Another Land

The crowd cheer as they dance gracefully atop the tubas, bagpipes, and panduras that played melodies of bliss and honor. Sounds of rigid foot stamps followed the music's tempo as most choose to hymn out the lyrics to the songs the bards and musicians were playing. Below lies glossy, clean, peach marble tiles that covered the entire event dome's floor, even the stairs that rose at opposite ends of the room shined bright even during this midnight hour with only but a couple torches and candle chandeliers to light it up.

Five cylindrical columns rose from the ground to reach the glass dome ceiling with a dirty white finish, its texture rough yet soothing like a freshly cleaned carpet. Above these columns are statues of angel-like creatures that each holds an item of interest; a scroll, a shield, a trumpet, an axe, and a bag of coins, which were placed around the dome in a circle as they pointed their item right towards the center. And at the center, were forty men and women that, at first glance, may seem like gleeful royals when it is indeed not the case. Rather than a myriad of fancy and expensive dresses, they all wore a gray academic regalia with a thick gold sleeve around the neck and a mortarboard hat that has a thin gold outline along its edges. Although everyone is supposed to wear this uniform for this event, not everyone was able to follow through.

Under the left side stairs facing the entrance was a dive bar, a lush brown counter that divided the wooden stools from the glass cabinet that contained the finest of alcohols and wines.

"I don't blame you for not wanting to join the crowd." A woman cleaning the countertop with a sheet of damp cloth tells the guy seated on the wooden stool across him.

The man was unable to hear her straight away as his eyes were locked into the joyous crowd. "I'm sorry ma'am, did you say something? They are loud."

She repeated what she had said, but now in a much more forceful and unmannered. The man smiles and chuckles a bit.

"Oh really? How so?" the man asked, both his hands placed on the countertop like an eager child.

"I have served many events in this place, and there's always at least one person who would decide to chill somewhere away from where everyone is. And the excuse they would give—"

"It's tiring? Social interactions?"

Her face switched immediately. "Don't interrupt me!"

He laughed at her for a short while, but her face remained unchanged. She dusted off her pearl white uniform and placed aside the damp cloth.

"You're wrong. Sometimes they would, but they wouldn't tell me." she continued.

"What is it then?"

"They'd tell me that there is someone they are actively trying to avoid."

The man was caught off guard, his smile now gone. He rests his head on his hand and looks away from the lady.

"I'm not really trying to avoid anyone though. It's just fatigue." he claims

She opened the glass cabinet behind her, ran her fingers through a selection of wines until she felt a bumpy texture, and stopped. Beside her was a basin full of wooden cups, but rather than taking one here, she took a heavy, textured, patterned glass from across. One that would make a deep noise when placed on a surface. With both the glass and the wine in hand, she gave it a pour.

He heard the woman pouring him a drink at his right but chose to ignore it as he stared at the reflection of himself at the glass cabinet in front of him. Even though it wasn't clear, he could definetley notice his eyebags getting darker as it began to swell. Such self-pity was always too much to handle, yet he still stared like a man with none to lose.

"Have a glass." she slid the drink closer to him. "I can cover for this one."

His eyes tracked the glass whilst it glid towards him. "I can't drink." he countered.

"What are you now, a child? I find that very insulting."

"I am leaving soon. I won't allow myself to be under influence while travelling."

"Such a shame to leave this early." her smug face said it all. "I heard your batch have a couple of days planned after this."

"It is a shame, but responsibilities come first, ma'am."

When the music finally transitions into a much more mundane tone, the cheers come to a halt. Everyone at the center began their chit chatters amongst themselves like students whenever their teacher leaves the classroom, scattering around the dome like ants. Even with the subtle chaos, a clear consistent pattern emerged. Those who remained formed a circle around a lady who, if not for a tattoo on her hands that were barely noticeable, is just another part of the larger academic group.

"That's my queue." the man stood up and stretched his arms upwards. "Thanks for keeping me company ma'am, even for just a while."

She chuckles a bit. "Oh well." she grabbed the glass for herself. "What a waste."

That stretch gave his back a few relieving cracks, which he moaned to. But that relief didn't stay for so long. After putting down both his arms, he unintentionally got a glimpse of the lady everyone's circling around in between peoples' heads. She had long, wavy, hazel hair which matched her dark complexion. Her smiles and compliments warmed the heart of every colleague surrounding her. The man, given the chance to see her face once again, decided to look away and stare at a completely different direction. He wasn't embarrassed or overjoyed, it didn't even make him feel anything. His brows rested, narrowing the look of his tangerine eyes.

The dive bartender noticed this. Pity. She felt the need to speak up, but it was none of her business. The only thing she was able to do was drink the wine she prepared and gave her signature subtle smirk. Or maybe a small move could work.

"I haven't seen you take a single bite out of the dishes I cooked." she complained.

He turned his head around. "Those across the room? Oh, I wasn't hungry."

"You loathe around for hours away from the crowd, and then leave without eating or drinking. Sounds to me you're an attention hog. It's annoying and insulting."

He scratches his head and groans softly. "Fine. I'll take some to go."

With the circling crowd closing to her, she found it difficult to move anywhere, and her timid personality didn't help at all. She was giving everyone hugs and small talks, just like old friends would when they haven't seen each other for quite the long time. One by one she greeted them with kindness at mind.

"Relia!" a female voice hollered from behind her. "It's been so long!"

"Aury! It's great to see you again!" she replied.

"I saw you dance earlier. You were amazing!"

"No, you're amazing!" she points to Aury's belly, which has a small bump. "How many days left?"

"God! I thought nobody would notice. I was…" she continued on and on.

Relia listened through the conversation with a huge grin, replying with a couple nods from time to time. She had thought the rest of the night would be just this, and she may be far from wrong, but something she had been yearning for finally showed up. Just for a split second, she finally spotted him. The man she had been dying to reconcile, to reconnect with. He passed by behind the waves of colleagues like a random passerby, but he was far from random. Everybody that attended the reunion were supposed to wear their graduation uniform, but this man, he didn't. That made her sure it was him, noticeable from even the corner of her eye. His red, leather padded shirt, the white paper thin shorts. It was definetley him, and her face lighted up like a lone candle that hasn't been lit in decades.

For years, she had been thinking about him, fantasizing about how things could've gone if she had answered differently. If she listened to her heart than to everyone else. And now, this could be the next chance she has. She just had to take it.

"Um, Aury?" she interrupted her mid-conversation.

"Haha! I must've been talking for too long that I haven't noticed! It had just been such a wild ride honestly.'"

"I agree. But, could I…?" she points both of her thumbs in another direction.

Aury took the hint. "Go. Enjoy the dome!"

Her face had relief written all over it, a smile that came after a sigh, something genuine for one. As she leapt through a couple of people, she got closer. She could feel the hope rushing through every inch of her body. Her hair gushed and bounced every turn, creating an illusionary breeze.

"Miss President— AH!"

"AGH!"

All her excitement led her to a tunnel vision, which made her bump into somebody who was supposedly greeting her. She almost fell to the floor, but to her luck, the guy she bumped into managed to catch her regalia. That moment, she could feel every heartbeat on her chest and every sweat that dropped off her face. She got back to her feet as soon as she realized what had just happened and apologized promiscuously to the guy.

"You good?" the guy asked. "You should be careful, president."

She smiled. "I'm not the president anymore."

"I know. But isn't it fun to reminisce a bit? A lot…" the guy continued.

Preoccupied, she was. His words faded away slowly in her ears, like the sound of a carriage that distances itself farther and farther. She faces towards the catering area where she last saw him. He wasn't there anymore. Both her hands were at her chest, clenched tight. She looked around, hoping to see his red shirt anywhere in the dome, yet there were no signs. Her brows rested, narrowing the look of her sea blue eyes.

As the man took his first step outside the event hall, a fresh, frosty breeze passes through, giving a euphoric crawl across his skin. He took a deep breath, appreciating how calm and peaceful it was compared to the dome. The tall, heavy, wooden door closed behind him, rendering all the sounds from inside the dome muffled. It had closed itself so that his hands, which were filled with as much dried snacks as he could possibly bring, wouldn't have to do the work.

He went down the flight of concrete stairs at the entrance until he reached the stone pavement. There, at his right, was a black horse that wore red leather armor and carried a wide, pale, wooden carriage that contained a couple bags and boxes of merchandise bought from this faraway land. He placed down the cloth bag filled with snacks onto the carriage carefully before caressing the horse, placing his head to the horse's shoulder like a kid would to a puppy.

"I missed you very much, Ish." he tells the horse, scrubbing his left hand on its thin fur. "Did you miss me? Of course, you did."

He grabs one of the dried snacks he got and feeds it to Ish. This pet was family to him, so seeing it freely feeding itself its full warmed his heart. He couldn't stop smiling.

"Is that Ish?" a familiar voice from behind calls out. "It's been years. She's beautiful."

His face rapidly changed. That raspy, pitched voice. That timid delivery. That subtle whisper-like undertone. He recognized who it was and found it irritating. For her to show her face in front of him now disheartened him.

"Can we talk, please?" she pleaded. "I've been waiting for an opportunity like this."

Pathetic wasn't even the right word. This disgusted him. He knew himself it wasn't entirely her fault, yet he refused to believe it. He stood there, back facing her, he didn't move. Not yet.

"Come on, Amin. Please." she began to saunter towards him, and he noticed it. "I'm sure you would understand if you would just—"

Her voice started to crack up. A swelling emotion that was stuck for years now silently emerging. If she could just hold his hand and tell everything she had to tell, all of this would be over.

"Ma'am, back off." he commanded. "You are making me uncomfortable. Leave me alone."

It was like a shattering vase. A vase that had an overflowing amount of boiling hot water now gushing outside. Her fantasies now seemed over. She wanted to mend, she had to. She knew it was her only choice, as it was before. Her past decisions led him astray, and that to her was a painful realization.

He climbed up and mounted his horse. "Have a pleasant evening, ma'am."

"Wait—" she called.

Her eyes were blurry, with only a blink and a wipe of an arm cleared it. She could feel her heart and lungs becomes heavy. She held her breath as to not make as much noise as she could. Her legs wanted to weaken, but she kept her composure. That was her only chance, and now, the carriage distanced itself farther and farther amongst the tall concrete buildings and structures. Her hands trembled, her mouth trembled, she wanted to fall. Yet there she was, standing at the middle of the pavement like a stray puppy.

If there came a second chance, she decided she would take it. Being a pathetic moron was embarrassing. For now, she went back inside the dome to resume the celebration.

» » ------------- ¤ ------------- « «

Travelling at long distances has never been easy. For the past four days, Amin has been spending his time following the river home. He'd ride his horse Ish all day, and sleep under the carriage with a thick white cloth all night. The snacks the dive bartender prepared for the party came into good use, as hunger never became a problem. At dawn, the temperature isn't too hot nor too cold, so he takes his time during this specific hour to bathe on the river. There would usually be grains of sand flowing through the water, but the rocks acted like a barrier between the sand and the fresh water.

It's now the fifth day. He checks his map and observes the surrounding area. At his right he recognizes a specific hoodoo in the shape of an hourglass with a large boulder on top. There he confirms that his journey only has a day left before he arrives. He smiles and caresses Ish.

"We're almost home. Just one more night out and we'll be set!"

For an hour, he continues to follow the river. Up until now, the Shakin valley still amazes him to this day. The rocks, the water, the sand. He just stares at its beauty as the horse led the way. All while staring, he almost disregards it, but there's something unusual that he caught at the corner of his eye. At first, it looked like pieces of clothing were left stranding beside a valley, but his instinct told him it was more than that. So he pauses on his journey and takes his steps towards this anomaly.

And what he came across, is something he never thought was possible. It was someone he recognized, even though their interactions were scarce, this person was memorable. His disbelief consumed him as he tried to touch this person. They are cold, even under the heat of the scorching sun.

He kneels. "No… poor lad."