6. Alex

The lively atmosphere of the bar was filled with laughter and celebration, every note of merriment seeming to be part of a festive hymn in honor of my brother Daniel's bachelor party. The hustle and bustle and effervescence surrounded me, but I, seated at a secluded table, remained on the fringes of the hubbub that filled the air.

My eyes, reflecting an ancient melancholy, scanned the scene with a distance that only the weight of memories can impose. The flickering lights of the bar, which exuded an ephemeral glow over the laughter and animated faces, gave a glimpse into a corner of my soul that I preferred to hide.

It was not the first time I found myself at a crossroads between the joyful effusiveness emanating from the people around me and the silent shadow of my own experiences. Echoes of nights past echoed in my mind, like lingering whispers that told stories of demonic hunts and supernatural encounters. Every laugh, every toast, was a reminder of the duality that marked my existence.

The shadows of fate swirled around me, a subtle mist seeping through the laughter and the glasses raised in a festive toast. While my brother was immersed in celebration, I was caught in a vortex of reflections, where nostalgic emotions wove a tapestry that unfolded with the sadness of times gone by.

The loneliness at that lonely table was not just physical; it was the loneliness of thoughts, of difficult decisions and responsibilities that accumulated like layers on my shoulders. Each sip of the drink in my hand seemed to carry with it the weight of past experiences, a bitter liquor of memories that intertwined with the present.

Amidst the bustle, my gaze was lost in the dance of lights and laughter, but my mind traveled through passages of life that were no longer the present. Melancholy, that silent companion, manifested itself in the folds of my face, a map of experiences carved by the journey of existence. At that moment, the music of the bar became an echo of the melodies of days I could no longer recover.

The young man with black hair, that enigmatic figure that had captured my attention nights before, was gliding like a shadow towards the terrace. My gaze, inevitably attracted by his magnetic presence, followed him in silence, as if fate were weaving invisible threads that connected us in the midst of the gloom.

The terrace, a redoubt of starry sky and fresh air, became the stage for my wandering thoughts as I watched the enigmatic stranger. Who was he, and what secret did he carry with him? My own uncertainties mingled with curiosity, forming a cocktail of emotions that shimmered in the gloom of the night.

Surprise was painted on my face as the mysterious figure became the triumphant entrance of Ryan, my ex-boyfriend. Tension hung in the air, thick and palpable, as I tried to avert my gaze from that inevitable collision between my past and my present. Ryan, with his presence laden with shared history and painful goodbyes, burst onto the scene, laying bare the complexities my heart would rather forget.

Awkward conversation loomed like a storm on the horizon, and my attempt to evade it became a delicate dance between unspoken words and swirling memories. The evening, which promised to be a cocktail of fun and celebration, turned into an amalgam of unforeseen encounters and silenced truths, unleashing an emotional storm that threatened to eclipse the festive atmosphere of the bar.

"Alex, it's been so long. I got divorced, and I thought you should know. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I thought, maybe we could start over" Ryan said, piercing my heart with such a revelation. Ryan wasn't supposed to be there, I was supposed to be happy and be away, as far away as possible so I wouldn't meet him or see him again.

"I'll go smoke something" I said, not knowing what to answer.

My decision not to relive the past looms like a shield between us. It is not out of spite or rancor, but out of a need to build on the ruins of what was.

I walk to the terrace. The night spreads its dark arms before me, and amidst the murmur of the night city, the terrace door opens like a portal to a necessary pause.

The terrace, a refuge between shadows and stars, welcomes my solitary silhouette. I light a cigarette, letting the haze dissolve into the air, as my mind dives into a swirl of memories. Ryan's confession stirs the waters of what was already settled, stirring emotions I thought I had buried.

There was the black-headed man, enigmatic and with a smile that exudes intrigue, it's like an unexpected twist in tonight's score. Our eyes meet in a dance that transcends words, and though the cigarette smoke mixes with the breeze, I feel an electric current in the air, a connection that goes beyond the surface.

"You can't smoke in here, but on the terrace the air is freer."

"And who are you?" I asked, trying to play along.

" A curious night traveler, you might say. I'm Galen."

"I'm Alex."

Galen's words intertwine with the murmur of the city, creating a soundtrack for this unexpected encounter. The flirtatious dance begins, words and gestures dancing in the gloom, like glimmers of stars on a moonless night.

In this corner of the terrace, between the fading past and the promise of the unknown, I immerse myself in a dance that seems guided by unseen forces. Ryan's confession fades, and in its place, a silent connection with Galen weaves itself into the tapestry of this nostalgic, introspective night.

The terrace becomes a stage where the connection between Galen and I intensifies, like a symphony raising its pitch in the starry night. The chemistry is palpable in the air, like electricity before a storm, and between laughter and confidences, we discover that secrets are the thread that weaves this unexpected connection.

" Nights hold more secrets than you can imagine, Alex" Galen said between a smile, as the smoke from my mouth drifted out and I looked up at the stars in the firmament.

" I seem to have been ignoring too many stars in the sky."

Surprise and discomfort dance within me as Ryan, like a specter from the past, appears behind us, demanding answers I am not yet willing to give. Galen, defiant and unafraid, takes my hand, marking territory in a dangerous game that unfolds in the half-light of the terrace.

"I've been waiting for you."

"Looks like you're interrupting something, buddy," Galen said in a defiant tone.

The atmosphere becomes charged with tension, like a storm threatening to break at any moment. My eyes meet Galen's, and in his gaze I see a mixture of defiance and complicity. We are on uncertain ground, between the shadows of what we were and the promise of what could be.

Galen squeezes my hand, as a gesture of affirmation in this game in which we have become involved. The terrace becomes the scene of a silent confrontation, where words are not enough to explain the complexity of the connections that are woven in the darkness of the night.

Determined to protect my space and confront the shadows that loom over us, I decide to take an unexpected turn in this dance of secrets. I look at Ryan with determination and, in an impulsive act, let a lie pierce the gloom.

" Ryan, Galen and I are a couple, sorry."

The words slip between us like a leaf in the wind, changing the course of the night in a way I can't foresee. Surprise is painted on Ryan's face, a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment.

" Couple? Since when?"."

" Since the night brought us together in mysterious ways," Galen said with a defiant smile.

Galen seizes the moment, and before I can fully understand the repercussions of my words, I feel his lips on mine. A kiss that unleashes an explosion of emotions and confusion in the middle of the terrace.

My keen perception, honed by years of hunting, detects a dark tinge in Galen's aura. Seeds of worry germinate deep within me, mingling with the attraction that has woven its spell on this starry night.

Despite the look of Ryan's restless gaze, of Galen's passionate kiss. Determined to protect myself, to face the demons lurking in the shadows, I decide to act. A whisper of incantations slips from my lips, and magic flows into Galen, sealing his powers with a subtle but powerful touch.

Galen, now devoid of his demonic aura, shows an expression that oscillates between surprise and discomfort. The decision to seal his powers triggers a chain of unexpected consequences, like ripples spreading in water after a stone is thrown.

Ryan is gone, only the dubious sight of Galen remains, who knows I've figured it out.

The terrace, witness to our dance of secrets and revelations, becomes the scene of a crossroads, where the decisions made tonight will impact the very fabric of our intertwined destiny.