Shadow of a beast 7: Rupture and regrets

Standing at the cliff was Zolf, listening to the waves caressing the rocks beneath. Not far from him sat Manong, who seemed to be enjoying the view as if seeing it for the first time.

“You’ve been here for a while”? asked Zolf

“A couple of days, more or less” answered Manong

 “And you’re ready to leave?”

“As ready as I can be” he paused, then added joyfully “In any case, I have no choice”

“No, I guess you do not” smiled Zolf "at least you enjoyed your stay I hope?" 

"It brought me immense pleasure" he answered. "I'm still enjoying it" he added, then made a swift gesture with his hand to Zolf. 

a big wave crashed on the rocks, its violent sound filling up the space and commanding silence.

"you've been a bit too harsh on the boy, don’t you think?" said Manong

"Yes, I suppose so" answered Zolf. “I got excited and made a bad gamble” 

"I see what you mean,” said Manong “It is truly marvelous to behold”

"So you saw it too," said Zolf, "The shadow". 

"Yes" answered Manong "It reminded me of a distant dream"

“I just hope the price is not too steep” said Zolf, with a hint of regret.

“Depends on the contract”, “Although I cannot see any scenario in which he walks after this”

Silence took over for a second.

“How about you leave the boy with me” resumed Manong “You go on to the port. I have some unfinished business here. We’ll catch up with you on the ship”.

Zolf looked inquisitively at Manong for a moment. A wave hit below and the rocks seemed to welcome it gracefully this time.

“He does need the rest” said Zolf, “And I doubt he’ll be too pleased to see me anyway”

“It is settled then!” said Manong with a sudden livelihood, “The boy stays, you move on ahead”.

Zolf chuckled “Don’t freak him out too much. I need him more than you think”

"He is in good hands"

"And hey, could you tell him I'm sorry?" murmured Zolf, eyes fixated on Manong. 

Manong sprang to his feet and started walking away “Sure!” he said with a big smile. “We’ll see you soon Zolf”  

“Sunday by sunrise, yeah?” said Zolf without looking towards Manong.

"Don't worry!"

Another wave caressed gently the surface of the rocks beneath. “Look at that! they seem to have found an understanding” thought Zolf to himself in a moment of fleeting romance. A tear stream exploded from his eyes and flowed down his cheeks uncontrollably. 

He sat at the edge of the cliff. "Look at me, an old man wetting his shirt" he thought as the stream continued with the same intensity. He started murmuring prayers.

On his way to the monastery, Manong saw a young boy going outside of the room where Nile is.

“Is he awake?” asked manong

“almost” answered the boy, “I will prepare some more”

“Yes please” said Manong with a smile.

He went inside the wooden room and saw Nile laying on the corner. “and they said that romance was long gone” he thought to himself, visibly pleased.

 Nile eyes started to open and light came in. He saw hazily, a thin figure standing by the door. Manong saw the fluttering eyes and came to his bedside.

“Hi, son” he said “Nice to finally meet you”

Nile said, perplexed “and who are you?”

Manong put his hand swiftly in his robe and came out with a jug. He pulled the lid and poured liquid into Nile’s bowl. He hoisted the bowl to Nile’s mouth.

Nile tried to move but he could not feel his legs. He was about to panic but contained his emotions. He has to understand his current situation better before reacting. 

He removed the covers and saw his legs and feet. The sight frightened him. Black as coal and thin as bones, they looked like dry twigs attached to his lower abdomen, completely and utterly dead. 

He could not hide the horror from his face.

"Don’t worry about that now" said Manong "At least they are still there. That's a good place to start"

"Now take a sip" He repeated with his biggest smile.