White Eyes

Chapter 8 - Cave

— Ayra —

"I'm back, Ayra." Eyder appeared, walking towards me, then he looked at Lina. "And Lina," he said her name.

So, they really know each other. My heart tightened, and a question formed in my mind at that moment: 'Does he like her, even though she seems older than him?' But before I could continue my thoughts on that, Lina said:

"Took you a while to notice I'm here" then she looked at me and said ", but also with this beauty by my side."

I had to look back. I was sure she was talking about someone behind me, but it made them both laugh. And there was no one behind me. I understood; she was being sarcastic, but it seemed like my thoughts had drifted to her because she responded:

"I'm laughing because of your reaction. You really thought there was someone behind you prettier than you? I don't think there's anyone here who can compare to your beauty. And I'm not being sarcastic about that."

I blinked my eyes several times. I would never be able to believe her words so easily, but I wanted to believe for a moment.

"Thank you." I thanked her, even though I didn't believe it. Then, I read her thoughts: 'She didn't believe me, but she'll gradually believe; after all, it was the plain truth.' I felt that she knew I was reading her mind.

I didn't like reading other people's minds, so I made a point not to use that ability. If I remembered correctly, I had acquired that ability from her. It was an ability I simply wanted to disable and discard; I didn't think it was right to read what others were thinking. It's something very intimate, something that sometimes you don't even want to show to the person you trust the most; your worst moments hide there.

"Lina, can you lend me Ayra for a while?" He asked, and secretly, I was happy.

"Of course, you didn't even need to ask."

"Shall we?" He looked at me and offered his arm like a gentleman for me to hold, and without realizing it, I accepted his escort.

"Let's go," I replied, and we walked together.

"It's time to start our journey to the island, and I think we've been standing in the same place for too long, not to mention..."

"We're still too close to them." I finished his sentence.

"Exactly, it's not too late yet; we can travel a bit further and see if we find a good hiding spot."

"I think I can create a great barrier depending on where we choose to stay, not that I can't create a decent one anywhere."

"Don't worry; I may have a very minimal understanding of what you went through in the dome, but here you don't need to prove anything to anyone. You just need to live as you please."

"Live as I please?"

"Yes, live a happy life without regrets. That's all you need to do; you don't need to prove anything to anyone, achieve great things, or do any of that. You just need to be happy your whole life and know that's all you need; do what you want, not what others impose on you; decide which path to take." He looked at the horizon and then smiled at me. "You just need to believe in yourself and do what you want; don't feel tied to something that's imposed on you; and live happily as who you are."

It was the first time I had heard that in my life. It was quite a shock, but a faint smile formed on my face. Living life being happy and who I am—I really liked how that sounded.

"Thank you, by the way."

"What?"

"What is the dome?"