SIXTY SIX: DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL

"By the way, where's your guide?" He asked , turning to look at me walking beside him. "My guide?" I quizzed "You know what I'm talking about, Ariana" somehow I felt sad again because he called my name, instead of saying, 'My Lady'. " I know you're talking about the book. "I'll get it back, I promise" "everything you need to do is in there. Everything you need to do for a long time, while I'm away. All you need do is obey" "If you didn't lose it, this wouldn't have happened to you" he said. "The cold room experience I mean" "I'm glad it happened to me" I retorted before he landed.. "I mean, If it didn't, I wouldn't have seen you again" I told him, staring deeply into his face. It hurt to do that. I quietly embraced him tightly and cried tears because I couldn't hold them back anymore. "I'm sorry" he said. "I'm sorry we had to part this way". I felt a tear drop on my back. Tears that were not mine; He was crying too. "I don't want you to leave me again, Robin. I'm pleading. Don't go away, puh-leeze" I cried. I was hurting deeply in my heart. I wasn't even thinking about home this time. "I don't know what to do" he said. His heart was beating fast. "Run away with me" I mumbled amidst painful sobs. "It's dangerous for you. I want to come back but I can't promise you" "Does my guide say whether you'll come back?" "Check it when you get home" he said, his voice reducing to a whisper. "I have one last thing to show you before I take you to your family" he said, tightening the hug. I saw him kiss my forehead and my cheeks, repeatedly, the warmth of his mouth normalizing my heartbeat. "I love you" he said quietly, the aura of the environment making the words sound truer. My heart stopped beating for a minute. "The way a bird loves trees. The way the sunlight loves plants. The way a mother hen loves her chicks. The way a human mother loves her biological children. I love you much more, and I care about you more than anyone does, Ariana" For some reason, that quietened my fears and I stopped crying. I heard this statement from my mom and from Mike Tony all the time, so it wasn't strange, but hearing it from Prince Long Sword Robinson, it sounded golden, heavenly, different. It was true, effortless and it was nothing obscene or sinister. Just pure, real love. He was my superhuman saviour and I was his own. After a while, we both locked our hands together and stared at the sky, and I wished he could take me to the castle that moment, even if it was for the very last time. "Can I ask you something?" I peered into his beautiful eyeballs. Everytime I stared at him, I forgot he killed humans. "Sure. What is it?" "Can you sneak me in the castle for the last time?" He looked away. "Of course, your parents would not find us out if you do it quietly. For the last time, I want to see the golden library, the garden and the beautiful maids" "I wish" he said and walked ahead of me. I ran to catch up with him. We were walking back towards Big Joe's grave again. "We'll both be put in the Sinners' hole and I'm afraid, I might not be able to save you. We can't do anything quietly in the castle because my father hears every sound around the kingdom. Ariana, bond more with your family on earth. Be happy, write books about your experience, travel round the world, make use of your superpowers to help yourself and people. Alpha werewolves hardly ever die. I will be alive in forever. So, stay safe for me while I plan a way to come back to you. Make sure I meet you happy" "I promise" "You can ask one request, and I'll grant it before we part. Just one, but only after I show you something" He said and pulled me closer to the grave. Then he called Joe, using a language I didn't understand. He appeared like a flash metres away from his grave. It wouldn't have shocked me if he appeared like a ghost, covered in long white clothes like I read in books and saw in movies. But, he was putting on a normal vest and a pair of black trousers. He looked alive and I wanted to run to him. "Karl Metal doesn't wanna die" Robin said, still facing Big Joe, who stood transfixed on the spot. "What do you mean he doesn't wanna die?" "He's hanging on to life, on a thin strip" he said, and I wanted to slap him for talking in parables. "What are you talking about? Isn't he dead?" "He doesn't wanna die. He's hanging on to life despite the weight of his guilt, but I'm sure it'll soon weigh him down into his own death" he said and sighed. "He's looking out for you everyday. He isn't gone but he's not alive either. He wants to see you one last time and then he'll say goodbye" he explained. I grabbed Robin's arm. "I don't like goodbyes" a tear rolled down my cheek. "I don't want to say goodbye, please" He sighed. I kept staring at Big Joe, like he would come back to me and bully me for crying like a baby. Oh! How I missed him so! "Then tell him something. Anything" he urged, rubbing my chubby arm. I turned to face him and said, after swallowing hard thrice "I forgive you, Joe. I...I love you. I miss you. I forgive you, I promise." . To my surprise, he moved two inches closer to us. . Robin smiled. "He feels better. Now he wants to do something for you too. Make a wish. Just one. He just promised he'd grant you any wish" I sighed and thought deeply. What should I ask for? "You can't ask him to come back, it's beyond him" Robin intruded my thoughts.. I sighed repeatedly because I didn't know the best thing to ask for. Should I ask him to heal my father, Cameron before I got home? Should I ask him to ... An idea struck. And I spew it immediately. "Joe.., I mean, Karl Metal, I want you to make Robin come back to me. I don't know when, but make him come back quick. That's my wish" I released my breath immediately I was done. Robin stared at me in shock. He must have been unable to read the idea in my mind because the shock on his face was definitely not faked. He opened his mouth wide agape but could not utter a word. Suddenly, Big Joe turned into a light smoke and disappeared completely. "Goodbye, Joe" I muttered, my heart feeling at ease. Robin held my waist and disappeared with me immediately we watched the departure of Karl Metal. We appeared right on Miranda's street. I looked around to see if anyone noticed we had appeared out of nowhere. One man walked up to me and I thought he noticed. Not until he said, "What are you doing here all alone, young lass?" Walking away. It was just 6pm. I wonder why he asked such question. Wait, it meant my superhuman saviour had made himself invisible. But why? "For your security" he said, reading my mind again "I have little time left. Tell me what you need, and afterwards call your mom to come fetch you here. You must return home tonight" I nodded "Make your wish, my Lady" "Can I make two?" I laughed, because he called me just what I wanted to hear. "No. Just one" I thought deeply, and muttered barely above a whisper. "Take Miranda's déjà Vu away"