Silence took over the Island as every creature went back to dens, trees, and underwater. You could hear the crickets singing and the wind howling. Amid the wintry air and beneath the noble starry-black, Barry shifted the pillow from between his thighs to under his head. He wrapped the blanket around him a little tighter.

Barry snuck in a deep breath and rubbed his eyes before opening them. His eyes quickly adjusted in the dim-lit. It was too quiet except for the crickets’ noise coming now and then. He sat up on the bed and stretched his arms.

‘This might just be the best sleep I’ve ever had…?’ He thought, but it sounded more like a question.

How can this be his best sleep when he wasn’t even in his bed or in his house? Better yet, how can he have the best rest of his life when he wasn’t even in the same country or planet? As far as he was concerned but he couldn’t help himself but feel relaxed and light-weighted.

“How long was I asleep?” he mumbled, only to be greeted by silence.

Barry looked around—Freya wasn’t in the hut. He couldn’t remember the last conversation he had with her. Looking back at where Freya was before he fell asleep, his gaze followed a window covered with wood planks. From the tiny holes, he could see yellow light coming in.

He jumped off the bed to peek outside. The cold hut sent shivers down his spine as he tiptoed near the window. He couldn’t see much except for darkness and the little yellow light that seemed to be dancing. Curious, he slipped into his boots and stepped outside before wrapping his body with a jacket laid on the floor.

“Hello?” He whispered cautiously, making sure not to attract anything other than the only human other than him.

A cold breeze slapped Barry’s body as he hissed to himself. Quickly, he placed his hands around his mouth and blew air to keep his hands warm. He could feel his nose turning red and eyes twitching as the cold breeze got stronger.

“Freya!” this time, his voice was just above his normal tone.

The yellow dancing light flashed before his eyes, causing him to stumble two-three steps behind. Balancing himself, he looked right in front of him, and within seconds, his jaw dropped. The fireflies flew above him like they were carried in unfelt currents. It looked beautiful—majestic even. He had never witnessed anything so pleasant – so in sync. Just to look at them gave him to ground a buzz of excitement, as if these tiny glimmers of light had electrified the Island’s night.

“Barry?” He heard Freya’s voice from behind him. He spun around and saw her standing with a duvet of feathers around her, looking at him.

“Hey, where were you?” Barry asked, hugging his blanket tighter.

“Behind the house. C’mon, I lit up a fire.” She replied and started walking, without looking if he was following her, but of course, he was.

Stood in a muddy field underneath the night sky was a giant bonfire. They walked near the bonfire, crushing the fallen, crisp leaves.

Shivering, Barry got closer to the fire and sat on the ground beside Freya. She was almost buried within her duvet. She looked cozy and comfortable. Gentle drops of water tap on Barry’s head, but he didn’t seem to mind it. He was too mesmerized by the yellow and orange flames that danced and turned into thick, grey smoke billowing into the air.

It almost looked like the flames was dancing in rhythm—dancing for them.

The galaxy above spun in the ever-long time of the divine, observing the motions of lifeforms upon planets that had entirely different notions of time and reality.

He couldn’t pick one color out of the pleasant, shining galaxy above him—blue, white, red, at times purple, or simply just a beautiful, breathtaking mixture of colors.

Freya took a deep breath, and Barry tore his gaze from the sky to cast a look at her. He hadn’t noticed how clear her skin was. The flames reflected on her face, giving her a tint of a yellow-orange look.

An illuminous inferno reflected in her icy blue eyes, which fell spellbound to the intoxicating but beautiful blaze in front of her.

The fire was getting dull, and both of them had noticed. Freya was about to stand up to toss another piece of wood in the fire, but before she could get up, Barry spoke,

“Do you want me to…” he didn’t end his sentence. He didn’t have to, she understood.

Freya parted her lips to say something, but instead, she nodded. It was weird for her to have someone around her now. She was used to not having company and doing things on her own but Barry made her feel all sorts of emotions she didn’t even know existed.

Barry tossed logs of wood into the bonfire, and it added fuel to the fire as the flames rose higher than before. The heat became more intense, and Freya took off her duvet from her shoulders and covered her feet only.

He did the same.

She noticed.

Freya smiled and shook her head, “Why do you follow everything I do?”

“Well, for starters,” Barry shifted his body towards her now, “I have zero clue where I am.”

“Mystiriódis.”

“Yes, but like,” He ran a hand through his hair, finding the right words, “Where is this? In America?”

“America?” Judging from her facial expression, he was sure Freya had no idea of what and where America is.

“Anyway, that doesn’t matter,” He said. There was no point in asking where the Island was. “Is there anybody that lives with you?”

She shook her head.

They fell in silence before she spoke, almost laughing, “Why is your nose red?”

“What?” Barry replied, burying his cold, red, and runny nose into the collar of his shirt.

“Yes. It is red. Like an apple.” She covered her mouth as she laughed, and Barry noticed dimples on both her cheeks.

“It gets red when I get cold,” he said, smiling. “You’re not cold?”

Freya shook her head again. She brought up her knees to hug her chest and placed her head on the knees as her gaze fell back to the bonfire.

Barry could feel his throat getting dry, so he stood up to drink water.

He was a few steps away from the main door. Suddenly, a deer jumped in front of him out of nowhere. Jumping a few feet back, Barry got a hold of his feet again and looked at the deer. The deer looked magical, to say the least. Barry thought he was hallucinating because the deer in front of him was glowing. The deer seemed completely normal, but the subtle white glow made it looked magical. Dumfounded, Barry took a few steps near the deer. It was hard for him to believe his eyes.

“Shh!” He heard Freya whisper and turned around.

Freya stood a few feet away from him and the deer. She was covering herself by the edge of the house, motioning for him to come near her, quietly. Barry started tiptoeing to her and stood behind her. Their gaze followed the deer as he walked inside the house.

Barry’s eyes grew wide as he looked at the deer which walked right into the house, and Freya made little to no effort to stop the deer.

“Wait wha—”

“Shh.” Freya cut Barry off.

“It went inside!”

“Look at the sky,” Freya whispered, her eyes fixated on the sky.

He looked up as well. All he could see was a black sky and loads of stars. Each star shone brighter than the previous one. It looked mesmerizing, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the Island. He had already looked at the sky a couple of hundred times ever since he woke up. He waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

“What is it?” Barry asked, curious he might be missing on something.

“Five seconds.” She whispered without tearing her gaze from the sky.

He could see in her eyes how impatient she was for this ‘thing’ to happen. As if she has looked forward to it for so long that she was afraid to miss even a second of it.

“Now.” She whispered.

He looked up to see a silent spark explode into a thousand extraordinary particles of light and conquering the sky. Explosions of neon colors excite the twilight sky like a paint palette splashed all across the black sky. Gold streaks burst into the black canvas sky like a luxury bottle of Moet champagne being popped open and exploding in celebration. Shades of blue, red, green, pink, golden, and every other color took over the sky.

Barry’s lips parted as his eyes reflected the beautiful moment.

He turned his head around to look at Freya, who looked far more mesmerized than him. Her eyes grew wide. She took a few steps to make sure nothing blocks her view. The duvet fell near his feet, but she was least concerned. Barry was sure she hadn’t even noticed when the duvet fell.

It took five minutes for the fireworks to end, and a blanket of silence covered the Island again.

A sad smile appeared on Freya’s face as she bent down to pick the duvet and opened the house’s door. The deer walked out and ran into the forest.

She turned around and started walking towards the bonfire again before stopping near Barry—who looked lost—and said,

“They get scared by the sound.” She pointed towards the direction of the deer.

Barry finally nodded, understanding what’s happening.

“What was that?” he asked, following her to the bonfire and sitting back at their places.

“I’m not sure,” Freya shook her head,

“It is beautiful.”

“They happen every night. As long as I can remember, I’ve seen them every night.” She smiled proudly.

“They look like fireworks; only silence.” He smiled, remembering his life back in his hometown. Every New Year’s, he would run-up to his roof and witness every firework.

“Fireworks?” Freya repeated and shook her head, “Every day, many animals die here. Big animals feed on the smaller animals. Many small animals die. And I like to think,” She licked her lips, “The sky turns into shades of blue, red, pink and purple as the soul of those animals reach the…” she shut her mouth suddenly as she realized how childish she sounds.

“Reach the sky?” Barry completed her sentence, assuring her she doesn’t sound childish,

“Yeah.” She nodded, looking away.

“That’s the most beautiful theory I’ve heard.” He smiled, and Freya looked back shocked before a smile appeared on her face,

“Really?”

Barry nodded his head.

“Have you seen the big place in the middle of the Island?” He asked, and Freya nodded.

“Do you want to go there tomorrow?” She asked, biting her lip, not meeting his eye.

His eyes fixated on her, but he looked away before he replies,

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

And for a second, just for a second, Barry could feel her eyes on him.