Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 26: The Art of Meditation

"Wonderful," Amelia sighed, digging around through her bag with furrowed brows. "Hmm... where is it? I know I put it in here."

"Lose something?" Gus quipped, giving her a worried look. "You do realize that if you left something behind, it's gone for good, right?"

"I didn't leave anything," Amelia absently explained, rummaging around through her bag. "I just can't seem to... aha! I knew I packed it up with me!"

She beamed as she dragged a fairly large box out of her bag. Holding it carefully and securely, she hurried over to Xaphile and thrust it under his nose; he flinched and involuntarily jerked away from her, peering at the strange box when she held it out to him.

"Can I help you?" he suspiciously asked. "What is this?"

"Something I'm sure will help you with your meditation training," she explained. "Go on, take it."

For a long moment, he simply stared at the container, then hesitantly stretched out a hand and took it. It was small-ish... only the length of his calf, so it probably wasn't a sword or something.

"Am I allowed to open it?" he asked, not wanting to drag out any undue suspense. "Or not?"

"If you want," Amelia told him. "I'm giving it to you, after all."

He nodded, then stalked away and sat down on the grass with his back pressed against a tree, taking a moment to stare at the box. He tentatively shook it a little, listening to see if he could hear what was inside, but when Amelia covered her mouth with a giggle, his face grew hot. 

Whatever, he silently muttered. It couldn't hurt.

The string fell away beneath his claws, but when the box popped open, his eyes went blank.

A harp.

It was small, and very unlike the ones he'd seen back on earth, but it was indeed a harp. 

The dark wood gleamed, lustrous and firm, beneath his fingers.

"I noticed a long while back that you seem the most relaxed when you're singing," Amelia murmured, watching as he caressed the instrument's strings with tentative hands. "So... can you play that?"

Awe for the well-crafted instrument made him slow to understand what she was saying.

"With pleasure!" he eventually exclaimed, lifting his eyes and shocking them all with a genuine smile. "Even though this has a really odd shape, the way the strings have been designed might actually let me play it like a guitar."

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, but Ella's mouth twitched when she saw his subtle expression of delight.

Both girls watched observantly as he experimented with a few chords before expertly tuning the strings, but when he finally began to play a random tune, everyone stiffened since the melody thrummed through the air like a hummingbird.

They remained completely still even after he stopped.

"Gods above," Gus eventually muttered. "That was beautiful. It caught me by surprise."

"Thanks," Xaphile murmured, gently brushing his long claws against the strings. "This is an awesome gift, Amelia... thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet. You'll be playing that a lot more than you want to," she countered, stepping forward and setting a firm hand on his arm. "I want to teach you how to meditate, so I'll warn you now: I will be very, very strict, just like my father was with me."

He looked at her curiously.

"You said meditation will help me clear my head," he noted, "but does it serve any real purpose?"