There's a strange kind of silence when someone loud is missing.
Aron had only been in my life for two years, but when he left for the Guild, the village suddenly felt... quieter. Colder. Less ridiculous.
I still remember the morning he left. He didn't say anything grand or noble. Just stuffed a loaf of bread in his satchel, grabbed his wooden sword (which was now wrapped in cloth like it was legendary), and grinned.
"No tears, okay?" he said to me, flicking my forehead.
I hadn't cried. Not then.
I only smiled back and said, "Don't trip on the way there."
He tripped five steps out of the gate.
---
The house felt quieter without him.
It wasn't like Aron made that much noise—at least, not more than Ron did crashing into things or yelling over burnt stew—but his absence echoed all the same. The clang of his wooden sword on the fence, the way he tripped over his own feet while trying to be heroic, even his rambling dreams about slaying the Demon King—they'd all become part of their daily rhythm.
Now he was gone, off chasing monsters and quests, a real adventurer.
Ariel sat under the old fig tree, legs tucked beneath her and a thread of mana dancing in her palm. She didn't need to focus much—it came naturally, like breathing. A small glowing orb hovered just above her hand before fading away with a puff of light.
"Show off," Ron muttered, sitting beside her with a yawn. "If only they let twelve-year-olds into the Guild, you'd probably be a captain by now."
Ariel smirked. "And yet, here I am, patching up your bruises every time you spar."
He laughed, nudging her shoulder. "Fair."
They sat in silence for a moment, the wind rustling the branches above.
"I miss him," she said suddenly.
Ron didn't have to ask who. He just nodded. "Yeah. Me too."
"He's clumsy. Foolish. Never thinks twice. He'll probably trip into a dragon's mouth one day," she said, voice soft but smiling. "But when he's around, the world doesn't feel so... heavy."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna start writing love poems, are you?"
She shoved him. "Shut up."
They both laughed, but her eyes stayed on the horizon, where the sky blushed with the colors of sunset. "He believes in everything. In being a hero, in slaying the Demon King. And somehow, that belief rubs off on you. Makes you believe too."
Ron crossed his arms, more serious now. "We'll catch up to him soon."
She nodded. "And when we do... we need to protect that idiot."
He looked at her, surprised. "You think he needs protecting?"
Ariel smiled faintly, gaze sharp. "More than anyone I know."
And in that moment, under the fading sky, with the memory of Aron's clumsy grin fresh in her mind, Ariel made a silent promise. She wouldn't let that light go out—not if she could help it.