The Journey

Victor lost track of time.

He and Seraph had been stumbling through the seemingly endless plains of the Celestial Realm for at least more than twenty minutes, and Victor was starting to feel the effects.

His stomach growled with a new ferocity, his previous sickness making it completely empty. Victor cringed every time his belly made a noise, worried that Seraph would make a comment, but the spirit seemed to take no notice.

While Victor's mind raced, Seraph had no trouble keeping himself amused. He carried on a mostly one-sided conversation that Victor payed minimal notice to, the boy's only input being a halfhearted "Yeah," or "I see."  Victor wasn't even sure what they were supposed to be talking about, but Seraph gleefully chattered on about it, fully fascinated by the subject at hand.

Victor was quite busy considering the notation that he would never return home, and that thought was soul-wrenching enough to make anyone space out. He desperately wanted to see his parents again, but his mind couldn't think of a situation where that actually happened.

He wanted to ask Seraph to take him home, but he couldn't bring himself to. What if that makes him mad? That obnoxiously intrusive thought refused to leave the back of his mind, and fueled most of his actions. I don't wanna screw up whatever awkward friendship we have started. Especially when I have no idea how to get home. I'll just try to put up with whatever happens.

"Do you have star rain in your dimension, Victor?" Seraph suddenly stated, much louder than his usual conversational murmur.

"Um..." Crap! I wasn't even listening! He thought, blinking rumbly at Seraph, who had turned around to see his reaction.

The spirit's grip on his fingers tightened. "You are not sure? Do not worry, I understand. Star rain is really, really rare. I am one hundred and twelve and I have only heard of it! Ooh, I wonder how it looks on Earth, though, with only one moon present in the sky..."

"Wait, one hundred and twelve?" Victor said, eyes widening.

"Yes, I have been alive for one hundred and twelve earth-years... Is that out of the ordinary? How old are you, Victor?" Seraph murmured cautiously, staring distantly at Victor.

"Oh my goodness, I'm like ten." Crap, crap! What if my dad was right? What if Seraph's a creep that's just making himself look young? Spirits can change their appearances anyway they like, so...well, crap, I'm screwed! Victor could feel sweat starting to seap through the pores on his hands, and he hoped the spirit wouldn't notice.

"Ten?! How are you, like, existing?!"

"It's perfectly reasonable for a human, I'll have you know!"

"Oh...Oh, I understand now. Humans are incredibly fast agers, I remember learning that in my medical courses. Ten is a normal age for a adolescent like you, I remember. It is just like I first theorized- we are around the same mental age!" Seraph informed, smiling widely. "Is that not rather cool?"

"Yeah," Victor said tepidly, nervously returning Seraph's smile.

Once that was over, the duo returned to their journey. Seraph continued to talk, and this time, Victor made sure to listen a little more.

He learned from Seraph that the Celestial Realm was a sacred place for celestial spirits to live, and only some foreigners were allowed in. It had multiple moons that appeared in the sky depending on the time of month, and the stars were nearly always out. Also, there was no sun, just a moon that reflected a fair amount of light. The hub of the Celestial Realm was the castle, where the lead spirit Celeste lived.

As they were walking, Victor started to notice a distinct change in his health. His breathing had gotten more labored, and it was getting harder to keep trudging behind Seraph. Occasionally his vision would blur and he would stumble, but Seraph never took note of it. He was thankful that the spirit was incredibly inattentive, as he didn't wish to explain his medical issues to him at the moment. Victor was positive that his anemia was creeping up again, worsened by the sudden stress and physical activity.

He already thinks I'm weak, Victor thought bitterly. I don't want to give him any more evidence. I just gotta push through this, I'll be fine. Victor was painfully aware that the last statement was a lie, but it was a lie he dearly wanted to believe.

Seraph shook his arm, jerking him out of his dismal thoughts. The spirit turned around and smiled at him. "Victor! We are almost to the castle, do you see it?" With his other hand, he pointed to the horizon, where the castle Victor had spotted earlier was much larger. "There is only about a mile or two of traveling left, I believe." He stopped, his shoulders falling. "Victor, are you feeling well? Your face is very pale, you look ill. Very ill."

"I'm fine," Victor slurred. He took a few steps to demonstrate how well he was, but that was the moment his body chose to shut down.

His vision had turned black before he hit the ground.

Author's Note- Crap, I just love writing from Victor's perspective. I feel this kid on so many levels.