This World Belongs to Us

7: Liara

            

Snow was lightly falling as Liara hiked through the woods. She carried her dead boyfriend in a glass jar. She was at the front of the group. No one spoke. They trekked through gorgeous scenery. The trail was narrow, rocky, and not maintained.

Liara felt a little bit better today. She wasn't trying to force herself to heal and get over Calin's death. She recognized that these things took time and she would probably never truly recover from the blow.

Without Calin, all she had left to cling to was God.

She wanted to believe everything would be okay. But she sensed that something was wrong with the others. Especially Sumita and Kivar. Their eyes were aimed down, focused on the path. She chose not to bug them about whatever it was.

The path became an uphill slope. They walked on for a little while longer before arriving at a pleasant hilltop. There was a very nice view of the woods, with the nearest town in the distance. She decided that Calin would be happy here. It seemed fitting. Calin never enjoyed hiking, but he would endure it for her. All he ever wanted was to see the top of the hill. That's where they were now, and where he would be forever.

Liara stepped away from the group and felt the snow crunch under her weight. The snowflakes were being moved about significantly by the wind. No one spoke a word. They waited for her.

"Calin," Liara began. "I love you. I was happy when you were around. I felt normal. We all did. We could have been so isolated in this world, like so many other demons. But you helped us stick together. You helped us forget about all our issues. All we needed was your presence, whether it was physical, or just through a phone. But now you're gone. In honor of you, we have to try harder. We have to stay together. We have to be proud of who we are. We cannot rely on luck to make it through this world. We can't linger in darkness. We can't live in the past. We can't ignore reality."

"Your Vi Athenemate forced a group of people near you to burst into laughter. You refused to use it on us. Even though you probably should have. God, your jokes were just awful. But you didn't care about the fact that we didn't laugh. I think all that mattered to you was the attempt. And now we must make an attempt to move on. I believe that you are at peace. I believe that you are with God. I believe that you are happy. That's enough for me. I'm not saying anything else. Just... goodbye."

Liara twisted off the lid from the glass jar. She slowly tilted it until it was upside down. She watched the ashes slide out of the container. Some of them landed on the snow while others were carried off by the wind and lost to sight.

Within seconds the jar was empty. Calin was truly gone. Liara took one long breath. She felt Azarial's hand on her shoulder. Sumita and Kivar stepped up as well. She hugged each of them separately, taking her time to feel their warmth. It was really nice that they were here. There may have had five more nights, but Liara felt as if her journey was over.

They lingered on that hill for a long while. It was the middle of the afternoon, but the sun was blocked by the clouds. It didn't feel gloomy though, and the light snowfall gave the whole area a magical vibe. It was a nice moment. No one wanted to leave.

"What do we do next?" Liara posed to the group. It was not an actual question she wanted answered. In fact, she enjoyed the uncertainty. They didn't need any plans for the rest of their time here. They could drink, chat, watch TV, play games, and just try to have some fun.

However, Sumita had something very different in mind. "What we'll do next," she said in a calm tone. "Is return to the cabin, gather our belongings, get in the car, and drive away from this place. This should happen as soon as we can manage."