Chapter 214 - Icarus and Helen

  Icarus:

  It was te, and we were bathing in the river.

  I was ten years old back then.

  "You're pletely filthy," Helen scolded, giving me a look of disapproval.

  "Sorry..." I murmured, embarrassed. There was really no excuse for what I’d done.

  I’d been pying in the forest and actally fallen into a mud pit.

  "Hold still. I'm scrubbing you," she said, giving me a gentle sma the head.

  Helen was washing my back, trying to scrub the dirt off.

  "Don't turn around."

  "Of course I won't turn around! I don’t want to see you naked, and I definitely don’t want you to see my... uh, ‘little buddy’..."

  She let out a small ugh.

  "Embarrassed?" Helen teased, leaning close to my ear.

  "Stop it..." I protested, feeli rise in my cheeks.

  She ughed again a back to washing me.

  "You're always getting into trouble, Icarus. Seems like I’m always helping you out of a mess."

  "I told you... it was an act. A branch broke when I was jumping, and I fell in the mud."

  Helen gave me another pyful sma the head.

  "And who said I'm pining?" she chuckled. "At least you make my days a bit more iing. But you o be more careful. One day, I might not be here to help."

  I turned around suddenly, out of reflex.

  "No! That will never happen! I won’t let you go!" I said, only to be met with a light sma the cheek.

  "Face forward, idiot!" she said, c herself with her arms.

  "S-sorry..." I mumbled as I turned back around.

  We fell silent for a moment.

  "Don’t worry, Icarus. I have no iion of leaving you either. We'll stay together till the end. That’s a promise."

  ***

  Some days had passed since I fell into that mud pit. Helen always forbade me from pying in that part of the forest because it was dangerous and because no one liked to go there.

  "Which is exactly why it’s fun..." I muttered to myself.

  I was running through the trees, jumping from branch to branch like an animal. It was exhirating, but I’d lear could also be dangerous. If not for the mud pit st time, I could have really hurt myself.

  When someone like me—someone living oreets—gets hurt... it’s best to hope you’ll heal on your own. Otherwise, you’re left to die.

  Helen had stayed back at our hideout, preparing food with whatever we’d mao gather that week. Our routine was always the same: sge through the forest for berries and then dig through the areas where people threw out trash.

  "Ouch..." I muttered, toug my stomach, which had been hurting sihat m.

  I was carrying some berries I’d found in the forest.

  "These weird little berries grew in the area she doesn’t let me go. Maybe if I show them to her, she’ll let me go there more often."

  The berries were incredibly bitter. I’d tried a few earlier, just to make sure I hadn’t picked a bad one by act, but they all had that same awful taste.

  "Well, at least I know Helen will figure out how to make them taste good, even if they’re bitter, once she mixes them into our food."

  I tinued on my way to our hideout. Even though the sewers were a po one wao go—people thought some monster lurked down there—I always made sure I wasn’t being followed.

  "This time, I’ll surprise her."

  Helen was always the best at finding food. Whenever we pyed a game to see who could find the best things, she always won.

  "Ouch..." I mumbled, before colpsing to the ground. A sharp pain shot through my body, and for a moment, I felt really unwell. The berries I had been carrying fell a little ways off.

  What’s going on…?

  I y there for a while, feeling worse with each passing sed. My stomach hurt like never before, but eventually, the pain lessened.

  "What’s happening?" I asked myself, sitting up with difficulty. Sweat was dripping down my face, and my vision was hazy.

  "I ’t be te, or Helen will worry..." I told myself, gathering the berries from the ground and stuffing them into my pocket before stumbling toward our hideout.

  By the time I reached the tunnel, I felt awful. The world spun, and my head ounding with pain. I leaned against the wall to keep from falling as a wave of nausea overtook me.

  "I’m almost there... maybe I just o sleep a bit," I mumbled, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

  I was used to eating spoiled food, but this felt different. I’d never felt sutense pain in my stomach. Every step hurt, and it felt like my body was fighting against me.

  "I’m almost there..." I whispered as I he hole in the wall that led to our hideout. But when I crouched down to crawl inside, my body gave out, and I colpsed.

  What’s happening to me?

  I tried to get up, but my body refused to move. The he stomach pain, and a bone-deep exhaustion took over.

  "Helen..." I tried to call out, looking toward the hole, but my voice barely escaped my lips.

  "Icarus!" I heard someone calling me, and hurried footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Soon, Helen appeared, carrying a few mangoes in her arms.

  "What happened? Why do you look like this? You’re so pale!" She shook me, trying to get me to stand.

  I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn’t move. My body was shutting down, and breathing was being harder and more painful.

  "Talk to me, Icarus! Please!" Helen shook me desperately, but I had nth to answer.

  In that brief moment of crity, I uood what was happening. Summoning the st of my strength, I reached into my pocket and showed her the small berry.

  "I’m... sorry..." I whispered.

  Helen took the berry, and the moment she saw it, her eyes widened in horror.

  "Please, Icarus!" She shook me, her voice thick with panic. "Don’t tell me you ate this!"

  I couldn’t respond, so I just nodded weakly.

  "This is beldonna! It’s poisonous!" She lifted me up with all her strength and pulled me through the tunnel.

  "Icarus!" she cried as she id me down on our makeshift bed, her voice rising with fear.

  "Please, don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me, Icarus," she whispered, her tears falling onto my face.

  My vision grew blurrier, the world around me fading. The st thing I could focus on was Helen’s face.

  "I’m sorry... I ’t keep my promise..." was all I mao say.

  In a panic, Helen pressed her fio my throat, trying desperately to do something—anything to save me.

  "Spit it out!" Helen shouted, her voice shaking with desperation. "Throw up, Icarus, please! Don’t leave me alone!"

  I tried to force myself, but my body wouldn’t respond. Helen didn’t give up; she pressed down on my stomach while putting her finger down my throat.

  With great effort, I mao vomit a little onto the ground, but my vision was already fading. The world around me plunged into darkness, and even Helen’s voice began to disappear. The little I could still see was her face, streaked with tears.

  "My sun..." I murmured with the st ounce of strength I had.

  "No... you are my sun," she whispered, holdiightly, her voice thick with emotion.

  "I’m going to save you, don’t worry," Helen sobbed, hugging me even tighter as my sciousness slowly slipped away. And then, I closed my eyes, falling into the darkness.