Past the Mountains, Among the Clouds

"Look who we have here!" I heard a familiar cheer.

A large hand came hitting with full force on my back. Normally, I'd wither in pain from such an impact. But thanks to last night, my body was still not normal. So I hardly felt it.

I turned around. 

August. A big smile accompanied his face. 

"I didn't know you were quite the solo trekker." He said with an amused expression.

"Oh, right! I'm not actually." A nonchalant dead reply. His face, in response, was something I had expected. Confused.

"Then how come you are here?" he asked. Another expected question.

"Well...." I tried to come up with a lie. Anyone would think I'm crazy if I could just say, "Yeah, I was coerced by a goddess." Better not ruin my public image.

"I got bored." I replied.

"Weren't you going to sleep?" He inquired, clearly not satisfied by my answer.

Oh yes. I had completely forgotten about that. Sleep. I wanted to sleep! This whole situation of goddesses had left me so occupied, my wellbeing, my sleep schedule had been a mess!

"Uh, yeah. I tried to get some but couldn't so I just went out for a stroll and well here I am. Kinda funny, don't you think?" I made up this half-assed response, trying my best not to raise any more suspicions. 

It was clear as day. He was not buying it. It occurred to me then that any profession that involves the use of deception tactics might not be for me.

"Why did we stop?" A voice called out. 

"Is something the matter?" Another voice followed.

"Do you know this guy?"

A plethora of voices erupted all of a sudden. I had fixated myself to get out of the situation without raising the suspicions of August with such devotion I failed to notice he was not alone. One. Two. No. Five. Yes. Five people alongside my roommate. Three girls and two boys. They felt familiar.

"My bad guys. Meet Eirik. He's my roommate." He answered to them. 

My name. Eirik Nifilheim. Yes. 

"Hello." I greeted them with a pleasant smile. To be correct, I tried to, but the sudden manifestation of the fatigue that had built over my body from the past two days didn't help.

"Wait, you're the guy from maths class!"

My any effort to forget such a memory had been compromised.

One by one, each of them introduced themselves to me. Once we were done with the introductions, August spoke again—

"Alright, we have wasted enough time. Let's get going!" He grabbed my hand and with a ferocity announced I was part of his trekking crew. 

"Wait, what?" I opposed to this sudden induction without my consultation.

"You said you were bored. So you're coming with us!" He replied without a thought.

Hundreds? No, I must've voiced my grievances a thousand times during that twelve kilometer trek. Yes. Twelve kilometers for the first trek. He really was taking after that Augustus Caesar persona! Like a surprise to none, my complaints were nothing more than permutations of word. In the end, I had trekked all the way to the top of a nearby hill (it was called Isolyn , I think?) and back to campus on foot. 

6:00 p.m.. I collapsed onto my bed. It was finally over. My legs ached as if I had been Pheidippides.

"That was refreshing!" August exclaimed. His tone was invigorating. 

Had I not been completely drained of my energy, I would have opposed such blasphemous statements. However, as it so happened, saying even a single word felt like a tedious chore, and I surrendered.

"You want something? I'm going to the cafeteria." He asked.

My silence seemed to have been expected as an answer and with that, he shut the door. I was once again all by myself. Alone. 

I sunk into my slumber, contemplating what had happened over the past two days, wondering if my ideal of a normal college life had already been shattered.

8:45 p.m.. I woke up from sleep. Hunger. Yes. My stomach grumbled. The room was still dark, implying August had still not returned. He better not have got himself into some trouble. I thought to myself, taking into consideration how my luck with the supernatural has been. Such worries were immediately put to rest when I flicked on the lights. On my study table were two ramen cups. One had been opened with its content clearly consumed while the other rested unopened. 

So he had returned. Though he seemed to have left once again. Looking at the time, I decided to hold off the cup ramen for now. Skipping on dinner would be a terrible habit to develop. I got my jacket on and made my way to the mess. No sooner had I left my dorm than two familiar faces appeared in the distance.

Burnt red hair.

Beige complexion.

Marshmallows. Marshmallows.

Autumn. It was Freya.

Besides her. No. Talking to her, giggling with her, laughing with her was him. The guy named after the emperor. It was August! Talk about bad luck. At this point, I seemed to have been cursed somehow! From their current distance, August for sure could not make out my safe. He didn't have the divine eyes or, to be specific, the side effects of reconstruction in his body. However, Freya did. 

He turned around. He shouted.

"Eirik! Over here!"

Having been availed no choice, I walked to them. As soon as I was near them, Freya did the unthinkable. She leapt at me. Leapt. It really seems like the right work to use in that situation. She leapt at me. Grabbing first my hands and followed by a strong hug. A very strong hug. The sensations I felt- Well, I should not ruin the image I have made. Nevertheless, it was as unexpected as it gets.

To put an icing on the cake, she even said-

"I have missed you soooo muchhhhhhh!"

"Well, excuse me if I'm disturbing you to love birds." August said with a smirk.

Confusion. Love birds? Who? 

Panic. Why? What was this stunt?

Diabolical. This stunt of hers felt sinister.

The hug, though, it felt comforting. Even though I knew there must've been some reason for this act of hers, completely devoid of affection. The hug felt strangely relaxing. I tried to push her away, but she wouldn't budge. My arms seemed to have lost all of their strength.

So, there I stood, helpless and powerless, being hugged by a cute girl. 

Actually, this doesn't sound terrible at all!

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally let go. No. She still had hold of my hands like we were dating or something. 

Speechless. I had been rendered speechless.

"Alright guys, you hang around. I'll get going." August said as he landed a punch on my gut.

"What was that for?!" I grumbled in pain.

"You sneaky bastard." He said with a wink and went on his way.

He clearly has a very wrong idea about the situation I'm in. Actually, he has the correct idea. Anyone would feel the same if mad witness to a situation like this.

"So, like he said. Let's hang around!" Freya said in a cheerful voice, suiting her bubbly persona. She still had the hold of my hand, so I had no option but to comply.

8:25 p.m.. The central park. It's called the village square in the college lingo. Ironic. There's nothing square about this place. Not even this situation. I'm walking hand in hand with a girl who held me by the arm over a cliff. How could thing even end up like this?

"You've been awfully quite you know." She voiced out. 

So fluffy.

"I'm just quite confused." I replied. It was better to stay calm in this situation and not make a repeat of the evening incident.

"Confused about what?" An oblivious tone.

"Everything involving you at this instance, to be honest." I sighed.

She giggled.

"Am I that much of a concern to you?" she asked in a curious tone.

"Getting to know the reasons of action of someone who held you by the arm over a cliff, I believe, is a concern." I replied hesitantly.

"You have a sharp tongue, you know?" She said, pouting.

"I've been hearing this quite a lot these days. Especially from a burnt red hair girl."

She didn't respond. I have mentioned this before, and I'll mention it again. It could be her trance inducing divine aura, but up close she looked really cute. 

"Anyway so, why?" I asked.

"What is it?"

"Why? That entire act before with August. Why did you do that?" 

"Act? It wasn't an act."

Damn. She doesn't know what to say. No. She knows exactly what to say.

"Okay. I'm not sure I understand that completely, but would you explain why we are walking together, hand in hand, at the village square like some couple?"

"Is it bad?"

"No. It isn't bad, but it'll give people the wrong idea."

"What sort of wrong idea?"

"That we are dating!"

"Huh? But I want to walk this way."

This conversation was going nowhere. Do all goddesses talk enigmatically? Are they too enlightened to be understood by the human mind? No. They might be fragments, but their personality reflects the characteristics of the veritable goddess. Autumn. The characteristic of Autumn.

Something clicked at the back of my mind. The reason for her answers.

"Uh? Freya?" I asked.

"You are hiding something."

Not a question. It was a statement. It wasn't hidden. It wasn't pretending to be something. It was, in fact, a declaration. The truth. Not an imitation. The fundamental characteristic of Autumn. Imitation. A dead season pretending to be lively.

Her expression changed. Her bubbly face now reflected a serious look.

"Oh. I guess that must be the case, then." She said in a disappointed tone.

We had been walking for half an hour at this point. However, my sudden remark seemed to have changed something. We seemed to have agreed in our silence to leave the location. Our hands were still locked together, but the air seemed different. 

Just when we were about to leave the central park, know as village square. Freya dropped the facade. Well, facade is a wrong thing to say here as I'd come to know. Let's call it her persona. She dropped her bubbly, a bit too friendly for a friend character.

"I need your help." Her voice seemed to have lost all her charm, and the manner in which the words came out made me think. She's holding her will to cry.

"Oh. Tell me then." I made sure to not use questions, otherwise the inherent nature of the Autumn goddess would make it impossible for me to know.

"You see. I'm dying."

Tears.