✿ ᴇᴄʜᴏ ✿
" Echo? When shall you return?"
" Why do you care Maggie?" I question as I wrap my scarf around my neck… Maggie, the little girl who had always looked forward to being my friend since the day she moved here, questions me of where it was that I was going and so as not to be rude, I had replied, but right now she was asking too many questions.
" I want to know when next to expect your arrival. Who knows? It might take months."
" Months is an understatement, Maggie. Probably a decade, but I promised grandpa I shall return before his expiration date so I will do so, and with the ethereal golden rose petal of course."
" Well I shall be a good friend and take care of your grandfather while you are away."
" Do not do anything."
" I will do something."
" Grandpa will take care of himself."
" No he will not." I sigh at Maggie who was still wearing her non contactable smile she wears anytime she sees me. It was not a pretence smile, it was her real smile, like she was always so eager to see and talk to me.
" Well…" I turn to leave. " See you in a few years Maggie." I bid her goodbye and I can tell she bids me back too.
" I shall be waiting for you, Echo." Said Maggie in ecstasy. " When you are back, trust me when I say grandpa will be in good health. Good luck!!"
༻☆༺
It had only been two hours since I left for the outside of my village and my walk alone showed how exhausted I really was. " I need water…" I groan in thirst, my voice hoarse from my dried and itchy throat.
" Where shall I see water now??" I look around, exhausted from the burning of the sun on-top of my head and the probability of me fainting in it was high. I lazily pushed myself forward as I gaze at the ground in front of me— at least, even if I collapse I shall fall on a soft part of the earth.
" Julius, help me with the cabbages—oh!" I'm pushed back when I bump into the back of someone and when I look up, I see a young woman turn to me as she looks down at me with a small smile.
" My apologies." I bow my head and turn to her left to leave but she steps in my way and I'm forced to look up at her.
" Dear, where are you going? You look super exhausted and drained. Where are you coming from?"
" It shouldn't matter to you. Carry on with your cabbages Miss." I'm about to leave again and she repeats her earlier act.
" Never have I ever once ignored a child whose situation seems critical… even if the child is as rude as a pirate." I sigh and shake my head. Strangers, I hated strangers, and right now one was already intruding in my peace.
" I am fine." I wave up at her but she doesn't seem to want to listen and just as I open my mouth to promise her that I was fine, a man I suspect was the claimed Julius, steps out of the carriage and hands me two cabbages to carry.
" Come on dear, carry on into the neighborhood."
" I don't live here." I object,
" What a lie! Most kids tell me those type of lies daily dear, nice try. Now carry on," Julius waves me off and proceeds to carrying the other cabbages as he walked towards the neighborhood.
The young woman seems to want to help me, while Julius wants me to help him, neither of their wishes were good for me, all they would be doing is slowing me down and making me more tired to keep on moving.
" Come on dear, let's go. Have you by chance eaten this morning?" The young woman asks as she starts walking, I follow up behind her handling my silence and she just shrugs her shoulders.
" If you're not willing to talk then maybe an hum can decide your response."
I sigh as I nod at her idea and when she turns back to see me nodding a smile lits her face and she's more brighter than she was from earlier.
" Have you eaten this morning?"
" Hmm." I hum as she requested.
" Oh that is great then. What about right now? It's the afternoon dear, you must be hungry and having a sore throat because of how hot the sun is."
" Hmm."
" You're hungry??"
" No." I whisper to myself but I guess as her ears flickered, she had heard me.
" Well… I shall be making lunch as soon as I get home do you mind joining me and my ch—?"
" No thank you. As soon I drop these cabbages I shall be on my merry way. I would've already made it to the third village by now, you and Julius are drawing me back." Yes, I gave it to her, the blunt annoying reply.
She might even pull her cabbages out of my hand because of what I said. But then again, I wasn't rude, I was just… straightforward.
" Oh well, I guess then I shall pack some food for you in a lunch pail so you can carry along." Mumbled the woman but I heard her, not exactly the reply I expected from her but there was no need to argue, I can easily throw the lunch away the minute I am out of here.
By the time we're into the neighborhood I notice a lot of children playing around as they made sounds that were deafening to my ears. " Aunt Martha! There you are! I've been looking around for you all morning!" A young child jumps onto the body of his aunt even though she was carrying some cabbages.
And soon enough, a lot of children had her surrounded and started arguing on who gets to hug her and who doesn't.
The noise, the commotion, the wait, the patience I didn't have. Everything was breaking me in the inside and all I had to do was bare, all I had to do was pretend like I was okay with all of this and I would be okay.
As said before, patience is a virtue and maybe if I can exercise patience I can—
Unexpectedly, I'm knocked to the ground by a sudden force from my right side and I lie on the hard ground staring up at the sun that's had the intention of killing me since it was the afternoon.
I don't know what was thrown at me but the pain I felt in my head was too unbearable to ignore. Who was it? Who dared to make me fall?
I hear footsteps approaching me and suddenly I'm blocked from the sun by someone who just didn't come to pose as a shade. It was a boy, and the way he looked down at me was like I was someone pitiful.
What a downgrading way to look at someone.
Blackout.