The Quest Across Two Realms

A day in the life of Orion

 Orion

 I opened my eyes to the colourful ceiling above me, today was going to be like every other day, I thought to myself. I just needed to get out of bed and do something with my life. I rolled over to the other side of the bed, my eyes still keeping a straight view of whatever was in front of me. I caught a glimpse of my alarm and discovered It still had some minutes before it rang. I woke up quite early today. It felt like an achievement, on most days, I’d sleep in, the alarm served no function as it would only ring momentarily and would then be shut off almost immediately by me. There wasn’t any school as it was the Summer break.

Life was almost predictable at this point, and it began to feel like I was just existing and not really living life to the fullest. Anyway I had a somewhat good feeling about today, maybe something Interesting would happen, maybe Soren would get a girlfriend. That would be a fun surprise. I sighed a sigh of discontent relief, pulled my thoughts together and got up from bed. I sat up and once again looked around my room. It was a kind of ritual, the waking up ritual where one wakes up in stages, each stage having a higher level of awareness than the last. I got off my bed, put my slippers and proceeded outside my door. The house was a small one, My mom left early on most days and my dad was basically never home. He was a business man, a very busy business man.

Being the only child, I had a sense of entitlement. It wasn’t like I thought I was better or deserved anything extravagant. I just thought I was entitled to having parents who spent their entire time with me. I mean, I thought of myself as their bundle of joy, but that was never the case. Growing up I was pampered with gifts and material things but over time, those didn’t matter to me anymore, what I needed was their time and attention, their care, their love. But it was overly divided. Their careers took the place of their beloved son and they basically left me to raise myself. It was like they bought the entire life starter kit and gave it to me with the words “Figure it out” labelled on the box, but I figured it out, kinda.

I went downstairs, made myself some coffee and started to think about how my day would go today. I actually wanted to be productive and not just sit around all day and play video games or stuff my face with snacks. I didn’t want the classical couch potatoe gimmick, I was tired of that lifestyle. I should probably start by reading a book, then see how the rest of the day goes. With that being said, I walked over to the bookshelf and began browsing the catalogue of books there until I found a very interesting book on rock collecting, which I kind of found a tad interesting. I took the book, sat down and began diving head first into the pool of knowledge that awaited me. 

The book was amazing, I couldn’t put it down, a couple hours had passed and I still wanted to know more about rocks. As funny as this seems, I was becoming more intrigued in the lifeless pieces of condensed particles with every new chapter. I decided to actually start rock collecting as a hobby, It would be fun, I mean you get to collect rocks, label them and use some of them for their beneficial properties. I should probably go get dressed and head out to get some rocks to start my collection. 

I got up and hurried over to my room to change when the sound of thunder shook the air. It did seem a bit cloudy today. I best grab a raincoat then. I took my raincoat, put on my boots and dashed out of the house, almost forgetting to lock the house’s main door. 

This was going to be fun I reckoned. “Look out rocks, here I come!”, I shouted with a hearty tone.

It had started pouring by the time I got into the woods, finding valuable rocks was proving to be difficult as all I came across were just boring pieces of shale. But I was determined, with my raincoat and my hiking boots, I felt unstopable. I felt somewhat embarrased because this fun activity of mine felt childish but caution and shame were already thrown out the window a long time ago. Finally! A rock that looks valuable, I didn’t know what It was but it looked interesting, It had a smooth surface and a brownish grey tint and it had.. some.. sharp? Nope, still just shale. I was starting to lose hope. The one time I decide to get out of my house for an actual outdoor activity and it’s turning into a waste of time. 

A few minutes later into my search and the rain had stopped pouring when suddenly I heard a silent whistle followed by a loud thud. It was just over the rocky elevation I was climbing. I was a bit skeptical to go towards the direction of the strange sound as I didn’t know what danger or good fortune awaited me. My sense of adventure prevailed and I headed towards the sound. Just as I turned around a corner to see what was the cause of the disturbance, I was perplexed, shocked, confused, I was all the words used to describe a state of bewilderment.

It was a girl. She just layed there on the wet leafy ground. She had on a raggy gown which suggested that she was poor, but her skin was as fine as silk. I was unsure what to do, Do I approach her? What is she doing here? Even worse, Is she Dead? Just as I was trying to collect my thoughts and take the best course of action, she moved. She moved? She moved! Okay so she’s not dead, She’s alive, but is she hurt? I approached her trying to find out if she was sound both mentally and physically. 

“Are you okay, ma’am?” I  whispered.

She didn’t respond, It wasn’t that she didn’t hear me because she reacted to the sound of my voice, but it felt more like she couldn’t respond rather than she didn’t.

“Madam, are you okay” I asked a second time, trying to communicate with her without getting to close as I was still hesitant about approaching her. She could be a cannibal for all I know. 

Just a few seconds afterwards, her whole body shook, she had rolled slighlty to the left and touched a stick. She shook in a seizure-like way which scared me if I’m being honest. I still didn’t know what to do and just watched with confusion and concern as the whole scene unfolded in front of me. She slowly pushed herself off the ground and looked at me. Her eyes. Her eyes were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, not only her eyes, but her entire face was beautiful, she was stunning, even with a hint of dirt on her face it only but added an aesthetic appeal to her.

I needed to help her at this point, but how? Okay I should probably get to her to see if she’s in the right frame of mind to speak. But that was a decision I would come to regret. I took just one step at her and she panicked. She got up surprisingly quick for someone that couldn’t move just a few seconds ago, but almost as immediately as she got up, she fainted and hit her head on the rock beside her. 

I was genuinely shook, I was scared, I didn’t know what to do now. Do I carry her? Do I call the police. What do i do? Wait. Wait. Wait. Soren, Soren could help, I should call Soren. I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone out with all urgency and called Soren. It connected! “Soren get down here now! I need you, it’s urgent, I’m sending you my location”.

“Alright, I’m on my way”, Soren replied hastily.

I sat beside her and waited for Soren to get here. She didn’t look hurt, but she looked even more beautiful asleep. Well I guess I was right, today did turn out to be special.