"Papa, papa, tell me that story again!"
His words reverberated in my ears like always. His excitement was blatantly noticeable.
"Ok, ok, just hurry up to bed already," I replied casually.
As I put my son to bed and covered him in his blanket, I prepared myself for a very long night.
"I'll tell you that story again, but you have to promise me you'll go to sleep afterward, promise?"
"Promise!" he yelled out.
"Good, now lie down and don't be so noisy or you'll wake your sister up."
"Oops, sorry..." he whispered, covering his mouth.
We always had to be careful not to wake her up. Unlike my son, my daughter had already grown sick of listening to the same story night after night and preferred getting proper rest. (Understandably so)
"Hmm..., how should I start it this time?" I contemplated while looking up.
"Nah, who cares, let's do it the old-fashioned way."
"Once upon a time, there was this young boy who ran away from a seemingly perfect life."
"He ran aimlessly across long-forgotten lands."
"Eventually, he found himself climbing to the top of a mountain with a cave hidden beneath the trees."
"Driven by curiosity, the boy peeked inside the cave and found a giant hole quietly resting in the center."
"Eager to know where it led, the boy slowly walked closer to it."
"It happened then."
"Before he got close enough to see the bottom, the boy tripped on a growing root and fell straight into the hole."
"That was the moment everything began."
"This is the story of a young boy who accidentally fell to the bottom of a mountain and found a magical new world upon his fall."
"This is the story of a fallen angel."
***
All falls must eventually come to an end.
And this one was no exception.
The soon-to-be corpse of the young boy plummeted to the bottom of the crater without hesitation.
The moment it made contact with the ground, the impact generated a roaring boom that violently shook the surrounding area to its core.
It was all over.
...
However, it wasn't.
By sheer miracle, the young boy landed on a bed of golden flowers that grew at the center of the pit.
They must've softened the fall.
Sure, he may have banged his head pretty damn hard against the floor and most of his bones are sure to be broken, but thanks to those flowers he managed to survive.
The young boy silently lay on the flowers, unsure whether he was still alive or not.
Rays of sunshine shone from above.
The brightness of the light stung the boy's eyes, prompting him to move again.
The young boy grabbed onto the flowers with his hand and tried as hard as he could to get up.
His attempt was futile, however.
His body plopped right back down as if no attempt was ever made.
Eventually though, by clenching the ground with both hands, the boy used what little strength he had left to rise and get on all fours.
His vision was blurry.
His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Blood and sweat dripped from his face.
His head pulsated so hard, it felt like the entire earth was moving.
All he could manage were deep breaths.
Yet, he felt the urge to know where he was. He lifted his head to check his surroundings.
Nothing.
It was all a blurry mess.
The young boy's eyes narrowed, sharpening his vision for a quick instant.
And for the split second that his sight cleared...
Ruins.
That would be the best way to describe what he saw at that moment.
Slabs of stone randomly placed on the ground.
Broken pillars embedded against the rock.
Vines and other types of herbage grown out of proportion.
Some vines even took the liberty to wrap around and keep growing on the slabs and pillars.
It looked like this place had been abandoned for centuries.
His vision kept clearing for small instances. Each time it did, new details would pop up.
A straight dirt path stretched from beneath the bed of flowers to far ahead, where it could no longer be seen. This path led to a dark hallway surrounded by large stalactites of rock.
The more he looked, the more he fell into disbelief.
Why was all of this here? When was this made? Who or what lived here?
The boy became so immersed in what he saw that he momentarily forgot about the pulsating headache that had struck him just moments ago.
However, among everything that lived in this pit, something caught the young boy's attention more than anything else.
Something that, as soon as it was spotted, trapped the boy in a sea of thoughts.
The broken pillars weren't the only ones present, as a scant few that remained untouched brazenly stood their ground.
They looked marvelous. It was honestly all you could say.
Every edge was sculpted to perfection. The marble glistened dazzlingly as rays of sunshine hugged their bodies. Their size and height towered over anything in their vicinity.
Although these pillars had also fallen victim to the vegetation's reckless lifestyle, it didn't take away from their beauty in the slightest.
They almost looked out of place in such an environment overtaken by nature.
Whatever civilization used to live here, they must've taken pride in their architecture.
For even this battered boy on the verge of collapsing couldn't take his eyes away from it.
Truly a remembrance of the past.
The young boy lifted his head to see where these giant pillars would reach.
Then it struck him.
The boy's head fell straight to the ground. A dreadful affliction struck him right when his guard was lowered.
The pulsating sensation grew increasingly more violent.
It reverberated throughout his entire body, paralyzing him.
It felt like his ears were going to rupture and his eyes were going to explode.
Each time his head pulsated...
The pain.
The agony.
It amplified.
It got so bad that the boy could no longer feel any air entering his lungs.
He'd reached his breaking point.
He couldn't take it anymore.
"NGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Blood-curdling screams erupted from the chambers of the Ruins.
Floors quaked.
Rock walls cracked and crumbled.
The yells traveled through the empty halls, finding no one to hear them.
The sounds kept going farther and farther away.
They reached as far as they could.
But nobody came.
The boy truly was alone.
...
Until the ears of someone far away perked up.
"What was that?"
***
Sounds of footsteps could be heard getting closer.
It was faint, but they were undoubtedly approaching.
After walking through several halls, the maker of the footsteps turned the final corner to see where the screams originated from.
And once they did, they saw the impossible.
A human.
A fallen human, lying on a single bed of golden flowers.
This can't be.
The young boy gripped his head with both hands as hard as he could.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Pools of sweat dripped endlessly.
He viciously gritted his teeth, trying to contain the pain and any further screams from leaking out.
It just would not end.
All he wanted was for the pain to stop.
Then something took him by surprise.
"Hey, are you all right?"
It was a voice.
What? A voice? No, that can't be right.
The boy lifted his head in a flash.
His gaze was met with...
A girl.
What is she doing here? Did she fall as well?
She looked young; she couldn't have been older than him.
She didn't look like she belonged in this place.
Every single one of her features radiated splendor.
Her light brown hair gleamed under the sunlight. She had pale, smooth skin akin to freshly fallen snow. That same pale tone accentuated her reddish cheeks, and her glossy lips formed a saddened frown, unbefitting of such a sunny appearance.
But out of all these features, the most striking one had to be her eyes.
The boy had never seen eyes like these before. They overflowed with such life and emotion.
She had bright yellow eyes that seemed to emanate their own light. And her pupils were just as unique, mirroring a white shooting star.
Her eyes shone as bright as the sun and could aid the moon on a starry night.
No wonder they looked so lively.
Yet, they wore that same saddened look,
Filled with worry and concern for the boy.
"Are you ok?" she repeated.
His mouth was open, but no answer came out.
She continued.
"You must've fallen from up there, oh god, you poor thing."
She lifted her head to see just how big his fall was.
Her concern only grew as a result.
"Here, let me help you."
The girl extended her hand towards the boy.
Before she could touch his shoulder, the boy jolted back instantly.
"H-hey, relax, I don't want to hurt you. I just want-"
She stopped.
A dark, heavy air filled the room.
Fear and terror consumed him.
Her eyes may have distracted him for a few moments.
His sanity, however, collapsed.
He began hyperventilating.
Convulsions ramped up even more.
His ears rang into a deafening squeal.
The pounding of his heart hammered into his ribcage.
Each breath became more frantic than the last.
He was dying; he was sure of it.
Stop.
Make it stop.
It just won't STOP!
I WANT IT TO STOP!!
WHY WON'T IT STOP!!!
PLEASE STO-
...
A new feeling graced the boy's senses. It was gentle... and warm.
It was her hand.
The girl gently grabbed the boy's face and caressed him.
It felt...so good.
He would never forget this feeling of comfort.
"I don't want to hurt you; all I want to do is make sure you're okay."
Her tender voice soothed his fears away, and her soft smile reassured him.
It was like she had just cast a spell on him. As soon as she spoke, his breathing stabilized, his trembling subsided, and his heart lowered to a somewhat steady rhythm.
"But, for that to happen, I need you to listen to me. Understood?" she said firmly.
The sudden change in her tone of voice startled the boy.
He nodded.
"Good."
"So, first I need you to calm down slightly."
"You'll end up hurting yourself even more if you keep panicking like that."
"Try to sit down and take a few deep breaths."
"Can you do that for me?"
The young boy nodded as he sat down cross-legged.
He closed his eyes and began breathing.
The boy tried to focus, but he had trouble breathing steadily.
He may have returned to his senses, but his body was still very much in tatters. He trembled as he gathered as much air as possible before exhaling thoroughly. His chest ached as it inflated and deflated.
Slowly, however, a rhythm began to form.
The boy's concentration became sharper. Breathing turned effortless.
It was working.
"Fuuuuuu..."
One last exhale.
The boy opened his eyes.
Everything felt...natural again.
His body was loose and tranquil. His vision no longer went in and out of focus. And the blistering headache that nagged him from the beginning dwindled to a tolerable amount.
"Feeling better now?"
The boy nodded with conviction.
"Good job."
"I'm glad we could get that out of the way quickly. But before we move on, I've gotta say..."
"For you to fall from such a distance and still be conscious..."
The girl glanced once more at the crater from which the boy fell. Just the thought of experiencing that sent shivers down her spine.
"It's a miracle you're still alive."
"Consider yourself lucky...uh...uhm."
"Ah! About that!"
"What's your name?"
Out of all the questions he could've expected, the young boy didn't see this one coming.
He glanced away, refusing to respond.
"Hmm..."
"You're not much of a talker, are you?"
"That's okay, you're still probably shaken from the fall, and me asking so many questions isn't helping much, right?"
The girl then placed her hand on her chest.
"I'll just introduce myself instead."
"My name is Crystal; I live here in the Ruins with my family."
Her delicate smile was a source of warmth and kindness. It was so contagious that the boy let out a faint smirk.
Sadly, that sweet moment was briskly interrupted when Crystal gasped theatrically.
"Speaking of which!"
"We can't waste any more time. I need to get you to my parents as soon as possible so they can help you."
Crystal quickly got up, swiping dirt and flower petals off her knees.
"Here, get up."
She extended her hand once again.
Unlike last time, though, the boy took her hand and got up. Crystal then wrapped the boy's arm around her.
"There, you can lean on me if you need to."
Indeed, he did, since he could barely walk forward without wobbling left and right.
Hadn't she offered her shoulder, his face would've met the ground again by now. He had run out of energy long ago and thus gladly leaned on her.
"Don't worry, Mama is a fantastic healer, she'll fix you up in no time, I promise."
The confidence in her words gave the young boy hope.
He smiled and nodded.
"Alrighty then! Let's hurry up and get you to my house!"
"Geez, you're heavy!"
And like that, the two youths walked out of the room and gradually made their way through the rest of the Ruins.
CHAPTER END.