Beautiful Moon

Chapter 15

Beautiful Moon

Chapter 15

As I took a deep breath and walked up to Tsukasa, my nerves and feeling of anxiety could be felt. Knowing that he loved me now meant that everything between us had changed. Our relationship with him had transcended to another level and I felt a strange combination of emotions as I felt my heart beating fast. I wasn't sure yet to be prepared to deal with it.

I was trying to stay calm and composed, but the nervous feeling inside me was building up as I took a final breath and spoke to him. "Hi." Was the only word I was able to speak.

"Hi." The calm and soothing smile on Tsukasa's face was just so comforting that it instantly put my mind at ease. His relief was visible and his concern for me was indeed apparent it made me feel so much better now and my heartbeat was starting to slow down a bit, with each passing moment. But the tension was still there between us. "You must be hungry," Tsukasa asked now, shifting the conversation towards a more pleasant topic. There was a need to move past the tension from the previous conversation, and it seemed like Tsukasa was ready for it too, to make me feel more comfortable until I was ready to speak to him about what had happened in the caves. "There is a great little spot down the path I saw if you would like me to get you something."

"Yes, that would be great. Thank you." I responded as we walked to another small cabin down the dirt path that led further into the village.

The sight of a tavern now was quite welcome, as I was feeling hungry since I had not eaten since the early morning. It seemed to be a very welcoming place, with lots of friendly people and a cheerful and lively atmosphere, and I felt a sense of comfort and warmth there. The smell of fresh chicken and baked bread permeated the whole air, filling up my hunger pangs.

As we took our seats and waited for our meals to arrive, we were not talking much. It was the calm before the storm as an ominous feeling of anxiety and worry was starting to creep back into my mind. I couldn't help but think about when the conversation was going to be brought up as the silence in between was deafening for me as I was constantly battling internal thoughts and emotions. But he didn't. If silence was what I needed, he felt obliged to give that to me.

I could not ignore that we were both thinking too much about a lot of things at once. I was certainly lost in my thoughts and it felt like an eternity, even as we ate. I was indeed reluctant to share my thoughts with him now, as I was still feeling overwhelmed and I was not ready yet. But since he understood it, I was thankful for his patience and respect towards me. We both kept eating and the comforting sound of the fire crackling and other voices throughout the room was the only thing that filled up the air now.

As we finished our meal in silence, we stepped outside once again. The setting sun was just beyond the treetops, as the weather had now turned from snow to light rain. Weather this time of year was always unpredictable. Despite that, everything was in the shades of red and orange from the setting sun which made the whole scene even more picturesque in its beauty.

As we walked together through the small village, we made our way back towards the Inn where we were staying. The rain had increased a bit by now, but it was not too bad, and the people around us seemed to be indifferent to the rain too who were all now rushing into their homes for the night. I had grown to like the feeling of rain as it had a calming effect on me, cooling my nerves and bracing for the conversation I knew was approaching

I tried going ahead with the conversation that I knew was inevitable between the two of us. I decided to take a leap of faith and started talking first. "Tsukasa, I know that there is something you want to talk about." The words left my mouth, but I was not so confident about how to carry the conversation ahead. As I had spoken those first words, it seemed that my body also wanted to say more but my mind was getting overwhelmed with all the thoughts and emotions which was preventing me from moving forward with the conversation.