Nimbus' eyes slowly opened. A blurry wave of awakening enveloped him, and the morning light blazed through the glass of his window. The blurriness of the room suddenly molded into a crisp clear vision, as Nimbus lifted his head of silver hair from his pillow.
The light through the window softly illuminated the dark room. You could always tell it was morning by the way the birds sang outside, and by the way the sunlight seemed to dance into each corner of every room.
Nimbus sniffed the air, hoping to get a whiff of that sweet breakfast aroma of syrup and waffles that entered his nose every morning. It was the sweet cooking of Miss Vesta, the "mother" of the Wingchild orphanage, and the only real mother that Nimbus ever knew all his life.
He sniffed once more. But there was nothing.
Hm? Where the hell is the food? Is she not cooking today? Nimbus wondered, leaping off of the top bunk of the bed he shared with three other children younger than him. The bed was now empty.
As Nimbus stood in the room, he could tell something was strange about today. Something strange. He walked into the hallway. It was empty. He next headed into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror to see the tan face and silver hair of Nimbus Hestias.
"There's no one in the bathroom either, eh?" he spoke to his own reflection. Something strange.
He left the bathroom and headed down the steps to the first floor and entered the kitchen. Just as he had expected. No cooking today. Something strange.
When he looked into the living room and at the soft large brown couch, he found out why everything was so empty. There everyone sat around the fireplace, eyes wide and faces struck with anxiety. Their faces didn't change when they saw Nimbus.
"Nimbus, come sit down," Miss Vesta ordered him with a warm smile. "Join us, please."
Nimbus raised his eyebrows. "What's going on? Why are you all gathered up like this?"
No one spoke. They all stared at Nimbus with an awkward dazed expression.
"Why isn't everyone playing around and making a mess like usual?" Nimbus spoke to the younger kids. He then turned to Miss Vesta. "And where's breakfast? I'm hungry."
"You can eat later. Come sit down," Vesta answered.
Nimbus' voice grew to a yell. "Mother, what the hell is going on?"
"The Tsunami Forces are supposed to be coming today," Vesta finally got to the point. "They are searching the village."
"For what?" Nimbus asked. She didn't answer. "So are we just going to sit in here like this all day?"
"Yes. Until they leave," Vesta said. Nimbus then understood why everyone looked so frightened. The Tsunami Forces were not afraid to kill anyone who stood in their way. They destroyed whatever they came across if they needed to. They were not an army to bother. They struck fear into all the people of Daffodon.
"That's bull
," Nimbus laughed. "We're honestly gonna stay in here like this? Just because of those damn soldiers?"
"Watch your mouth, Nimbus," Vesta scolded him. "And come sit down."
"No," Nimbus insisted. "I don't want to."
A nine-year old boy with red hair and freckles stood up. "Quit being so difficult, Nimbus! You're always complaining!"
Another girl about thirteen spoke up. "Yeah. Mother hates when you complain."
A five-year old child with black hair shouted, "That's why Mother hates you the most out of all of us!"
This made Nimbus open his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Was this the truth?
"Now, now, Silvester--" Vesta began, but was interrupted by the boy again. "No, it's the truth! You said so yourself!"
Nimbus just stood there in awe.
She...hates me? Dammit. I should've known...just like all the other humans... "Nimbus, I..." Vesta stuttered.
"No, you don't have to say anything else," Nimbus closed his eyes. "Hahahaha...I kinda knew it..."
"No, it's a misunderstanding!" Vesta tried to convince Nimbus the truth.
"No, no, I get it. Hahahaha..." Nimbus laughed. He opened his eyes, which revealed a glare of agony. "YOU ALL HATE ME, AND I DIDN'T DO A GODDAMN THING TO ANY OF YOU!"
Nimbus headed for the door, grabbing his sword and bow on the way. Miss Vesta blocked the door, with her arms outstretched.
Nimbus stopped. He wanted so badly just to shove her out of the way, and rush out the door, never coming back. But simple obstacles prevented him from doing so.
Memories flooded into Nimbus' mind. Vesta pushing him on a wooden swing. Vesta wrapping a bandage around a scar on his leg. Vesta flipping pancakes above the stove, with himself sitting at the table with a wide smile. Vesta tucking him into bed, beginning to sing a lullaby. Long ago, these things were, but to Nimbus, the moments felt close enough to touch. These memories were and would forever be the obstacles that halted Nimbus in a frozen trance.
He still stood there, his eyes held frozen on the floor. Both he and Miss Vesta stood silent. He slowly glanced up at her.
Her green eyes locked onto his the way a mother would when she is lecturing her child. Nimbus spoke softly, "Please move, Mother."
Strangely enough, she did just so without a single word. It was as if she too was struck with shock.
I apologize, Mother. But I just can't remain here any longer. Nimbus spoke in his mind, as if Vesta could hear him. He walked out of the door without any further words, forcing tears back into his eyes.
"He's gone, isn't he, mama?" A brown-skinned boy about six years old asked. "And he's not coming back, huh?"
Everyone else awaited Vesta's response. They were all thinking the same thing. In fact, they were all hoping the same thing.
A tear rolled down Miss Vesta's cheek. She didn't answer, and instead rejoined her children beside the fireplace.
I made a mistake. I couldn't stop him from leaving...I'm a horrible mother... Nimbus didn't know where he was running. Just to get away from the Wingchild Orphanage.
The streets were empty. Everybody in Daffodon was afraid of Tsunami, and no one would do anything to resist.
Nimbus reached the pier, where the docks stretched out into the ocean of sky. You could see an endless flood of clouds and sky from the docks. There Nimbus sat, staring hopelessly down into the clouds.
He launched a strong silver arrow into his bow, and fired it as far as he could out into the sea of air.
"If only I could fly. If only I had wings," Nimbus spoke as he watched the gallant arrow split through the clouds, as if the bow itself granted the arrows the ability to grow wings and soar through the sky. "If only I could fly like the arrows. Not even wind would throw me off course."
Nimbus smiled at this thought, watching the arrow disappear into the clouds. His eyes began to close, falling asleep. But a sight made him jerk awake.
A fleet of about five large airships began hovering toward the dock. Nimbus could just about make out their large silver structures. They were huge, in fact, and wore blue insignias. They belonged to the Tsunami Forces.
"Heh. The bastards are here, eh?" Nimbus spoke with a wide smile, and widened eyes.
He didn't know if he should be scared, nervous or excited. All he knew was that something had to be done. The Tsunami Forces weren't about to ruin his entire day, and he was sure of that.
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