Unbreakable Walls

Tracing their steps back wasn't as easy as they had hoped.

The trail of glowing marks on the wall helped initially, but the they had began to fade the back they traveled.

Mel sighed, "We should have known they wouldn't last forever."

He patted Keirs shoulder.

"It'll be fine, it got us most of the way back. Plus, I think I can hear the river up ahead."

Mel wasn't really sure that things could be described with 'fine'.

'Being positive can be such a drag' he sighed.

Retreating into the relative darkness, after having been able to finally see, was not ideal.

Of course, there was still the company of the worms, giving off enough light to stave off the terror of their situation.

Mel didn't usually mind the dark, but the oppressive shadows here only amplified his feelings of helplessness.

Mel sat down, exhaustion setting in, "Let's take a break."

They sat down together in the darkness for a while, listening to the echoes of the river further ahead.

Keir's stomach growled softly, barely distinguishable from the sound of the river.

"You hungry?" Mel asked quietly, his voice breaking the silence.

Keir nodded, his hand instinctively moving to his rumbling stomach.

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel it. I wish we had something to eat."

Mel chuckled lightly.

"Maybe we should try those worms. I hear they're popular with the girls in town."

Keir managed a weak smile. "Are you serious? I'd rather starve."

Mel's smile slowly faded, a serious look making its way onto his young face.

"I know what starving feels like. I'd rather eat those worms than go through it again."

Keir, shocked by the abrupt change in Mel's tone of voice, hesitated before speaking.

"…Your life seems…different from mine. I've always had food waiting at home for me."

Mel reminisced on his life, "Yeah, it's different."

'I guess I just wasn't as lucky as you,' he thought.

"But it's my life, and I wouldn't give up my past for anything."

Keir remained silent, not knowing how to respond.

After a few more minutes of silence had passed by, he asked, "Is life that difficult for everyone at the orphanage?"

Mel raised an eyebrow, surprised that Keir was acting like he cared.

"Pretty much. I can't speak for the other orphanages in town, but everyone at ours has it rough in their own way. It's normal."

Keir was quiet again, but Mel thought he could hear the boy crying.

"I-I'm sorry Mel. We were just messing around. We didn't…I didn't know h-"

"Stop there."

Mel cut him off.

"I don't need your apology. I don't want your apology."

"You can apologize to Leora after we get out of this."

"What I need" he continued, "is for your help in getting us out of here alive."

Mel stood up, not wanting to talk about his 'unfortunate' situation anymore.

"And that seems unlikely if you keep being a crybaby."

He almost spat the last words, the anger behind them surprising him.

'I need to calm down.' He thought to himself.

'What's the use of insulting him right now?'

Keir sniffed and wiped the tear streaks from his face.

"Alright," he said, "if we make it out of here, dessert's on me."

That got Mel's attention.

Dessert was an exceedingly rare treat at the orphanage.

He had once had a bite of chocolate, just a nibble that all the kids shared together.

The priest had somehow gotten his hands on it. Heaven knows how, but he did.

Mel could remember the sweet taste, how the chocolate had melted in his mouth.

He smiled, "You have a deal."

***

It wasn't long before they had returned to the side of the river.

Looking for the entrance they had fallen into had been a fruitless effort, but that didn't mean they would stop trying to get out.

Not yet at least.

Hunger hadn't touched Mel yet, but that was to be expected. He was used to going a few days without food.

Keir on the other hand wasn't faring as well.

They had started optimistically, moving downstream instead of up.

It had seemed like the correct (and only) option.

They passed the time by talking about their brief pasts and current interests.

Surprisingly, they both liked similar things:

Good food, lots of sleep, running in the wind, when the traveling performers came to town, and so forth.

Mel hadn't expected to relate so much to Keir. He had even caught himself thinking that maybe he wasn't so different from the other kids after all.

That thought was quickly squashed though.

How could Mel forget all the hardships he had endured, the trials that set him apart from the other town kids who lived in relative comfort?

They hadn't witnessed the grim dance of starvation, watching loved ones wither away in the biting cold, their breath visible in the air like fleeting ghosts.

Each harsh winter night, Mel had huddled under ragged blankets, listening to the eerie howl of the wind, a constant reminder of nature's indifference to his suffering.

They hadn't felt the sharp pangs of hunger stabbing through their bellies, each ache a relentless reminder of scarcity.

Even in the depths of hunger, Mel had shared the last of his meager food with others, driven by a sense of desperation and futility. Would they have done the same?

The memory of those shared morsels lingered, a testament to the harsh realities that shaped his existence.

Yes, Mel liked the same things as Keir—who wouldn't find solace in shared interests?

The thrill of racing through narrow alleys, the whispered secrets in the hidden corners of town.

Yet beneath the surface, their worlds were vastly different, shaped by experiences that Keir could scarcely fathom.

The walls Mel had put between himself and others could not be broken so easily…could they?

Keir eventually stopped trying to bring up new topics of conversation, too tired to waste energy on small talk.

So, they kept walking, occasionally tripping and stumbling on the rocks beneath them.

After one particularly painful fall, Mel stopped.

"Enough", He sighed.

Keir collapsed in relief. He had often found himself wondering how the scrawny boy ahead of him had kept moving. Where had Mel found the strength?

Or was it Keir who was weak?

"Let's rest for the night."

'It's got to be night by now, right?'