Eleutherian instructed the Guardian to make Eli comfortable and to show them around. Then, they asked if they could speak with Loren and I alone. The Guardian reached out their hand to invite Eli to follow them, but instead the young boy held the robot’s hand in friendship, as they walked side by side into the city’s silent interiors.
Eleutherian summoned the rings, as the breeze blustered momentary around us. We descended to the fountain by the long waterway, next to the statues of the Pegasi. After the rings dissolved, the gentle cascading sound of water became present from the fountain, as Eleutherian began to speak to us. They thanked us sincerely for our efforts to convince the boy to come here. It would be something they would never forget. Eleutherian said they were pleased Loren and I were reunited again and hoped it would remain that way this time. They plucked some Noon fruit from the tree beside them and handed us each a piece.
Eleutherian invited us to stay and revealed another secret about the planet. Everyone who lived here aged very slowly, because of the sunlight and the atmosphere. It preserved the inhabitants with a unique quality found nowhere else in the universe. This is why the place had to remain a secret to others. If we stayed, we would live to be as old as Eleutherian. They wanted us to become guardians in time too; continuing the tradition of the Medea. Loren’s Priisium technology was too important to be left in the wrong hands. There was enough time to teach all of us, before Eleutherian’s eventual demise. Besides, they had grown very fond of us both and the place would seem rather empty if we were not here. The fountain bubbled and trickled beneath the Pegasi’s statues, as I nodded my acceptance, along with Loren that we decided to stay. Eleutherian outstretched their arms with appreciation.
Loren and I spent the rest of the day alone. The essence of renewal blossomed in the air, wherever we wandered. The hours passed by without notice and even the sun seemed to loiter longer in the sky more than the other days I remembered here before.
In the coming weeks, Eleutherian began to teach Eli the secrets of the Medea. They even let us in on a few. The Guardian became a great friend of the young boy, often playing with them in the meadows or going fishing on the lake some days. I still wondered how I ended up here to begin with, but eventually I did not let it bother me anymore.
On the first day of the new millennium, we all stood next to the fountain together, waiting for the first light to peek out from the sky. It was an intrinsic moment as the sun edged its way higher, bringing the beginning of a new era with it. My days at last, held great purpose and meaning; none were ever wasted again. My love for Loren would continue on, as too would the steps of Eleutherian; long into tomorrow and beyond.
The Steps Of Eleutherian Page 5