"It's the beginning when you start a book. It's the end when you finish a book. But it's a journey when you're reading a book. And when that journey ends, pack your bag and go on another."
—me the author, 'The Hollows Of Hiraeth'

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T h e H o l l o w s   O f
H I R A E    T    H
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T h e  A c a d e m y  of 
Z a s o l n i š t e

She's on the news. Again. She was on it when I couldn't sleep at eleven pm. She was on it the next day at seven in the morning. She's on it again at six in the evening, the same day, as I nurse an uneaten plate of dinner.

I threw away nearly all of my dinner and got odd looks from people around me. I had gotten looks when I had returned to the academy at dinner time yesterday. Everyone wanted to know what happened to the famous Sky Forest. I got looks today, and I heard the whispers when I walked past.

I made my way to our dorm. I hadn't been assigned another Special One—I hadn't been assigned another mission or position either. I could bet on the fact that the guardian council feel sorry for me, I lost one Special One to suicide, and another to the outside world.

She was still here; still alive. It just isn't safe—I can't get to her.

I sighed, pushing the key into the door to our dorm room. I wasn't sure if I wanted to move out or not, if I decided I wanted to move out; all of Sky's stuff would be thrown out, and I wasn't sure that I was ready for that.

I pushed the door open and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of her. I gritted my teeth—I had only come back here to grab my ID card so I could visit Harry. Yes, Harry. Harry who had supposedly harmed Sky on several occasions, but because of Eden's force. Harry who had been involved in the overall plot to kidnap both Sky and I, but because it had been on Eden's agenda. Harry wasn't my enemy, the puppeteer was.

And then that nagging voice drilled at me. Harry raped Cassie. That was a crime. I couldn't dismiss that. Hell, I don't even think I respect him. But I tolerate him, and, right now, I'm the only one that tolerates him. And he's the only one that understands. Misery loves company, and in my case, Harry is the only company I can find.

I rushed into my room and swiped the ID card off my desk, darting out of the room as soon as I had, acting like the room that we had shared was plague infected.

I shook the memories of us away as I headed down to the jail cells. I stuffed both the keys and the ID card into my pocket and sped down the hallway.

I ran into Avery, Saph and Cassie, the three closing and locking Cassie's dorm room door behind them. Just when I try to rid the memories of Sky, they bite my heels as I tread over the roots in the ground.

Avery smiled at me and Saph followed her gaze, displaying a similar sympathetic smile. Cassie shoved her key into a pocket in her shorts and grinned over at me when she saw me standing there.

"Hi, Jameson." She piped up and I displayed her half a smile. I continued onwards with my walk, not uttering a word to Sky's friends.

I breezed past other familiar faces as I made my way down to meet Harry. I saw Toby; the poor kid ghosted around the halls, his brothers disappearance weighing him down—I knew how he felt. I saw Kim jogging through the corridors, probably fresh out of the guardian meeting I wasn't invited to and wondering where Cassie was off to next. Not far behind her were my friends, and Max gave me a curt nod before he contributed to the conversation they were engrossed in.

Everyone understood that I needed space. They all acknowledged my pain in these circumstances and tried to understand it. But they couldn't.

I ran down the stairs and was overwhelmed by a cold wind, despite the rising August temperatures. I nodded at the receptionist; she knew me well by now. I moved over to the door, swiping my ID card through the scanner and pushing the door open once it allowed me access.

Harry was sitting at a table on my arrival; with no one but a cleaner as our company, he stood up and greeted me with a demented version of our handshake. I reckon we're about seven.

Harry grinned at me goofily before gesturing for me to sit down and join his game of chess. He moved a figure. "I'm kind of glad you thought I deserved your friendship, you know, after everything that happened." Harry confessed once it was my turn.

I took it, then spoke. "None of it was your fault. Your statement tells us the truth—that Eden forced you into it because of a confidential secret, and unless you lied on a legal document.." I dismissed what he did to Cassie. I just needed someone to talk to. But it just made me sound like the criminal.

Harry's eyes widened and he nearly dropped his figure, "Of course not." He saw my weary smile and laughed as he placed his figure down.

We continued our stupid game of chess, and I noticed easily how Harry seemed to tactfully avoid mentioning Sky's name. We finished the game and Harry began to put all the pieces away just as the cleaner warned us that visiting hours were almost over.

Harry rolled his eyes and I helped him with the pieces. "So when do you get out of here?" I asked him curiously but Harry seemed to slump over at the mention of his release.

"Five years at the most in prison, but they've switched my life sentence for a life imprisoned in the academy under their rules. If I mess up. That's it. I'm in prison for life." Harry informed me, keeping the details—which I'm sure he wasn't proud of—to himself, and I hummed in response.

I fished around for my ID card, going to have it ready in my hand before I left, which I had pocketed once I had strode in. I pulled it out but a crumpled yellow note came out too. I frowned, bending over to pluck it from the ground. It was a sticky note. I unfolded it and my heart sank.
It was in Sky's handwriting.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

'Why was I in your bed?' It read. It felt like such a long time ago now. God knows why I even kept it.

"What is it?" Harry asked as he returned from shoving the chess box onto a stack of board games in a cupboard across the room.

"A note from Sky." No point in lying. I sighed and stuffed it back in my pocket, then I came across another paper texture. I pulled it out. My heart drowned.

"What is that?" Harry seemed to echo his own question but I was too busy gazing down at the photo to care what he said.

"A photo of Sky." I responded absentmindedly, too fixated on the picture of Sky I had received five months ago. The guardian council had gifted it to me in order to recognise the girl I needed to bring back to the academy. I had thought nothing of it when I had received it—it was just a school picture; she must've been around fourteen when it was taken—I just saw it as another fresh face in the wilderness. Now she was a girl that I couldn't have.

I sighed before shoving it back in my pocket and facing Harry, but he held a different expression than I expected. Seeing my response, he said, "I'm sorry if–if how I felt about her makes things awkward between us."

I frowned. "Do you still feel that way?" I wasn't accusing him of anything, I was just curious.

Harry's facial expression changed slightly, then I knew the answer. "But I didn't know her like you did; she's all yours." He told me next and I pulled a face.

"She isn't property."

Harry's eyes widened, "No, no, of course not!" I let out a half a second laugh at his frantic response.

"She isn't here either." I admitted my hearts biggest pain, then I slouched over in my seat, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Silence was the only noise for a while, until, after shuffling around, Harry finally spoke up. "Did you really love her?" He asked me quietly, cautious of anyone hearing us.

I stood up to meet his gaze levelly. Silence overcame us again. Then a flash of memories answered for me. "Yes, I did." I watched a kaleidoscope of moments of us swirl into one overbearingly extraordinary feeling.

"I still love her." I confessed. And it was so true that I felt my heart walk into a isolated room, ablaze with furious flames. And that's how I perished.

And, with that, I excused myself and swiped my ID card in the scanner to allow me access out.

I found myself walking towards the guardian meeting room, where I knew the guardian council would still be sat. Maybe they were more ready for my next assignment than I was.

My name is Jameson Fahr.
I fell in love with Sky Forest—illegally.
And I lost her.

"I still love her."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

TO BE CONTINUED.

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zasolnište means shelter in Macedonian :))))))

So then

That's the end

It's over

THOUGHTS
OPINIONS
ETC

and now for the most epic of epic:

THIS BOOK ENDED ON THE NINE MONTH ANNIVERSARY

SO

ITS TALLY TIME

Previously on Tally Time:

The Three Month Tally:
734 Reads
119 Votes
71 Comments
28 Parts

And now

The Five Month Tally (before posting this):
#109 In Mystery/Thriller (best rank so far)
1.87k Reads
194 Votes
88 Comments
51 Parts
(50 Chapters)

And now now

The Six Month Tally (before posting this):
#109 In Mystery/Thriller (best rank still) 2.49k Reads
260 Votes
150 Comments
66 Parts
(65 Chapters)

And now now now

The Eight Month Tally (after posting this):
#109 In Mystery/Thriller (best rank still)
3.24k Reads
362 Votes
204 Comments
93 Parts
(92 Chapters)

And now now now now

The Nine Month Tally (before posting this):
#109 In Mystery/Thriller (best rank still—BUT IM AT #173 now YASSS)
3.72k Reads
380 Votes
234 Comments
106 Parts
(104 Chapters)

Thanks for reading 👍🏼 :)

(Well done for getting this far lol)

Anddddddddddddddd

THERES A SEQUEL

SOON

UPCOMING

AFTER MY EXAMS

TUNE IN FOR YOUR NEXT JOURNEY, LATER THIS YEAR

but, until then

–now

T h e H o l l o w s   O f
H I R A E    T    H
13/08/16—13/05/17

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

✧

✧ SEQUEL EXCERPT: ✧

I burst through the doors, hearing them smash against the concrete walls as my feet hammered into the ground. I sprinted so fast, fearing that my crimes would catch up to me.

So I ran for my life.

I had never ran so fast in my life. I felt the flash of freedom course through my veins. But I also felt the wringing guilt of my actions today. My escape had not only cost me, but it had cost others.

My hands started to shake. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. Tears streamed down my face and I collapsed. What had I done?

"Hello, emergency service operator, which service do you require? Fire, police, or ambulance?"

"All three."