The morning air felt a bit sharper than usual.
I push the blanket aside and sit up in bed, stretching as I do. Grabbing a coat and draping it over myself as I stand up.
Kareth: This is probably going to be the last time I sleep in a bed for a while
After grabbing some clothes and getting changed I step out the door into the main area of the cabin
Aric turns and looks at me, the same grin from yesterday still on his face like an endless sunset.
Aric: "You're up early."
He's already gathered all of the stuff we packed yesterday by the door and has his backpack slung over his shoulder. Map in hand
Kareth: "Couldn't sleep."
Aric shrugs and keeps checking over the bags. At a guess it's probably the hundredth time he's done so.
Aric: "Me neither. But you probably could've guessed that."
Kareth: As if I 'guessed it'. I knew he wouldn't have slept much. He doesn't sleep much regularly
We share a look. An unspoken weight hanging between us, the kind you only feel when something this major is about to happen.
I kneel down by the pile of bags, grabbing my armour which I begin to put on.
Aric steps outside as I tighten the straps, staring out into the treeline.
Aric: "Three months huh. Almost hard to believe. It feels like we've been together forever but also only met yesterday."
Kareth: "What you're saying makes no sense but I guess I understand."
Aric laughs softly. Without the usual playfulness and childishness he usually carries. Something really did change about him since I first met him.
We grab all of our stuff before locking up the cabin completely.
The door creaks for the last ever time as Aric closes it
Kareth: "You're locking it? But we took everything and don't plan on returning."
Aric: "It was locked when I found it, the only reason I stayed is because it was something I got into myself."
Kareth: nevermind. He hasn't grown at all
After taking a few steps we both turn back and look to the cabin. Our shelter, prison. Our sanctuary. The place where I first started to live.
Kareth: "You sure about this?"
Aric: "I'm never sure about anything. Never confident in myself or my choices. It's time I stopped wondering about what could go wrong and instead think about what could go right."
We finish our final checks. Bags loaded, supplies rationed, weapons secure.
I fasten my sword to my hip in the makeshift sheathe carved from wood. The weight settled in like an old memory not quite forgotten but unable to be recalled.
Glancing at Aric's bag I see the journal, peeking out from the flap.
Kareth: "Still not allowed to read it I assume?"
He smirks.
Aric: "Nope. Well, not yet at least."
Kareth: I won't press him, we all have our own mysteries and secrets.
We walk side by side into the tree line, Aric is constantly glancing at the map to figure out where we're going, though being in such dense forest it wouldn't be much help. Luckily there's a path which is seemingly going in the right direction.
Each step on the worn down path feels like a trudge though knee deep mud.
Kareth: "I wonder how long it's been since anyone has walked on this path besides us."
Aric: "Probably a very long time."
He glances at the map again
Aric: "Esmourne's northeast from here. If we follow the river for a few days, and cut across to this little town. We should hit the main road to Esmourne. It's easy from there."
Kareth: "Are you sure that your map is even accurate?"
Aric pauses. Looking sheepish while contemplating what to say.
Aric: "Ish."
I sigh
Kareth: "We're gonna get lost."
Aric: "Probably. But it's about the journey right? Not the destination?"
We both chuckle. It's strange how natural it feels now. I trust him completely after such a short amount of time
Kareth: Then again. This is the longest thing I can remember experiencing.
We walk for hours. Until around midday before we take a break.
Aric slumps down beneath a tree that curves to look like half an archway.
I reach out and grab some fruit from the tree.
Kareth: Round, smallish, yellowy green, firm outside. This one isn't poisonous. I think Aric said it was called a malus
I pass two malus' to Aric before grabbing some for myself and sitting down next to him
Aric: "Do you think you'll recognise anything once we're out there? Like maybe seeing Esmourne will refresh your faulty brain?"
He takes a bite of one of the malus'. It makes a subtle crunching sound as he bites through the skin.
Kareth: "Maybe. Though I don't know If I want to."
He doesn't ask why, seemingly understanding what I mean
Aric: "You ever think that maybe forgetting everything is like… Real freedom? A complete reset?"
Kareth: "Freedom doesn't feel like this. Sure I may have forgotten any bad things. But I also lost all the good memories I may have had."
Aric: "Well. What does freedom feel like?"
I don't respond. Since I don't know.
We sit in silence until we finish eating. The weight of our conversation clearly weighs on both our minds.
We keep walking, chatting away about everything and nothing.
Eventually the sun begins to dip, leaving pink and yellow trails across the sky.
We crest a hill. And there it is. Beyond the forest.
A wide, seemingly endless, stretch of soft rolling hills.
The endless expanse of green shades below an ever darkening sky. Though currently it's painted in shades of pink and yellow.
Aric seems speechless. I can't blame him since I am as well
We stare for some time. I lost track of how long, but it wasn't enough regardless
Aric: "We may not know what freedom feels like. But it definitely looks like this."
He turns to me with a big, toothy smile.
Kareth: "We're really doing this huh."
Aric: "Yeah"
The wind picks up, carrying the scent of a multitude of things I couldn't describe.
Kareth: I don't know what awaits me and Aric beyond this forest. In Esmourne or maybe even further. I barely even know what's behind me. Maybe that's why I have to keep moving.
We set up camp on the crest of that hill. Cooking a rudimentary dinner for the night before going to sleep.
We need the energy to keep going tomorrow. Though I doubt either of us will actually sleep