Chapter 6 - Undying Love
#6 of Country of the Forgotten
Chapter 6 - Undying Love
"That is such a boring story," said Gilbert.
"It's not boring! That's my practically my life story you no good son of a bitch!" shouted Vanessa.
"Lloyd...," whispered Leo to himself.
"The light that shines in everyone continues to shine and, yet, for Lloyd, it seems like it has been dowsed by the darkness of his heart," said Demos.
"It seems that way but...," began Leo.
"What are you two talking about?" said Gilbert shoving himself into the conversation.
"We're talking about nothing," replied Leo as he got up.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked Gilbert with an annoyed expression.
"I'm going to think by myself for a while," replied Leo as he dashed off the building and began soaring through the air.
"Wait a moment!" shouted Gilbert as he got up.
Vanessa sprang up as well and stopped Gilbert from dashing off the building to his doom since he can't fly. "Just let him be. Something like this isn't easy to digest in one sitting," said Vanessa.
"I can't just let him go off alone!" shouted Gilbert struggling out of Vanessa's grasp.
Demos pointed his point at Gilbert's neck and said, "You will leave him alone until he returns. Everything rests mainly on his shoulders and it is his decision to whether continue or to stop."
"You guys don't understand!" shouted Gilbert as he fell to the floor in tears. "No body understands what he's going through. Not even you or me or anyone who even tries to understand but I have a good idea because I have lived through it myself. I can't just leave him alone like that not when he needs my help."
"He doesn't need your help for anything. You are just a vessel that supports his soul for only one purpose, to stop Lloyd," said Demos.
"No one understands what we are going through but please wait for me," said Leo as his words passed through Gilbert's thoughts.
"I guess I'll just have to comply," said Gilbert quietly.
Gilbert flew in the air for unknown amount of time because he wasn't keeping track. He passed over buildings of many sizes, fields full of farmers and farm animals, forests that sprang with wild life, and over mountains that were not cold or hot but mild. He didn't stop flying until he came across a large body of water that is known to many people in the past as the Great Water. No one has ventured further than this and if they did, all that did attempt the adventure never came back alive. The beach is soft and warm under Leo's feet as he landed softly on the ground.
"Lloyd...," whispered Leo once again as he looked across the water before sitting down in the soft sand.
No wind blew across the beach as for it is still and cool. The water moved to and fro, on and off the sand as it made rhythmic movements and sound. Seagulls flew overhead and sounded as they got close to one another or close to the ground. A grassy knoll is behind Leo that is full of vibrant life from plant life to animals native to the beach such as crabs.
"That day that is so long ago seems just like yesterday and unstable. The feeling that I had then is different than what I feel now. Love, is that what I'm feeling or that what I felt then?" asked Leo aloud not expecting anything or anyone to respond to his questioning thoughts.
Leo thought about a day, precisely 2 years back from his birthday in January. That day is what he considered to be a day filled with hate. The morning of that day, Leo's spirits were high and mighty since someone he cherished quite a lot was coming to visit him. He had so much love to offer since the special person made him extremely happy so that there was no chance of sadness ever entering his life when ever that person is around. That person's name is Bryce Calloron a.k.a Bryn.
"Is Bryn just like Lloyd?" whispered Leo.
Bryn flew into town on that day and went directly to Leo's house first so wish him happy birthday before catching up with what went on in his life during the time Bryn was on a trip to the east for a few months. They kept in contact via e-mail but since Bryn was so busy, the idea was obsolete. Phone calls were out of the question as well.
"Happy B-Day!" shouted Bryn at the door leading into Leo's home.
"Bryn! I'm so glad to see you!" shouted young Leo as they embraced in a hug.
Bryn is a golden retriever with a good sense of humor. He is only a year older than Leo but that didn't mind since love never really did occur to Leo even though he was really close to Bryn. Wearing a light blue polo and dark blue jeans, Bryn walked into a house that is neat and filled with things dedicated to Leo's birthday, mainly streamers and food covered half of the house.
"Wow, what a spruced up place," complemented Bryn as he walked over to the couch that is black and made of leather.
"Why don't you sit down and tell me what you did over on the east coast?" asked Leo as he sat in the couch after closing the door.
Bryn did just that and told what has happened to him on the east coast. Bryn went there to look after his sick uncle until his sister, Rydia, is able to get to the house and take over for him. Out of all of his family, Bryn was the only one free until the next family member was free to do the job. During his stay there he had a great new experience getting to know more about his uncle, whom he rarely sees, and a new town to explore along with its people. In turn, Leo told him what has happened to him during the time Bryn was gone but it wasn't anything special because it was mainly school.
"By the way, I got engaged while I was at my uncle's home," said Bryn happily.
This crushed Leo's spirits and ground it into dust. Leo couldn't believe what he just heard and refused to accept that fact as he tried to find a way to bypass such a transaction. No matter what he thought up of, he couldn't come up with a reasonable answer to support the denial. Talking further with Bryn was difficult for him to do.
"That's, uh, great. I'm really glad for you but aren't you a little too young to get engaged?" asked Leo.
"I know but I just couldn't say no to my to be spouse even though I'd have to wait a few years. He doesn't mind since he can wait forever for me. I'm just so happy and I want you to be my main man when the wedding actually happens," said Bryn with a cheerful voice.
Now Leo was lost in speech and the conversation just died there. Leo couldn't make sense of what he was thinking from Bryn getting engaged to being the best man at the wedding. He couldn't digest anything that came out of Bryn's mouth anymore and developed hatred for him but never showed it in front of Bryn of course. The happy event turned sour and ended in only an hour as Leo retired to his room and stayed there staring at a blank wall fuming with hatred that grew within his heart.
"I'll never forgive him. I'll never forgive him for as long as he exists," muttered Leo hugging a pillow really tight before breaking into it.
"Maybe that's what jealousy felt like," said Leo as he continues to gaze into water.
Leo kept silent and listened to his steady breathing and the movement of water on the shore. The melody that emitted from the water sounded sad as he tried to interpret what the melody was conveying.
"Water neither brings life or death," Leo muttered to himself before brining his legs up into the fetal position and resting the base of his maw on the knees.
Lloyd's situation and Bryn's situation are different but the pain, felt at the beginning, were the same before breaking off. Through all of Leo's life, he has hardly received much love from anyone except Bryn who wanted to understand Leo's pain. Love was something new to him at the time which he now resents but not as much as he did when he found out about Bryn's engagement. On that same day, Leo made a vow never to love again because of the pain he experienced even though he was young and confused about what was going on in his mind.
"Why does love hurt?" murmured Leo resting his forehead on his knees now.
"Is everything all set," said a man dressed in dark clothing.
"It will be ready as soon as the moon rises into the sky," answered a man dressed in dark clothing as well.
"Make sure it's ready by the time the moon is high in the sky. The master won't be pleased if it isn't ready. He wants those pests to be gone before they make it to the end," said the first man.
"Absolutely," responded the second man turning towards a large machine.
The sun was setting before Leo lifted his head and looked into the sky as it blazed with orange, yellow, and blue. A slight breeze picked up on the sandy beach and stirred Leo's hair as the sun descended deeper into the horizon. He looked at the water that drew back away from him before returning to stop a few inches from his feet. Realizing that the tide was coming in, Leo moved back a few feet and sat back down on the soft sand.
"I wonder if I still love him right now?" said Leo.
"Love is a mysterious thing if you ask me," said a young girl's voice.
Leo turned his head to see a girl standing next to him barefoot wearing a long white skirt that ended at her ankles and a short sleeved white T-shirt. Her hair is a long dark shade of yellow and eyes the shined with hope in the colors of sky blue.
"Is it really that mysterious?" asked Leo as the girl sat down.
She was no older than Leo's age, 16 years of age. "Yes, it is. It's so abstract that even I find myself wondering what love is actually. My name is Ruth Hearts," said the young girl.
"Leo Lionheart. Aren't you afraid of me?" asked Leo.
"No, you are just like everyone else but only with a strange body. Love is universal so I don't like to be prejudice to people who aren't human," said Ruth happily.
Leo returned his gaze to look across the water before opening his mouth to speak again. "Is it possible to continue to love someone no matter how much you resent the idea of love?" asked Leo.
"I think so. I've been through love myself and I continue to love people even though I am angry or jealous of the person. I'm sure you feel that way right now. I think even Gilbert feels that way about some people, including you. He can't bare see you just die is what I believe," answered Ruth.
"How do you know him?" asked Leo.
"Well...how should I put this? I'm not a time guardian as yourself but a spirit that traverses time. I over heard you guys talking on the roof and that caught my interest so I listened until you left. Feeling a disturbed vibe coming from you, I decided to follow you and see what was wrong. My suspicion was that it is related to that man, Lloyd and I was sort of correct. It turns out it is the thing people question a lot, love," answered Ruth.
"You do know how to read people," said Leo.
"A trait I picked up when I was a kid. I died in a freak accident when I was 16 so now I'm about 2498 years old if I still lived and could live forever in my world. I never really thought that much about love until I heard you talking to yourself. Then out of no where, I relived a moment in your life. Something about Bryn or what ever his name is. Never good with names anyways," said Ruth hitting her head lightly.
"Spirits and relive other people's memories?" asked Leo.
"Yup, if the feeling is strong enough anyways," responded Ruth. "I wonder though, do you still love him as we speak?"
"Ya, I do as well as resent the idea of love all together," answered Leo.
"Why don't you just accept love for what it is instead of resent it? It is ever lasting because it's something you can't get rid of easily. I've learned that accepting love for what it is is strong enough to get past the dramatic event and find new hope in love once again. Sharing your love with everyone is a good thing to do," said Ruth enthusiastically.
"Your right but...will I find love again?" asked Leo returned his attention to Ruth.
"I'm sure you will. You're the time guardian after all and you are sentimental so those are good qualities in people to have. Being able to understand one another is the most important thing when it comes to love," answered Ruth.
"Understanding...huh, who would have known?" whispered Leo quietly.
The sun finally disappeared into the horizon as the moon took its place in the sky. The stars were full of brilliance and the moon a completely white gaze. Ruth looked at this with a happy face as she tried to remember the last time such a moon appeared in the night sky. Leo looked at the moon as well as he thought about all of his friends and family, all of his past events, and all of the love that was denied to him. This moment of tranquility is a relaxing moment in Leo's life before things would get hectic with his duty. This is supposedly, the last relaxing moment anyone would have until the end as a loud explosion shook the sandy beach and exploded the sky with sound.
Ruth heard the sound and got up. She turned to Leo and said, "Bonds are powerful but love is the strongest weapon anyone has. Love is the undying weapon in everyone's heart, don't forget that."
After she said that, Ruth drifted up into the air and turned into a small white glowing light before ascending high into the night sky leaving Leo all alone on the sandy beach once again. Another loud explosion shook the beach and exploded the sky with sound. Leo took to the skies to see what was going on. Mountains surrounded the beach so he had to get high enough to see over the mountains. What he found is disastrous as the land beyond the mountains is a blaze with flames that spread quickly to the neighboring areas. Something rose out of the burning trees. Something dark, something hard, something metallic.