23 One year feels like an eternity (1/2)

”Has it really been one year?” Xue'er asked as she emerged from her seclusion and looked towards the beautiful daylight she yearned for.

She was dressed entirely in loose dark gray robes that seemed to be too large for her thin body that was beneath the thick cloth, she had a small canvas bag hanging by the side that held her most needed items.

Although the aura of her body had slightly changed, it became extremely deep and calming, but there was something sinister lurking within it.

”Yes, it has only been twelve months, you came here at the beginning of fall last year and it is fall once again. What, you don't believe me? Take a look at the trees.” Gan Tian Chi said pointing at the nearest tree.

Xue'er looked towards the trees, which were turning golden, orange and red, ready to fall once more. It was the same last year. Xue'er held out her pale hand and a golden orange leaf landed in her palm. She brought the leaf closer to her lips and gave a gentle blow, and watched the leaf go back into the air, getting further and further away from the ground.

”I believe you, it's just that it felt like it has been longer.” She sighed as the leaf disappeared from sight.

”Hmm… How long do you think you spent down there?” Gan Tian Chi asked he was anticipating an answer from her, hoping he would not get disappointed.

”Not sure, it felt like a few centuries.” She said, taking a fresh breath of the fall air that filled her lungs, curbing the sense of longing her body felt.

[It felt like an eternity.]

”Look at how young you are, do you even know what a century feels like?” Gan Tian Chi asked as he laughed at her. He was not disappointed in her answer, in fact, he was proud of her.

Xue'er shook her head seriously, it seemed that she had taken his question to heart and gave a frank answer.

An awkward silence ensued between the two, who was standing in the crevice of a deep valley.

”Ahem.” Gan Tian Chi cleared his throat ”It is normal, it is the way your spirit perceives time, for some may feel like a year, and others, an eternity, it really doesn't matter.” But he was proud of her.

He looked at Xue'er's dark obsidian eyes that held no trace of a child her age. Her gaze was far too mature, overturning the years of experience he accumulated and shattering his beliefs.

It had been a year since she had seen the light of day, since the day she was brought to this underground maze. She never thought that there would be a day when she would be yearning to see the daylight again.

[When she was in the sunlight, she thought she would want to spend a lifetime in the darkness, but now that the sunlight was gone, she wanted to see it again.]