The sun was well up high into the sky when he finally woke up, feeling rested and with a sense of satisfaction. It had been a night just like before, when he didn’t even know what dreams were. He had slept without so much as a vision to disturb him and he had enjoyed it.
As he yawned and rolled over in his improvised bed, he was startled by the presence of a huge brown bear lying next to him, wide-awake. Scared to death, Daniel got up and away from the animal that barely moved its head to acknowledge him. It was then that Daniel noticed a whole crowd of animals gathered curiously in a circle around the fire. They were just sitting there, oblivious to his presence. He guessed they had been attracted by the fire and weren’t afraid to come close.
Not far from him, Nemo was still sleeping, wrapped in his blanket on the opposite side of the fire that was now almost dead. No sign of Heli or Séraphin; both their belongings had been packed into their bags, but were still there, as were the horses. Daniel wondered why they had been left to sleep so long; it appeared to be almost midday.
A light breeze was blowing from the west, causing the trees around them to dance in harmony under the bright sunlight. Paying close attention, Daniel heard the sound of water splashing not far from there and remembered that they were near a lake. He could use some fresh water on his face.
Not disturbing Nemo, who looked like he was enjoying his sleep, he began to walk in the direction of the sound. A short distance from the camp, the trees made way for a small path that as he followed it, led to a small lake of crystal clear water. Getting closer, he noticed a pile of clothes resting on the ground at the edge of the water; they looked like Heli’s, who Daniel figured was probably taking a bath.
Sure enough, swimming in his direction from the middle of the lake, he saw a figure approaching steadily. As it drew closer to the edge of the water, Daniel was surprised to see not the blonde head of his big friend, but the dark long hair of his sister, Hëna, who proceeded to come out on dry land, naked as she was. Unable to stop himself, Daniel managed to take a peek at her elegant form, beautiful breasts and straight long legs, before he quickly turned away from her.
‘I..., I’m so sorry,’ he murmured, as his heart suddenly decided to make itself noticed, with a fast and rhythmic thump. ‘I had no idea you were here. I thought you were Heli.’
‘I am definitely not Heli,’ Hëna replied, prompting Daniel to silently agree with her. She stopped just behind him, proceeding to drain the water out of her hair, but did not rush to cover herself.
‘Why are you looking the other way? Have I offended you in any way?’
‘What?’ The question surprised Daniel almost as much as her very presence there. ‘No, of course not; it’s just that, you’re... naked.’
Hëna seemed to miss the point.
‘Yes. And...?’
‘And ..., it’s inappropriate; well, where I come from anyway.’ Daniel started to think that maybe it wasn’t so in this world.
‘Oh..., I’m sorry,’ she said, sounding sincere. ‘I’m afraid I don’t know much about your world. I’ll get dressed.’
She picked her clothes up from the ground putting them back on, with her hair and skin still wet.
‘Why is it inappropriate?’ she asked walking in front of him, now wearing her brown leather trousers and white shirt that was clinging to her wet flesh, making Daniel no less uncomfortable. He was trying really hard not to stare at her. Like any boy his age, he appreciated the beauty in a girl, though he had never obsessed after their bodies, as he knew many of his friends did. But with Hëna standing like this right in front of him, he suddenly found himself silently agreeing with what the fuss was all about.
This however was not the only thing that caught him by surprise; the girl standing before him seemed entirely different from the one he met for the first time only two days ago. There was nothing of that official air he’d seen the previous day; it was like she was another person, even more disarming, if that was possible.
‘I don’t know,’ he finally remembered to answer, feeling the heat take over his whole body. ‘It’s always been like that, I guess.’
‘So, people never see each other naked?’
‘No, that’s not what I meant. It’s inappropriate for strangers to do that.’
‘But we’re not strangers,’ she continued to pester him. Daniel began walking back towards the camp, trying to hide more than his red face as she followed behind him.
‘You know what I mean,’ he responded. ‘Usually people only see each other like that when they are intimate. Where is Heli?’ he hurried to change the subject.
‘Oh, he’ll be back in the evening; I’ll be your guide until then.’
‘You?’ Daniel could not hide his shock.
‘What’s the matter, don’t you trust me? I know this kingdom just as well as my brother does, if not better.’
‘No, of course I trust you; I just thought Heli was going to be our guide, that’s all.’
‘He is; we both are. We do everything together; besides, you’re going to need all the help you can get, if you want to find the Great Lord as soon as possible, and we are your best bet.’
Daniel had no idea what she meant by that, but he was suddenly glad that she was here and was not treating him like he was afraid she might.
They walked back to the camp where they found Nemo awake and loading everything back onto the horses. The nightly visitors seemed to have gone back into the woods.
‘Good morning, Nemo!’ they both greeted him.
‘Good morning, guys!’ he replied, showing no sign of surprise at the sight of Hëna. ‘It was nice of you to let us sleep a bit longer, Hëna; I don’t think I’ve ever needed so much rest before. Everything is ready here; are we waiting for his royal highness?’
He hadn’t even finished talking, when Séraphin appeared on the horizon, flying in from the south. In a matter of seconds, he landed right in front of them, looking pretty much as grumpy and cocky as ever.
‘I see we are ready to move, then. Good; let’s go, shall we?’
Daniel decided he must have missed something, since he seemed to be the only one surprised by the presence of Hëna there. He thanked Nemo for gathering his things and climbed onto his horse, just as Hëna and Nemo climbed on their own. Séraphin rose up in the air, once again heading north.
‘Any news from Arba?’ Hëna called after him, before he went too far for her to be heard. Daniel had not thought about the fact that he had been gone all night.
Séraphin turned around to look at Hëna, and after a moment’s hesitation, answered.
‘We left Arba only last night, Hëna; what news do you expect to hear?’
There was no disrespect in his voice, yet Daniel did not like his answer.
‘Mermaid’s Well?’ The Sky-Prince asked her, hovering in the air.
‘Yes,’ Hëna replied, appearing untroubled by his reply.
They rode on with a steady pace; following in the direction Séraphin flew. The trail led them away from the lake and through another series of low hills, dressed in the usual autumnal colors. Fall seemed to have matured in full upon them overnight, and the leaves falling from the trees all over were the evidence. It all looked like a beautiful landscape painting, with dominating brown and yellow. The days were still warm though, and the rain had not visited these parts of the kingdom just yet. It felt still a bit summery and Daniel wasn’t about to complain; he had always loved summer over all other seasons.
As the day wore on, Arba grew more and more distant, hiding behind the numerous hills and valleys that they crossed. They rode for long hours, without stopping for a break or refreshments; the horses were strong and the terrain fairly easy for them. They did not seem to get tired and quite enjoyed carrying the young riders.
Séraphin continued to fly ahead of them, keeping a distance, but never going too far as to lose them from sight.
Every now and then, forest creatures came out and joined them, trotting and jumping alongside them f
or a short while. They seemed to enjoy the company of people, as if they did not see them very often. The whole thing kept the journey quite entertaining and amusing; that and Nemo’s continuous banter about just anything and everything he could think of. Daniel didn’t mind though; he was actually glad that Nemo was providing the small talk. Hëna did not seem particularly keen on striking up a conversation and he couldn’t gather up the courage to start one either.
He kept watching her as she rode in front of them, with a grace that seemed to be a trademark of Endërland women only. She was unlike any other girl he had ever known and that included Sam. He liked Sam; if he would have a girlfriend back in his world, it would most definitely be her. He could see it happening. And yet, whereas Sam seemed to carry the weight of the world on her young shoulders, Hëna appeared relaxed and carefree. There was something magical about her that had captured Daniel from the very first moment he laid eyes on her. Without a warning, she had become the epicenter of his thoughts and he was finding that harder to ignore with each passing moment.
Lost as he was in his inner thoughts of her, he barely heard Nemo’s voice calling his name.
‘Daniel, Daniel.’
Nemo was forced to shout in order to get his attention, causing Hëna to look back, wondering. The red haired boy gave her a silly smile and did not speak until she returned to her former position. He then rode closer to Daniel, and practically whispered.
‘It’s a bad idea man...’
Daniel gave him a puzzled look.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You know exactly what I’m talking about; so you better listen to me. She’s definitely worth it,’ Nemo nodded in Hëna’s direction, ‘but it will never happen. You don’t know how many guys have courted her, proposed to her, and even asked her father for her hand, but she’s turned them all down; every single one of them. No use even thinking about it, man,’ he finished.
Daniel felt his face grow red hot. He had no idea he had been so obvious about it; either that or Nemo had the power to read minds. Yet, the embarrassment was quickly over as he pondered Nemo’s words. From the first moment he saw her, he felt Hëna was out of his league, being as beautiful as she was and the daughter of a Lord, not to mention probably thousands of years old, which would also make her considerably more mature and experienced than him. Yet, somewhere deep inside of him, there had been a hidden hope that maybe none of that really mattered, that maybe who he was would just be enough. Now, his new best friend had just killed that hope with one simple sentence: ‘It will never happen’.
He continued to ride along, trying not to think about it anymore. At least, he told himself, I found out now, before I did something stupid again. His mind recalled the humiliation he had suffered in front of his whole classroom in fourth grade, as Celina, the girl he had a crush on then, had read his love letter aloud. He had felt even worse after, realizing she did not love him like he did. That was not something he was looking forward to go through again.
The sun was almost at the end of its journey for the day, as they dismounted their horses and set up camp again to spend the night, this time near a dried up old well that everyone called the Mermaid’s Well. The name came with a story as old as Endërland itself.
It told of a young mermaid, and her pilgrimage. She had had a great desire to visit the mountains and one day, while on her way there, she had chanced upon this well. Wanting to taste its water, she had tried to bring some up, but the old wood holding the bucket had broken down and fallen inside, dragging her along. She had tried to climb back up, but the well was too deep and its walls too slimy. Her tail reappearing was all that had saved her from drowning.
Unable to climb back up, she had ended up living inside the well for many seasons. Living all alone in that confined space, she would pass her time talking to the stars she saw at night above her, and singing songs they taught her. It was while she was singing one night, that her song reached the ears of a nearby passing traveler. Following her powerful voice, he found her, helping her finally leave the well. Legend had it that they married and lived many happy seasons on land together, until she decided to go back to the sea and her family, being the only mermaid to have ever been allowed back after such a long time.
Even though so much time had passed and the well was now dry, people said that her song could still be heard from deep inside it. Daniel was looking forward to seeing for himself if this was true.
As before, Séraphin was the first at the camp, fire ready. After unloading his things, Daniel went to sit by the fire, saying only a polite ‘Good evening’, for which he did not expect a reply, nor did he get one. Nemo joined him soon after, while Hëna set her blankets and bags on the ground near the fire, improvising a small bed. She did not sit down however. Instead, she walked away in the twilight, saying only: ‘See you later boys.’
Again Daniel felt like he was missing something, wondering where she was going, while Nemo and Séraphin seemed not to be bothered about it. And again he did not ask, fearing they might get the wrong idea, or rather the right one. He got to talking with Nemo and enjoying some more of the food they had in their packs, while Séraphin stepped away from them and began setting up his own bed.
Wingmen were amazing creatures; they had so much in common with both men and birds, that it was impossible to decide to which race they actually belonged. If you asked them, they would proudly tell you that they belonged to neither; that they were far more superior to any living race and in a sense they would be right. They had the best part of both and hardly any defects, apart from their unmatched pride. Besides their ability to fly hard and high as the eagles themselves, they shared their enhanced sight and sharp vision, even in the darkest night. Their sense of smell was also very strong and they could be very agile and quick in their movements.
They loved trees, especially very tall ones. Sky-City was built on the southeastern part of the forest of Mirë, a part well known for its giant trees and beautiful landscape. They had built their nests on top of the trees, with a whole network of hanging bridges creating the infrastructure that connected everything. Of course, the word ‘nests’ is not the most appropriate word to use here, as they looked more like complex tree-houses, varying in size, shape and style. The wingmen were very creative and imaginative when it came to their homes, though one would be inclined to think that there is only so much you can do on top of a very tall tree.
As for their sleeping arrangements, Daniel soon found that it was actually very simple. All they required was at least two trees - or poles in their absence - standing at a near distance to each other, ideally slightly longer than they were tall, and they tied up both ends of a custom-made net on each tree, thus creating a hanging bed. Pretty much a hammock. Their wings then they wrapped around themselves to serve as a cover, which was ideal, as their own feathers kept them warm in cold nights.
Daniel watched as Séraphin prepared his own bed, and could not help but feel amazed. The wingman’s attitude had done nothing to make him feel less curious or appreciative of this magnificent race.
He understood all too well why Séraphin felt the way he did; he would probably behave worse, if their places were reversed. Still, he felt quite uncomfortable around the winged man and unless things somehow changed between them, he would keep his distance from him.
As Séraphin finished setting up his bed, the sun finally clocked in for the day and gave the sky over to the moon. The night drew closer, beginning to wrap everything in its dark cloak. It wasn’t long after that, that the familiar silhouette of Heli appeared walking towards them, acting casual, as if he’d left them only half an hour ago.
‘Hey guys, good day?’ he asked, taking his place by the fire. ‘Is that figs?’ He reached into the small canister Nemo was holding in front of him and helped himself. ‘Yum, I love figs.’
They sat there around the fire, consuming fruit from their packs and having small talk as if they’d been together all day long
, while Daniel decided he could not keep quiet any longer. Having had enough of mysteries for one day, he almost screamed as he asked.
‘Where were you all day? How did you get here now? And where is Hëna gone?’
The boys stopped eating and talking, and turned to Daniel, suddenly realizing that he actually didn’t know. Nemo looked at Heli, who with a sheepish look on his face and his mouth full of figs, raised one hand and pointed towards the moon that had just appeared over the Northern Mountains. Daniel looked in that direction and then back at Heli, still lost.
‘What are you showing me?’
Heli chewed the fruits and swallowed, before speaking slowly. ‘That’s where I’ve been all day; that’s where Hëna is gone for the night.’
Daniel still did not understand.
‘What do you mean? Where?’
‘Up there in the sky,’ Heli clarified, pointing at the moon again.
Daniel looked at the bright sphere above them again, completely confused.
‘You were on the moon?’ he asked, not sure he got it right. Laughter broke out in the camp, as even Séraphin was unable to hold on to his grumpy mood for a moment, despite pretending he wasn’t listening.
Daniel began to feel offended.
‘What’s so funny?’
Heli quit laughing at once and tried to turn serious.
‘I’m sorry, Daniel; it’s easy to forget sometimes that you’re not from around here and that there’s things you might not know about our world. I guess Nemo hasn’t been doing a good enough job here.’
‘Yeah, that’s what they keep telling me,’ Nemo said looking a bit guilty. ‘Sorry, Dan, I guess this is one of those things that you would call common knowledge; well for us locals anyway. You see, the reason why we never get to see Heli during the day, is because he is busy up there, giving out light and heat to all of Endërland; he’s the sun. And during the night, Hëna takes his place in the sky as the moon. That’s where she is now,’ Nemo finished, pointing at the sky again and prompting Daniel to turn and take another look.
What Nemo said didn’t make sense, even for a world like Endërland. How could Heli and Hëna be the sun and moon? They were talking about a powerful star that burns hot and bright millions of yards away; how could Heli be it? He was just a man and Hëna just a girl, not a big round rock orbiting the earth. This must be just a joke; they had to be joking.
‘Ha ha, very funny,’ he said, trying not to sound too hurt. ‘Go ahead, have a joke on the Visitor. I’ll get you back one day.’
He expected the boys to roll down on the ground laughing out loud, but they just sat there looking all serious.
‘Dan, it’s the truth,’ Nemo said.
‘Right, the truth. You expect me to believe that every morning Heli here is transformed from a man into a giant ball of burning fire that travels across the sky, lighting and warming up the earth, until evening comes at which point Hëna is transformed into a big round rock that shines over the earth from dusk, ‘till dawn?’
‘Pretty much, yeah,’ Nemo answered, insisting on keeping his poker face on. Daniel still couldn’t even consider the possibility of this being true.
‘Right, and I’m the Morning Star,’ he said in a final effort to make them admit they were playing him.
‘Actually I see him every day,’ Heli replied to this one, still sounding dead serious. ‘Now, he’s the funny one, always coming up with new jokes. I don’t know where he gets them. Listen to this one he told me this morning.
‘A guy tells a girl: “Baby, your teeth are like stars.” The girl starts going “Awwwww...,” but the guy continues, “So yellow and far away from each other.” Hahaha...’
Heli resumed laughing, joined by Nemo, who thought the joke was actually very funny. Séraphin pretended to be otherwise occupied, but wasn’t fooling anyone, as chuckles broke through his jaws of steel.
Daniel was stuck; he didn’t know what to think. The boys seemed to be serious about this; was there a chance that they were actually telling the truth? Why not, he thought to himself. I have seen and heard things far less believable here; why would this be the exception? He looked up at the moon again, trying to imagine Hëna up there, all alone in the dark. This was beyond weird. What were the chances that the moon, which he had always been so fond of and the most beautiful girl he was starting to have a crush on, were one and the same? How does this happen, even in a dreamworld?
Heli’s voice did not let him linger in his thoughts.
‘Hëna says: you should see your face right now.’
‘What? You can talk to her?’
‘Yes, we are twins after all. We can always hear each other, no matter how far we are. I guess, it compensates for the fact that we can never meet.’ There was a hint of sadness in his voice.
Daniel looked at the moon again, feeling a bit exposed. It all sounded very unbelievable but then again, this wouldn’t be a dream world without something like this in it.
‘You guys are not kidding, are you?’ he gave them one last chance to admit they were telling him fibs. Their answer did little to convince him otherwise; he would have to eventually decide for himself whether to believe it or not, but he felt like he already did. And as he allowed himself to believe, he felt amazed yet again at this wonderful world and all its magic.
All that evening his thoughts wandered around the moon and the stars up in the night sky. And he struggled to fall asleep. When he finally dozed off, he got lost into the abyss that was the realm beyond both worlds and where nothing and no one could reach him. Dreams would not disturb him this night either, giving his mind a much-needed chance to rest and reboot. Morning would find him refreshed and ready for another day of travelling and new mysteries.