Chapter 49 [Couple's Interaction]
The rain that so many people had been longing for finally fell from the sky at the end of September, pattering on the rooftops and rolling down the eaves like a curtain of pearls.
Unfortunately, Lex was still some distance from the cabin before the rain started. Although he rushed back to the cabin with Silas as soon as he saw dark clouds gathering in the sky, they still managed to get their arms and shoulders wet from the rain.
Fortunately, it's nothing serious; I can just change my shirt.
When Lex finished changing his clothes, he saw Mela and Silas already sitting by the fireplace, each leisurely holding a teacup and drinking apple tea.
A small blue flame burned in the fireplace, on which sat a small iron pot, bubbling and releasing the aroma of apples and cinnamon.
"Lex, have a cup to warm yourself up," Mela said, blowing on the scalding hot water in her cup.
Lex then took a full cup of apple tea, sat comfortably in the chair, and the sturdy backrest supported his weight, allowing his muscles, which had been tense for a long time, to relax for a moment.
Outside the window, the sound of continuous rain, like waves crashing one after another, filled the air. The warmth of the cup in my hand emanated from its walls, warming my palms layer upon layer. Under such pressure, it was easy to feel drowsy.
Even Lex couldn't help but close his eyes briefly, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.
Mela, however, misunderstood that he was sleepy. She quickly went to his side, gently nudged his shoulder, and whispered, "Lex, Lex, please don't fall asleep in the chair. It's much more comfortable to sleep on the blanket."
"It's okay, I'm not sleepy." Lex opened his eyes, his hand gripping the cup firmly, clearly not having loosened his grip for a moment.
"Oh, alright then." Mela turned to change Silas's position, who was sprawled out on the chair, and took the thumb-sized teacup that it was clinging to with its wings.
Perhaps because it had been dragging on for several months, the rain lasted for a long time, three days and three nights. Mela was surrounded by the sound of rain almost every time she opened or closed her eyes, and the sky was always gray, making it impossible to tell whether day or night was changing.
Fortunately, three days later, Mela found that the rain had stopped.
However, the soil outside had been soaked by rain for so long that shoes started to sink as soon as they stepped on it, feeling like stepping on rotten peaches.
Mela used some force to pull the shoe out, and then wrinkled her nose in disgust at the circle of mud around it.
However, when he saw the plants and trees come back to life, the damp tree trunks covered with dense mushrooms, and the starving rabbits grabbing handfuls of four-leaf clovers and stuffing them into their mouths, and even when he saw that he was reluctant to leave Mela and her group and was staring at Mela with wide eyes, his slight disdain turned into a smile.
"Hey, there's a cluster of little flowers blooming in this tree hole." As Mela walked, she suddenly bent down and approached a tree hole about the size of her palm. She was pleasantly surprised to find that there were several brightly colored little flowers growing inside.
Clumps of vibrant purple dotted the pale yellow petals, eventually blurring the edges with red, quietly blooming in the tree hollow.
“This is… a red skirt flower? I don’t remember this kind of flower growing in tree holes.” Lex, at Sylas’s instigation, also came closer.
He remembered occasionally catching glimpses of these little flowers in the roadside grass; amidst a sea of yellow and white, the tiny red-skirted flowers were merely scattered embellishments.
But its brightly colored hem was particularly eye-catching under the setting sun.
Whenever Lex saw it, his gaze would involuntarily fall on it, and all sorts of random thoughts would flash through his mind, such as Mela never having worn such a brightly colored dress before.
Mela didn't notice Lex's distraction because even though Silas was standing on Lex's shoulder, he still went to great lengths to stick his head out, so when Mela turned her head, all she saw was Silas's dark head.
Mela ruffled Silas's hair helplessly and said, "Maybe the seed was carried in by the wind, or maybe some little bird brought it here and just took root."
"It can grow tenaciously in unsuitable places and recover its vitality after a heavy rain. The resilience of life often exceeds your imagination."
Then again, aren't people the same?
Even in the most barren lands, people grit their teeth and survive, multiplying and eventually forming settlements of varying sizes.
Many of the kingdom's territories developed in this way.
“Let’s keep going.” Mela straightened up and continued walking.
To say that Mela brought Lex and Silas out to search for something was not quite right; she simply wanted to breathe some fresh air, feel the fragrance of grass and trees flowing into her lungs and moistening her nasal cavity, giving her a sense of complete comfort from the inside out.
Therefore, when faced with a fork in the road, whether to go left or right depends entirely on Mela's mood at the time.
This also causes them to sometimes go around in circles, eventually ending up back at their starting point.
“But isn’t this the third time we’ve come back to this place?” Silas asked weakly.
"Really?" Mela wasn't sure. She circled the nearby trees a few times, trying to match the memory with what she had seen not long ago.
Unfortunately, they never considered making any markings along the way, and similar trees in the forest always grew together, making it really difficult to distinguish them with the naked eye.
“I also feel like we’ve been here before,” Lex suddenly chimed in, echoing Silas’s sentiment.
He pointed to a small pile of stones by the tree and showed it to Mela. "I remember this pile of stones."
"So they really are lost," Mela thought.
“How about we mark the route along the way and try going it again?” Lex suggested.
At the same time, he looked up at the sky. The setting sun was gradually setting, burning the clouds with fiery red. Twilight peeked through the sparse branches and leaves, reminding them that it was time to go back to the cabin.
Otherwise, night will soon fall.
“There’s no need to go to all that trouble.” Mela waved to Silas, signaling him to get off Lex’s shoulder.
“Why don’t we just have Silas fly us back?” Mela said.
Lex paused for a moment, then thought, "That's a good idea."
“Speaking of which, you’ve never tried to have Sylas carry you flying, have you?” Mela casually tossed Sylas a spell to enlarge him, then suddenly seemed to remember something, turning to Lex with a meaningful smile.
"If you get scared later, remember to hold me tight."
"Or you can scream if you want, I'll kindly pretend I didn't hear you."
When Mela said those words, she was clearly looking to make a fool of Lex, so no matter how it felt to fly high into the sky, Lex was determined not to lose his composure.
“Alright, come on up now.” Mela climbed onto Silas’s back first and reached out her hand to Lex.
With Lex's skills, he certainly didn't need Mela's help, but after a moment of silence, he grabbed Mela's hand without saying a word and then climbed onto Silas's back on his own.
Then, as if burying his head in the sand, he quickly grabbed a handful of Silas's feathers, using the soft, furry touch to ignore the softness he had felt when he held Mela's hand earlier.
“Yes, that’s it. Hold on tight, Silas will be flying really fast later,” Mela praised.
"Silas, prepare for takeoff," Mela said to Silas again.
"Hehehe, I hope you're not afraid of heights, Lex." Silas let out a malicious laugh, and following Mela's command, flapped his wings and took off into the air in a flash, which indeed made Lex's heart skip a beat.
Fortunately, Silas quickly adjusted his flight posture, and the bird glided smoothly through the air.
Lex was experiencing the feeling of flying for the first time. The sudden weightlessness and the illusion that his body always seemed to be sliding down made him involuntarily purse his lips.
Mela, as was her habit, spread her arms wide, welcoming the whistling wind with a completely relaxed posture.
"Ah, this feels so good," Mela exclaimed.
Especially when she looked down, the giant trees that looked tall and imposing when she was standing on the ground shrank several times, the entire dark forest seemed like a tiny corner, and the distant mountain peaks seemed to be within reach in the blink of an eye. That unrestrained sense of freedom made her cheeks blush.
It was because he was too excited.
This is also why Silas's excitement never fades, no matter how many times he flies with her.
"How was it, Lex? How did it feel to fly?" Mela noticed that Lex behind her was as taciturn as ever, but she didn't doubt whether he was really afraid of heights as Silas had said.
Maybe he was too excited to speak.
“…Very good.” Lex said after a long pause, as if organizing his thoughts. “The feeling of flying is wonderful, as if all worries are gone, and all that matters is chasing the wind.”
It felt as if my shoulders suddenly became light and airy, and I felt like I was floating.
Mela couldn't help but burst into laughter. "That's right, that's right, remember this feeling, Lex. Don't always live such a heavy life. Sometimes when I look at you, I feel like you're carrying the whole kingdom on your shoulders."
"But there are so many people in this kingdom."
Mela suddenly turned her head and realized that her hair had been blowing in the wind and hitting Lex's face the whole time, and he had been enduring it without making a sound.
"Sorry, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Mela could only laugh as she gathered her hair back, thus steer the conversation back on track.
"But there are millions of people living in this world, and there are always some who can help you share the burden, whether it's responsibility, trust, or making people's lives better... So don't always be frowning alone. You're so young, yet you're living like an old man. Even Ducwato lives more freely than you."
Lex tried to argue that he wasn't frowning, but Mela silenced him with her index finger pressed to her lips.
“And never let hatred blind you. Never,” Mela whispered.
"Even if you encounter your enemy in the future, Elijah, or anyone else, do not let hatred control you and make decisions that you may regret. Otherwise, when you are alone, you will only relive that moment over and over again, accumulating suffocating emotions. One day, it will become a terrifying beast that devours you."
"Do you understand?" Mela asked.
Lex's eyes rolled down to Mela's index finger, which she hadn't yet removed.
"Oh, I forgot, I forgot. Now you can speak." Mela quickly withdrew her hand upon seeing this.
However, in her haste, the hand that had been gathering her hair loosened, and her fiery red hair slapped against Lex's face, including his lips that had just parted.
Lex had no choice but to shut his mouth again and silently remove Mela's hair.
"Haha, I really didn't mean it..." Mela laughed so hard she could hardly breathe as she watched Lex's discomfiture.
It was Silas who spoke up just in time to save Lex: "Mermaid, I see the cabin! I'm going to fly down!"
"Okay, let's go home!" Mela immediately turned around, grabbed a tuft of Silas's feather, and swooped down toward the cabin.
A moment later, Silas returned to his normal size and landed in Mela's arms.
Lex pushed open the door, making way for them.
Before night completely fell, the kerosene lamp in the cabin was lit just in time, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
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