Chapter 58 – Unspoken Messages

Chapter 58 – Unspoken Messages

“I- What?! I-”

I immediately tried to cover my ears.

‘Ah! U-um... c-calm down... please...’

Even with my hands over my ears, I could still hear her voice as if she was sitting right next to me.

Aria quickly got out of her seat, crouching down in front of me and gently pulling my arms down, “I guess that means it’s working.”

“I... I...” I was so shocked that I couldn’t put any words together.

She’s talking... but it’s inside my head...

Does it work if I leave her domain?

Can I talk to her too?

Wait...

If she’s in my head, can she hear my thoughts?

Can she hear me now?!

What else could she have heard?!

My eyes locked onto Ovia, but she didn’t seem to be reacting to any of my thoughts, not that it proved anything.

“I can’t tell if you’re excited or scared at the moment,” Aria put a hand firmly on my shoulder, “The necklaces are linked. As long as the two of you have them on, you’ll be able to talk to each other whenever you want, wherever you are, okay?”

Talk? So, it does go the other way.

But...

“How?” I asked.

“Ah... mmm... It’s a little difficult to explain... It works when you want it to... if that makes sense,” Aria replied.

That’s it?

I decided to try it as soon as possible. If it worked... If I could talk to her through it... That would mean the world to me...

Hello?

No response.

Was that not right?

Hello...

Again, no response.

I don’t get it...

What do you mean it works when you want it to?

Once again, I looked up at Ovia. She was looking back at me expectantly, leaning forward just slightly with her eyes wide. My gaze slowly moved up, looking at her hair clip... the same hair clip I gave her almost two years ago now...

After taking it all in, I could only come up with one word to describe her...

‘... Pretty...’

Right at that moment, Ovia flinched, her ears suddenly twitching.

Wait, did that?

Did I?!

As my face started to heat up, I saw a similar blush creep over Ovia’s cheeks.

“I must admit, I’m already a little sad that I can no longer listen in on your conversations,” Aria’s voice immediately made me snap back to reality, “Now... Sister, didn’t you have another gift you wanted to give her?”

“Y-Yes,” Ovia immediately stood up and headed over to the side room, her blush not fading for even a moment.

She slammed the door behind her, and right after, I heard her voice in my head again.

‘Thank you...’

...

Am I ever going to get used to this?...

“Shall I let you in on a little secret?” Aria moved back to her seat.

I nodded, a little confused.

It seems ordinary? But-

“Next, who it’s from... Unfortunately, the note did ask that I hide their name from you, even if it’s for a ridiculous reason. What I can tell you is that they are a very old, very important God... so important so that the two of us really can’t afford to get on their bad side... and... they can be a little... petty? That’s probably the right word for it.”

It’s someone even a Goddess has to be wary of?

W-why would they send me a note?

Is it something I did?

Could it-?

At that moment, it felt like I was close to a realisation, but lost it just before I could put it into words, just being left with a slight pain in my head.

“The message itself doesn’t seem bad... and, in my experience, they don’t go out of their way to antagonise people or anything like that, so it’s... probably a good idea to listen to their advice... although they already know if you’re going to listen and will have accounted for it.”

They already know? What do you mean they already know?

“All the note says is that it would be a good idea for you to head towards Haelmor. It’s a small port town right on the edge of human territory. They do add that it would be better to go there sooner rather than later,” Aria folded up the note and handed it back to me, “He didn’t write it in the message you could read because he thought you would be more likely to listen if one of us told you.”

Haelmor?

Wait, does that mean-?

I would have to leave the city!

“I... I...” I knew I had to say something but didn’t know what.

I had thought about leaving the city to go on an adventure and get more stories to tell Ovia. But I wasn’t ready yet. I was nowhere near ready.

Isn’t it too soon?

I... I...

But it’s advice from a God... An important one...

What would they do if I didn’t listen?

Ovia suddenly wrapped her arms around me, bringing me back to reality, “It’s okay, I... We’re here.”

I immediately hugged her back, pulling her in even closer.

“Look, you don’t need to decide on anything right now, alright?” Aria joined the hug, “The note was just some advice, not a command.”

For a while, none of us said anything, just staying huddled together until I could finally calm down completely.

...

“What... would happen if I did what the note asked?” I eventually managed to squeeze out a question.

“Well, while I don’t know the reason you’re being advised to go there, you would definitely get to see more of the world at least,” Aria replied, “For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been holed up in this, quite honestly, horrible place. It would be good for you to go and see that not everywhere in the world is like this.”

But I don’t need anywhere else...

This is where Ovia is...

Where Raynelle and Ava are...

Where my...

“A-And after today, no matter where you go, we can still t-talk through the necklaces!” Ovia added, “W-we can even talk more often than we used to.”

...

Do you... also want me to leave this place?...

...

If even Ovia thinks I should...

...

I’ll... have to think about it...

Even with Ovia suggesting that I should follow the advice I was given, I just couldn’t make that decision. Not at that moment anyway.

“How about this? You go back to your friends for the rest of your birthday, just spend some time relaxing. Then you can think about it later,” Aria suggested as she stood back up, “Does that sound like a good idea to you?”

“Mhm...”

“Good. Then, Sister, it’s time for you to say your goodbyes,” She smiled, “Even if it will only be for a moment.”

Ovia suddenly hugged me tighter, “Again... Happy birthday Kierra.”

With that comment I felt the chill of Ovia’s domain start to gradually recede.

Just before I felt Ovia’s presence disappear, I managed to say one last thing, “Thank you... again.”