NAOMI
The sky was a blanket of blue with white clouds drifting on the winds. The thicket of oak trees danced in the breeze, and birds could be heard singing their early morning songs. Naomi waded through the forest, but her mother's words of warning rang in her ear. She soon came to a complete stop, her mother's disapproval weighing every step.
They were so far apart now, but was this the worst of it? Could Naomi truly lose what little relationship was left? She wondered when she would even see that woman again, but there was no way to tell. This consistent uncertainty caused Naomi to clench her fists. She soon wiped her face and marched on, but something suddenly pinched at her ethereal senses. Something entirely different from her familial anxieties.
Naomi's hairs flared as goosebumps dotted her freckled skin.
Something - Someone - was here. Or were they? Naomi shot a gaze to the thickest part of the dark wood, but only a bird emerged.
"...Oh, just the wildlife." she said. Naomi giggled with relief, but the chills remained.
As far as it looked, there was nothing there, but was that the truth of it? Naomi hurried out of the thicket after her brush with the unseen. She bit her bottom lip the entire way, but all her concerns vanished as the dark boy came into view.
Achim was leaning against the tree, arms folded, legs crossed, dozing even as he stood. Naomi could not help but stare. Her pupils dilated, but, when Achim stirred, Naomi began to shimmy in embarrassment. She had been looking at him far more intently than she realized. Her hair fell into her face as her allure came to light and she patted her heart twice to calm herself. She did not think Achim saw her floundering about so unseemly, but...
"What in the world were you spazzing out for?" Achim asked with an eye open.
"No reason," Naomi bashfully responded.
Distracting herself by setting down her things, Naomi scrounged inside her bag for an assortment of snacks. "I was just thinking that you seem to have been resting in an interesting way." Naomi looked up, glancing at the face of her moon-eyed companion.
Achim had already begun to doze again. Naomi smiled as the boy fell down and laid his head in the bed of grass.
"I didn't sleep last night." Achim said after a long yawn. His tone was plagued by exhaustion, but he forced himself upright.
"Why not?" Naomi asked. "You were already tired when I left. What did you end up doing for the rest of the night?"
"I walked around. Explored The Wall a bit." Said Achim.
"You mean York's Divide?" the girl inquired.
Achim scratched at his afro before shrugging. "I don't know. I guess? I actually got here at dawn." He rubbed his face and eyes. "... I get insomnia sometimes. Bad dreams."
"What sort of bad dreams?" Naomi's bright eye rested on Achim as she spoke. She could only recall a few times she had seen anyone look so utterly spent. Naomi set herself right next to him with an open invitation. "You can talk about it if you want."
Achim glanced at Naomi before letting out a long sigh. He closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. The sun-kissed girl did not expect such a forward display. She did not expect anything at all, yet she had been rattled by the warmth that slithered from his form to hers. As his soft hair tickled her ears and pressed against her neck, his closeness allowed her nose to catch his scent.
Achim's fragrance was like an earthy incense. The kind that tempted her to lean further into him. She began to blush before turning her face toward his.
"Umm...A-achim?" She whispered.
"You smell nice," a tired Achim blatantly stated.
He snuggled into her shoulders and Naomi felt her bones melting. How easy it would have been to go limp and allow the boy to sink into her. Again, Naomi's hair fell into her face. Her mane as unruly as her thumping heart.
"What sort of deodorant is that?" Asked Achim.
"I...uhh." Naomi bit her bottom lip before giving into his weight. She let herself lean atop him, her head laying on top of his. Her skin squirmed and her fingers fidgeted as her bright eyes peaked at every inch of the mysterious youth. "...Now that you mention it, I actually forgot to put any on."
"...Gross," said Achim. "But weird that you don't smell bad."
"Yeah," giggled the sun-kissed girl.
She heard Achim exhale before his breaths again went steady. The pressure his body put on her was not what she expected, but not at all what she disliked. As Naomi felt the curls of Achim's afro tease her exposed skin, she dared to dabble in the amorous affairs floating in the back of her mind. Naomi steered herself closer to the moon-eyed boy, eyes aglow with visions of his touch. She gently pressed her chin against his forehead, and, with familial woes and forest shadows forgotten, let her lips linger inches from a kiss. "So, about those bad dreams..." Again Naomi whispered to the dreaming vagrant, her silent voice boiling with freshly discovered desires. "Did you want to talk," Naomi sweetly inquired.
"Not really," Achim responded. Half-asleep, the boy then shrugged.
"...I guess you could say I have episodes where I — I ASK MYSELF WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL THIS!?" The dark boy yanked himself away from the sun-kissed girl the instant he came to his senses. Distance was taken: two to three yards worth. "IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS," Achim shouted.
The moment was over. The haze of her inflamed heart slowly subsided, but Naomi could see the color of fluster through Achim's dark skin. Had he felt it too? The deep things that tingled to the touch? She laughed, more out of an unfulfilled anticipation than humor.
"You're so weird," Naomi said with a much needed exhale.
"YOU'RE WEIRD," Achim hissed.
"You really think so, because you're one to talk." Naomi poked her tongue at Achim. While he moped without a come-back, she rummaged through her backpack to pull a bushel of bagged grapes from its mouth. Naomi dangled the hanging fruit before Achim, all too ready to forget the latent sensations, but only as long as he was. "You want some? Weirdos only," she said.
Achim's avarice was enticed, but his suspicion subdued him. His eyes narrowed. "What is this?" he scornfully asked.
"Breakfast," Naomi answered. She ate a single grape then tossed him the bushel.
"Breakfast for you." Said Achim. He tossed the bushel right back. "I don't need to eat."
Just as Naomi caught the bag, she heard Achim's groaning belly. She stared at the moon-eyed boy, and sighed before putting the bag away. His refusal was all too familiar.
"Wait!" Achim said.
His entire face blushed beneath his scrunching brow. He crawled over to his sun-kissed counterpart then extended an open hand. He said nothing.
Naomi , from confused to contently smug, placed her bag of grapes into his palm with a smile.
Achim took the bushel and ate five at a time. While Achim inhaled the sour spheres, Naomi giggled. Him and her mother. To have been so alike and yet so different in the moment....Naomi was amused at first . Relieved. Her joy faded though. Memories of her mother's cold countenance froze the warm feelings over.
A little thoughtful and a little sad, Naomi looked into the distance.
She did not count the seconds, or perhaps the minutes. Naomi simply clung to the fresh memory to contrast a happier past. She was smiling during the review, at least she thought she was.
"What's with the face?" said Achim.
Unbeknownst to her, the boy had been watching.
Naomi's response was bubbly and awkward, but genuinely curious. "What face?"
She watched as Achim continued to stare. He then filled his mouth with another five grapes before peering into the distance alongside her. He kept his thoughts to himself, much to her sudden concern.
"Don't just not say anything. What's the matter? D-did I do something wrong?"
Achim's sudden chill gave Naomi goosebumps.
She panicked. "I-if you don't like the grapes, I brought other stuff too. You can have some." The sun-kissed girl hurried to her bag again. "J-just don't be upset."
"Jesus. Relax." Achim snorted. "I was just thinking."
"A-about what?"
Achim rolled his shoulders. "I don't know."
His answer could not have been less comforting if he tried, and Naomi was already sure Achim would not have tried. The dark boy simply reached over her legs - an act that gave Naomi a sudden heat flash- took her backpack, and began digging inside in search of the promised assortment. He pulled out a box of cherries and leered at the little red specs with a grimace.
"...I was just thinking that you're not giving off that insufferable optimism today," said Achim.
He then picked out an apple from the bag, nodded, and bit down after a short inspection. Once the flavor was appraised, Achim nodded again and began to split the fruit down the middle with his bare hands. "...What's the matter with you?" Said Achim.
Naomi blinked back at Achim. "Why would you think that? T-that something's wrong with me, I mean?"
Naomi put on a big bright smile and displayed it before the dark boy. Achim, though, simply gave her a tired glance before rolling his moon white eyes. He remained skeptical. More than skeptical. His look alone called her a liar. Naomi knew that her shining smile was false. Now that he knew it too, the only thing left to do was to be true.
The sun-kissed girl faded completely. Not even her fiery hair seemed immune to her melancholy. Her head went low, her frown lay long, and her bright eyes went dim.
Achim snickered. "And there it is." With his suspicions confirmed, he returned the box of untouched cherries and offered Naomi one half of the apple. "Here. Since you shared with me."
He laughed? Why? More importantly, why did he see fit to return what she gave him as if he was giving a gift?
Naomi was perplexed by Achim and his fickle mysteries. She peered into his pale eyes, searching for understanding, but it was he who offered his own. All it took was a knowing nod and a word. "...It's fine, Naomi. You're fine."
The sun-kissed girl suddenly felt her heart catch fire. Renewed and aloft with life, she smiled a small smile and accepted the fruit despite her misgivings on him and his strange ways. Naomi ate her half of the apple with a swelling fondness for the one who offered it. Did such a mundane thing always taste so sweet? Naomi did not care to know.
"...Well?!" Said Achim.
The remark was so sudden, and he spoke as if slighted. Had he been expecting something?
Naomi wondered before bonking her noggin. "Oh! Sorry." She clasped her hands together and gave Achim a slight bow. "Thank you for sharing with me. More than that. Thank you for being here, Achim."
"What? No!" The boy remarked. "I don't ' care about that stuff! I asked what was the matter with you because I was being nosy! I asked and you didn't' answer."
"...Oh!" Naomi chirped in embarrassment.
The sun-kissed girl felt her face brim bright red. She stuffed the apple in her mouth, ready and perfectly willing to choke on the fruit and die on the spot. Her chewing was slow, the chances of a gagging death minced to pieces like the food in her mouth. Luckily, by the time the apple was reduced to mush and swallowed, Naomi had already mulled over her answer.
"...I'm sorry," she said. Naomi then clasped her knees and pulled them close to her chin.
"...It's my mom, but it's a long story. I'm sure you don't really want to hear it since you're just being nosy and all."
"...That's the opposite of what being nosy means," said the boy. Achim then ate his apple piece whole. "Besides, I like long stories," he said with a full mouth.
Naomi looked at Achim. "...But we have to search for your brother."
"And we will." He took the time to chew and swallow. "Look, girly. I've spent three years looking for Adlai. I doubt an hour or so would make a real difference in this needle-haystack hunt."
"Needle haystack hunt? What's tha"--
"Not explaining it, city slicker" said Achim. "Now go on. Don't be shy."
"You...really want to hear about me," said Naomi.
Achim scoffed. "What part of 'I'm nosy' don't you understand?"
At that, Naomi's lips curved with a small smile. She then nodded before twirling her hot red curls. "...Okay." she shyly said. "But only after I've helped you find your brother."
"Whatever," said Achim.
At his aloof response, Naomi laughed. Having gone from reserved to rambunctious in a pinch, the sun-kissed girl exploded to her feet and stood tall for the first time today. Naomi then offered Achim a hand. "Then it's settled then."
Achim smirked. "I suppose it is." He accepted and allowed Naomi to yank him to his feet. It was easy pulling him up. Maybe too easy. Achim rolled his shoulder with a tinge of pain on his brow. "God. You're strong. Too strong."
"Sorry," Naomi said. "I'm ready though! I just have one request, said Naomi.
Achim raised a brow. "Okay?"
"The only condition is that we not be seen by the authorities." Naomi clapped her hands in plea to the dark boy. "Pretty please. I know you said they were helping you, but it would be easier for me if we don't run into any warden agents. It's super important, actually!"
Achim sounded confused and annoyed. "...Was that not the original plan?"
. . .
This was a short chapter, but it marks the official beginning of Achim and Naomi's journey. This drawing is from some years ago, back when used to draw Naomi with straight , or rather less curly, hair.