C4 Chapter 4

"Now, he will take forever to have him here."

He looked. The view was plain aside for the beaten sepulchres washed by the rage of rain and insane sun. The strength was odd and if he had no idea of the fact that the tombs were carved from rocks, he probably would had said that the sepulchres would collapse the next day.

He had been waiting for Ja Lia. He had looked and tiptoed for all he cared. There was nothing to show for. He wasn't even in the spotlight. Probably he had even forgotten that they would be meeting or he might be hanging out with some ladies. He of course was so given to ladies.

The tongue of the sun was latching on him. He wished he could hide somewhere. He was afraid of entering one of the sepulchres. He could never cope with the fear of a ghost appearing to him. He believed in the concept of ghosts and he did believe strongly that they do exist and could visit who they wish to.

He had heard the stories of people visited by ghosts. Though most of them seemed to be pleasant as they get acquainted and get blessed by the ghosts. But some of them were haunted too. Since having a ghost visit you is two-sided, he would never settle for it. He didn't need it. The wrong coin always fall to him.

He decided to seat on one of the tomb stones. At the edge of the craft. Almost all the tombs there had an epitaph etched in them. He wishes that when he did die that he would have some people write some super pleasant in his remembrance.

He hadn't been the evil one all day. He had his odd sides and the good one too. Well, as the case may be, the good side was one and the remaining many. He could never get a good review like a bad book.

He tried to read one of the epitaphs written on one of the gravestones. He couldn't make an apt meaning of it. The message had been mixed up by the washing of the rains. The craftsman who had etched the epitaph was some bad luck. He hoped that such wouldn't be the one to write his too if ever he would be lucky enough to have one. He turned to the next one and read from it.

"So, he live ere life leaved

and taught death to grief."

What crazy couplet was that. He couldn't even make meaning of it. He read it the second time. He wasn't so good at the reading business. Ja Lia was better than he was.

He read the text again, he couldn't decode. He looked at the name above the the epitaph, he couldn't even pronounce it. The person who was buried was definitely one of the Greek men who came to Rome for some businesses. Such things were not scars in their dealings.

Many Greek were good with the English language. They loved to learn by heart and did have several scholars who had helped himself and Vulcan learn so much about the gods and goddesses of several lands and how they work.

Majority of the people who were living at Rome at that moment were immigrants. Including himself and his two brothers. They were Mandarins but left China because of the curse sucked by the rage of their father, Lao Tzu.

They had learnt to survive all by themselves and most times they had done it illicitly. Though none of them was as skilled and diversified as Ja Lia.

He remembered when he talked him into doing the odd businesses. He helped him trained his fingers to be light and he could even lift a mountain without the consent and without stirring the earth. Ja Lia was literally the best amongst them at the moment.

Yung hou, the last child amongst them had been away for awhile. He probably was learning. All of them loved that but that was not enough. Education was not what twas. Twas just some stereotype which had been painted too real. It only mimick, doesn't create. He had lived to let time teach him that.

If twere Education, he should have a seeming stance and should be able to get whatever he wanted, regarding the value of informations he did have stocked up in his mental ken. Even if he would have his way, he would had loved to talk his youngest brother out studying. He could give his time to so many other things and by time he would Iive to reap it while those who worshiped education would come to him to seek to be employed. But he could never do that. He was way too deep into the mess. Time should teach him too.

Ja Lia was the only one who had chosen the other path. His education was rather different. While he had studied the relationship between plants and the rocks, Vulcan had studied the lives of Gladiators and how build a large fort without breaking. That is, how to lose a Gladiator and win a thousand in exchange.

When the fellow had picked that up, it had seemed like more a mirage but he knew that he probably had a reason for it. There were only few people in Rome at that moment who loved the concept of gladiating. He could never be patient to sit a match through.

A bird flew past him. He traced it with his eyes as it was swallowed by the drooling clouds. Birds were super ridiculous over there. They seemed to be what they were not. A sane person might be considered insane owed to what a bird had made of such. Imagine who would not sleep in his house anymore because at a specific time in the night, multitudinous Ravens would make for his house and fight their ways into the room. But before the morning, before the lark of the morn would be heard, they would had left.

He quit thinking. He could see Ja Lia coming. He was bare. Like empty. His head was dancing on his neck as though twas going to fall. He was kinda skeptical if they would or not.

He let his worries eat up the thought as the fellow dragged by. His robe was dirty. Didn't he check out before sliding himself through it? Seemed more like some voodoo had recently been worked on him because he wasn't looking Lia. He was looking like some specimen which had been marred by eerie experiments.

"Where is the helmet?"

Lia sighed. He didn't know what to say to him. He wanted to ask him a question but he didn't have the helmet. He knew that his brother wouldn't want to hear any other thing immediately he realized that the helmet was not present.

He thought of what to say. He thought for naught. His brain seemed not to be working. Twas more like some strays of instinct. He got to where he was sitting. He smiled firstly. Nope! Since when did he start smiling while dealing with his brother. Twas more like frowning throughout the whole deal.

"Do you what Nymphs?"

His brother seemed displeased. He hated having a question for a question. But there was something strange. He hadn't seen his brother that serious over a topic in a while. Probably he had a reason for it.

He tried to sweep the memories of Nymphs he had had. He had never had anyone which was direct. While studying the intensity of plant and its relationship with the rock, he had discovered some spiritual stances which were knitted to it. Things which could never be ignored but which were. He wished all would know.

"Why did you ask?"

With the expression that Ja Lia was wearing, he could tell that he was trying to hide something. Twas so obvious. Lia wasn't best of a liar. He could be smooth with words, but never the expression. That did militate against him.

Ja Lia walked closer to him and requested he adjust a little bit this he might seat beside h too. He had been walking. Like he had walked and walked that his legs were beginning to curse him. He wished that he could soothe them. That was not even really urgent.

What lie was he going to say to his brother. That was the prime of the day. He couldn't dismiss it. He spoke:

"I wanna start a little bit of a research on it. Might have something to do on it in the nearest future."

His brother sniffed. There seemed to be something itching his nose. He had been trying to pull it out all along but twas too tiny. And sniffing had just complicated the who thing. He was supposed to sneeze. Hell of a misconception.

What he sniffed seemed to had fought its way up his skull to his mental horizon. He guessed he could deal with that. He had been there before.

"If it's a research work, then go for it. What's the point in telling you when you'll still figure."

Ja Lia wanted to give up. He knew that he could never play his brother in such manner. He would need to come out clean. No! He would play more games before hitting the deal.

"This is a surface work. Gathering data for now. Like an introduction into the whole thing."

He felt like he had bruised his brothers bone. He knew he could never say anything to object anymore.

"Oh! I see."

Yup! That was it. He couldn't had said more than that. Lia then awaited a response on who the Nymph is. But the face of his brother folded into a thin smirk. He was familiar with that. That meant that he hadn't kowtowed. How invincible his instinct was. He couldn't be too sure though.

His brother spoke again:

"Few metres away from here, there are some men in some huts who offer scrolls for introducing a research work. Name it, no research topic you have is missing there. Like I wonder how possible it is for them to generate so much a data at a go."

Ja Lia laughed. What a crazy brother he had indeed. He would never give in to defeat. He had never and wouldn't start to.

He would have to plead his reply:

"Jimin, you win. Please say."

Jimin stood from the gravestone and took few steps forward. Probably that was to flex his limbs. The remonstrating veins cursed the muscles for obstructing their path. How demeaning that was.

He looked into the Ninny's tomb and turned to Ja Lia again. Probably he was trying to break barriers and understand his fear to be able to tame it.

"Nymphs are beautiful ladies. Extraordinarily beautiful ones."

He started taking dramatic steps towards Ja Lia. Few steps away from him, he halted and continued in akimbo:

"Be sure, this ladies are spiritual and are known for gracefully being blessed with tits and delicate forms. They live majorly in waters, but could live on land too. If they are not in waters, they are in grottos..."

Ja Lia cut in,

"What are grottos?"

Jimin looked away. He caught the sight of a lady walking away in the rear of the site. He couldn't be sure if he was seeing clearly. He restored his gaze on Lia and continued:

"These are small caves which are located beside waters. When I mean waters, I mean, lakes, streams, brooks, sometimes rills too."

Ja Lia nodded. He seemed satisfied, but Jimin wasn't.

"They live in woods and in the sea too. And they love sex a lot. When they come in contact with a human, they come with trouble and grace. One could be greater than the other."

He stopped talking. He seemed to be tired. Then he opted for:

"Where is the helmet?"

Ja Lia smiled and mused:

"I left it at home. Will go and bring it."

"From where are you coming?"

"Home?"

Jimin felt like punching his kid bro in the face. What the heck was that. He didn't even know what to say.

"Go and get it."

Ja Lia stood and hastened down the path that led outta the site. Jimin called:

"Wait, let's go together."

He didn't. He wanted to make a flash of himself. Jimin would have to walk-run to catch up with it him or just use his discretion.

He saw the lady again, but couldn't ignore at that time. He should say hello to her.