“Across the border?” Amber asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

The man completely disregarded her question, he was too busy in his own thoughts. Fear penetrated his mind.

Taking a while to compose himself, he took a deep breath. “I’m afraid you’ll have to leave, right now! We should not have to suffer the consequences because of your stay!”

In perfect sync, they all shot him a blank look.

Amber sighed. They were really getting nowhere with this.

“Sir, we would really appreciate it if you gave us directions to Ardilia- “

“Astilia.” He said sternly, correcting her.

“Yes uh, that, just help us and we’ll be sure never to bother you again.” She shot him a sloppy smile in hopes of somewhat convincing him.

“Alright, but I can only help with directions, do not get my village meddled in your crimes.”

“We don’t intend to. Now please tell us.”

“If you keep following the path, you’ll eventually get to Astilia. It’s a long journey so you’ll have to make stops in multiple places. I hope that is all.

“How long exactly?”  Nadim questioned.

“No one’s been to Astilia in centuries, we’re not sure what’s changed, all we know is that it’s a long journey. I’ll be on my way now, goodbye.”

And with that he was gone, quite evident how desperate he was to get away.

“Why did you guys wait three months to come and get him?”

“We didn’t, we came after three days.” Liam replied.

“Well then that’s got to be the wrong guy, right? Unless time works differently here but that’s gotta be unlikely.” She mumbled reassuring herself, it couldn’t be true!

“The guy fit Karlo’s description perfectly, time very obviously is different here.”

“No, not necessarily. I have to get back; we’ll just talk to some other people who know- “

“We can’t! That’s got to be Karlo, we’ll just have to make our way there as soon as possible.”

A sigh escaped her lips, countless thoughts entered her mind on what could happen, but she didn’t waste a second to shut them down. Now was not the time to panic.

“Alright, but shouldn’t we get materials first?”

“Nah, I’m sure it’s not that long, oh yes, of course, we seem to be managing very well!” Liam mimicked; this was outrageous!

“Okay, I get your point. I’m sorry!”

“I’m very sure you get my point, considering I’ve been repeating it for the four hours we’ve been walking!”

“Okay, I’ve made one mistake! At least I didn’t press the button.” He grunted, rolling his eyes.

“Guys cut it out! I’m sure we’ll come across a village eventually.” Putting a stop to their bickering, Alejandro glared at them both, leaving a childish groan coming out of the both of them.

A small chuckle escaped Amber’s lips. That was quite amusing. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Alejandro narrowing his eyes at her.

“What? It’s funny.” A big smile made itself known on her face.

“Where are you from?” He asked, the question escaped his lips before he could stop it.

The smile on her face slightly flickered. That question hit her like a rock. It was unexpected and she wasn’t too desperate to answer it, especially when she didn’t know the answer herself.

“I, uh im- “

“Hey! Look in the distance!” Liam beamed.

Her shoulders slumped a little, relief flowing through her. She was not looking forward to that conversation.

“It’s another village! See told you I was right.”

“I doubt that’s Astilia, four hours isn’t even that long.”

“You seemed to have a different opinion earlier.” Nadim shot back, giving him a poker face.

“Please don’t start again, Let’s just go check it out.”

Walking along the path, there was a big sign in bold letters showing the word ‘Dilera’. The moon twinkled in the sky making little light available, and the whistling of the wind could be heard because of the silence.

“We have to find somewhere to stay.” Nadim whispered, getting three nods in return.

As they made their way forward, they looked around in hopes to find something. As they did, they came across a hut seeming to be larger than all the others, and a red sign on the front saying ‘OPEN’.

“Maybe here?” Amber suggested.

“I mean we don’t have another choice.” Liam replied.

They squinted their eyes entering, taken aback by the bright light. Across the room, a woman with a small figure and glasses leaning at the tip of her nose could be spotted, stacks and stacks of papers surrounding her. Making their way forward they stood in front of her waiting for their presence to be acknowledged, but it never came, she was too engulfed in the paper that lay before her that her eyes never left it.  

“Ahem, ahem.” 

Glancing up at them, a radiant smile appeared on her face. Unexpectedly, she didn’t give them an odd look, unlike others they came across.

“Hello, how can I help you?” Her voice came out like a delicate flower, sweet and gentle.

Stepping forward Nadim spoke up. “We were wondering if you have any available rooms for us to stay.” 

“Erm, I’m sorry, I’m afraid all our rooms are booked for tonight.”

“Not one? Please we really need it.” Liam pleaded.

“Is there nowhere else you can stay?”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t, you don’t have a single room available?” Nadim replied.

“Well we do have a spot but it’s not really a room.”

“What is it?”

“The uh, basement.”

“Oh, could you show it to us.”

A bit confused they took up the offer, she led them to a door in the corner of the room. Her fingers wrapped around the golden rustic knob and with one forceful push the door opened revealing a staircase with dusty floorboards and a few screws sticking out.

“This is why no one usually takes the basement, ever.” She added.

“It’s all we’ve got, we’ll use it.” Alejandro said.

“There are places you can sleep down there, but we mostly use it for storage, and don’t worry about paying.”

“Thank you, we really appreciate this.” Amber gushed, shooting her a grateful smile.

“Of course.” 

Next Chapter: CHAPTER FIVE – THE WEIGHT OF WORDS