By the end of their fourth week in Sotira, on a Saturday morning, Daniel awoke Sam and Freddie up, telling them to pack some food for the day and follow him on a little excursion. Without giving them any details, he led them westward deep inside the forest, following the river up its stream, towards its spring. Mount Tomorr they kept to their left, while more hills and cliffs rose up in front of them.
It turned out, he couldn’t have chosen a better day for this; the sky was completely blue without a cloud in sight, and the sun that had just risen promised to keep them warm enough throughout the day. A wonderful fresh smell was in the air, thanks to all the florae around them, while the song of the running river kept them company all the way.
Even people in Endërland would love this place, Daniel thought to himself, enjoying the surroundings very much.
Halfway along their walk, they reached a small wooden bridge above the river, which they crossed so they could get to the other side. They then started to climb up a more difficult path leading them away from the water. By now they could see the river with all its twists and turns from high up the hills. They went up and down a few of them for another half hour, until they reached the end of the last one.
Then, suddenly, a huge bare cliff appeared before them, rising high towards the sky, with the odd tree growing here and there on its surface. Eagles circled the air high above, leaving and returning to their nests on the very top, where they clearly had their young awaiting. The noise of the water became very loud and deep, yet they still could not see anything.
As they approached the edge of the smaller hill they were on, the air grew cooler and the noise louder and clearer. Before them the tip of a waterfall appeared, with water coming out of the cliff from somewhere down in the middle of it. There were two parts to the waterfall, a smaller one on their left, where the water fell from a bit higher, and then a bigger one with a tremendous amount of water coming down in fury, forming white foam all the way down to the bottom. At the basin, a small pond was naturally created with crystal clear water that Daniel imagined would be ice cold.
The guys looked stunned. Sam had her hand on her chest, breathing deep, while Freddie had already started taking pictures with his digital camera.
‘Four weeks. Four weeks in the village and you only bring us here now?’ Sam chastised him. ‘What is wrong with your mom? Why didn’t she tell you about this place sooner?’
‘She did, actually,’ Daniel answered. ‘I was just waiting for the right moment. Oh, would you stop being Sam for one day and just enjoy this?’
Sam smirked at him and started climbing down a narrow path towards the ravine. The guys went behind her. The closer they got to the bottom, the colder the air felt and the deeper the noise of the falling water became. Sprinkles of icy drops fell all around them, making them shudder at first. Soon enough, however, their bodies got used to the new temperature. The sun had now risen higher in the sky, giving out a lot more warmth, and even though it was October, it felt just like a midsummer’s day.
Once they had climbed all the way down into the little valley, they threw down their bags and improvised a small camp. Freddie started to prepare a fire, while Daniel took their drinks and put them into cold water, so that they would stay chilled.
Sam climbed on top of one of the big rocks right in front of the falling water and just sat there, raptured in the moment. She felt so small in the midst of all this beauty, yet so alive. Every cell in her body seemed to vibrate along with the uproar echoing through the valley. There was so much life here and for the first time in a very long time, she felt like she really wanted to live it all.
Daniel stood behind her, thoughtfully observing her. She had let her curly blonde hair down and the wind seemed to be enjoying playing with it. She looked beautiful, paused like this, in this peaceful moment. There was nothing of that usual tension he had come to identify her with in the beginning, no anger, no restlessness. It was like he was seeing a whole different person for the first time, and he liked this other Sam.
He didn’t have much experience when it came to girls. Sure, he remembered having had his first crush on the prettiest girl in his school as a kid, but that had turned out ugly for him. He had been made to look like a fool in front of the whole class when she had read his love letter aloud, laughing hysterically about it. So he had never tried that again. Now though, he felt confused. He liked Sam, she was beautiful, smart, strong, and he could sense that she liked him too. Maybe time had finally come for him to dare again?
Grabbing a drink, he went and sat down next to her, while Freddie collected firewood.
‘It’s really something, isn’t it?’ he said, sipping from his lemonade and staring at the waterfall. He had to speak louder in order to be heard over the sounds of the falling water.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Sam replied, without taking her eyes away from the waterfall for even a second. She grabbed the bottle from his hands, took a long sip and handed it back to him.
Daniel smiled. This felt good, sitting next to her like this, sharing more than just a drink.
‘I’ve lived such a small life,’ she suddenly said, her eyes glued to the gurgling water before her. Daniel looked at her, not sure if he should say something. This seemed however like a moment for him to listen, so he did. ‘For someone who spends more time awake than anyone alive, it really feels like I’ve been asleep for most of my years. Besides being angry at the world and complaining about my lot, I haven’t done much else with my life. I’ve never been to places like this, and now that I’m here, it feels like I’ve been missing out. You know what I mean?’
It was the first time she’d ever really spoken about herself, and it made Daniel wonder why she was being so open just now. It was out of character for her to appear so vulnerable, so frail. For a moment, he felt the unexplained urge to take her in his arms, kiss her on top of her head and tell her that she was going to be alright. But he didn’t.
‘You’re only nineteen,’ he said instead. ‘You’ve got plenty of time to go wherever you want and see anything you want.’
She smiled, still looking ahead.
‘I suppose so. Like the saying goes, it’s never too late. Though, I think I like this place enough to stay. I could live here. Couldn’t you? I mean, if you had a proper house and all. And someone to share it with, of course.’
He turned and his eyes met hers. Behind them he saw what her words had barely hinted. Feeling his face blush rapidly, he made to look away, but found that he couldn’t. There was more than the usual in her baby blue eyes, and he felt like he just had to keep looking.
Sam didn’t look away either, nor did she blink. His emerald of his eyes had captivated her. She felt her heart beat faster, and her face grow red hot. Her eyes then dropped down to his inviting lips, that somehow gave the impression they’d never been kissed. She felt herself move towards them without realizing it.
Daniel felt the same pull, and dropping his eyes to her lips waited for them to approach. He might be ready to dare again, but he still wasn’t sure about making the first move.
Sam had barely moved an inch in his direction, when Freddie’s voice broke the moment.
‘Will someone give me a hand please?’
Daniel got up, quickly severing their eye contact, and went on to help Freddie. He was dragging a large dead tree trunk towards the fire. That would definitely keep the fire going for a long while.
They spent the rest of the day pretending nothing had almost happened, which was easier said than done. They explored the area around them, took lots of pictures by the water, and sat at their improvised campsite eating, drinking and telling stories. By the end, they were just resting, lying down next to the fire and looking up at the sky.
‘I guess there are places more beautiful than this in Endërland, aren’t there?’ Sam said.
‘This place can hold its own, believe me,’ replied Daniel. Then, after a short pause he added. ‘Endërland is amazing though, as far as I have seen. Here t
here are very few places left untouched like this one, but there it’s like this everywhere. I still haven’t been to the most beautiful place of it all though, the city of Arba. They call it the jewel of the whole kingdom, their very own version of Eden. But I’ll get to see it tonight. Everyone is going there to celebrate the Day of the Kites, and there will be a great feast.’
‘The Day of the Kites?’ Sam asked.
‘The legend says that when the first ever child was born in Endërland, his father built and raised a kite to notify everyone else in the kingdom and help them find their house when they went to visit. It’s a tradition that has been followed ever since, but every autumn on this day, they celebrate new life and launch thousands of kites in the sky. I can’t wait to see it for myself. Wish you guys could be there with me.’
‘Who knows, maybe someday we will be,’ Freddie said.
‘Yeah, maybe someday,’ Sam repeated after him, though she didn’t sound very hopeful. Ever since she had come to believe in this other world, she had felt a wanting to see it for herself. She would never be a hundred per cent convinced of its existence, unless she saw it with her own eyes. But that all depended on her insomnia being cured, and Sam seemed to have lost all hope of that ever happening.
Daniel felt the melancholy behind her voice, but said nothing. He sincerely wished he could share his experiences in Endërland with the two of them, but didn’t know of any way to make that happen. He didn’t particularly love being caught in two separate worlds, living two separate lives with different people around him; sometimes it all just felt too much to handle. But then he had to remind himself that he was actually blessed. He was surrounded by people that loved him in both worlds, and who would do anything to protect him. How many people could claim that?