Chapter 34 : Growing Bond
Melpomene's lips parted, trying to speak....but no words came.
Only darkness...And silence.
Back to Chris and Joy, they sat quietly on the bench, the weight of the day hanging heavy on their shoulders.
Chris leaned back, his head resting for a moment as he let out a tired sigh. In his hand, a bottle of water.
Joy sat beside him, staring out at the city skies, her eyes distant. The wind was soft, brushing strands of hair across her face. She didn't move them. She just breathed.
Chris glanced at her, then held out the bottle.
"Hey," he said gently, "you should drink. You look more tired than me."
Joy turned to him slowly, blinking out of her thoughts. She gave a small smile, and took the bottle.
"Thank you" she murmured before taking a sip.
They sat in silence after that. Not the heavy kind, but the kind that feels okay. The kind that says, we're still here.
Chris chuckled under his breath. "Crazy day, huh?"
Joy nodded. "Yes… it was quite overwhelming, but oddly enjoyable."
And for a moment, with nothing but the hum of the city around them, the world felt a little quieter. A little softer.
As the sky deepened into twilight, Chris glanced upward, squinting at the dimming horizon. "It's getting late," he said, brushing his hand through his hair. "We should probably head back to the hotel."
Joy nodded, "Yes… I believe it's best we return now. It's not safe to linger out too long," she replied, her voice calm and composed, each word deliberate.
A taxi pulled up moments later. Chris stepped forward and opened the door with a small grin. "After you, miss," he said, half-joking, half-sincere.
She gave a slight, polite smile and stepped in gracefully. Chris slid in beside her, and as the cab pulled into the flow of traffic, the city lights outside the windows stretched and shimmered like a dream fading into the night.
Joy took another quiet sip of her water, her eyes drifting to the window as the city slowly melted into a blur. The gentle hum of the taxi and the faint rhythm of traffic filled the silence between them.
Chris sat beside her, his gaze distant, lost in the quiet pull of thought. But as the taxi turned onto the street of their hotel, he glanced over at her with a small, hopeful smile.
"You looking forward to tomorrow?" he asked, his voice soft but eager. "Going to my hometown… seeing Mayari's temple?"
Joy met his eyes, and a genuine smile touched her lips. "Yes, I am," she said with a gentle nod. "I've never been in a Province before. Visiting your hometown....and the temple...its very special."
Chris chuckled lightly. "Yeah… it's not much. But it's home."
Joy looked out the window again, a spark of curiosity in her expression. "That's exactly why I want to see it."
The taxi came to a slow stop in front of the hotel. Chris quickly stepped out and circled around to Joy's side, opening the door for her.
As she took his hand to steady herself, their fingers brushed...just for a second....but it was enough to send a jolt of awkwardness between them.
Chris cleared his throat, trying to act normal. "Uh… you look kinda tired," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "Let's, uh, head up and get some rest, yeah?"
Joy nodded a little too quickly, avoiding his eyes. "Y-Yeah, that sounds… good." Her voice was soft.
They walked side by side into the quiet lobby, the silence between them somehow louder than any conversation. Their footsteps echoed as they made their way down the hallway toward the elevator.
When they reached it, Chris reached out to press the button at the same time Joy did. Their hands touched again...fingers lightly brushing...and both of them immediately jerked back like they'd touched something hot.
"Ah....sorry!" Chris blurted.
"No, it's fine! I wasn't looking!" Joy said just as quickly, clutching her water bottle a little too tight.
The elevator was small...way smaller than either of them remembered.
As the doors slid shut, the quiet wrapped around them like a blanket, thick and stifling. Neither spoke. Neither looked up. The soft hum of the elevator filled the silence, but even that seemed too loud.
Chris shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his sneaker tapping softly against the floor. He kept his eyes on the glowing floor numbers, pretending like he wasn't aware of how close they were standing.
Joy's eyes flicked down to his feet, her cheeks already burning. She wasn't even sure why she was blushing. They'd been closer before...held hands, even leaned on each other that night...but this felt… different.
Too quiet. Too close.
She clasped her hands in front of her tightly, trying to ignore the way her pulse quickened. Neither of them could explain it...not the silence, not the tension. It wasn't anything they could name. Just this strange, fluttery confusion that always seemed to show up when they noticed things they hadn't before.
The elevator dinged.
Relieved, they both stepped forward at the same time...and immediately bumped into each other, shoulders and arms tangling. Chris stumbled a bit,"Ah....sorry! Again."
"No, Don't be," Joy muttered quickly, holding the door to keep it from closing on them again.
They both shuffled out, their movements stiff, like two kids trying to pretend nothing just happened.
Their hands brushed again as they reached for the room key. Neither said a word.
They just pulled back, cheeks red, pretending it didn't matter....even if their hearts were saying otherwise.
It wasn't anything they understood.
As they stood there, their chests rising and falling in unison, breathless from the long day, they exchanged a glance
..brief, uncertain, but full of meaning neither of them could put into words.
The door clicked open, and they stepped into their hotel room, the soft hum of the city now distant behind thick walls. Wordlessly, they drifted toward their separate beds, the exhaustion catching up to them in quiet waves.
Joy sat at the edge of her bed, the room dim and still. Her mind wandered...replaying the wild days they had survived together: the chaos, the laughter, the near-death escapes, and all the moments in between that left invisible marks on her heart.
Across the room, Chris shuffled through his bag, setting things in place for tomorrow. Joy watched him for a moment, then softly broke the silence.
"Chris?" she asked, her voice calm but thoughtful. "Mayari's Temple… does it truly exist in your hometown?"
Chris paused, lifting his head with a small, almost nostalgic smile. "Yeah," he said. "It does. I've been there before."
His words carried a quiet weight....like an old story remembered, or a truth once hidden now gently revealed.
A few seconds passed. Then Chris spoke again, this time slower, more unsure.
"And… after we find the temple… what then?"
His voice wasn't demanding. It was quiet, almost childlike.
Joy froze, her fingers curling slightly against the blanket. The question pierced deeper than she expected. She had avoided thinking about what came next… because deep down, she wasn't ready for it to end.
Chris sensed it....the sudden shift in the air. His heart sank.
"Ah… Shit," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, Joy. I shouldn't have asked. That was… dumb. I don't even know why I said that."
His voice cracked just a little at the end. Not from tears...but from the fear of something breaking between them.
Joy didn't look up. She simply nodded, her eyes lowered, her expression unreadable. But inside, her heart ached.
She wanted to say she wasn't ready either. That this....whatever this was between them....meant more than a quest or a destination.
The room went quiet again, the silence pressing in with a quiet finality.
And in that stillness, both of them felt it...not just the weight of their journey, but the fear of what waited on the other side of its end.
To be continued.....