Chapter 1: Into the Sky

“You said you’re done with the mural.”

“We are.”

“Then…what is this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Someone vandalizes our work.”

She looked at him as he casually said those. “You’re so chill about this.”

He looks back at her and says, “You’re so mad about this.”

She faces him with her whole body. “Isn’t that the normal reaction? You’ve been working on this for days only to be vandalized.” 

He let out a heavy sigh. “Does anger solve anything? I can only hope to catch the culprit so it won’t be a waste when redoing this.”

“You—”

“Cyan, Nikaella,” they both turn their heads to look at the person who just arrived.

“Oh, wow,” he says, slowing down as he nears them and sees the vandalized mural. “It was a masterpiece yesterday and now it's...”

“Looks trash?” Cyan finishes his friend's sentence.

“Yeah. Who did this?” 

"We don't know. Some bully-wannabe, I guess," Nikaella said irritably.

"Think you can mend this?" Nickle ignored his sister's remark and focus and his question to Cyan.

"It's unmendable. I need to start from the beginning." 

"What—" Before Nikaella could even question him, Cyan threw the bucket of white paint on the mural. Nikaella's mouth hangs open as she stares at the once-beautiful mural; it's now dripping with white paint.

"You didn't even wait for the others to discuss what to do!" Nikaella eventually said. Cyan is now busy spreading the white paint using roller paint brush.

"What for? I'm the one who work on this. They're busy eating and chatting the entire time." Nikaella looks at Nickle. He just shrugs his shoulder as an answer.

Nikaella let out a heavy sigh. 'The'yre already seniors and still do this?' she thought. She didn't bother saying it out loud this time. Instead, she grabbed the roller paint that was lying on the ground. Her brother saw her and copied what she did. 

They both join Cyan in spreading the white paint to cover the vandalized mural.  

"It was a great green pasture mural. What a waste!" Nikaella mumbled. 

Cyan didn't react, even though he heard her. But his mind went somewhere after hearing what she said. 

"I imagine myself walking slowly on a green field. The wind blows every grass and every plant it passes. It's quiet, but the silence isn't deafening. It is peaceful and relaxing, and it makes me stay there forever." 

"Forever?" he glance at his lover walking on the other side of the road. He smiles at him. 

"With you...forever." His lover blushes. He averted his gaze while clearing his throat. 

It's been three years since they confessed their feelings to one another. But despite the hours, days, months, and years that they spent together, their feelings remained the same. 

If there's one thing they wish to change...it's the place they live in.

"Marco!" the smiles they didn't notice they have fell and disappeared. They look back on the person who called one of them. 

"Father is looking for you," he said while looking at Marco, his brother. He didn't bother glancing at his brother's lover or even greeting him. 

The lovers—secret lovers—looks into each other's eyes before nodding their heads at one another. No words need. It wasn't the first time afterall. Marco took one last look at his lover before quietly following his brother. 

On the other hand, his lover remains in the same spot where he was earlier. He didn't bother moving an inch until he no longer saw the siblings.

He looks up at the sky. It's a clear blue sky. There aren't enough clouds to block the sunlight. 

"If I can't find the peace that I want here, can I find it there? In the sky?" 

Those were mere thoughts of someone suppressing his feelings. 

But those thoughts soon became reality. 

"If I'd only known sooner."

"What?" Cyan snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Nikaella's voice. "What did you say?" 

He didn't bother looking and just simply answered, "Nothing." 

His memories, thoughts, and feelings aren't something he ever wants to share with people in this time. None of the people he trusted understood him before, and he's sure none of the people now will still understand him. 

Then or now, people remained the same. They'll never understand something that's not the norm. 

They continued what they're doing in silence. A few minutes later, the silence turned into a clatter. Cyan and Nikaella didn't bother glancing at the cause of the noise. It is Nickle who stop what he's doing and looks at the people who arrived.

"What the hell?! What are you doing?!" 

Before one of them could even reach Cyan, Nickle blocked him. "It was vandalized. Unmendable. The last resort is to start over." 

"What?! Vandalized? Restart?! Are you kidding me?! It took us a week to finish that mural! The deadline for that is in three days!" 

Nickle remained calm despite the other raising his voice. "The more you talk and complaint, the more time is being wasted." 

The other's who just arrived and heard the situation started voicing out their thoughts. "Still, restarting? We're too tired!"

"And what of the materials? Are we going to spend more money on this?"

"Free work. Free art. Everything about this work is free. But every expenses were shouldered by us." 

Despite his respectful smile, Nickle is starting to get irritated with everything that they're saying.

"Even you guys are free." That one sentence shut everyone up. Everyone turn and looks at Cyan who's not even looking at them. He and Nikaella are still busy covering the vandalized mural. 

"Freeloaders," he simply added. 

"What?!" Everyone started making noises and raising their voices over what Cyan said.

"Is it a lie?" This time it's Nikaella who speaks. She stops and puts down the roller she's holding. She looks at where everyone is and says, "Look at me in the eyes and say if it's a lie." 

"You guys aren't angry because the mural was vandalized, nor because of the wasted materials used. You are angry because you'll have to stay here for more days, doing nothing while Cyan works his butt off finishing the task." 

Someone tried to talk but was immediately shut down by Nikaella's overpowering voice. "You should be thankful; you have a way to salvage your final grades. If it wasn't vandalized and endorsed to the professor, none of you will pass except Cyan, since he did all the work."

"Now either do your share to at least get a decent grade or continue your blabbering and get an F!" Everyone in the group, except Nickle, exchanges gazes before slowly starting to move. Nikaella didn't bother adding more and instead moved out of the way to let them do their job.

"I can't believe you're there junior." Nickle said as Nikaella stand besides him.

"I can't believe they're my seniors. Seriously? They reach this grade with that kind of attitude?" 

Hours passed. Surprisingly, the mural is progressing fast and steady. They ended the day's task with almost half of the mural done.

"See? If they just help from the beginning, you'd have it finish days ago," Nikaella commented while cleaning up the tools that wasn't put away by the members who left.

Cyan walks toward Nickle and Nikaella, "Thanks." He handed a sliced cake in a pack to each of them. 

"Thanks!" the siblings said happily. They both love sweets.

As they're about to get their personal things, someone suddenly arrive.

"Oh? I thought this mural was already finished. Did you redo it?" 

Hearing that familiar voice makes Cyan stop on his track. The siblings exchange word with the person who just arrived but Cyan can't hear what they're saying.

He slowly looked around and met the eyes of the owner of the familiar voice. He smiled at him. "Hey! Are you the artist of this? This green pasture is really great!" 

His heart is beating wildly. It's the same beat he felt before. The beat that he hears whenever he is near. 

Is it just a pure coincidence? The owner of the familiar voice has the same black, almond-shaped eyes, a pointy nose, and pale lips. 

It's exactly the same. Same voice and face...as his lover. His lover from the distant past.