inch away.

"WHAT NOW ELIAS! DO I STAY HERE FOR A MILLION YEARS AND JUST DIE LIKE HE DID! IS THAT ALL THERE IS TO LIFE! DO THE GODS PUT US IN A PEN TO DIE?"

Breaking down, Lester lost all the energy and fervor he had seconds ago and dropped to the ground, sobbing terribly.

Elias looked down at his broken friend and schooled his expression, deciding another approach.

Picking him up roughly, he yelled in his face while pointing at Leo and Patrick

"ALL THE FAMILY YOU HAD?? Did you forget us that easily? All the time we laughed and trained. All the struggle all the camaraderie! Did it mean nothing to you?!"

With guilt weighing heavy on his chest, Lester spilled more tears as he apologized profusely.

"No, I-I didn't mean it that way! I-I-m S-Sorry guys, you're like brothers to me b-bu-"

-HOO

"A-And sisters...HAHAHA"

Quickly, the tears turned into laughs as even the adults present were affected by the shift of mood.

Drea and Teresa smiled, once again reaffirming their belief of the magical effect Elias had on their children.

After dealing with the shock of losing a loved one, only one thing remains, buryal.

###

"Can we do it in the morning? Maybe that way Lilly might be able to come"