Legacies of light

Arc 1.07

Year 6

“Capti, eat this. I made it just for you.”

“Orb, I am ok. You have been feeding me like I am a fish lately.”

“Well, you need to eat to stay healthy; since starvation is the only thing that can kill an immortal, so eat.”

I have cared for Capti since he fainted on the floor three weeks ago. But he has been making it hard; he keeps fighting back against me, talking as if I am being more of a bother than helping.

“Orb, you don’t need to be so annoying about this; I have already eaten.”

“More food cannot hurt anyone, so come on, you old man.”

“Hey, don’t treat me like I have some kind of disability; I was able to climb this mountain by myself. I am still as healthy as ever.”

“You can barely walk now, and have just been sitting on the bed for the last two weeks, old man. Don’t lie to me.”

“You underestimate my power, watch this,” Capti says as he jumps and does a backflip. Crap, my ankles hurt, but I still did it. “See Orb, look how healthy I am.”

“Yes, very healthy now; get back on the bed by yourself.”

“Wait by myself, without any help from you.”

“That’s just what I said, Capti. Come on, aren’t you super healthy? You can do it.”

“Hey Orb, I need help.”

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that. Could you say it louder?”

“I need help!”

“Sorry, that was also too quiet for me. Put some effort into this and tell me what you want loudly.”

“ORB I CAN’T GET DOWN ON MY OWN, HELP ME”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” So I crawled to the back of Capti legs and pushed him down. “Here I go.” Then he proceeds to tumble down, like a loser.

“So, Capti, what was that about being healthy?”

“Welllllll, you know what, I’m sorry. Thank you for the help, Orb. I mean it.”

“You’re welcome,” I say with a look of victory. “Now, you better eat your food.”

So Capti begins to eat the food I gave him for the third time today, but I hear him mutter, “I miss meat.”

“Capti isn’t meat the flesh of animals, people in books always eat that, but isn’t it disgusting to do that in real life, it’s a living, breathing animal.”

“Orb, you fool, you can only say that cause you haven’t tasted it. When you take that first bite, you realise something so firm can come apart so easily, while also being juicy.

There are so many different types of meat, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey, and they can be cooked in so many different ways and go along with many different foods.

Meat isn’t just the flesh of animals. It shows us that even though we are all categorised as the same, we are also very different and can grow in many ways. Meat is the truth of life in speaking to us through food.”

“Whatever you say, Capti.”

“Damn it Orb, since you refuse to believe me, I will just have to show you all the great foods, not just meat, when I get you out of here.”

All this talk has made me excited “Well, let’s get you better first before we start thinking about such things, but you’ll be better in no time since you're immortal.”

“Yeah, Orb, when I get better, I will take you,” he says while looking at me with a serene expression.

Capti, don’t look at me with that expression. You’re not a liar. You are immortal, right?

One month later

“Hey, Capti, what was your family like?” Orb asks suddenly.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, you barely talk about them, and I just wanted to hear what a real family is like. Do you not want to talk about them?”

“Well, of course I want to talk about them. Where should I begin? Well, I guess my parents. They were farmers and lived in one place all their lives. The only time they left was to visit my wife and me.”

“So, they’re sort of like me. Did they have some reason for staying in one place for all their lives?”

“It was a family tradition, from what I knew, for the family to spend their whole life just attending to the land we have owned for centuries. My family motto is farming will save the world, and most of my ancestors took that very seriously.”

“But that was not the life for me, so I left to become a writer, which caused many problems for my family since I am an only child. Still, my family were very supportive of my dream.”

“While chasing my dream, I met my wife Draga, and we had two kids, a boy named Dragoste and a girl named Intrare. They were both tough to handle as kids, but as both have grown up, they have accomplished a lot in their lives, and Dragoste even has a daughter named Viata. She would be around your age, Orb.”

Looking at me, Capti says, “What's making you smile, Orb?”

“Oh, sorry Capti, it’s just that you haven’t been this energetic in a while when talking about anything, so it was just a lot of fun to see you so excited, so please continue.”

“Drago was a scaredy cat and a crybaby, while Trare was the opposite; She just used to run headfirst into whatever she saw. Bringing both of them on all my adventures was a headache, but my wife had a very dominant personality and was the powerhouse of the family, so she was perfect a wrangling the children and fighting off whatever trouble we got ourselves in.” Capti says as he continues to ramble on fervently about his family.

With the room full of joy, Orb says, “Capti, they sound like such fun to be around. I would love to meet them”

“Well, you’ve already met my wife at least in some form, but we can see the rest of my family when I take you out of here,” he says with a smile.

“Yeah, Capti” This might be my imagination, but that sentence felt like the most unsure thing Capti said today.

One month later

Capti hasn’t been talking much. The energy he had since he spoke about his family is gone. He also hasn’t been back-talking to me at all. He just sits on the bed and stares. It bothers me, Capti hasn’t been this quiet since I have known him.

He constantly looked tired, so I tried to give him space, but he asked me to stay with him. Even if I am just reading, I want to ask him why he’s been sick and why his immortality hasn’t helped him, but whenever I think of asking that question, I freeze up with fear. I’m scared of the response.

“Hey Orb, are you ok?”

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Orb, your hair has been brown. You’re nervous about something.”

“Stupid hair,” I mutter under my breath.

“Well, I just wanted to show you something, but I was unsure whether I should show you or not.”

“Orb, show me. I would like to see it,” Capti says with a calm smile.”

Oh no, I need to think of something before my hair gives away I am lying, figuring something out I say, “Capti, don’t laugh at me if I fail,” so, after getting up from the ground to the bed, I successfully do a back flip from the bed to the environment.

I can’t believe it worked. “WOOOOO!” I shout as he jumps up and down. “Capti, I did it. I did it.”

“Yes, you did. Congratulations, Orb, that was cool.”

“I want to do it again. Now watch Capti.”

“I will, Orb.”

“Hey, bring up some more energy into that. I just did something cool, so stop looking so sad. Now shout, let’s go, Orb.”

Shocked by Orb's scolding, Captivant replies, “Oh, sorry, let’s go, Orb.”

“I said SHOUT be LOUDER.”

“LET’S GO, ORB!”

There it is,” so I proceed to do it again and land successfully. “WOO, I did it again.”

“Congratulations, Orb, that was amazing.”

So, we both proceeded on like this until all of my excitement faded, and when it did, my brain started working correctly again.

Oh god, what did I do? I was trying not to bother him, but I got him wrapped up in my excitement. Still, he looks more energised than before, so maybe it will work out. Perhaps he will be ok.

One month later

“Hey Orb!”

“What, Capti?”

“Did you know most sea life has clear blood? It only has a colour when exposed to oxygen.”

“I didn’t know,” this is Capti’s new habit. He keeps telling me random facts.

“Also, did you know apples are a type of rose?”

“Wow, so interesting.”

“That sounded quite sarcastic, Orb. Aren’t these facts interesting?”

“No, they’re boring, and I don’t care for them.”

“Did you know people who don’t warm their milk. are more likely to be crushed by falling objects.”

“Do you think my brain doesn’t work?”

“Hey, I was just trying to make the story more interesting, as a brat once said.”

“Don’t just resort to embellishment because your stories are boring.”

“Well then, did you know that humans melt when exposed to salt water?”

“You have said you and your family have gone swimming before.”

“Well, that is because.”

“Now, before you make up some random nonsense, don’t bother. Just swear on your grandchild’s life, and I will believe you,” I say with a smile.

Captivant falls silent.

“So, you can’t? It seems like someone’s a big liar.”

“Oh, on that note, did you know alcohol tolerance doesn’t exist it’s simply your ability to be good at lying and putting on a fake face.”

“Why would you tell me that?”

“Well, it’s a warning for you not to drink because you suck at lying and hiding your feelings.”

As Orb starts pouting, he says, “Then I will have to get better. You will see.”

“To be honest, that isn’t a skill a child should learn. It’s a bad habit that most adults develop. It makes people not like or trust them. I would prefer if you didn’t use it when I get you out of here.”

With my hair turning yellow, I say, “Capti, there is something I want to talk to you about.”

“Orb, did you know clouds like loud people?”

“Capti, that’s not what I want to talk about.”

“Did you know that people become what they eat?”

“Capti.”

“Did you know there is a secret path that connects the whole world?”

“CAPTI!”

“Did you know that butterflies carry books all around the world?”

“CAPTIVANT,” Orb says while crying

“Orb, remember what I said about screaming my full name.”

“I don’t care about respect right now. Capti, your skin has lost most of its colour and sunk into your cheeks. You cannot walk anymore. Your hair has fallen off. You look like an expired fruit. You’re a liar; you’re not immortal; you’re dying, yet you keep talking about taking me out of here. You’re just a liar; I hate you.

“Orb.”

“Why did you ever come here? Has this all been fun for you? Mocking me and getting my hopes up so you can leave!”

“Orb.”

“You’ve ruined life. I didn’t know much at all in life. I didn’t know how big the world was; I was ignorant, but now I know. I know I was probably abandoned on the mountain. Wolfie left me because he didn’t want to stay with me. Now I have to live by myself, knowing all these things. I hate you.”

“ORB!” Captivant screams as his withered hands touch my face

“I am immortal, I swear on the life of my family.”

“Really,” Orb says, crying.

“Really, but I need some help now that my immortality cycle is ending; I will need you to go through a certain process so that I can restart my cycle easily, ok.”

“What do you need me to? do”

“In the study, there are about five thousand books which I wrote out there is also a list in the order you should read after you read all those books, there is a box in my study that you can only open after you’ve read everything if you skip a book or don’t understand something this won’t work, but if you do everything correctly, my immortality will activate.”

“The books are in all of the tria carmina, so you need to be able to read both saviour, heavens and heroes songs. I need you to do that.”

“Yes, I can,” Orb says as he stops crying.

“So, Orb, what do you have to say to me for all those awful things you said?”

“I am sorry.”

Well, I don’t feel like forgiving you, but if you listen to my facts, I might forgive you.”

“I’ll listen,”

So far into the night, we continue our conversations until nightfall, where I asked, “Capti, can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Sure, but why?”

“I have wanted to do this for a while, but I just feel today is the day,” I say as I stumble sloppily into Captivant’s bed.

So, as we both lie there, I say, “Capti, your supper skinny now. I can’t wait to see you young.”

“Well, you’ll be amazed because I am a real looker.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Hey, are you back to not believing me? After all that’s happened today,” Captivant says, a little irritated.

I laugh, “Sorry, I just wanted to mock you.”

“Of course you did.”

We both go silent, but then Captivant says, “Hey, Orb.”

“Yes, Capti”

“Right now, it should be my birthday.”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” I shout.

“Too loud, Orb.”

“Sorry.”

“Did you know today, Taurus, the 23^rd is the day the first ever book was made.”

“That is very weird considering you’re an author. It is almost as if your parents did it on purpose. Well, that’s impossible on second thought.”

“I guess this is what people call fate, the accumulated randomness of life. It’s pretty exciting, isn’t it, only through that randomness that we were able to meet.”

“But couldn’t fate mean it was also all predetermined, so it isn’t random? It was going to happen anyway.”

“Until the end of your days, you nor I will ever know, so I choose to look at it through a more romantic lens. It would help if you tried that too. It will make life more fun.”

“Ok, Capti.”

-Break-

Captivant’s breathing is quieter. It has been getting quieter and quieter as we sleep; I don’t know why, but since he is immortal, he will be ok. Now I should ask, “Hey Capti, are you ok?”

“Oh, Orb, yeah, I’m fine, but it seems my cycle will end soon, so I will need you to start the work tomorrow, ok?”

“Yeah, I will, but what will happen to you until I finish all the work?”

“Well, I will be going into hibernation, so I will be moving to somewhere no one can reach, so I probably won’t be here when you wake up.”

As Capti said, his face looked heavenly and satisfied, contrasting with his withering body. It was a strange expression, but also very endearing. I was so caught up with it that I touched Capti face.

“Hey Orb, what are you doing?”

“It’s because your face looks weird.”

“Maybe it’s because I am ending my cycle and look like a raisin.”

“No, it’s your facial expression. Why do you look like that?”

“Oh well, I think it’s just because I feel satisfied. Looking back on my life in this cycle, I feel satisfied.”

“Well, it’s going to be even better when your immortality kicks in, because you and I will have lots of fun.”

“That’s true, but I still miss all this time in your life.”

“Don’t worry. I will tell you it all when we meet next.”

“Hey, Capti, do you think I will be able to make an expression like the one you just made?”

“Well, to do that, I guess you need to enjoy your life to its fullest, so when you leave here, make sure you do that.”

“I will, but now I need to sleep well so I can get started early tomorrow, so good night, Capti. I will see you soon.”

“Goodnight, Orb. See you.”

-Break-

Snow in the shape of a wolf as white as the day it was made strolled right into the room, and while it looked at the boy and corpse on the bed and had only one thought.

Why would you curse this child?

Name: Orb

Age: 11(approximately)

Hair: White (normal?), Red (anger), Green (excitement), Yellow (fear), Brown (nervousness), Grey(confusion), Cream(hunger), Lime(lying), Orange(discomfort), Black(worry), Pink(happiness), Purple(?), Gold(arrogance) All with strands of silver.

Eyes: Blue(left) Gold(Right)

Likes: Drawing, Food, Snow Sculptures, Books, Captivant, Wolfie

Dislikes: Being left alone, Physical contact

Height: 152 cm