The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 30: Love is Irrational

Part 4/6

Meanwhile, Neddy and Ruby were chatting about the many dinosaurs they had seen so far on the island.

“You know, when I woke up, I saw this GIANT beast with rocks embedded in its skin. It had a huge, long neck, and a huge, long tail, and it was HUGE! It was even bigger than Ms. Carnival!”

“BWAH HAH HAH HAH!” the two laughed. Ruby could barely contain her giggles as she dug into a piece of meat. Neddy raised his hand to speak with a smile plastered on his face.

“Hey, hey you know those flying reptile things that just sort of wander the skies like bums?” Neddy asked.

“Pteranodons?”

“Yeah, yeah! Pteranodons,” Neddy replied with a goofy grin, “I was- I was walking with Samuel, right? And this is before I met you- I kid you not a Pteranodon peed all over his head!”

“WHAT?! Seriously? Samuel? The serious crazy guy with the creepy eyes?” Ruby said, nodding her head toward Samuel (he seemed to be looking over a note).

“Y-Yeah! I totally didn’t make that up… And, you know what was hilarious? The pteranodon’s pee is silent!”

There was a pause in the air, and Ruby was trying to comprehend it for a moment, until it finally dawned on her that Neddy had just told a dad joke. Ruby and Neddy burst into laughter at once, slapping knees and crying tears of joy.

“Ahh, that was a nice one dude, I couldn’t think of that in a million years!” Ruby shouted with joy.

“Aw, come on I’m sure you could have, I’ve just been saving my joke for 65 million years, kay?”

The two chuckled again, and Ruby glanced at the pair of glasses in her pouch. She smiled, then grabbed Neddy’s hand. He jolted in shock, and looked at her with surprise.

“Is something wrong?” Neddy asked nervously.

“No, I just wanted to say-” Ruby looked up at the stars, “Come on. Let’s go find a more quiet place to stargaze. Doesn’t it look so pretty?”

Neddy looked up at the skies and squinted.

“I mean- I can’t tell for sure, you know I lost my glasses. I can’t see very well.”

“Well, at least come join me. Maybe we’ll see shooting stars.”

“Ahh, alright fine. Lead the way.”

Ruby got up from the log and pulled Neddy off of the log, leading him away from the campfire and to their hut. Ruby pointed to the ceiling.

“Help me get up there, and I’ll pull you up,” Ruby requested.

“Al-Alright,” Neddy stuttered. He crouched down, and Ruby gently used his skinny shoulders as a stepping stool, jumping up and grabbing the ledge of the roof. She pulled herself up, took a second to breathe, until she reached down to haul Neddy up.

The two just sat there, criss-cross-applesauce, until Ruby gave Neddy a sly smile.

“You didn’t think I’d take you star-seeing without forgetting something important?” Ruby chuckled with a smirk. Neddy blinked, then shook his head. Ruby reached into her pouch, then took out a pair of glasses. Neddy’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Is that-”

“Yes, yes it is Neddy!” Ruby squealed with joy, “I told Bobby and Simon about your situation, and Bobby said he had found a bunch of the stuff on his resource expeditions. He gladly gave it to me, and now…”

Ruby unfolded the glasses and leaned forward, placing them upon his eyes. Neddy began to blink, looking around with wonder. It all looked so clear now, so distinguishable.

Nothing looked so blurry anymore.

“I can see now…” Neddy paused as he stared into Ruby’s face. The whole time here on this island, Neddy was unsure of what Ruby looked like. Her eyes were always blocked out by her glasses, and her hair looked nothing more than a blob of red and black.

But Neddy couldn’t help but feel that Ruby looked like a gem.

“Wow, I-”

As Neddy peered at her, he took it in all at once. Her black hair had streaks of red, like a river that runs red throughout a land of earth and stone. She had a tan on her face that made her skin look like honey, and her eyes…

Her eyes sparkled so brightly…

Ruby blinked, and stared into Neddy’s eyes deeply. Then she blinked again. And a few more times.

“Has Neddy’s eyes always looked… this way?” Ruby wondered to herself as she continued to look into them.

Beyond a mask of freckles, acne, and a bad haircut, his eyes stuck out to Ruby the most.

They were like rivers of honey flowing through heaven.

“Aren’t we going to look at the stars?” Ruby asked softly, peering into his eyes just a little bit more. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she needed to look at them for a few more seconds. Neddy blinked a few more times, then shook his head softly.