Book 2: Jovita Island

Chapter 3: Fun Funny Clinic

Diamond sat beside an unconscious, traumatized Cosmos, staring at the wide-eyed faces which stared back at her. She grabbed a lock of her curly hair to see that it had indeed turned white like a cloud. The yellow dye was gone. Well, at least it was still long. Ora remembered that Marietta had used a special growing solution to make Diamond's short hair grow long and curly.

But I should have known that the dye would wash out, Ora thought, her stomach tightening. Laugh it off, Ora. Laugh it off.

Thinking quickly, Ora started laughing as genuinely as she could after a near death experience and said, "Look, everyone! If you swim too far out into the ocean, your hair turns white! Lucky for Elvin and Cosmos, they got saved before they lost their luscious dark hair colors!"

Ora didn't care how crazy she sounded. She was desperate, and she kept rolling with the joke.

"I really liked my blonde hair color, but it did kind of blend in with my face. You know? The color of my skin was really close to the color of my hair, but not anymore! Maybe I can get used to this white stuff."

She still chuckled quietly to herself, examining her greyish curls as if they were completely new to her.

"We're not stupid, Ora!" Elvin suddenly shouted. "We know that water doesn't turn your hair white, unless it was already white and covered up with dye!"

"Did you just call me Ora, Elvin?" the girl asked, her smile disappearing.

Elvin widened his dark eyes and took a step back.

"Can someone please help me get Cosmos to a clinic?" Ora asked, calmly and firmly.

Finally, Hank motioned some of his friends to come help him carry the large young man to the clinic in the city.

"Will you get there in time?" Ora asked, worriedly.

"It's not far," Hank mumbled. "He'll be fine."

As they carried Cosmos off the beach, Ora started to follow.

"WAIT!" Elvin screamed, blocking her path. "DIAMOND! This is why you called the king crazy before, isn't it? Because you're Diamond!"

There was no use in denying it. Ora had no choice but to try and reason with Elvin, along with the rest of the once friendly, now threatening crowd. All of them were glaring at her, even Glo who had really seemed happy and cordial until now.

"Yes, Elvin. I'm Diamond the Willow Wanderer," Ora replied, as if it was clearly evident, because it was. "I was the one who stood up to the king when he was crowned. I was the one who challenged him. I was the one who flew into the sky like a coward after he refused my challenge...and I was the one who saved Cosmos from a sea monster just now."

Elvin pursed his lips in uncertainty.

"Why do you hate the king?" El suddenly asked, his eyes glistening, possibly with tears.

Ora thought carefully before she replied. "I don't hate him, Elvin. I just think he's not a very good king."

"Why not?"

"He's been neglecting his kingdom," Ora said. "And he's destroyed the Mirror Gates. He had no right to do that!"

"He destroyed the Mirror Gates because of you!" Glo said, accusingly. "The knights told us. There are wanted posters of you everywhere in the city! The destruction of the Mirror Gates protects us from conspirators and especially you!"

"But I'm not dangerous," Ora assured them, calmly shaking her head.

Noticing the giant sword in her hand, Ora quickly dropped it to the ground.

"We just saw you kill a sea monster!" Glo yelled, pointing to the ocean. "Of course you're dangerous!"

"I killed a sea monster to save your friend! That only makes me dangerous to the sea monsters!" Ora replied, pointing to the place where the sea creatures dwelt.

The Second Islanders had nothing to say to this, but pondered Ora's remark.

"Tell me. Anyone. Why do you like the king?" Ora asked, lifting her hands.

After a long silence, Elvin said, "He's nice..."

"Nice? What has he done that's nice?" Ora asked, sounding annoyed.

"He has our food delivered to our island!" Glo suddenly spoke up, nodding confidently. "He makes sure we have all the resources we need so that we can live a happy life on the Second Island!"

So that's where they get their food, Ora thought.

"The king...delivers your food to this island. From where?" Ora asked.

"We don't know," Glo quickly answered. "But who cares where it comes from! It's healthy and good, and it nourishes us!"

"And, out of curiosity, who told you that the king gives you this food?" Ora asked.

"Well, he himself doesn't bring it. Lindo Que does. That's what Advisor Beatra has told us, and we trust her!" Glo said, as determined as ever.

Lindo Que. He really was the real ruler of the Twelve Islands. Cosmos was right about the king just being his puppet. That reminded Ora that Lindo was probably on the Second Island as well. After all, if the king was here, then his main advisor couldn't be far behind.

"Well, good luck to him delivering your food from now on. It's going to take much longer now that so many of the Mirror Gates are gone," Ora said, shrugging.

This made the young people seem a bit wary.

"You know, this is the first time the king has ever been to this island. I wonder if he will approve the way Beatra has been running things," Ora said, thoughtfully. "After all, everyone knows that kings love lots and lots of rules."

Now Ora could feel the tensions on the no longer relaxing beach.

"What kind of rules?" someone finally asked.

"Oh, the king will implement a money system for sure," Diamond said to them, holding back a smile. "I'm being completely honest. Kings, especially King Reignald, love order. And you can't have order without rules."

Elvin had never been more attentive than he was now.

"No more eternal sunshine either, probably," Diamond remarked, glancing up at the deep blue sky. "Reignald will want half the day to be dark and cold. It's orderly to have a balance between night and day, after all."

"Will he make us work?" Elvin asked, worriedly.

"Absolutely," Ora said to them, seriously.

The truth was, Ora did prefer order over chaos, but Reignald was the one ensuing chaos. Lindo seemed to be the only one keeping things somewhat in order, but that was partially due to covering up the problems, not solving them. After all, Lindo was hiding the fact that the king was crazy instead of just crowning a more competent ruler.

But as Ora realized that she really did prefer a land with a money system, with hard-working citizens, with a time to sleep, and with rules, she felt a very familiar feeling of discomfort.

It was the feeling Ora had in her when she deceived Amien.

The king would be right to bring order to this mess of an island. But Ora knew he wouldn't. And that's what she had to tell the Second Islanders. The king would not help them. Reignald was their enemy, even though he seemed joyful and carefree like them.

"Listen to me, all of you," Ora said, lowering her eyes. "I can't tell you what the king is like. You will just have to see for yourselves, today, when he appears in the city. Don't be fooled by his smile and laugh. Look closely Listen to what he says."

"But why should we listen to you?" a random black-haired young man yelled out, missing the point completely.

Why should they listen to me? Ora wondered, raising her head to the sky.

Besides flying and making somewhat irrational decisions in the spur of the moment, Ora was good at one thing.

"Do you people like theater stories?" she asked, throwing them off.

But they all nodded, mumbling in approval.

"I will perform one for you at the end of the d-"

Ora stopped herself, shaking her head.

"Later today!" she proclaimed. "Where are theater stories usually performed on this island?"

"At the bonfire on the other side of the island," Glo told her.

"We usually go there after we get bored of the beach," Elvin shrugged.

"Should we waste our time going to a criminal's theater story?" the random dark-haired man yelped again.

"Yes, you should!" Ora replied, shrugging

You waste all your time, anyway, she thought, keeping her mouth shut.

"In one city on Gemaris Island, my theater stories are very popular!" Ora said, matter-of-factly.

It was true, in a way. All two of her theater stories on Gemaris were much admired by the audience.

"I'll go, crazy lady," Elvin said, smiling suddenly. "You did save Cosmos. And you were fun during Try or Die."

Ora smiled at the child's innocence.

"Thank you, Elvin," she said, bowing her head slightly.

When nobody else spoke, Ora said, "It will take me some time to prepare the theater story. I know that time is not something important on this island, but how will you know when to come to the bonfire?"

And why did they even have a bonfire if the sun was always shining anyway? Ora ignored this question for now.

"We'll just come when we come," Glo said, stiffly.

Ora hesitantly bobbed her head up and down.

"I'm going to go visit Cosmos now. To make sure he's alright," she said, walking away.

Diamond desperately wanted to tell the people to keep her secret, but she decided to blindly trust them for the time being. After all, the Second Islanders seemed to be bad at holding grudges.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After dragging her suitcase and sword into an empty shack, Ora decided to change her clothes. Not only did she decide that a disguise was now in order, but she especially needed to wear a large hat to cover her white hair, and to shade her from the beating sun. Furthermore, lighter clothes would keep her from sweating and fainting in the heat.

Her choices of outfits were limited, since most of her clothes were still in Amien's bag on Gemaris Island. She couldn't wear the elf costume, because she would stick out way too much on the Second Island, which was void of elves. The suit or armor that came with the crystal sword was much too eye-catching and quite heavy to wear. Besides the pink flower dress which Ora had worn at the Afternoon Cafe on Gemaris, all of the clothes in her suitcase were too heavy and hot to wear under the unforgiving sun. So Ora once again slipped into her pink flower dress and also wrapped Sir Grenton's light shawl around her shoulders to help shade them from the heat.

Unfortunately, Ora hadn't kept any of the wigs in her suitcase, though they would have come in handy right then. So, she finally settled for a round light green hat with a dark blue ribbon around it and a white rose pinned to it. Tying her hair up, Ora squished her cap onto her head, carefully hiding every white strand.

Diamond set off towards the city. Once the soft sand beneath her feet turned into solid ground, the girl slipped on her glass high heels which were wrapped in decorative pink roses.

The city was strange and much different from the shores of the Second Island. All the houses were shaped much like semi-circles, their roofs round and their color, light blue. The little structures were made out of stone, and all the windows and doors were just open spaces. It didn't seem very secure to Ora. But then again, there were no rules at all on this island, which was why no one had been guarding the Miror Gate.

Luckily, the clinic in the city was easy to find. It was the tallest building that towered over all the houses, as if protecting them from all harm. Its round roof was amber and glistened in the daylight like the sand on the beach. There were also no doors to the building. Just open gaps. In fact, the only structures holding up the whole building were not walls, but columns. Ora prayed that it was stable and wouldn't come tumbling down onto her or Cosmos.

When she entered the lobby, she was surprised to see many patients waiting anxiously on stone benches and the edges of running fountains. Some people were holding leaves to their heads, some were sucking on fruits, and young ones were tightly hugging dolls as they rocked back and forth. Clinic workers scurried back and forth across the lobby, grabbing patients and asking others to wait patiently. Every clinic worker had a giant smile on his or her face. At this point, Ora wasn't surprised, but she was still a bit confused, and even a little disturbed. This was a clinic. Didn't people die here? Or did time really stand still on the Second Island?

"Welcome to Fun Funny Clinic!" a short man suddenly shouted in Ora's face, throwing his arms open as if to hug her. He was wearing all bright orange, with palm branches hanging on him and a hat of fruit on his head.

Ora quickly stepped back and motioned for him to stop.

"Please state your injury!" the silly man said, grinning a wide smile.

"I'm just here to visit someone..."

"No injury! No service!" the round man yelled, chuckling loudly.

"But-"

"JUUUUUST KIDDING!" the clown said, slapping his knee. "You can go on in!"

He pointed behind him, and hurried up to the next person who was entering the clinic.

Ora exhaled in frustration, wishing she never had to come to this island in the first place. But to get from the Third Island from the First Island, one had to cross the crazy Second Island.

Like the beach, the clinic was very chaotic. Ora hurried through the lobby and stopped to see a nurse comforting a young boy who was quietly sobbing about the bruise on his forehead.

"Don't cry!" the nurse said, soothingly.

"But my head hurts!" the child muttered, sniffling.

"How did you get hurt?" the nurse asked. She wasn't smiling anymore, but her eyes still twinkled with reassurance as she rubbed the boy's arm.

"I was running through the city and crashed into a house," the boy answered her, frowning.

Ora assumed that the nurse would just tell the boy to be more careful.

But Ora was wrong.

"That stupid house!" the nurse said. "It shouldn't have been in your way!"

The boy nodded, furrowing his brow.

"We're going to make your head better and then we're going to knock down that house!" the nurse said, with determination in her voice.

The boy nodded harder, before the nurse gently escorted him to a wide, spiral staircase in the middle of the lobby.

Was the nurse being serious? Or was she just playing along with the boy to make him feel better? Ora shuddered slightly.

There was really no specific person to ask where Cosmos was, so Ora approached the nearest clinic worker who was rushing past her.

"Excuse me? Where is Cosmos Preyer?" she asked, loudly.

The dark-haired nurse turned to Ora, widened her eyes and said with a smile, "Upstairs somewhere. You can go find him yourself."

It was possible that the nurse was masking her frustration, but Ora remembered that there were no rules on this island. She didn't have to ask permission to go find patients, so there was no need to ask for help. Besides, the clinic seemed busy enough already. Ora noticed that most of the patients had injuries, not sicknesses.

After hurrying up the center spiral staircase with her large suitcase, Ora found herself on a floor that was divided into many rooms, this time, by walls not open spaces. After debating whether to barge into every room until she found Cosmos, Ora noticed Hank and his friends at the end of a hallway.

They stood next to a door, waiting impatiently. Ora slowly approached, cautiously covering her face with her shawl. She didn't want the boys to see her and start yelling about Diamond the Willow Wanderer invading the clinic.

When Ora was still far from the young men, the door to the room opened and a nurse stepped out, saying that Cosmos was going to be fine. Hank and his friends sighed with relief and started leaving as the nurse told them to let Cosmos rest. Ora ducked behind a wall as the boys passed her and headed down the stairs to the lobby. When the nurse was also out of sight, Ora quickly crept down the hallway and reached the closed door.

The girl's heart thumped nervously.

The sweat molecules grew larger on her forehead.

Her fingers gripped the door handle tightly, but she hadn't turned it yet.

Did Cosmos see her white hair in the water? Did he see her fly towards him under the waves? If he knew that Ora was really Diamond, the musician would immediately have her arrested. But maybe he was still in the dark. Maybe in the commotion of getting violently attacked by a sea monster, Cosmos hadn't noticed anything unusual about the girl he knew to be Ora Ember.

Either way, Ora had to see him. If Cosmos didn't know who she was, then they were still...acquaintances. And if he did indeed know who she was, Diamond would have no other choice but to try and reason with him. After exhaling quickly, Ora turned the handle of the door and entered the room in one swift motion.

Before her, there lied Cosmos stretched out on a bed without a blanket, his ankles all bandaged up. The bed was surprisingly close to the door and sat under a window that only had an orange curtain billowing in the breeze. The young, injured man had his hands folded on his chest as he gazed up at the ceiling with his golden eyes wide open.

Cosmos turned his head to the side to see who had entered throm. When he met a pair of big blue eyes, his mind raced, not with thoughts, but mixed emotions.

Ora saw no change in the man's facial expression. He just lifted a finger and beckoned her to come over to him. WIthout thinking, Ora hurried up to his bedside and looked down at him with concern and worry in her eyes.

Before the girl could react, Cosmos swiftly pulled her hat off her head, releasing her white, wavy locks from their hiding place.

"Knew it," Cosmos said, shoving the hat back into Diamond's hands.

He turned his head away from her and seemed to pretend that Ora wasn't even there anymore. She didn't know what to say.

After an interminable silence, Ora murmured, "Cosmos?"

His chest rose up and down under his hands as Cosmos sighed deeply. His flat eyebrows didn't seem to curve up or down, making his face unreadable.

"You knew I hated you," he suddenly said, thoughtfully. The loner still didn't meet her gaze. "And you still risked your life to save me."

Cosmos was still averting his eyes, as if catching a glimpse of Ora's white hair would kill him. She kept her mouth closed and her mind open, hoping the musician would say something else.

But he didn't.

He really didn't want to talk to Ora or even look at her? Did he think she was stupid to save him since it gave away Diamond's identity? Cosmos thought Diamond was stupid enough already. But now, he couldn't possibly admit that she was hateful.

"You hate me?" Ora said. "I thought I was the hateful one."

Diamond tried to look brave when she said this, though her insides were trembling.

Cosmos kept his head turned away.

"I only hated...Diamond...because I thought she was hateful and prideful and selfish," Cosmos said, stammering. "I was hating the hate."

"Why are you speaking in past tense?" she asked, quietly.

"I don't know," He raised his voice slightly. "I woke up in this bed, alive and well, and tried so hard to convince myself that I didn't owe you any thanks at all."

Ora was stunned by his harsh words, but she managed to get out, "And what conclusion did you arrive at?"

Finally, Cosmos turned his head towards his savior and his eyes glistened up at her.

"If my life had never been in danger, you never would have needed to save me. None of this would have happened. But I was dying, and you did save me. And let me tell you. It's quite an experience having your life flash before your eyes as a sea monster violently tries to drown you. I was so terrified that I fainted. And now, I'm safe. And I can't help how I feel. I feel grateful."

Cosmos wasn't smiling, but his expression had softened slightly, as his stiff eyebrows just barely shifted upwards.

Diamond looked down at him, unsure of what to say or do. Unsure of what he meant. Was Cosmos actually trying not to be grateful towards her? Or had he accepted the fact that his enemy had saved his life?

Without one word, Ora placed her hat back on her white head, tucking in her white hair. Cosmos furrowed his eyebrows again, and slowly opened his mouth.

"I guess I don't know you," he admitted, a look of regret on his tired face. "I'm sorry."

Turning red, Cosmos looked away again and out the window at the blue sea. It seemed that saying those two words had

Clutching her suitcase, Diamond hesitantly said, "You don't need to be sorry. You just need to thank me."

He squinted at her and shook his head. "I can't thank you. There's nothing I can do to thank you."

Did Cosmos mean that Ora's act of kindness was too great to be repaid? Or that he physically could not thank her?

"And I do need to be sorry. I was telling you about Diamond like I could read your mind and all along you were her. Obviously, you know more about yourself than I do," Cosmos said, sounding disappointed in himself.

Ora swallowed her pride and said, "Maybe I don't."

This caused the musician to stare straight at Ora in shock, as if she was the sea monster coming back for him.

"What?" he said, blinking at her.

"I admit, maybe I was a little hasty at the coronation," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat. "It was so unlike me. But I could tell that the power was already getting to his head, when he was crowned. Reignald, a lowly peasant, suddenly having all this power...he wasn't going to help anyone. I know that perhaps I made him go crazy, but a good king wouldn't have let a little girl scare him so much."

"A girl who can fly," Cosmos corrected her.

"I can fly. I can't knock down castles!" Ora said, almost laughing. "I can't do anything to attack, but I can fly away like a coward, which is exactly what I did..."

She trailed off, finally looking away from the injured man.

"I suppose you're not as dangerous as you seem," Cosmos shrugged. "Though you did kill a sea monster."

"A small one," Ora said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you still proved that you're definitely not a coward," he told her, suddenly sitting up in his bed. "You didn't fly away this time."

Cosmos leaned against the wall and glanced at his bandaged feet. Ora stared at him silently, grinning slightly, still surprised by the musician's change of heart.

"You know, I've always loved this island, ever since I stepped foot on it," Cosmos said, staring at the blank ceiling as he completely changed the subject. "But I had never been to the clinic until now. It's kind of terrifying."

"I can see what you mean," Ora replied, nodding. "All the smiling nurses are rather unnerving."

"The problem's not just the constant optimism that all the patients have to deal with," Cosmos said, sitting up more. "I saw some nurses telling patients not to smile. Not to be happy. The clinic workers said that if you're feeling infuriated or upset, you should scream as loud as you can to get your anger out. I even passed by several rooms where the nurses were telling even adults to deal with their rage by smashing to pieces random objects provided by the clinic."

Although Ora was shocked, she quickly asked, "Why are the patients angry?"

"They're mad that they're injured and can't go out to play," Cosmos told her. "The people here don't like wasting time being bored or bedridden. Even though supposedly time doesn't pass on this island."

"It seems that most of them get injured because they're having too much fun," Ora observed, thinking of the boy who had bruised his forehead by scampering through the stone city.

"That's true," Cosmos said, disappointed. "Although this island is very joyful, it's also very dangerous."

This convinced Ora that she needed to do whatever she could to help the people on the Second Island. Advisor Beatra was not helping the citizens. Whatever her agenda was, Beatra was clearly making a mess of her island. And apparently, Lindo Que was helping her by having food delivered regularly, so that the people didn't have to do any work. It was despicable. Ora wondered how the king was reacting to this chaotic island.

"By the way, where's Amien?" Cosmos suddenly asked, curiously.

The question made Ora's heart sink. She almost shut Cosmos down by saying she didn't want to talk about Amien.

But instead, she replied, "I told him who I was...and he didn't take it well."

Losing her voice soon after, Ora cleared her throat and dropped her head, holding back tears.

"Why? I thought he loved Diamond the Willow Wanderer," Cosmos said, with a confused but amused smile on his face.

With her eyes still set on the ground, Ora said heavy-heartedly, "He called me a coward."

Cosmos just scoffed.

"He's the coward. I mean, where is he now? Hiding at home?" the musician sounded angry, but was still smirking.

"Probably," ora whispered, trying to assure herself.

Taking a seat on the bamboo chair in the corner of the room, Ora rested her cheek in her hand, recalling her difficult parting with Amien. She not only regretted deceiving him, but also not running after him as he disappeared down the dark road in the night. She could have at least apologized. Instead, Ora just gave excuses. Amien was right to call her a coward. He was right to leave her.

The room was only filled with the sound of the ocean waves rolling onto the distant beaches outside. Suddenly, Cosmos spoke up again, struggling to get one word out.

"Ora...Diamond...I mean-"

"It's Ora," the girl said to him.

"Right. Ora. I know I'm in no position to ask anything of you right now, but...could you go fetch my lute for me? I left it in the lookout house and I would go get it myself, but-"

"Yes, Cosmos," Ora replied, barely smiling as she rose from her seat. "But could you also do something for me?"

"Anything," he blurted out.

Diamond was taken aback by his answer.

"Well, I sort of told the people on the beach that I would perform a theater story for them later at the bonfire...could you play a part in it?" she asked, suddenly sheepish.

He leaned his back against the wall and smiled. "Let me guess. I'm going to play the cocky musician who thinks he knows everything, aren't I?"

She only shrugged at him, before leaving to fetch his lute.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ora didn't make it out of the clinic. In the lobby, she was stopped by a little boy carrying a white instrument that looked giant in his small arms. Elvin had obviously recognized Ora right away.

"I came to give Cosmos his lute!" El told Ora, holding up the lute.

The young boy looked so serious, as if he was carrying the crown to the king himself.

"I can show you where he is if you want," Ora said, trying to sound kind and friendly.

Elvin sighed.

"Fine, but only if you carry this. It's heavy," he said, handing her the lute. Luckily, Ora had left her suitcase in Cosmos' room, so she didn't have to lug it back up the stairs.

As the two made their way to Cosmos, Elvin suddenly spoke up.

"Are your theater stories really famous on Gemaris?" he asked, suspiciously.

"At least on one side of the river," Ora replied truthfully.

Elvin nodded thoughtfully. Right before they entered Cosmos' room, Elvin added, "Oh. I also came to tell you both that the announcement is happening in the city soon."

"Thank you, Elvin," Ora said, smiling awkwardly.

She opened the door to find Cosmos sitting up with a bowl of sliced red pears in his hands. A nurse was rubbing some sweet-selling balm on his feet with a smile on her face of course.

"Elvin!" Cosmos yelled, slamming down the bowl on the table next to him and opening his arms.

"Cosmos!"

Elvin ran into his arms and embraced him. Ora saw the intensity grow in Cosmos' amber eyes as he held the boy tightly in his arms.

"I brought your lute for you," El said, pointing to Ora.

"Thank you so much, El," the musician smiled, as Ora handed Cosmos the lute.

"No, Cosmos. Thank you. You almost died just to save me, all because I wanted to prove how brave I was. But as soon I saw you getting attacked, I swam for shore and left you behind..."

Elvin started tearing up. The neverending smile he wore was gone. Ora never thought she would see El cry, but he felt guilty. He felt the same way Cosmos was feeling, too. They both had made mistakes. Although, El's mistake was unnecessarily putting his life in danger. Cosmos' mistake was making an enemy of the girl who ended up saving his life.

But they weren't enemies. Not anymore.