Miyu held Fallon as he laid on his stomach and cried into the pillow. He could feel the sharp pain in his chest, like heartburn, but stung by a wasp and drenched in poison.
The full extent of the pain, so excruciating, Miyu squeezed him in Henry’s bed. Snot trickled out his nose and wetted Henry’s pillow and his red teary eyes fogged up his sight.
“Miyu…” He called. “It hurts. It frickin’ hurts so much.”
“I know my love, I know.” She said, rubbing his back as she laid with him on her stomach.
“I can’t take it. Please, take this away from me. It’s torture.”
“I would if I could. I’d give up my heart to exchange it with yours. Just so you wouldn’t feel the pain."
“What am I supposed to do now? He can’t see me like this.”
Miyu raised him up, sitting cross legged with Fallon, and wiped his tears. “For now, I’m going to ask something of you that I know is going to hurt and will be painfully hard.”
She squeezed his hand, and with the purest empathy submerged in her gaze, she hugged him. “I need you to be strong when he comes back. He will want to spend time with us, and I know it will be hard, but for me, please, be strong. I know you are. You’ve been strong for five years. And I know you’re tired. I feel it in your soul, but just for one more day. Be strong again.”
He hugged Miyu and his eyes glistened, more cries escaping on her shoulder.
“Tha-thank you.”
“I’m always by your side, and you know that.”
“Hey!” Henry shouted from the living room downstairs. Anyone here?”
“Shit, they’re back.” Miyu said.
Fallon pulled away and looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry.” He sniffled uncontrollably and wiped at his face with his shirt. “I can do this. I’ll go to the bathroom and take a shower.”
“Alright love, we’ll be here.”
He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed the spare towel and clothes in Henry’s closet, and walked to the bathroom down the hall. No doubt crying again and letting the water drown out the noise.
Henry came up the stairs and into his room, glancing at Miyu on her phone, surely scrolling through pinterest.
“Lemme guess, pinning techy stuff again?”
“And recipes. A girl’s gotta know how to cook.”
“Well, you cook like a man.”
“Ha!” Miyu sat up. “You’re only insulting yourself you know.”
“Exactly. So where’s Fallon? There’s so much I wanna do with you guys.”
“He’s taking a shower; he’ll be out soon. In the meantime, let’s set her up!”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!”
Miyu rummaged through the chest box by the bay window, taking out the PS4 and the three controllers. Something dropped, rolling at the bottom.
She cocked her head at the white, translucent rock, but ignored it. This was best friend time, and Ezra took up enough of it, which reminded her.
“Where’s Ezra?”
“He went to see the city. He’s never really been anywhere outside Xander.”
“Damn, tough being a royal.” She said, while setting up the game.
“Tell me about it?” Henry plopped on the bed. “I only just started.”
“And where did he take you?”
“Oh my god! Miyu it was amazing! It was a date and it was-“
She gasped. “A picnic in the forest under herkit trees?”
“Yes! I guess I talk about that a lot.”
“You have to tell me every nitty gritty detail you hear me?”
“Of course, you and Fallon are my best friends. I can’t not tell you guys!”
Miyu laughed mirthlessly. As much as she wanted to swoon and cooed at the cute date, she only had Fallon on her mind.
“Hey guys!”
Speaking of which, Fallon smiled and walked into the room.
“Fallon!” Henry perked up and hugged him, pulling him in the bed and kissing his cheek, nose, forehead and chin.
“Okay okay! I get it. You miss me!”
As much as it pricked his heart to see Henry. His happiness was Fallon’s happiness, and the smile spreading across his face was genuine, unlike when he walked into the room.
Besides, he still got smooches from time to time. He could survive with that. And not even Ezra was going to come between him and his smooches.
Fallon sat up-right while Henry snuggled him by the waist watching Miyu finish up setting the game.
“And we’re ready for Miyu to win!”
“Girl the only thing you’re gonna win is a consolation prize.” Fallon said.
“Wanna bet?”
“Well sure!”
“I got the perfect one!” Henry said, a mischievous grin forming. “Loser has to give the other two a spy treatment. That includes a pedicure and a massage.”
“Deal!” Miyu and Fallon said, and the game was on.
✧✧✧
“Hey, get in between those toes.” Fallon demanded. “I’m one of those people that let the soapy water run down my legs instead of washing them.”
“Ew! Fallon!” Henry recoiled.
“Don’t pretend you don’t do it either!”
“Yeah but not as much as you.”
“Oh masseur, my back needs some work now.”
Henry rolled his eyes as Miyu laid in his bed, a towel covering her butt.
“Let this sit and I’ll be right back.”
Henry placed Fallon’s toes in the warm water and he chilled back on the bay window. He closed his eyes, taking in the crocks of frogs and cricket chirps of the night.
Suddenly, a blue light prickled in the air of Henry’s room and Cedric materialized. “Oh yes! Renewed again!”
“Hey Cedric.” Miyu said, her words breaking up from Henry’s back chopping.
“Got set back again?” Henry asked.
“Yup.”
“I was to ask you,”
“Ow!” Miyu winced, knowing very well Henry squeezed her shoulders on purpose.
“How does your device work?”
Cedric folded his arms, thinking of where to start. “The ghost realm is not a place you’re supposed to leave. And all that B.S people say about ‘I’ll be looking down at you from above.’ is not true. We can’t see shit. But me and my friends-“
“Wait you have ghost friends?” Fallon asked.
“Well where do you think my friends go when they die?”
“Fair point.”
“My friends and I created this device that opens a portal to the living world, but you can’t stay long. And it’s not recommended multiple people go. The time you have in the living is shared between you. The more people that go, the less time you have. That’s why I just come alone. And it’s not like they suspect anything. I spend a lot of time in the ghost realm, so it looks like I’m not going anywhere.”
“So wait…” Henry stopped massaging her shoulders and Miyu sighed, relieved. “Does that mean I can see mom and dad?”
“Ouuuu…” Cedric winced. “No. You can’t. You see… it’s uhhh, kinda illegal to leave the ghost realm. If the Supreme Eidolons found out about this, it would break the laws of the living and the dead. So I didn’t tell mom or dad.”
“Oh…”
“But do not despair! When you die you’ll get to see them!”
“Waw.” Henry rolled his eyes. “How comforting.” He deadpanned.
“Henry, my toes. Chop chop.”
Henry grunted. “You’re enjoying this a little too much Fallon.”
“Just soaking it up.”
Cedric watched as Henry got off the bed, Miyu’s back shining from oil, and to the floor to massage Fallon’s wet feet. “What happened here anyway?” He asked.
“He lost a PS4 game to us,” Miyu said. “And here’s the irony, he’s the one that said loser has to give the winners a spy day.”
“You guys have a PS4?” He flew around the room, excited. “I’ve always wanted to play on one!”
“You can!” Miyu said, then winced. “Oh sorry, I forgot.”
“It’s fine! Where is it?”
“In the chest box by Fallon’s feet.”
As Cedric used the wind to shift around the PS4 and the controllers, his expression changed from excitement to shock. A white translucent rock, glittering in the dark of the box left him completely stunned.
Could it have been… No.
It’s been years since he last saw it. And what would it be doing here, of all places? Using the wind, a spiral of air levitated the rock and Cedric’s shock shifted to dread.
The way each creak within the rock glimmered in the fluorescent light of the room was unmistakable. He turned to Henry.
“Henry, what are you doing with the Grandour stone?”
“The what?” He said, doing a double take at Cedric, the stone floating beside him. “What the hell is that?”
Fallon peeked at the rock, then opened his eyes in awe. “Wow, where did that come from? It’s shining.”
Miyu looked behind her back and flipped on her stomach, careful to cover herself. “I saw that earlier.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Henry asked.
“I just want to spend time with you before something like this happened.”
“Henry.” Cedric said. “Where did you get the stone from?”
“The what?” He scrunched up his face while memories turned in his mind. He heard this word before. But where, and who said it? “I don’t even know what that-“ It then kicked in and a voice echoed in his mind.
“Do you know where the Grandour stone is?”
“That guy…” He whispered.
“What guy?” Cedric asked.
“From couple weeks ago.” Henry stood up and paced. “He placed a white heaven scorpion behind me and asked me where some stone was, that stone. I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he asked me if I ever saw a shimmering white stone. I lied and the scorpion stung me."
“White heaven scorpions can always tell the truth from a lie.” Cedric flowed the stone to Henry’s hands, and he held it. “Henry, this stone is just like The Rion, and every other stone found deep beneath the surface of each kingdom. That lie meant you saw this stone before. And I found it in your chest box so it could only mean you know what it is.”
“But I don’t! What is it?”
Cedric floated to the bed and “sat” cross legged. “It’s called the grandour stone, and it was once a part of the nine kingdoms of Uldine.”