We were slow enjoying the cocoa by the lakeside. By the time we finished, the cocoa was cold without a trace of warmth. And it was past noon.
I looked up and noticed the strangeness immediately.
"Does the sun never rise over here?"
Catarina didn't answer immediately. She gave herself a minute for the surprise to fade and for the question to sink in. Then, she chortled.
"I assure you, it does. We're just having a few days of shade."
I nodded. It was merely an observation. There were better things to stress over.
"You're the oldest woman I know, with such great such love for cocoa."
She looked at me with a grin that belonged on a girl decades younger.
"I've never known anyone without love for cocoa," she replied.
"I'm sure that's not true. Even if it was, I'm quite certain they were just saying that for you. To impress you. Most of them were guys, weren't they?"
"You're saying the guys only said that because they crushed on me. Fine, even if that was true, what about the girls?"
"They were trying to impress the guys who were trying to impress you."
"You've got an answer for everything, don't you? Why can't it be that they all just like cocoa? Haven't you heard the age old idiom? Birds of a feather gather together."
"Yeah. You're not birds. You have no feathers. The only reason you flocked together has nothing to do with feathers and wings."
"You rotten child."
She was laughing. I was shocked. I did feel rotten. That was definitely not me.
"I'm becoming them," I said to myself, but not softly enough. "Have I been away too long?"
"Becoming who?" Catarina asked.
"No one," I answered, maybe too quickly.
She looked at me funny. But she didn't press. And I was happy to move on.
"Let's go back in, shall we? I'd like to get back to the tablets."
"I'm sure you would. I do too. Let's go."
We went back in. We were both eager to return to the tablets, but I knew our motivations were different. I wasn't sure that made mattered.
"About lunch, let's have Nisha grab something from the hostel mess."
"Sure," I agreed.
Food wasn't particularly important.
The tabletop was filled with the blown up image of the next tablet.
Accolade was born with a pair of eyes that didn't belong anywhere. They were mortal eyes but were able to tear through the veil and stare at the heavens. He could see the gods, read their designs. It was a gift that no mortal should have. And so, the gods cursed away the prying eyes. And so, the boy with the brightest eyes turned blind. Accolade was still young when the spirit water became his only companion. That was all his legacy would amount to, a drunk.
What no one knew, though, was that the eyes that went dark could still read the designs of the gods. And in his inebriated state, he would read the designs out loud. The gods had overstepped once, and couldn't do so again. They could only watch in horror, at the monster they had created. For what Accolade read were the designs hidden to the gods too. Terrifying prophecies that had the gods unsettled. And the most terrifying of all, was about the fall of the heavens.
The seed of light and dark would blow the horn of war, and bring forth the fall of the heavenly court.
A prophecy that held no meaning for a thousand more years, until Cleius ascended the throne and named his court, the heavenly court.
We paused for a while, before starting with the next tablet. It was the last of the tablets in an almost perfect condition.
Perenius was the mighty general of Cleius' army. So great was his valour that he earned a place among the mightiest generals in all of the heavens' history. Just his presence on the battlefield assured victory. As his son, Iyjuis inherited all of Perenius' might and valour. All of the heavens were eager to see the young general on the battlefield.
Minigwa, Perenius' wife, was praised as the most beautiful in all of the heavens. Iyjuis inherited his mother's beauty. He was stealing hearts as a child not even a month old. His beauty grew with him. And so, everyone wanted to see his marriage just as much. To see how beautiful he would look on the day. And to see how beautiful his wife would be.
The heavens got to witness both. There weren't words enough to describe how magnificent the ceremony was, where young general Iyjuis was married to young princess Alambra. They truly made the most perfect couple. And there weren't words enough to describe the horror, of general Iyjuis leading the army to battle.
Just as we finished, Nisha burst in. A pair of boys, bigger than Nisha, followed her in, carrying lunch. They stared at me with curiosity, but without a shadow of surprise. All of the institute probably knew about me already. I didn't know why, but I just knew it was Nisha's doing. I wasn't complaining. Nisha was pretty enough for it to be okay.
"Good afternoon professor," they greeted Catarina before leaving.
"Hungry?" Nisha asked.
"Very," Catarina answered immediately. "Didn't realise it while we were at the tablets. As we finished, however, it came on like a rampaging beast. So very hungry. Don't look at him. He's a monster in human skin. All he needs are the tablets. The runes feed him too."
"Don't be ridiculous," Nisha said, but she looked at me the same as Catarina.
"What is wrong with the two of you?" I asked, truly surprised.
And I was completely ignored.
"I'll change," Nisha told Catarina. "I haven't eaten either."
"We'll prepare the table for you," Catarina answered.
I had nothing to say.