Daniel stood in place with his back facing Calvin, Borris, and Darron. The hot air balloon had long disappeared amongst the clouds. There was nothing but silence. The only sounds being made were the waves crashing up alongside the Village's wooden platform.
"Everything okay Daniel?" Calvin asked as he took a step forward towards Daniel.
Daniel slowly shook his head. He turned around to face everyone. His right hand was behind his back. He raised his head and looked over at Calvin, Borris, and Darron. They were all wondering why he was feeling down. He should be happy. After all, he saved Ava and reunited her with her parents. No one else would've ever done something like that.
As Daniel pulled his hand out from behind his back, they saw that he was holding a piece of paper in his hand. Daniel glanced down at his right hand and then back over at everyone else.
"Daniel?" Calvin said, "what's that?" Calvin asked as he pointed down at Daniel's hand.
"This," Daniel began to answer, "this is a letter."
"A letter from who?" Borris asked.
"Petra," Daniel said, "my longtime friend."
"Where is she today?" Darron asked.
Daniel sniffled. His lips began to quiver as he stared down at the letter. He shook his head slowly. Daniel had only one word to answer Darron's question. "Dead," he answered.
Calvin, Borris, and Darron were all surprised. They should've seen that answer coming. A friend wouldn't write a letter like that if they were still alive. They could, however, write a letter if they lived far apart from one another. But from the looks of how Daniel was acting, that didn't seem to be the case.
"She died at the hands of an evil witch," Daniel said, "in order for her to be released we had to comply with the witch's demands. Obviously, we did."
"What did the witch demand you give her?" Darron asked.
"She needed some valuable items from the NetherWorld," Daniel answered, "long story short, we returned with the items she demanded. But before she released Petra, the witch threw a potion at her. That potion was what killed Petra in the end. We tried to save her, but--," Daniel said as he turned his head away to hide his emotions. He choked up as he tried to finish his sentence.
"But she passed away, didn't she? There was no chance of saving her, was there?" Calvin asked.
Daniel turned back around, looking directly over at Calvin. He shook his head again as he quivered his lips once more. Calvin handed his trident over to Borris.
"Hold this," he said as Borris took his trident. Calvin then walked over to Daniel to give him a much needed hug. He curled his arms around Daniel. Daniel wrapped his arms around Calvin as he began to tear up and cry. Calvin began patting Daniel's back gently.
"It's okay," Calvin said, "you're not the only one who's lost friends you've cared about. We've all lost someone we cared about too. What does the letter say?" Calvin asked as he and Daniel stopped hugging. They took a step back from eachother.
"I can't," Daniel said.
"You can't what?" Borris asked.
"It's too hard. I can't read it," Daniel said as he walked over to Calvin and handed him the letter. "I've held onto that letter for quite some time now. Every time I tried to read it, the memories Petra and I shared came flooding back into my head. That's when I lost all motivation to read that."
"You want me to read it?" Calvin asked.
Daniel nodded as he wiped the tears off of his face. "If I hold onto it, I'll never read it. Can you read it for me?"
"Okay," Calvin said, "I guess I can do that."
He raised his right hand with the piece of paper in it. He looked down at the letter. Before he began to read it, he glanced back over at Daniel. He sighed as he looked back down at the letter. He then began to read it aloud.
Daniel,
This letter wasn't easy for me to write, but it had to be done. The journey we're about to embark on is going to be extremely dangerous. Traveling through the SwampLands is by far the most dangerous biome there is. When we first woke up in the middle of the woods, I had this strange feeling that something bad had happened. Turns out, I was right.
I knew something was off about Scarlet when we opened the gates to her. At that time, I couldn't quite grasp what that something was. But it all became clearer when we woke up in the middle of nowhere. When Robert had come riding up to us on his horse, there was a sense of relief for me.
It turns out that we weren't very far from civilization afterall. The reason I'm writing this letter is because if anything happens to me, I want you to have something to remember me by. Something you can hold onto and cherish for the rest of your life. If my death comes to be, this letter shall be given to you so that you can read it.
The adventures we shared, and the memories we made will never be forgotten. I want to thank you for being my friend. I didn't have many of those when I was younger. You saw through my nerdiness and stayed by my side no matter what. Who would've thought we would be given the roles of a King and Queen, am I right? I just want you to know that I'm in a better place. A place where no evil exists. A place where everything is peaceful. We made quite a difference in the OverWorld, didn't we?
I want to thank you for sticking by my side. Being there when I needed it most. Going on adventures together. Goofing around and making fun of eachother. All stories must end. Sadly, mine did. But that doesn't mean yours is over just yet. You've still got a long life ahead of you. Go be a hero to others. Show them your true colors. Show them that you're brave. Noble. Caring. You were more than just my friend; you were family.
Love,
Petra
Once Calvin finished reading the letter, Daniel raised his head to look over at him. When he did, Petra was there. Standing just a few blocks behind Calvin, Borris, and Darron. Daniel frowned and tilted his head slightly.
Petra had her hands behind her back, smiling brightly at Daniel. Once Calvin had finished reading the letter, she nodded her head. Calvin, Borris, and Darron were all curious to find out what Daniel was staring at. Although Daniel could see her, they couldn't.
"That took you long enough," Petra said.
Daniel scoffed. "Yeah, yeah," he said, "you would've done the same thing if you were in my shoes."
"I know that not having me around anymore is difficult, but you must move on. There's no way to bring me back. I'm honored to have called you my friend. But now that you've read the letter, I can go."
Daniel took a step forward. His lips began to quiver again as his eyes started to get watery. Calvin, Borris, and Darron were all looking in the same direction as Daniel.
"Who's he talking to?" Darron asked Borris and Calvin.
"Quiet!" Calvin whispered loudly, "I think I know who he's talking to."
"Petra?" Borris questioned quietly, trying to stay as quiet as he could. Calvin looked over to his right at Borris. He slowly nodded his head. That nod answered Borris' question.
"Looks like you've made new friends," Petra said, "you may have not noticed, but you're moving on afterall."
"No friend I make from here on out will ever fill the gap you created when you passed away," Daniel responded in a shaky, emotional sounding voice. What did Petra even mean by she could finally move on? Daniel needed to know, so he asked her.
"Where are you going?" Daniel asked, "you're leaving me again, aren't you?"
"I only stuck around to see you read the letter," Petra said, "and now that you have, I can officially crossover."
"No!" Daniel said, "you can't."
"Why not?" Petra asked.
Daniel sighed heavily and sniffled once more. "I need you. Please don't go."
"You don't need me anymore," she said, "you have many other friends to turn to. That care about you. That want to be there for you. You may not like it, but there's nothing left for me here."
Daniel sighed again as he looked away from Petra briefly. When he looked back at her, he tilted his head. "So this is goodbye then, isn't it?" Daniel asked.
Petra smiled and nodded her head once. "Yes, it is," she responded, "Oh boy am I going to miss you so much."
"Me--me too," Daniel said. "What am I going to do now that you're leaving?"
"Go and be a hero of course," Petra said, "keeping everyone safe. That's what you'll do right? Do it for me?"
Daniel hesitated to respond. The thought of Petra leaving him forever was already too much for him as is. "I guess I could do that."
"Good," Petra responded as she looked back over her right shoulder. Daniel wondered what she was looking at. Why couldn't he see it too? Why could Petra only see it?
When Petra looked back over at Daniel, she smiled once more. "Thank you," she said, "thank you for an amazing adventure. Cherish the memories we made, and the adventures we embarked on forever. Be strong. Be brave. Be a hero. Lead the others into the future."
"I will, I promise," Daniel responded.
"Goodbye Daniel," Petra said as she turned around and began walking away from everyone. As she continued to walk away, her entire body began fading away. And then, just like that, she disappeared. Daniel stood frozen in place, still staring over at the spot where Petra stood.
"She's gone isn't she?" Calvin asked as he looked back over at Daniel.
Daniel slowly and silently nodded his head a few times. Calvin couldn't help himself. He knew that Daniel was extremely sad. So he walked back over to Daniel to give him another much needed hug. That's when Daniel suddenly burst into tears, finally giving up on trying to mask his feelings. Borris and Darron stood next to eachother and watched silently.
"There, there Daniel," Calvin mumbled as Daniel continued to cry a lot. "It's going to be okay, Daniel. She's in a better place now. Everything will be just fine. Just stay strong. Stay brave. Stay determined. Honor her memory by continuing to do what you do best; being a hero."
"I--I don't think I can anymore," Daniel said, "not without her."
"You have to," Calvin said, "it's what she would've wanted for you. Honor her legacy by continuing to be a hero."
"I miss her so much already," Daniel mumbled in between taking breaths. "This is all my fault isn't it?"
Calvin stopped hugging him and took a step back from him. He shook his head at Daniel. "No!" he said, "you can't blame yourself. You weren't the cause of her death. That witch was. Don't get so worked up about it. You did nothing wrong. You did the best you could've done."
"I could've done more," Daniel said, "but I didn't. Complying with the witch was the biggest mistake I've ever made. If only I hadn't gone to the NetherWorld, Petra would still be alive."
Now that Petra was really gone, Daniel began thinking about something. In the past, whenever he was lonely and needed someone to talk to, she'd appear. But now that she was gone, would he still be able to see her? The answer was quite simple really. But now that she had officially crossed over, he wouldn't see her ever again. Well for now at least.
"You'll see her again some day," Borris stated, "Goodbye's are never considered forever. They should be considered temporarily."
"Borris makes a good point, Daniel," Calvin said, "he's right. You two will reunite again one day."
As Daniel sniffed his nose, he held his right hand out in front of him. Calvin took one step forward so that he could hand Petra's letter back to Daniel. After Daniel took the letter out of his hand, he quickly put it back into his inventory.
"Now where were we?" Daniel asked, "oh that's right. We were going to stop the Sirens."
"Are you sure that's still a good idea? You look exhausted and sad," Calvin responded.
Daniel nodded his head. "You said it yourself," he said, "if I want to honor Petra's legacy, I must continue to be a hero, right?"
"That's right," Calvin responded.
"Then let's go and confront the Sirens and stop them once and for all," Daniel said, "it's the only way to ensure they won't do anything else dangerous. The last thing we need right now is another rogue wave. Stopping the Sirens is the only way we can prevent that from happening."
"He's right," Borris said, "time is not on our side at the moment. Every minute we spend standing here, is another minute the Sirens are still a threat. We've lost enough time as is. It's already starting to get dark out again. If we leave now, we might make it to the Siren's Kingdom by the time the Sun has fully set on the horizon."
"Well let's get a move on then," Daniel responded.