The thought that August feared the most had come to reality when he explained the cause of his unusual nightmares to May. If she knew about the ambivalent mages and the fate they were destined to, she might have connected the dots by now. Whatever August thought of himself in any optimistic way regarding his condition that all might turn to dust very well.
"Yeah, you …might be right" he said, his voice losing the volume in it, "Maybe I am going insane."
While August desperately wanted to believe that he was okay, in truth however he wasn't. There was hardly anyone in this world oblivious to the fact of what fate an ambivalent person was destined to befall.
To be an ambivalent means very different from being a mundane person with no elemental aptitude. The latter was obviously better than being stranded in the middle. The legion of mages, an association who governed the rules of the realm of magic had coined this term called Ambivalent which referred to a person without a core element having the potential to acquire one in the future.
This was a very hopeful way to cheer up the child who happens to not have found his place in this sparkling world of spells and magic. The reality however, turns out to be a lot more disappointing than the tiny glimmer of hopes.
In reality, no one wanted to be a potential subject to the will of the elements, to echoes. Therefore, even if someone was fated enough to be an ambivalent at this time period, they would definitely have their perception and aptitude stripped off by a professional healer before the echoes could do any harm to them.
There was a time when his father also asked him if he wanted to do that. But August decided to believe in himself and refused to back off like a coward. Whether it was a wise decision or not— after all what he has gone through, he still wasn't sure about that.
There were doubts in his mind about himself which were resurfacing today when someone other than himself was questioning his sense of self.
Maybe she was right to say that. Maybe she was able to see what he never was. Maybe by changing the perspective he could get rid of the constant pain and suffering. Maybe it was time for him to finally acknowledge that just like May, he was also suffering from a disease albeit not as severe as her, for now that is.
August felt helpless and disheartened by the realization.
"No," May said, startling him, "I am telling you might be right." August looked at her with a confused expression, "your dreams might actually have some meaning."
Hearing that, he felt a little relieved, like suddenly someone lifted a huge burden off his shoulders. She said absolute words he wanted to hear but better than everyone he has to know the truth.
He offered a wry smile and said in a hoarse voice,
"Thank you for trying to cheer me up. I appreciate that."
"I am not trying anything" May said with a serious expression, she sighed heavily and pushed her wheelchair towards the window, the evening Sun was peeking behind the horizon before setting,
"I was two years old when I acquired my core element. I am not sure how it felt but I know how it feels now." She continued looking out from the window, her gaze distant, "it weighs on me. Like a continuous web of never ending strings for which I am trying to find where it ends."
She spoke as the wind caressed her fair skin and the lustrous silver-white hair,
"I can see for what people really are, up to an extent that is. I can feel whether they are happy, sad or angry. The strings tell me a lot about them."
She turned towards him meeting eye to eye,
"The strings of life…. I can see them, I can touch them but I can't understand them. Sometimes I feel I have an obligation towards this world, towards people for what I have given the honour to wield this power by the gods above. Well I feel a lot of things actually but it's not important.
Only if I had more time, maybe then I might have tried to do something good for other people. For me to possess a core element like this …is such a waste.
Therefore, I don't have a choice August, but you do. So please believe in people who believe in you. And of course, believe in yourself."
As the Sun sat gradually, the light on her face seemed to dim a little,
"I don't even want the help of my elemental aspect to see what kind of person you are because I already know. The time we have spent together, it may not seem much to you but it does mean a lot to me. You saw me for what I really was. You are a kind person, Augustus. Remain like that always. Ne…ver …chan..."
August let out an audible smile and lifted his gaze to face her only to find that may had collapsed on her chair while talking. His heart shrank as she saw her with closed eyes, her hair falling on her beautiful face. If it was anyone unaware of her condition, they would've thought of her as a girl sleeping peacefully.
August however knew how severe of a disease had got her in its grasp. He immediately rushed towards her not knowing what to do in a situation like this. He tried to push her wheelchair but the damn thing didn't even budge.
August cried for help but no one seemed to be near them at the moment. At last he carefully picked her up in his arms. Her long lustrous hair falling down beautifully. He placed her on the bed and then the sheet over her carefully.
Then August rushed to get whomever he could find. Fortunately he found his mother sitting in the living room and Damian taking a meal. It was May's brother who ran before anyone after hearing about her sudden collapse.
August and his mother arrived not so long after. His mother took a look at the girl's condition and thankfully it turned out to be simple exhaustion.
August at that moment feared that the day she would collapse because of her disease was not far away and looking at Damian, it seemed he knew it too.
Better than anyone else.
— — —
The next day, in the afternoon, the Sun towered high in the sky. The air was humid because of the rainfall from the past few days.
The sky was clear for one or two days as it seemed the monsoon season was about to come to an end.
August sat on the wooden frame of the verandah enjoying the gentle touch of sunshine. He felt warm, fuzzy or mostly comfortable on the outside but there were storms raging in his mind. For obvious reasons of course.
Past days were a hustle for him. Albeit the threat of monster tide, him losing control of himself on the battlefield or it could very well be the daughter of Lord Victor Fiona.
May wasn't like any of the girls August had met before. Or maybe Shelly has left a peculiar impression of all the girls in his mind, who could say?
'I wonder where that blockhead would have gone'
There was also something he hadn't asked her yet. When August came to know that Shelly also had a brother who died not so long after his birth, he felt a strange sense of an emotion that he couldn't explain.
Therefore he tried to ask her but considering the situation that happened afterwards he dropped the idea of hurting Shelly's old wounds. What might even have he acquired by doing all that?
Sitting in the embrace of warm rays of gentle Sun for too long August closed the book in his hand. Obviously, when attacked by constant thoughts he would be finding solace inside the books.
The book was none other than the history he mostly used to read in his free time. Today he thought of decoding the meaning of these strange symbols written on one of its pages.
He thought of it as a good way to divert his mind from all what was going on.
The runes seemed like the words of an ancient language. Language of the gods perhaps.
Unfortunately he wasn't having any luck in all that. Even when he looked at some of the ancient languages, they too didn't have the words which could be taken as meaning of the symbols as written in the book.
August sighed as he closed the books before him, he thought of taking a rest for a while. He needed rest more than anything actually. His mind wasn't able to fully recover from that moment on the battlefield and if he were to experience echoes now, he would be in grave danger of falling victim to their will.
August looked as he heard a rustling noise from behind. It was Damian. The boy looked quite exhausted himself. Why wouldn't he though, he was taking care of his sister since she fell unconscious and while she had woken up, her brother was trying his best to take even better care of her now.
Also there hadn't been a good atmosphere in the house since the monster tide had attacked the town. His father and Lord Victor had not returned home since then, they were looking for the giant monster arachnid who fled the battlefield and still possessed a potential threat to the village.
If given more time, it could unite the lesser monsters of his kind and control them with its absolute authority. It should take time for the monster to recover before it could plan anything though.
Looking at the boy August thought back at how he had treated his guests till now, especially Damian. Which wasn't very good to say at least. It wasn't their fault the town got attacked by the monsters, while their vacation was ruined actually. Now that he thought about it August realised they didn't deserve it, at all.
"Hey Damian," he called out, smiling brightly.
"Yeah, what is it?" the boy replied with an aloof expression. Which was all but given considering they didn't even have a decent conversation with each other up until now. So August did not mind Damian trying to act rude to him actually.
"You remember what we were gonna do before that monster tide decided to show up?" he said, giving away a positive, cheerful smile.
"Yes, I do," the boy replied, his expressions turning more aloof, "what about it?"
"Good" he spoke immediately ignoring Damian's uninterested expressions, "Since you and your sister are here for a vacation, let's have some fun. I mean the past few days were a heck of a hassle but I don't want you to take only the bad memories of this place back with you. So let me give you both a tour of this beautiful town."
"Thanks, but no thanks" the boy replied, his expressions never changing, "My sister has already been through a lot. She needs rest. I think it would be best for her to stay home and not to mention …safe."
The last sentence he spoke shooting cold daggers of his sharp gaze at August which made him feel the weight behind Damian's words. While he genuinely wanted for both of them to have fun, the fact that Damian's words were true beyond doubt was something he couldn't deny.
August felt a little bit of disappointment but did not let it show on his face.
"A tour?" A feminine voice came from behind demanding their attention, "We are going to see this town after all. I am very excited. Let's go."
May sat on her wooden wheelchair before them without a hint of worry on her face. August couldn't believe himself how fast May had put herself together since their conversation from last night. It was a little scary to see a person with this much endurance and resilient willpower.
'I can never be like her'
"But sis?" Damian looked with a worried expression towards his sister.
"What?" She replied immediately, "I always wanted to see all of this beautiful town. You don't want me to wander alone and get lost again now, would you brother?"
— — — — —