The Children of Calm by J Michael Smith

followed Rylek’s gaze and then squeezed his hand. Fire shot up his arm. “Why don’t you join us later?” she said.
    “Yeah, I think I will.”
    Lana began to walk away from them. “Okay,” she said, “but be at Aunt Penni’s by five, alright? She said she has something special planned.”
    “Yeah, sure,” Rylek said.
    Selenor stayed behind for a minute. Rylek’s arm was still tingling. She looked at him and said, “Tresten’s not handling this very well. I can’t get him to talk to me. He’s…hiding himself again.”
    Rylek brought himself to look into her eyes. They were so large, and the silver flecks shone brightly in the sun. “I’ll do what I can,” he said.
    “I know you will,” she said, smiling. “And that’s why you’re my hero.” She took his hand again and gave it another squeeze, then hurried along to walk with Lana.
    Rylek stood, watching her leave. The world had paused, and there was an exceedingly high amount of light. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Somehow his heart was pounding in his throat and his stomach.
    Hero .
    She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and he watched it bounce in eternal slow motion as she walked away.
    Hero .
    He kept rubbing his fingers on the hand she had squeezed in an attempt to drive her essence into his skin.
    Snap out of it, Hero!
    The world began moving in real time again, and he remembered Tresten sitting under the tree. Smiling, and with a slight bounce in his step, Rylek made his way over to him. It looked like Tresten had not moved since Rylek last looked at him. He sat next to him and did not say anything. Tresten did not offer any conversation either.
    They sat in silence for nearly an hour as the occasional person walked by them. It was quiet in this part of the village during this time of year since school was not in session. The Hall of Knowledge was usually bustling with the noises and activities of children, but no other person entered while Rylek and Tresten sat quietly under the tree.
    The village bell announced another hour had passed. Still they sat in silence as a few children began to play nearby. Rylek smiled as he watched them chase each other around in circles and laugh riotously as they got dizzy. He then found himself envying their innocence and naivety. It did not seem like it was that long ago since it was he and Tresten running up and down the streets without a care. Now he felt heavy and tired. He could only imagine how Tresten must have been feeling.
    With his thoughts back on Tresten, Rylek turned to look at him. He was staring in the direction of the boys, but Rylek did not think he was watching them. Tresten was lost in the realm of his own thoughts, slowly processing what Celek had told him and Selenor. Rylek knew to leave him be until he was ready to talk. His presence was all Tresten needed for the time.
    The bell rang out again: four o’clock. Rylek was stretched out on his back, looking up into the branches of the tree. The children had left sometime earlier, and he was thankful they had not bothered Tresten and him. The sun was going down, and the air was growing cooler. The only sound to be heard was the branches swaying in the breeze. Tresten had not moved his body since Rylek joined him. He sat as still as a stone sentinel, casting a protective watch down the street towards the lake. Rylek, on the other hand, was getting sore. He was ready to stand.
    To keep his mind off his discomfort, he thought back to their tenth birthday. Lana and Selenor had slept over at his parents’ house while he and Tresten had stayed at Penephoni’s. The boys had agreed to sneak out in the middle of the night for their very first time. Rylek smiled as he remembered that they had needed their collective strength just to open the window in Tresten’s room. What a thrill it had been to run around the streets in the shadows, dodging old Ronas as he was on duty that night patrolling the village! They had eventually made