novelWhy is the white poplar by the river shining alone? (2)
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Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Why is the white poplar by the river shining alone? (2)
The two chose to go round the sandbar and get back over the cliff. They couldn't climb the cliff or swim in the river to go to other areas.
As they walked past the around the corner towards the river, the surroundings gradually began to turn orange. The sun was about to set.
Looking at the beautifully sparkling riverside, the two quickened their pace. They knew better than anyone else that the forest in the dark would be dangerous.
"Ah..." Wendy, who was walking fast on the sandbar, stopped shortly with a sigh.
There was a faint glow flickering in her eyes when she was looking ahead. She was seeing a scene that left a strong impression in her memory. It closely resembled the scene of the setting sun. It was a silver poplar.
The tree was standing alone by the river, isolated from other trees of the forest.
It was sparkled brightly in the shining light of the river.
She felt she was deeply touched when she saw it, recalling the memory of that day she had never told anyone about.
Was it because of that?
She opened her tight-lipped mouth as if she opened a tightly sealed jar of lemon tea.
When she glanced at his face, glowing with the red sunshine, he turned his eyes on her. The air of the forest surrounding them was filled with a cool breeze over the river.
She turned back toward the poplar and asked him calmly, "...Why did you save me? If you pretended not to have noticed me, you wouldn't have suffered this kind of pain."
He didn't answer for some time. Then he turned to her as the wind blew over the river again. His voice was mixed with the clear scent of the river wind.
"...Well, my answer would be the same as yours. Just like you used your power for the benefits of others without any hesitation, I also did what I could. Wendy, I know you acted at the Rajabude Museum. You cared for that poor little girl hospitalized at the Linus Medical Center. And today you saved Melissa. Obviously, you had a clear reason for doing what you did. I know you helped them all. You, too, thought about the difficulties of others first before taking into account the hardships you would suffer."
While looking at the white poplar, her eyes trembled. The fact that he already knew what she had been doing until now was enough to disturb her with a violent wave in her heart.
"Have you known about my mysterious power all along?" She asked with a trembling voice.
"I just guessed. I'm not very imaginative. I just felt something I couldn't explain was happening. That's all I thought about you."
"The kid at the Linus Medical Center...How did you know about it?"
"I knew it by coincidence. Of course, I was curious, too. Don't worry, I never told anyone about what I guessed. I won't tell anybody. I swear on my honor as a knight."
She turned to him who was looking at her calmly. His face was calm and serene like the sea at dawn, without impatience or falsehood.
"Let me tell you again... It was not good for you to ask me why I saved you. You know why? As for your question, I can't help but answer I just helped you in need, and that I just did what I had to do in my capacity as an imperial knight. Just like you, I can only say that I didn't hesitate to reach out to others in need of help."
He slowly reached out to her. She stared at his hand with a hardened expression like a stone statue.
"How couldn't I save you in that situation?"
He spoke with a trembling voice and took hold of her hands.
His sigh drifted in the wind over the river and touched her cheeks.
He sighed, "I just..."
She knew for the first time that a human voice could be a being in itself. The reason she couldn't shake off his hands was because his words became a being and hovered around the rim of her ears.
"You are wrong. I have always hesitated. I was always hesitant and confused. Reaching out to others has always been hard for me, " she said suddenly with a subdued voice.
She began to walk without releasing his hand. While walking along the riverside, led by her hand, he listened to her, holding his breath.
"Can I tell you a boring story?"
She swept her hair, mussed by the wind. Her hair waved in the air then fluttered back to her ear.
"It was a long time ago, when I was very young. I had a high fever and a lot of pain for no reason. At that time, I met my mother for the first time, but I couldn't talk properly as I was so sick. When I got well, my mother wasn't beside me... I was devastated as a young child."
She stopped talking for a moment and took a breath. She was catching her breath to calm herself.
"...Since that day I lived for a few days, feeling as if I was left alone in the world. I searched for my mother for many days. There's a big difference between what you didn't have in the first place and what you once had and lost. Even though I had never had a chance to talk with my mother, my experience with having my mother beside me reminded me acutely that I was alone.
"One day I accidentally passed by the river and noticed a tree. It was a tree similar to that silver poplar over there... All the other trees were gathered together, but only one was standing by the river. Yeah, standing alone and lonely like that. When the other trees cast their shadows side by side on the water, that tree had a lonely shade of its own... I felt like that tree."
She pointed to the silver poplar.
Clouds floated overhead and cast shadows over the poplar.
"Until it was deep into the night, I sat by the river and kept looking at the tree until I couldn't see it in the darkness...If the clouds had not been lifted and the moonlight hadn't shone, I might have remained there as a grumbling child. The moonlit tree was beautiful alone in the forest. The leaves of the silver poplar and its trunks shone all silver. So much so that I felt the smell of grass, the smell of the wind, the sparkling of the river, the sound of swaying leaves of other trees were all intended for that tree."
Following her gaze, he looked at the silver poplar standing alone at a distance. The wind that started near the tree blew through the river's surface.
"Maybe it was a phantom created by moonlight and the river. But I have never seen a scene as beautiful as that day. That tree standing tall and alone was so noble and beautiful. I knew it wasn't time for me to cry, but I was in tears the moment I saw that brilliant light, the moment I saw the strength of that tree..."
She smiled a bit. Her face turned white and red like an apricot. The sadness on her bright face was even more touching.
"After that, I was not afraid of the fact that I was alone."
She was content with her hard, shiny shell, like a silver poplar. Even if she was the only one who knew its beauty, that was enough for her. At first glance she might seem indifferent and foolish, but it was the lesson she learned hard and sadly.
She wanted to say that she felt good when she was alone, and that she didn't want to have something that she didn't have. She wanted to say she didn't want to experience a sense of loss again.
"Thank you for listening to my boring story."
He tried to say something several times and failed. The two walked on and released each other's hands.
It wasn't until they came near the poplar that he stopped her. Several small bushes were around them. He thought while looking into her face.
He wished he could see that silver poplar, sitting next to her. If that were impossible, he wished he could be that silver poplar by the river, so she could find comfort in it. He would be satisfied as long as she felt that she was not alone.
"I can't understand you entirely, but I want you to know that you are not looking at the tree alone like before."
Wendy lowered her gaze and held her breath. Orange air filled her heart.
"If you feel lonely again like before, and if the day comes again when you need that silver poplar ...On that day, I will stand by you again." He said, "Let's look at the comforting light of the tree and the brilliant light."
He again took her hands. He felt her hands trembling quietly. As the sun was setting fully, the knuckles of her fingers were all red.
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