The chimes of the school bells echoed throughout campus as classes concluded. Aylin excitedly ran off but waited for me outside the club room.
I let out a sigh of defeat before unlocking the door. Inside the room, we began writing down the stories our mothers had told us. We then heard the sound of the door opening and Fiviana entering. She greeted us before picking up one of the stories we had written.
"The Myth of the Pallid Whale?"
I put down my pen and looked up at her.
"You know anything about that?"
"I've heard snippets of the story, but not really the full explanation about the whale."
"Have a read," I said, gesturing for her to sit down and read.
All three of us sat together, enthralled in the stories of Aeons.
"A whale the size of a whole continent?" Fiviana stood up, stretching, completely amazed by the story.
"That's the same whale that the infamous military general Sekito Sakarani wanted to hunt, right?"
"Yeah."
I looked over at Aylin and saw that her pen had stopped writing and that she was just staring at her paper.
"How about you try this story instead?"
"Let's see… the Coagulation of Corrosion?"
She sat down again and started reading. I looked over at Aylin, and it seemed like she had gotten back to working on her story.
The paper in Fiviana's hand fell down onto the table.
"Done reading?"
"If I were to go to this Coagulation of Corrosion place, do you think I would be able to witness an Aeon?"
"Most likely not," I said, quite unsure myself.
Aylin finished her story and closed the book she was writing it in. Her eyes wandered over to Fiviana, and she asked her what her favorite story was.
"If I could pick a favorite story, then it would be the story of Rejuvenation."
Aylin seemed surprised by her answer and asked her why she specifically chose the mythos of Rejuvenation.
"To think that after the world was turned into a hellscape full of pain and suffering right after the Aeons descended from the Aeonic Realm, the Aeon of Rejuvenation stabilized the entire world by planting the Seed of Fate. A seed that spread its roots across the world and made it regain color. I just think that what the Aeon of Rejuvenation gave us was so breathtakingly beautiful. Like, look around us. We live and speak because the Seed of Fate stabilized the world. I believe that such a deed shouldn't be forgotten in history."
Aylin nodded and agreed that it was due to Rejuvenation's benevolence that humans managed to thrive. She handed Fiviana some snacks we had prepared.
"Think of it as a reward for your excellent answer."
Fiviana gracefully accepted the candy and nibbled on it as she continued to read our stories.
"Hey, Fiviana, I'm curious. Did you get your Aeon affiliation checked out?"
She nodded and lifted her hand. The glass of water in front of her started to crack as the water slowly turned into ice.
"Not quite strong enough to fully turn it to ice, but I'm on the path of Conservation. How about you?"
I hesitated before pulling out the crystal Devina had given me. It was the blue crystal that showed I was affiliated with the Aeon of Dexterity.
Fiviana stared intently into the blue crystal I held between my fingers.
"Could I perhaps hold it for a moment?"
I handed her the gem, and she picked it up with the utmost carefulness and peered into it.
She handed back the crystal, and I asked her to tell us some things about herself.
"There isn't really much about me. I'm just a sick girl who wants to see the world."
"How about family? Are they here in Nautilus?"
She nodded and told me that she was a part of the Fivindius family, which controlled a portion of Nautilus. She also had an older sister and a younger brother who both attended the academy.
Later that afternoon, it was only Aylin and me in the club room. Only the sounds of our pens scribbling onto paper could be heard. As I stared out into the pure white snow that had piled up on the school's rooftops, I thought about how it had been a year since I had met Aylin.
I put down my pen and walked over to the window to get a better view outside. To think that this sight was now just a common thing to see.
"Aylin."
She responded but didn't look up from her book.
"It has almost been a year now since we met."
She finally put down her pen and walked over to the window to stand beside me. The both of us admired the snow-covered beaches and the bustling streets that were always crowded no matter the weather. Children were playing in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other, smiling and laughing.
"Aylin, there has been something I have always wanted to ask."
"Yes?"
"That day when I came to the brothel, what did you think of me?"
"That you were just another reckless stray that Ellie liked," she giggled at her answer.
This was the Aeon Association Club, and all Aeon knowledge had to be shared in this room. I wanted to know what had happened to Aylin on that day, where she lay completely naked in the moonlight. Those roots that manifested all over her chest and that pink flower that emerged on her cheek. Was that really what I saw that day?
They say curiosity kills the cat.
Aylin's eyes widened in shock. She pulled back.
They say that the eyes of one who has been exposed to all secrets are the eyes of utter despair. That look, I detested.
They say that once a secret is out, the cat is out of the bag. This cat would come around and bite me where it hurt the most.
At first, it was denial, asking me if I had been sleeping enough that day. Then it was realization. Then came discomfort. Then fear. The fear of losing everything.
"I'm sorry, Vivshi." That was all she said before vanishing out of my sight without another word.
The next morning, she was nowhere to be found. The seat in class next to me was completely empty. No one was next to me to share a meal with. No one was leaning on me, asking me a bunch of questions about my day.
I honestly didn't know what I wanted to achieve with that question of mine. Did I really want her to be the host to an Aeon? My hand hit my chest over and over again, trying to do something to my heart. Trying to make it decide. I myself was an Aeon. No, wait. There could only exist twelve Aeons. Devina said that I was an anomaly. But the flower on her cheek represented an Aeon. I just didn't know what Aeon her body possessed.
I listened to my heartbeat. It was erratic, beating like an engine. What answer did you want to leave her mouth? And what would you even do after you got that answer? Truly, had I just kept my mouth shut, that expression on her face would have never been ingrained into my brain. It was truly a stupid question. Why would a man give away the only thing that brought him joy just for the truth? Why can't I just live without worrying about the truth?
No. No. No. No.
You are no fool living in a paradox, Vivshi. You live for the truth and to accept it. Aeon or not, she is my most precious friend, and I wouldn't ostracize her simply because she was a host. After all, I am no better.
That night, I stood in front of her dormitory and knocked gently.
Only silence came from inside.
"Aylin, it's me, Vivshi. Could we please talk?"
There was still no response coming from her room.
"I will continue to cherish you no matter what. Because to me, you are the Aylin that makes me happy every day, nothing else."
I heard scraping by the door, but no one opened it.
I returned to my room and fell asleep once I was too tired to continue thinking.
On the other side of the door, a little girl sitting against it with her head resting on her knees cried bitterly. The heart she had was not an Aeon's. It was simply the heart of a girl who wanted to be accepted. She wept silently as she heard the footsteps grow more distant. The only person who had ever truly called her family.
"O moon, what does it mean to be family?" she cried.