“Eat first, Bryan, so your stomach can have something,” said Nicholas’s mother to his friend, who had been crying since this morning. Even after his father was buried, he still could not stop crying.
Bryan's crying did not disturb anyone because he was almost silent and just crying. Nicholas approached his mother and whispered, “Let me.” His mother nodded and sighed before going inside their house.
When Nicholas could no longer see his mother’s back, he looked back at his friend, who was holding a cigarette and was about to light it when Nicholas quickly stopped him.
Bryan looked up at his friend’s face. “Why?” he asked, surprised as if he did not know he had done something wrong.
“You know that’s bad for your body, right? Where did you get that?” Nicholas asked back. Bryan looked at the cigarette he was holding and seemed to understand what his friend said. He threw it on the ground and stepped on it.
Nicholas stood up straight and reached into his pants pocket. “Let’s go to the river.” As soon as he said that, Bryan stood up and started walking to the river, with Nicholas following him.
They both sat on a big rock and enjoyed the cool breeze and the song of the birds, mixed with the sound of the flowing river.
When Nicholas closed his eyes, he saw the face of a princess, looking worried about something.
Nicholas furrowed his brow and looked at the girl's face. It looked like she was about to cry and wanted to say something, but something was stopping her, so her mouth was covered. Tears began to fall down her smooth face.
Nicholas suddenly opened his eyes and saw Bryan eating some fruits, and he didn’t know where he got them.
Nicholas was just leaning against the rock and did not expect to fall asleep there. Bryan must have noticed Nicholas moving, so he looked at him and saw the messy face of his friend.
“Do you want some?” Bryan offered an apple to Nicholas, who hesitated to accept it. But in the end, he took it and sat up straight.
“How long did I sleep, buddy?” Nicholas asked as he stood up and went to the river to rinse his mouth. “Just one hour, buddy,” Bryan replied while biting into the apple.
Nicholas returned to sit beside his friend and started eating. “Are you okay?” Nicholas asked. Bryan sighed at Nicholas's question. “No, but… I will be okay,” he said. Nicholas just nodded and patted Bryan’s back.
...
“I have to go to town, Father,” said the princess to her father, who just nodded and said, “Be careful, my child. Come back soon,” while waving goodbye.
“If my guess is right, I will find that soul now… maybe it has returned to its true body.” The princess’s maid hesitated to speak because of what she said, but she eventually spoke when the princess raised her eyebrows.
“P-princess… th-this kind of thing isn’t real,” the maid stammered, making the princess frown.
“What isn’t real? The book says this kind of thing can happen to a person,” the princess confidently said, and the maid slowly nodded. She had no choice because the princess was really determined.
The journey to the town took a long time, so the princess fell asleep in their carriage. “Princess, princess,” the maid gently called, opening the princess’s eyes. She saw her maid's face. “We are here, princess.”
As soon as the maid said that, the princess sat up straight and looked out the carriage window. She saw horse-drawn carriages with people on them and vendors selling fish and other things along the road.
The maid handed the princess a facemask so she wouldn’t be recognized by the people. The princess's maid didn’t wear a disguise because no one would recognize her.
The carriage moved slowly to avoid hitting people or horses. There were many people today because the festival was coming soon, and everyone in the town was preparing and shopping for what they needed for the festival.
...
When they reached their destination, the maid adjusted the princess’s clothes and facemask before getting out of the carriage.
What she liked most about this town was that people were not nosy, and everyone had their own things to do, or as people say, “Mind your own business.” The people here were also kind and helped each other.
But the princess had to focus on her mission to find the soul that had joined the prince's body.