Page 3 of Tino

I didn’t bother giving my room a last glance. It held nothing important for me to remember. All the lonely nights spent in bed wondering why I’d never heard from Tair. It all made sense now, though.

My mom offered me a bigger bag as soon as I opened my door. “Here,” she said. “You’re gonna need it.” I gave her a puzzled look, but took the bag back into my room and opened it. It couldn’t hurt with more storage room, and this one was still a comfortable bag to wear. I hadn’t expected its content. Letters. Every single letter I’d ever written to Tair. I looked up with wide eyes at my mom, as she stood in my doorframe, her eyes still red with tears in them.

“I kept all of them,” she admitted. “I wasn’t allowed to send them, but I wasn’t going to throw them away either.”

I swallowed, looking at the many letters that held so much of my childhood. How I’d felt, what I’d experienced. My hurt over his lackof response. I dumped the other bag on my bed and began filling the big one with everything. I had some room left for more clothes, so I dumped another set in there.

Once I was satisfied, I followed my mom downstairs to say goodbye.

Forever.

Chapter 3

Altair

Present time.

“Damn!” Xari exclaimed, being the first to voice the beauty of this place. An indigo blue was surrounding us as we stepped into this new world together. The locket glowed even brighter now that we were in Tino’s world.

Tino.

God, I hoped he was my Tino. How cruel would it be to be fated to someone called the exact same as the boy I’d always loved.Orman, I had to remember we were both men now, no longer those thirteen-year-old boys who dreamed of a simple future together with way too many animals. I smiled despite myself, knowing fully well my heart could break further the more I thought about the boy I’d lost.

“It’s amazing!” Silver gushed, holding firmly onto Wilston’s arm as they looked around the clearing.

It seemed we’d arrived at night, but the temperature wasn’t bad, it was actually pretty comfortable. Looking up at the stars I saw it was a full moon, with so many glittering stars around it that we had enough light to walk without needing help from their magic.

Julie had held onto me, needing something to anchor herself to as we’d walked through the portal. She was still holding onto me firmly as her awe-filled face looked around us.

“I can’t believe we’re not on Sutiner anymore,” she whispered.

Xari came over to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll keep you safe,” he said, knowing she was likely freaking out a bit. We’d already done this once, but she hadn’t, and while I wished I hadn’t been alone when I went through the same thing, I could at least be there for Julie.

She didn’t answer, too busy staring curiously as some kind of fireflies appeared around us, lighting up our path further.

“We should start walking,” Wilston said, bringing us back to our mission. I tightened my grip on the trolley behind me, and feeling it there helped soothe me somewhat. Honey was my weakness, and something which helped bring me joy every day. Going without it for just a week had been torture, but now I had several glass jars full of it. All thanks to Wilston.

“What does the locket look like?” Xari asked as he came closer to my side. Letting go of the trolley for a second, thinking it was wiser than letting go of Julie’s hand, I pulled the locket further out of my shirt, allowing them all to see the light. It was way brighter than I’d expected it to be. The others had said it would glow faintly, but then get brighter the closer we got to him.

“Damn!” Xari grinned. “We did good with that portal! He should be within walking distance. Maybe a day if we’re lucky!”

“Really?!” Silver exclaimed excitedly. “Let’s go then!”

We laughed, as a feeling of success, of finality surrounded us, making us hum a song as we started walking down the flowery field.

Towards Tino.

It was still dark out when we decided to stop for the first rest. I believed we’d been walking for five hours or so. Shamus was lying next to where I was sitting on the ground eating some heated canned food. It wasn’t luxurious, but at least we had food. And easy heating.

“So far this world is amazing,” I said, breaking the silence. They all nodded as they continued to stuff their faces with food. Walking for hours had helped build up an appetite, but the others also had their powers draining them, making the need to eat and rest higher than normal.

Julie had been quiet for a while, seemingly deep in her own head. I hoped she wasn’t regretting following us here, but if she was, the others could easily make a portal for her to return to Sutiner.

“Wards!” Julie gasped, looking around frantically.

The others threw her a worried look. “The wards are still intact,” Xari reassured her. “I can feel them around each of us.”

“No,” she shook her head anxiously. “Something is wrong.”