Love from the fire

Winter Feather

"What have you two been talking about?" Gray asked in a suspicious tone.

"Oh, not much." Miles began.

"He just told me a few things about this town, and how great it is." I added.

"I know you two are lying. But, I'll let it slide because I'm nice." He quickly said.

For a few seconds, there was silence. Then, Gray spoke up. "You know, I was talking to a few people. A young author has just finished writing her latest book. She hasn't published it yet, but she wants me to read it and stuff. You guys want to join me?"

"I'm hungry." Miles stated in response.

"Me too." Gray and I said.

"You know, there's this one person I know who's super good at cooking. They have a little restaurant not too far from here. We should go there." Gray suggested.

We all agreed and followed Gray to where he was leading us.

The building was simple. It almost looked like a house in terms of its structure. Once we entered, there was a kind looking man inside. He greeted us warmly and asked us what we wanted to eat.

"Mashed potato and bread, please." Both Gray and Miles said.

"Same for me too, please." I added because I didn't know what else I could eat.

We sat by one of the tables. Gray took his bag off and took a book out from it. He gave it to me.

The front cover was stunning. It was an extremely detailed and colourful sky with two people falling from the clouds. The title was called 'Finally' in big, yellow, bubble letters. And the author was 'Winter Feather'

That's a beautiful name. I thought.

Then, I turned the book around to read the blurb.

'Finally, I get to be free. Finally, no more stupid rules to hold me back.'
Kayla and Fred were stuck in the sky since birth, due to a curse that was placed on their parents. Though, as time goes by and the two grow older, they embark on a journey to finally be free. Does it all go to plan though? Or does their plan get spoiled?
'Oh no, Kayla, I didn't expect this...'

Something about the style of it captivated me. "This looks quite interesting." I told Gray.

"Mhm." He replied. "Winter's an underatted author. He's an artist when it comes to words. This will be his 3rd book."

"Wow." I said.

"Yeah." Gray went on. "I asked if he could start writing 'love from the fire' too when he's ready"

I completely forgot about that. What was worse was the fact that it literally happened last night. "Why? Come on, Gray, that's weird and it's going to be embarrassing." I complained.

"For you maybe." Said Gray. "But consider this. Yeah, while stories do come from an authors imagination, there's always some reality in it. An author tends to be inspired by their surroundings. This book seems really interesting to you, but it's based on someone's story. They'd think it was super embarrassing too, but you'd enjoy it. Your, our story, it seems weird to us, but others will see the beauty in it."

"Ohhh," Gray always says these kinds of things that make me start to question life. "So, this story is based on someone else's life?"

Gray nodded. "You'll understand once you read the book. As much as it seems like a fantasy, you'll see that it mirrors a certain reality. You're smart enough to get it."

Soon, the man arrived with the food. Gray, Miles and I thanked him, and then began to eat.

After some time, Miles spoke up." You know, I never used to like the idea of reading. But Winter's first book changed that for me." He then went silent as he continued to eat.

I nodded.

Then, Gray suggested that we should go by the shore to read. Miles and I liked the idea, so we followed.