True feelings

The sun is about to rise and Eon is already awake. He lay on his side to watch Selena sleep. Eon wants to touch her gentle face but he restrains himself. He intently looks at her - from her closed eyes, long nose, pinkish cheeks, and her small lips.

'I am in love.' Eon utters to himself. He smiles, still looking at Selena. Then he closes his eye and drifts off to sleep. The forest appears to be serene early in the morning - birds chirping, cool breeze of the wind, fragrant flowers, and has beautiful scenery. Two people are sleeping in a shed built in such a place.

It was already noon when Eon decides to wake Selena. Selena slowly opens her eyes and sees Eon beside her. She smiles at him.

on smiles. "How are you feeling? Are you hungry? I brought fruits." He then points to the table full of different kinds of delicious fruits. Selena's eyes widen seeing all the fruits. She stands up and approaches the table.

"Wow. There are so many. Where did you get it all?" Selena cannot stop her amazement. It has been months since the last time she saw fruits like this.

"Somewhere in the forest." Eon smiles. "Come. Let's have a picnic." He starts to put the fruits in a large basket.

"Where?" Selena asks while folding a blanket. Eon looks at her with a grin, "You'll see."

Eon leads the way and Selena obediently follows him. Selena is amazed once more by the path they are taking. There are white stones on the ground they are stepping to. And its sideways are covered with bushes that have white, shining roses. She could not believe that the forest has this part of it. "How can this place be forbidden? This forest is so magical." Selena thought this while looking around.

Then Selena gazes at Eon. She could only see his back. She was awake when Eon keeps staring at her. She managed to open her eyes a little bit and saw that Eon had laid on his side to face her. Selena's heartbeat was racing. She controlled herself and did her best to pretend to be sleeping. When she felt that Eon fell asleep again, Selena opens her eyes and looks at his face. "I am in love with you too." She confesses to the sleeping Eon.

Selena smiles as she recalls what happened earlier. She is not aware that Eon had stopped walking so she bumps on his back and falls down on the ground. Eon immediately puts down the basket and kneels in front of Selena."Are you okay? I am so sorry. Did you have scratch again? Your knees are not fully healed yet."

Selena can only watch at Eon who looks so worried. She chuckles that made Eon looks at her. "What? Why are you laughing? I asked you if you are hurt somewhere." Selena stands up, "I am not hurt anywhere. I'm fine, okay?" She continues to chuckle.

Eon clears his throat and avoids Selena's gaze. He suddenly feels embarrassed. "I'm glad you are okay. We are close to where we are going now." Eon continues to walk on the path. Selena is smiling widely while looking at Eon and then she follows him.

As they nearly approaching their destination, Selena seems to have heard a waterfall. She quickly picks up her pace. She passes Eon and straight into where the sound of running water is. Selena arrives at a big plunge pool and what is making it is a waterfall that has a strong smash. The waterfall also created moderately strong winds that made the place feels refreshing.

"Wow. This is so nice!" Selena has to shout for her voice to be heard. The waterfall is also making the place raucous so it would be impossible to talk without shouting. Eon grabs Selena's wrist and guides her away from the waterfall. They are now on a side of the stream. The waterfall is still visible from where they are standing and has less noise.

"This is where we going to have our picnic." Eon smiles. He grabs the blanket that Selena is holding and unfolds it on the ground. He then puts the basket and arranges the fruits. "Come on, Selena, sit here. You will have a great view of the waterfall in this spot."

Selena sits to where Eon points. Eon peels an orange for her. She accepts it and eats two slices. "Mmmm. It is sweet." Then Selena looks at Eon. "Eon? You do not know about college, do you?"

Eon looks at her and bows his head a little while chuckling a little. "You still remember that, huh? I'm sorry I lied. I did not mean to."

"No. It is okay. I understand. I was just wondering what school do you have in your world."

Eon pauses for a moment. "Well, we have a magic school. They teach us how to summon our powers and uses them. That's it. And, oh, rules and ranks."

"Wow." Selena is speechless. "That is all you learn?"

"What do you mean 'that is all'?"

"I mean about the universe, the environment, living things."

Eon thinks for a while. "No. I do not remember we have classes for that."

Eon and Selena become quiet and continue eating. Then Eon breaks the silence. "You shared with me your problem once. You really love learning, do you?"

Selena smiles. "Yes, I do. It fascinates me with every information that I read. I love reading so much that I read every book that is available for me to borrow. You also read so you also love to learn."

"Yes. It has become my hobby since I am not allowed to interact with others. So I sneak into my father's office and get books as many as I could. I would stay in my room all day reading."

"What kind of books?"

"The history of magic. The different kinds of magic. Legends. And making medicines from plants."

"That is why you knew what to put in my knees. Thanks to you, my wounds are getting better."

Eon smiles, "My pleasure. How about you? What do you mostly read?"

"Medical books. I really want to be a doctor. That is why I keep convincing my parents to let me attend college. I want to cure people." Eon can sense despair in her voice. But Selena immediately cheers up and continues to talk. "But what is astounding for me since I was a child was astronomy."

"What's that?" Eon peels a banana and starts eating it.

"It is a study about the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars."Eon stops eating and exclaims, "Oh! I love stars. They amaze me especially when I spot shapes like a box, a letter, or a pattern."

Selena smiles, "That is what we called constellations. The box is part of the Big Dipper but it is only a part of a constellation called Ursa Major. That letter is for the constellation Cassiopeia, a queen. The stars for that is looking like a letter W."

Eon smiles at her and Selena had seen it. "What? Did I talk too much?"

"No. It's okay. You can tell me anything and I will listen."

The two spent their afternoon discussing a lot of things while devouring all the delicious fruits. Eon and Selena had forgotten their worries and enjoys each others' company.

The sun is almost setting when Selena decides to go to the plunge pool. She wants to feel the water. Eon accompanies her. They slowly descend into the water when Eon falls down. He is soaking wet and instead of helping him up, Selena starts to laugh out loud. "You should have seen your face?" Eon tries to stand up but he slips and falls down again into the water. Selena laughs so hard that made her stomach hurts.

"Okay. Okay. I had enough." As soon as Selene stops laughing, Eon tosses water at her using both of his hands. He joins his hand together to form a cup and gathers water. Then he throws it to Selena.

"Ahhh. Nooo. I do not want to be wet." Selena runs slowly to avoid Eon. But Eon can still catch her and pours water on her. She continues to run away from Eon but chooses to stop and also gathers water using both hands. Selena is starting to toss water on Eon. The place is filled with laughter but the sound of the waterfall is still overwhelming the surroundings.

Selena happily continues tossing water to Eon when she slips and is about to fall down into the water when a body stops her fall. She looks up and it was Eon. Eon holds her hand and helps her balance her stand. "Careful. You almost fell down, face first." Selena could not answer. She could only stare at Eon.

Eon catches Selena's eyes staring at him. He caresses her cheeks and he looks at her lips. He slowly brought his face closer to Selena's face. Their noses met. Eon rubs his nose on hers. Then their lips touched. Eon moves his lips to Selena's lips that made her eyes widen in surprise. He continues to kiss her while gripping both sides of her neck.

Selena's heart is beating rapidly and eventually closes her eyes. She holds Eon's wrists and moves her lips along with his. They kiss passionately and as the kiss goes deep, Selena wraps her arms around Eon's neck. A minute later, Eon stops and lets their foreheads touch. He looks at Selena's eyes with so much love. "I love you, Selena." She could not believe what she has heard. Her mind becomes blank that made Eon worried. "Do you love me too?"

It took Selena to nod and said, "Yes. I love you, Eon." Eon smiles and gives her a kiss on the forehead. He hugs her and she hugs him back with a big smile.

Eon and Selena are walking again in the path to return to the shed. They are walking while holding hands. Neither of them wants to speak but they both grinning. They would occasionally look at each other and chuckle, then would look away.

They arrive at the shed and sit down, still hand in hand, when Eon thought of something.

"Selena? Are you not going to go see your parents?" Selena's smile disappears."Do not get me wrong. I want you here with me but I am sure, your parents are looking at you. You have been away from home for days. Don't you think it is time to go home?"

'He is right. It has been days. Things have calmed down, are they?' Selena thought. She looks at Eon and smiles. "You are right. I will go home tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

Eon smiles at her and caresses her hair. "Okay. Let's get some sleep."

They both lay on their sides. Eon is hugging Selena from behind and Selena's back is against Eon's chest.

"How about you? Will you go home tomorrow?" Selena suddenly asks Eon when she is about to close her eyes.

"Yes. After you leave, I will go home and be back quickly. I will be here when you come back." Eon kisses Selena's head and they both fall asleep.

The next morning, the sun is not yet in the sky, Eon and Selena are already awake, preparing themselves to go home. They hug each other. They decide to leave together.

"I'm scared. It is the first time I have run away from home and it is almost been a week." Selena cries out to Eon.

Eon kisses her forehead and reassures her. "Shh. Nothing is going to happen. They would not hurt you, okay? Trust me." He smiles at her that made Selena's heart penetrates with hope and courage. She nods and smiles.

They let go of the hug and starts to walk towards the path where their homes' direction is. Selena stops in her tracks and looks back. She sees that Eon also stops and waves his hands, "I will see you tomorrow, okay?"

Selena waves back with a smile and then Eon turns and continues his way into the deep part of the forest. After she can no longer see Eon, she then resumes walking until she reaches the exit of the forest.