Things That Are Hard to Share

The day was coming to an end . Somehow everything was looking very gloomy today . Even the ever bright red hue of the sunset seemed dull and upsetting .

Enilese was walking absentmindedly . She was really disturbed by the events that took place in the forest . She didn't know exactly what she was thinking but for some unknown reason she felt like crying , as if an unknown fear was engulfing her from inside .

She didn't know how long she had been walking like that , her chain of thoughts suddenly broke as someone dragged her to the side . She had closed her eyes at the sudden turn of events . All she could hear after that was the loud noises of the screeching tyres of a car .

As she looked up , after a moment , her eyes met with a pair of crystal like green eyes .... a soft sigh left from her lips and she muttered .... " Shawn ..."

As always , Shawn's face was expressionless . He stared at her for a while and spoke up , " Haven't I told you to think less while walking ? Didn't you hear the loud horns of the cars ?.... " , he was going to say something more but before he could , Enilese fainted in his arms .

.......

When Enilese regained her consciousness it was already dark . In the dim light of the streetlights , she discovered herself lying on a roadside bench .

" Are you feeling better ? " , she heard the familiar voice of Shawn .

She got up slowly and found him sitting at her side .

" What happened to me ? " , she asked slowly .

" You fainted . " , he said in a straight voice , " Are you okay now ? "

She nodded slightly .

( A moment of silence . )

Shawn spoke up , " Something is bothering you ? " , she got a bit startled by the sudden question .

" No ..... " , replied she with slight discomfort .

He looked straight into her eyes and said again , " Are you sure ? "

She flashed a faint smile and said , " Yes . Don't worry , I'm okay . "

Shawn continued to stare at her for some time and said , " Alright then . "

After a moment , Enilese glanced at him and spoke up , " Are you still angry with me ? "

He turned to her and asked with a slight frown , " About what ? "

" Umm .....about last time.... we were talking about the ...dark souls..."

" And , are you still tensed about that ? " , she looked down , " I told you , I wasn't angry .... People have different perspectives . It's pretty normal that those perspectives clash against each other . That's not something to be angry about . "

She didn't say anything so he said , " Okay ? " , she nodded with a smile .

" Want to go for dinner ? " , he asked after a while .

If it were any other day Enilese would've been more than happy . But today , she was very exhausted , both physically and mentally . Although she was with Shawn , time to time ..... an image has been flashing up , in her mind and was making her uneasy ... a traumatic image indeed ....the image of a black hooded man ..... with burning hand .

She let out a soft sigh and spoke up , " I'm sorry but I am very tired . I want to go home . "

Shawn didn't force her , he said , " Okay then , let's go . I'll walk you home . "

..........

" I can manage from here . " , Enilese spoke up as they reached the lane , leading to her base .

Shawn nodded .

" Thank you for today . " , she said looking at him .

" Yeah but from next time please be careful while walking . "

She nodded and said , " Okay I'll be going then . "

Enilese was about to go when Shawn spoke up , " Enilese ..."

She turned to him as he continued , " Those forests are much more dangerous than you can even imagine ....." Enilese frowned at his sudden words , " So , don't go there impulsively , you may not be lucky , everytime . "

She asked in a shaky voice , " H...how do you k...know , I went to the forest ? Were you there ? "

" I wasn't . "

" Then ? "

" There are traces of soil on your clothes and this type of soil is only found in the forest areas . "

She looked at herself , Shawn was right , there were traces of brownish soils all over her clothes . " Oh . " , she said .

Shawn was staring at her as if waiting for her to say something .

She looked at him and continued , " Actually ...I .....just .....went there ....umm.... nothing special ..... nothing happened to me though ....I just slipped and fell on the ground ...." , she had no idea what to tell him , so she said whatever came to her mind .

He said , " Leave it . You don't have to say what you don't want to share . "

" What ? .... "

" I can see the scratches on your skin . People don't get that kind of scratch marks because of falling . "

" Shawn ... I ... "

" I don't like insisting others to do something against their will . If you don't want to say it just don't say it ... Just remember , it'll be the best if you just stay away from the forests ..... Anyway take care . " , with that he turned and started walking to the opposite direction .

Enilese continued to look at his retreating back and muttered , " I wish , I could tell you .... but there are things that I can't share even if I want to . "

-------------------------------

Dark Soul Base

Ryan was busy in his laptop when he saw Shawn entering his room , pushing the door open . Ryan didn't pay much attention to him as he concentrated back to the laptop screen .

Shawn leaned against the bed and said , " I want to talk about something . Are you busy ? "

Ryan answered without averting his eyes from the screen , " Yes , I'm very busy now . I'm in the middle of a very fierce battle . So whatever you have to say , just wait till I finish my game . "

Shawn said , " Seriously ? Is your game more important ? "

" For now , yes . " , he replied , " Oh ....I'm under attack . " , saying that he started tapping the keys rapidly .

After some time of waiting , Shawn asked again , " Are you done ? "

But he didn't get any reply from Ryan . He sighed and started approaching Ryan who was engrossed in the game .

The next moment , Shawn , carefully , touched Ryan's busy hand with his index finger which had a slight flame on it .

" Ahhhh . " , immediately Ryan gasped as he felt a burning sensation on his hand . He touched the skin where he got burnt and glared at Shawn . " Are you crazy ? What are you doing ? "

" I was just checking something . Are you okay ? " , Shawn said nonchalantly .

" Okay , my foot ...." , he was going to say more but his eyes caught the scene on the screen , and he started tapping the keys again , " Oh .....I'm dying .....no no... don't die , don't die ...oh no . "

" Because of you , I lost the game . " , Ryan spoke up through gritted teeth , looking at Shawn , " What the h*ll were you checking whether I get burnt or not ? "

" Yes . " , his nonchalant tone made Ryan speechless . He was going to start again when Shawn said , " And , I used the lowest power anyway . It won't hurt that much . "

" Yes , yes , that's why my skin is still burning . "

" I didn't know , you'd get hurt . "

" What ? " , Ryan confusedly asked .

Shawn started , " I thought , your guardian spirit won't let you get hurt ..... Don't they protect their disciples from any sort of danger ? "

" They do . But if the danger is in the form of other spirit powers the guardian spirits can't do anything . It's against their ethics . "

Shawn remained silent for a moment as if thinking something . Then he spoke up , " As much as I know , only water power can defend fire power . Isn't so ? "

" If the powers are on the same level , yes . Otherwise no . "

" Are you really sure that there's no other spirit power which can do that ? "

" Yes , I'm sure . Why ? Have you met someone who used any other power to defend you ? "

" Yes , something like that . "

" Really ? Which power did he use ? "

" Actually the person , I met , didn't use any spirit power . At least , I didn't sense any power . "

" Is that possible ? "

" That's why I thought , the person was probably protected by their guardian spirit . So I wanted to check it with you . But you are saying that spirits can't help in some situations . "

" They really can't . But .... " , Ryan also felt at a loss , " Can you elaborate a bit , what really happened ? Who did you meet ? Was it an angel ? "

" I don't know . But in simple terms my powers didn't work on her . "

" It's a she ?? Wow , now this is something interesting ..." , Ryan said enthusiastically .

" Shut up . " , Shawn cut him off , " Can you be serious at least once ? "

" Okay , let me think ... May be , your power doesn't work on women . "

" Nonsense . " , Shawn said in an irritated tone .

" Then ? " , Ryan thought for a moment and said , " Can she be a shield ? "

" But shields are also made by spirit powers . "

" Uh , right . "

" I've thought about all kind of possibilities . " , Shawn said without much emotion . Ryan said , " I guess one possibility is still left . "

" And that is ? "

" It has nothing to do with that woman . It's probably your powers . "

Shawn frowned and waited for him to continue . Ryan continued , " Spirit powers have their own limitations . Your guardian spirit must've told you about those limitations or given you certain instructions to follow , after you finished your training . You should try to remember them . "

Shawn thought deeply for some moments and looked up as he remembered something .

" You remember it ? " , Ryan asked .

" I do . "

" So , what is it ? "

Shawn didn't reply as he thought to himself , ' But what does that have to do with Enilese ? '