White Eyes

Chapter 12 - Study

"I thought the part where you changed clothes was the coolest."

"Really? I prefer the part where I opened a hole in the ceiling," he laughed. His smile was beautiful.

Then, I told him about the improvements I made to the barrier.

"You're amazing," he said. "If I didn't know exactly where I had left you, I would never have found you or known the state of the barrier before."

I smiled; it was good to know that things were working out.

It was the night of the last day. I was sitting against a tree as usual, and Eyder was checking on everyone. The atmosphere that night was less tense due to the hope that the following night we would sleep in warm beds behind four walls without SAHs chasing us. I had to admit that even I was looking forward to leaving those endless forests behind. I wanted to see the city again. However, just being allowed to see again was a tremendous gift. Observing the trees, I then gazed at the sky, which wasn't very clear, partly because of my barrier distorting it. I could try to improve it, but that wasn't a priority right now. All we needed was safety.

I observed the people and then my own skin. It seemed that with each passing day, I became paler, even though I hadn't been exposed to much sun. I had been outdoors for two weeks, and I wasn't even getting a bit tanned. In fact, it felt like the opposite was happening. Well, it wasn't surprising, considering I had a vague memory of how I used to look in the mirror before. I couldn't remember it clearly; it had been so long. I was looking at my nails, which, despite everything, weren't ugly, just dirty. I began cleaning the dirt from under them; it was somewhat addictive.

"I miss taking a shower," Eyder said as he sat down next to me by the tree. Anticipating his move, I had chosen a tree with a wide enough trunk for both of us. It was comforting to know that he would sit next to me every night. Even if I slept, I wouldn't feel as much fear with him there. It was like the best kind of dream. I still didn't have a family or a home, but I had friends. That was a start, and I had Eyder.

"Don't complain about not taking a shower with us, Eyder," Lina chimed in, joining us. Apparently, I had lost track of time, and Eyder had been complaining about not having a shower for quite a while.

"She's right," I said.

"Of course I am. How can he complain when he uses wet wipes he bought in the city and deodorant? That's not fair."

"I only bought them so I wouldn't go into the city looking like a fugitive. They would notice right away. And I used the money that the director leaves hidden in the city for us."

"I almost asked if you stole it," I commented.

"I'm not like that."

"But stop complaining about not having a shower; remember that we're in much worse shape," Lina said.

"Okay, okay, I just complained a little. But who wouldn't miss a hot shower, the warm water running over your body, feeling clean after being dirty for so long?" Eyder said.

"I'm not even sure how often you should take a shower," I commented, still looking at my nails, a bit embarrassed by my own statement.

"It's common to take a shower once a day," Lina said without any sarcasm in her voice. "In some countries, people might even take more than one shower a day, depending on the availability of clean water. I hope we won't have that kind of problem on this 'island' because I really like taking long showers."

"Please rest assured about it; now, go rest, as we'll have a busy day tomorrow," he said.

"I'm going. I'm going. Sorry to interrupt the lovebirds."