8 Sunse

I go down the stairs.

I see dad cleaning the living room.

"Do you need help?" I ask.

"No, thanks" he replies happily.

"Are you sure?"

"Hmmm... now that I think about it..."

'Shit'

"You could go see if Navy has water"

"Sure"

"Thank you"

I go out of the house.

'It's a very beautiful day'

I go to the barn.

I open the door and there is Navy, alone and locked up.

I approach her.

"Hello beautiful, I'm really sorry that you're locked up, I'd love to be able to ride you... maybe soon"

I caress her.

"I have so many things to tell you. How could I start? It seems that I have powers..."

For 10 minutes, I tell her everything that has happened to me.

"… can you believe it? By the way, I just came to see if you had water"

I turn to see if she has water.

"It's almost full, so there's no problem. Well, tomorrow we continue talking"

I give her one last caress and I turn to the door.

Dad is standing next to it.

"Was the talk okay?" he says sarcastically.

"You know, I think this is a side effect of not having any friends"

"Yes, I know... I'm sorry" he says embarrassed.

"I came to tell you that I was thinking, so we will go hunting to have good food for your birthday"

I smile like I haven't smiled in years.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, we both go, so there shouldn't be any problem. Now it's a little late, so it'll be tomorrow, the early the better"

"Yes, yes, no problem" I can barely contain my excitement.

"All right. Now I'll go to the river to get water, I'll be back in an hour"

"Wait! I could... you know... " words won't come out.

"You know what, fuck it, let's go"

I start jumping out of excitement.

"Thank you, you are the best!"

I give him a hug so hard that I barely let him breathe.

"hey easy, it's not a big deal, you really have strength..."

"Sorry…"

I let go of him.

"Come on, follow me"

When we no longer have water, dad has to go for it to the nearest river, it is about 20 minutes walking, and he can only take 2 buckets to fill with water, so he has to go very often.

"Now that we are 2, we can carry 4 buckets. Take 2 from here"

We grab a pair each one.

"Great, ready?"

"Ready!" I respond with enthusiasm.

We start our way to the river.

We're halfway.

It's starting to sunset.

"You know, I remember seeing this path before"

"Yes, when you were a baby I brought you with me all the time"

"I have some memories of that, but when I grew up enough, you started to leave me at home"

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry, I'm starting to understand you more, but it's still something complicated"

We continue walking.

"Alex, I have a question"

"Yes?"

"Yesterday, why did you decide to leave?"

"Boredom. I wanted to do something different"

"I understand. And how did you end up like that?"

"You already know that I am very easy to distract. I was looking at the stars and lost my way, but thanks to remembering them, I was able to guide me back. While I was doing it, I heard 4 howls and you can imagine the rest"

I remember what I thought in my room.

"By the way, if you didn't find me, how do you know that 4 wolves attacked me?"

He doesn't answer me immediately.

"Today I decided not to hide anything else. I lied to you, when I felt that someone used such a distinctive magic I knew it was you, so I came back as fast as I could. When I arrived, a woman in a tunic was healing you with healing magic. When she was done, I brought you home"

'Now everything makes more sense. And it matches the dream I had'

"Thanks for telling me the truth. Who was the woman?"

"I have no idea. I tried to talk to her, but she didn't even turn around to see me"

"And why did you lie to me?"

"Being honest, I don't know. I guess I didn't understand the situation and I didn't know how to tell you"

"All right. Do you think we'll see her again?"

"I do not know"

We arrived at the river.

The sun is hiding behind one of the mountains in the distance.

"I remember this place perfectly. It's beautiful"

"I know. No matter how many times I come, every time it's like the first time. I would love to see this forever"

"I understand you…"

I stand looking at the landscape.

"Come on, we have to go back before nightfall. You will see it when we return "

"Can I come with you again?"

"Sure"

"You promise?"

"I promise. It doesn't come bad a couple of hands more"

We approach the water and fill the buckets.

"Do you think you can carry them all the way?"

"Sure, I exercise every day" I answer with confidence.

'Except the last 2...'

I lift the buckets.

'Shit, they're really heavy...'

"Great. Let's return"

Halfway there, my arms begin to tremble.

Dad realizes.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest a bit?"

"I'm sure. Don't worry" I say, hoping he still says we're going to rest.

"Good"

'Shit'

We arrived and it's already night.

Dad leaves the buckets.

"Now I'll have to go less times. I don't know if it makes me happy or sad... hey, you can leave the buckets"

"Yes I'm doing it…"

My fingers are locked in that position.

I try to open my hand.

I leave the buckets.

"I was really impressed by the resistance you have"

He gives me a small blow to the shoulder.

My arms are numb.

"Thank you. I loved being able to see the river after so many years. Now I'll go to sleep to wake up early tomorrow"

"Good idea. Sleep well"

"Good night"

I go to my room.

I put on my pajamas.

I lie in my bed.

'Finally, it seems that dad is having more confidence to let me out. Even with him, I hope to do it every day from today. Well, it will be better to sleep, tomorrow will be a good day'