Rosa took no time to start investigating, walking over to the nearest stall and cheerily introducing herself to the girl selling vegetables.
"Hi there, mind if I bother you for a sec?" she asked, the girl blinking up at her in surprise. "Me and my friends are looking for a man. Has black hair, probably a bit darker skin... Looks kinda like this guy." She pointed at my face as Meera and I walked up behind her.
The girl at the stall squinted up at me.
"Yeah, I think I've seem a guy like that around here sometimes," she said. That was... easy. "Not sure where he lives though, somewhere outside town I think." Spoke too soon, I see... The girl shrugged. "You might get lucky and bump into him around town, I suppose, but I don't really know him, so I can't say where to go ask next."
"Well, thank you anyway," I said politely. "At least we now know we're in the right place... Approximately."
"No problem," said the girl. "If I see him I'll be sure to tell him you were looking for him. Now, you fancy a cabbage?"
We politely declined the cabbage, and moved onto the next stall, and the next, and the next, getting similar responses from most places. Everyone remembered seeing him around (apparently having dark skin was very unusual around these parts, so he stuck out easily) but know one knew exactly where we could reach him. He lived somewhere just outside of town, to the south was the most common guess, and he came to town to get supplies around two, three times a week. Maybe we'd get lucky.
No one really knew who he was either. He seemed to keep to himself most of the time, so no one we talked to knew his name, only that he was a story-teller of some sort. Some said he did have a friend or two around town, but none of the people at the marketplace.
"Try the bookshop," said woman selling ceramics. "I've seen him there through the window many times. I think he's friends withe the shopkeep. God knows why, that girl has the social capacity of a spoon."
"O...kay, thank you," I said, frowning. Interesting comparison, but I didn't dwell on it. Now we had directions. I turned to leave and then turned back. "Um, could you maybe give us some directions there?"
Across the marketplace, west end of town. Follow the main road and turn left at the bakery and you should see it up ahead. Big windows with a bunch of books showcased, you can't miss it. That's what the woman said at least.
We were making our way through the town, leading our horses by the reins and walking ourselves. The distance wasn't too long after all, and it was better to make sure the horses didn't get overworked. Our slow paced walking gave me a lot of time to think about what was to happen next. Time I wasn't sure if I wanted or not.
Everything at the marketplace had indicated that the man lived here, somewhere in, or near the town. And nothing indicated that the men after us had come through asking about him before us. Which meant that we would be found somewhere, and if the book shop clerk really was his friend, he would be found quickly. And that made me very nervous.
Of course I wanted to find the man, the sooner the better, but what happened then? Would he know who we were? Would he be able to tell us? What would he tell us? What if the me that is me now wouldn't like the me that was me before? Could I just turn my back to the old me and decide that I didn't want to be him anymore? That from now on I would be Nemo, and create a new life for myself, doing... whatever I wanted? What did I want?
I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know if I wanted my old life back, because I had no idea what my old life had been. I had no idea how the knowledge would change me. Could I even go back to my old life, after everything that had happened in the past... three days? Had it only been just three days? It had felt so long, but then again I did get the feeling that normally people's days weren't quite as packed as mine had been.
But no, I did know one thing I wanted. I wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery. I had to. Who were the men after Meera and me, what did they want with us, how did they know us, what was our relationship? I needed to know who I was, who I had been, or I wouldn't be able to move on. It was too late for second guessing, I had to see this through and I had to -
My foot slipped from under me and the world rushed up to meet me.
Everything was white for a while, my head and body disoriented and confused, until Rosa and Meera crowded my field of vision. I blinked up at them, and at the clouded sky. If would snow later.
"Shit, Nemo, are you okay?" asked Rosa, worried, but also looking like she was trying to hold back laughter.
"I hope you didn't hit your head," said Meera. I lifted my gloved hand to the back of my head and felt it. I couldn't feel a bruise, I'd somehow managed to not keep my head from smacking into the icy ground. My butt had not been as lucky, and it was clearly sore as I pushed myself up on my elbows.
"I'm fine, I think," I said, running a hand over my face. "A little sore, but I'll live."
"That was quite a fall you took there," said Rosa, slightly muffled behind her mitten, and I knew she was clearly forcing back a laugh. "You were so deep in thought you slipped. Your face was hilarious."
I glared at the offending puddle of ice for a moment and then pushed myself fully up to a sitting position. I absently registered a distant sound of a bell tinkling.
"Your face was kind of funny," said Meera, looking away. "One moment you were all frowning determination and the next it looked like the world had disappeared beneath your feet."
"It kinda did though, didn't it?" I said dryly. Rosa offered me her hand and I took it to pull myself up.
"Meera?" said a new voice suddenly from somewhere ahead of us. Meera's eyes were wide as she stared down the road, a hand rising to cover her mouth. At first Rosa was blocking my field of vision, but as I stood up I could see past her, my mouth falling open as the view opened up before me.
It was the man, standing in front of the bookshop he had just exited, staring at us, at Meera, and he was just as I remembered him but older, why did he seem so much older? I must have moved, or made some kind of unintelligible noise as he blinked and bright green eyes turned to me. His breath hitched, a sharp intake of air as I struggled to remember breathing myself. His mouth was slack from surprise and he tried to say something but couldn't, unable to produce sounds much less words or sentences, paralyzed by surprise, and he couldn't tear his eyes off me and I couldn't tear my eyes off him.
"Akash..." he breathed.
My mind completely blanked out.
"Akash," he said again, tears welling up in his eyes and his hands flying to cover his mouth and the smile spreading on it, bright and wide and relieved.
My head was pounding, memories and feeling locked away struggling to be free once more, punching at the insides of my mind, and I could almost feel it I was so close. My mind was spinning, spinning, spinning trying to place the man, trying to finally connect the dots and all the while my heart and my soul were screaming. I knew this man, I knew I did, and if the pulsing in my head would just seize for a moment I could -
A single tear poured over the dam of his eyelids, rolling down his cheek and it all connected with a click in my head and I almost screamed out loud.
"Avani," I whispered, my mouth suddenly dry and whatever spell there had been was broken, shattered between us as Avani let out a gasped laugh and started towards us in brisk steps. I met him half way, my own legs feeling wobbly and unsteady, but as he wrapped his arms around me I felt more stable than I had for the whole three days. I still didn't know much, couldn't really remember, but I knew I'd be safe with him. With my brother.
With my twin.
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yooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
So that just happened. When I started to write all I had was the final scene and no idea how I'd get there, buutttttt it wasn't particularly hard in the end. idk why Avani is a story teller, I just thought it'd be fun and maybe something we can use later on? Who knows! Also I couldn't decide what relationship A wanted between Meera and the boys, sooo I didn't do anything with it yet.
Ohh boy. I can't believe we have four more posts after this. I have noooo idea where this is going, but you know it's your turn tomorrow and we'll be learning a lot of new stuff so. Good luck with that. Your topic is "Luck" haha byyyyeeeeeeeeeeeee
Pie out.
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