CHAPTER 38 – CONVERSATIONS IN PASSING


    The next morning, they rose from sleep at the same time, eager to get to Towerock. Skipping breakfast, they continued on the road, passing many faceless travelers. This stretch of the road they started to get noticed and stopped by onlookers who identified the two princes.


    Although he was finally starting to feel like his old self again, Mitakahn hoped that his celebrity status would not be an issue in his travels. For soon, word would spread of his exile, and he would become a social pariah. So, after another awkward identification of royalty, Mitakahn threw his hood on and pointed his head down, pinning his eyes to the floor. Once again, he found himself watching his feet pass over the withered bluish-gray stones.


    The rest of the day passed by relatively quietly. Unfortunately, they did not reach Towerock as expected and would have to set up camp once again without achieving their goal of turning south. The two cousins silently prepared for another night on the side of the road.


    Mitakahn put together the tent as Anilithion started the fire. It was now a routine for them. They felt very comfortable with each other and did not need to escape awkward silence with constant conversation. But a topic of interest was stirring inside Anilithion. He was very thoughtful and always had others in mind. Right now, Anilithion was thinking about his aunt; Mitakahn’s mother. Poor Adyána was still stirring in her loneliness and depression, now all alone at home without her two boys.


    “Do you think your mother is going to be okay?” he asked.


    “She didn’t seem too upset by my… departure. I think it’s because she is still dealing with my father’s death.”


    Anilithion knew Mitakahn had misunderstood his question but realized that his answer had inadvertently led into Anilithion’s quandary. He deemed it unnecessary to correct him.


    “She’s taking it very hard,” continued Anilithion.


    “…Hardest of all. You have to understand…It wasn’t just her husband that died. It was her life. With Axion and me… we still have the bulk of our lives ahead of us. Axion is proof, by finding Euphrati, that we have the potential to get over the loss. But not my mother, she feels that all the meaning and significance in her life has been taken from her. And from now on she will live a life devoid of true happiness because that… is what she thinks my father’s death deserves.”You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    “I’m afraid I don’t fully understand, Mitakahn.”


    “What I mean is…Adyána doesn’t want her life to get better. She doesn’t want to stop crying or grieving. To her, if she did… it would be disrespectful to my father’s memory. By not making her life any better…it is a sort of testament to how much my father meant to us- I mean her. She will go on suffering to remind herself of the impact that King Theomitus had on her.”


    “For how long?” pained Anilithion.


    “Until her time is up, and she can rejoin him in the After Light.”


    They both stared into the fire rather than look at each other. Without being able to control it, the night had taken a negative tone. The dark of the night was thick. Mitakahn suffered under a familiar feeling which was shooting a cold shiver down his spine. The darkness seemed to be collecting around them. Mitakahn could not quite pin the feeling. His eyes remained on the fire. The conversation had dissolved into the lurking night.


    “Well, you could look at it this way,” Anilithion continued after a long pause, “Aunt Adyána was so fulfilled by her union with your dad that even in death she knows no other relationship will ever be as strong, so there is no reason to move on. She lived in the time of the love of her life.”


    “That is a good way to think about it. Very poignantly put, Anilithion.”


    “Thank you.”


    “When it comes to my own personal problems I forget there are always two ways of looking at things.”


    “We can all try our best to remember that in rough times.”


    “My only problem is my mind doesn’t just stop at two.”


    “Forty ways to skin a cat”


    “Pardon me?”


    “It’s a saying.”


    “Not where I come from.”


    They both awkwardly looked at each other as if about to draw swords and then broke into ridiculous laughter. The hour grew late, and they spent another night under the stars. Mitakahn stayed awake as Anilithion snored beside him. Unable to sleep he prayed to the stars where the gods held court, hoping something would come of tomorrow.