13. Iden

Tara Butlo was introvert. She had an unbridled fantasy and unprecedented curiosity. Tara Butlo believed that in the reality we knew there were other creatures that our eyes could not see and our ears could not hear. Another reality we could not touch. Tara Butlo had stupid guts and had dreams, lots of dreams. The Tara I had become was hopeless, she did not understand why she was so afraid and what she was afraid of. The Guardian or my observer whom I saw with fragments in dreams and felt his eyes on me from outside the windows was none other than the boyfriend who had mentioned Franklin to me. Beloved, it's supposed to be my greatest love, which I have never experienced in this life. The reason why I ended up in that mad house, he, the one and only, his majesty Gideon!

Excerpts from our first meeting until I erased from my memory everything about him, as if I had never known him.

I met Gideon on a rainy night, even though he had known me for some time. It was as if a strange energy was pulling me towards him, and I did not meet him in beautiful, romantic circumstances. It was a light rain while approaching it became torrential. I was returning home from work, with that little umbrella I had with me, I was struggling with the rain and the strong wind was trying to take the umbrella from my hands, until it won and my umbrella flew to the sidewalk. I ran with small steps to regain it so that I would not slip from the wet sidewalk inf small pools of water that sprayed me. I had already become wet and the umbrella was continuing its journey, when I surrendered to leave it and leave without it, as if in anger it stood somewhere. Blowing out I walked towards the umbrella and was fixing the wires when I heard a scream I turned my eyes to where it came from. I opened my eyes in horror as I saw Gideon throw someone down and punch him relentlessly.

"Go away, go on your way."

I said to myself through my teeth, I tried to walk but my legs did not answer me, I had a feeling of guilt in my chest as my heart was beating like crazy.

At least I had to call the police, they would take a long time until they came, surely he would have left him dead. What if he attacked me ?! After I called the police, it seemed that he had not heard anything. As soon as he heard my scream that came out of me like a owl he stopped and raised his head looking at me head to toe. My heart was pounding, I took steps back to leave but he was faster than me, he stopped in front of me and took steps towards me as I was walking backwards, until I crashed into the glass of one of the already closed shops. A cold wave pierced my back from the contact with the glass, I was trembling because of fear and a little because of the cold. But I looked him in the eye curiously, then lowered my head.

He shook his head laughing then spoke in a deep voice:

"No, it can not be true!"

As if he was talking to himself astonished and with eyes that shone with hope. He raised his hand to touch me and I turned my head closing my frightened eyes. I thought he would slap me, grab me by the throat, rape me! Why I had to intervene. I narrowed my eyes until I felt the warm breath on my neck. He was not touching me, he had placed both hands on the glass over my head and smelled on my neck.

I opened my eyes slowly, he distanced himself, took off the black jacket he was wearing and extended it to me.

"No thanks!" I said with my teeth chattering from the cold.

"As much as I want to hear your voice, I do not want you to get sick. You are thinly dressed and you are wet. Take it!" HE said in a commanding voice.

"Yes you.." I wanted to tell him to see himself, but I could not speak out of fear.

He pulled me by the wrists lightly approaching me towards his chest and threw his jacket on my shoulders. He was warm, despite being wet, his body radiated heat.

"I will come and get it later." He whispered in my ear.

"Shall I bring it here, when?" I asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, I will find you." He winked at me with a smile and left.

Damn, what I had put myself in. After two nights someone knocks on the window of my room, it was him, the unknown scary guy. There was a wound in his left arm, I did not understand how he climbed up to my window. Well done Tara, you are messed up with the bad boy. Yet again like a fool I opened the window letting him enter my room, I even helped him in because he was injured. Lying on my bed he lost consciousness. I didn't know what to do, should I leave him there. My family could not know, I locked the door of the room and tried to clean and bandage his injury. I did not even know what I was doing, but it didn't look like there was any bullet inside, it looked more like a cut. After 35 minutes he woke up. And the first thing he said with a laugh was:

"The pillow has your scent."

"Maybe because I sleep there? And you are in my room. Who are you?" I restrained myself from approaching to help him get up.

"Iden."

"What do you want here Iden?"

"No, you are Iden. I am Gideon."

"This is that game where you call her the wrong name and she says no I'm not Iden and says her name. Well I'm not Iden, Gideon. And I will not tell you my name."

"Okay Tara do not tell me."

"Tara ? How do you know my name?"

"Come , sit next to me." He motioned for me to sit next to him on my bed.

"No, I'm fine here." I answered as I was standing by the window. "In fact, it was an idiotic question, you are here for your jacket." I went to the clothes hanger and extended him the jacket.

I thought he was going to take the jacket, but together with the jacket he pulled me by the arm ending up near him. I could feel his warm breath on my face, he had a heat that was transmitted from his body wherever he touched me.

"What the hell are you doing? Take your jacket and leave!"I spoke breathing with difficulty.

"I have nowhere to go." He said shrugging his shoulders after distancing himself from me. I triet to made him stand up, but he held my hand, forcing me to sit up.

"How you don't have where to go? Before you knew me you had some place to go!" I spoke more confidently. He was making me angry.

"Let's just say I have time to stay with you, a lot of time. We just reunited."

"I don't know you. If you had been important I would have remembered you." It seemed to me as if I saw sadness in his eyes, as if what I said hurt him, but no, he made that arrogant smile again and continued.

"Because when I met you, your name was Iden and not Tara."

"You are confusing me. I'm not Iden! I stood up."

"Let me finish! He raised his voice, clenching his jaw."

I was scared so I stood up like a tree, and he got up came towards me looking me in the eye.

"I will not hurt you, do not be afraid." He spoke softly to me this time. I have lived many lives, where most people are reborn and forget everything about past lives, but I from the past life could not be reborn anymore. I am cursed to live forever and suffer.

"Are you a vampire?" I asked and put my hands to close my mouth. I should not have spoken.

"No Id ..., Tara. I'm not a vampire. Come sit down I will tell you a story, my story." He gently pulled me by my hands towards the window and we both sat on it's ledge, facing each other. I was curios I wanted to hear that story.

"There was a long time ago, there were people who had supernatural abilities, abilities which were related to the elements of nature. I was one of them, only I was very impulsive, my eyes darken when I get angry and I do not know how to stop, I could use those skills to punish others as well. When you saw me that night, I'm not a killer, but when my dark side comes out it 's difficult to stop. Do not worry he was not a good man.

"Who are you to decide who is good or bad, who are you to punish people?"

"You always told me that. When you were Iden. When you were part of those people with supernatural abilities."