The Book Of Flowers

In the Midst of Storms (2)

Life among nobles is very difficult, Vescal thought

Living and growing up among the nobles, this child had never received the slightest happiness

People see him as a very lucky man. Their depiction of him and his family is very beautiful, like a painting directly from the hand of a maestro and placed in a beautiful golden frame

But behind that picture that looks perfect, they had absolutely no idea that he was suffering. Had they known the crack that was behind that frame. A crack that could destroy the perfect picture for all those people

"You're a mistake!"

"Basic useless!"

"You should be grateful we're still letting you stay here"

"You must obey my words"

"Shameful!"

"Not useful"

Is useless. Is useless. Inutile

Those words ring in Veskal's head whenever he remembers those days. The days when he was alone as a child in the midst of a very violent storm

Darkened. Chilly. His body was almost carried away by the strong wind. And he's just a little boy. A frightened child

The wind is very strong. They also feel cold and piercing, just like the night breeze in winter

His veins almost broke the longer he was there. His body even crashed while shivering—almost flying at certain moments

All he did in the midst of the storm was keep trying to walk endlessly, and pray that the storm quickly disappear so that he would not end up buried in it

Time pass. Seconds become minutes. Minutes become hours. The hour becomes the day, and the day slowly becomes weeks later months and years

Time passed, and after a long time, he finally fell to the ground. Legs surrendered. The wind then felt more slowly, but his body that had suffered for so long was very painful when he fell

He felt that he was already inside the ice, where the cold temperature was becoming more and more in piercing his body. Even though he had grown to be more mature, he still could not get used to the cold weather

Till...

-- The wind is getting longer and longer disappearing...

And in the end...

-- Finally, there was a hand sticking out toward him. First hand to help him...

And for the first time in her life, she cried happily. He received the man's hand and started walking behind him

The sky was bright, the dark clouds were disappearing, and the birds were flying in groups

He enjoyed that atmosphere. He didn't care if the person who helped him was always walking fast forward. He had no problem following the person who helped him without any reward

But, how long had he been enjoying the atmosphere?

Not long at all

He realized something as he moved forward. The land in front of him... It was just filled with blood

The blood of those who are guilty and those who are not. Thieves and sinners. Nobles and commoners. Their blood flowed like a river, and somehow he continued to follow that path as if he would not drown at some point

And when he looked at his hand every time, he only saw a hand covered in blood. Hands that have taken many people. And the more he stepped up, the corpses of the people he killed looked very clear and real on the side of the road

They asked for a fair judgment on their deaths. They screamed, ganged, and there was even something pulling Veskal's leg until he almost fell

Then the person who helped him stopped. The man's eyes caught something. Something in front of them

Veskal comes to see. An Elf and a small child were in front of them this time, and they were both able to attract the attention of that person. He thought that they too were someone to be finished off, but...

The person he was following gave a look as if he was craving something. Something he's been looking for after all this time. And that look was given to those two people

Veskal realized it without saying. The person who helped him never even looked at him like that. He almost never looked behind him where Veskal was

Veskal wasn't even sure if the person was looking at him with a gaze that wanted something like that...

He wanted to see the two people closer. He sent Veskal forward to watch over them

But, the Elf was always aware of his presence. And realize it as a dangerous stranger

He always covered the little boy in his robe and kept walking forward. Veskal could not even see anything from them, even listening to whatever talk they were having

And at that moment, the person who helped her approached her with a dissatisfied look. And at that time, Veskal was immediately discarded without further consideration

He was flinched by it. His head could not process anything

He was happy with anything. He had already thrown away his family to follow that person. He killed many people and walked the same path as that person

And now, he was banished for failing in one command the man had given...

"Not useful"

...

Is useless... Is useless... Is useless...

The wind rages again. The black clouds gathered again and this time sent down a very heavy rain

Typhoons formed and Veskal who did not fight was carried away quickly somewhere. He flew in the wind like a light paper

He finally fell out. From a deadly height, he was ejected from the typhoon. He began to fall towards the ground without having any more hope. Just like an empty shell is meaningless, waiting for itself to break at any given time

Slowly he closed his eyes. He thought he was going to die, but he felt a sense of calm

And he did not care about anything anymore after that calmness came to him

Yet...

Someone caught him before he fell off the ground. And how ironic and funny the fate that came to him was

The elf slowly placed it on the ground as if he was an object that could be destroyed at any moment. As if he was valuable

He wants to escape. He was embarrassed to have been helped by the person he had once bullied. But they told him to sit down. Just sit

He finally sat down, followed by the two. But still looking for a way that he could get away from the two without them needing to pay any more attention

However, his head felt calm. And not only that. The two people finally dared to talk nearby without hiding anything. Sometimes they even ask her to talk and joke, even if it is not very important

They should keep going. I suppose. But they just sat near him. Sitting without continuing to walk at all as if progress was not something important to them. They just sat down, accompanying themselves as if...

As if they were, waiting for Veskal to come along...

...

...

...

He warned them to keep walking and leave. But, they still forced to sit with him and said

"We'll leave when you're ready to go"

Waiting. They're waiting for him. They wait for a useless person like him

Wh why? Why should he? He's just a useless man. People who are thrown away many times, and thrown here and there is no clear purpose

But, he did not want to hinder the journey of the two people. He stood up straight and began to walk, even though he was always a few steps ahead or behind them. He did not feel worthy to stand on the side of those two people

They always talk to each other. Joking, sharing sad stories and other things

Veskal just smiled looking at them. They also always look back and invite him to talk even though he does not invite, while walking slowly so that he does not miss

Veskal was satisfied. He was content to be with the person who was waiting for him. He didn't even care about the strong wind that hit them. He continued to walk behind them afterwards, together, and was satisfied with it

The longer, the more comfortable he was around the more people. People who also noticed his presence

Luxor wakes him up every morning

Lyralia who always complains when doing work after it is finished

Ivor who always cooks food that always makes him happy

Ordelia who always entertained him with various stories and books in her hands

Then, it was Luna who always trained him to become stronger. Train him until he feels, if the knife he holds does not always have to be covered with blood

Everyone made themselves feel complete. Especially the two who had gathered all of it. He was finally able to feel calm even though he still had to walk to everyone's back

Then he meets Cyth in the middle of their journey

A strange person to him, but it feels the same as it does

'Don't look down on yourself near them'

'Spend as much time with them as you can"

'And most importantly, cherish every moment you spend with them. You won't be able to find people like them anymore'

Cyth gave her that word. Specially, him...

Veskal then looked at the two of them from behind. He doesn't understand that word

He always stood behind everyone during his journey. He didn't need to consider himself too high as that would only make him arrogant

He has spent enough time with them. But, everyone will be gone one day. It was already natural in this world, even for the person he referred to as family

...

He did not understand the latter. More precisely he did not know what the meaning of family was. He hears the concept, but always feels foreign in the process

But when Jael came and nearly killed him, he finally understood when he saw the two people who were trying to help him

He had already given the little boy help to escape. But the boy was just trying to find a way to help her, even though all she needed to do was run out and leave him alone

Then the Elf came and beat Yael until he ran away in fear

And he understood more and more as he realized the Elf who let him cry in fear like a child on his shoulder

No one would be willing to give their shoulder to someone without reward. But he helped Veskal out of danger of death, and he even let him cry like that

They never asked for anything in return during that trip. They just always talk to him, but never just about an order or a man. They invited him to joke as if he were part of their family

And Veskal just realized, about all that

Families... Is something he can call for all of us, his friends

He understood what Cyth said. He won't find anyone like us again, no matter how hard he tries to find

The ones who let their hands always stick out to him. People who always ask him to speak without any coercion or absolute command

People who value their existence, whenever it is

And at that moment, he looked at Cyth. A subtle sentence came out from his lips, filled with deep gratitude

"Thank you for convincing me" he said, smiling and crying happily

And in the midst of the storm, he swore that he would not let anything hurt the two men

At least, that's what he can do for us

The storm never finished when he was with them. But now, there were people who wanted to walk with him. He was thankful enough for that

He prayed in the middle of the storm, but this time for the good of his two friends, and for the storm to quickly dissipate for both of them

He was satisfied, only with that...