Chapter 6: Alida

“It hurts too much.” A child clutching tightly a bandage in her left arm, was crying beside a bedside of a sick girl with black eyes that saw no future, pale white skin as fragile as a paper sheet, long black hair neatly brushed to one side, a complexion too weak to even carry her own weight.

“Do not cry, my sweet Ali. It will only hurt for a little bit.” She weakly reached towards the child’s cheek to brush off her tears with her thumb; “You will not have to go through this again. I am going to die.”

The child named Ali, looked confused into the girl’s eyes; “die? I do not understand.”

“Come, sit beside me.” Ali cleared off her face the remaining tears and climbed up into the bed and sat where the girl had invited her to sit. “I was not supposed to be born, nevertheless I exist and was condemned to a slow, painful end of life. Because of me you and little Alex where born, to extend my life as much as possible; sadly, that invited obsession into mother’s heart and pain in both of your young lives.” She paused for a moment, tears beginning to form on her eyes, but never shed; “do you remember that evening when we found the little fox familiar in the garden?” Ali nodded, “it was very sick and stopped moving and eventually it stopped breathing, meaning its life came to an end, existing no longer within the living.” Tears began to fall on both of their cheeks, the weight and meaning of those words now completely clear. “I will stop existing in this vast world, but I will still exist within you.” The girl cleared her tears and picked up a small jasper stone that was stored in the drawer of her bedside table and extended the other hand towards the child; “do you trust me?” Ali looked scared and confused, nevertheless she placed her small hand on the girl's fragile extended hand. The sick and weak girl began to chant a spell and the stone lit up in an intense orange-red color, her pupils where vertical and her energy circuits that look much like veins where visible in a light orange color; “I will always protect you, Alida.”

*****

I woke up from that dream abruptly, not knowing if it was a memory of my past or just a dream; a feeling of nostalgia lingered as I tried to steady my breath. My chest ached as I recalled the dream. As I tried to think more of the girl that spoke my name in the end, I felt a strong aggravating pain in my head, worse than a headache after electrical shock. I sat on the edge of the bed to relax myself a bit more, hoping the pain would pass quickly.

Pain can be a double edge sword; it can give you the strength to move forward or it can drown you in deep sorrow. A sorrow so profound that you feel like you are unable to breathe, that time has stopped, and the only thing left is a continuous feeling of despair, like you are falling into a deep dark pit with no end. Pain comes in different forms; emotional or physical. Emotional pain can be a persistent sadness that will not leave without rendering you completely hopeless. Physical pain will break your will to move forward; making you feel useless, but with time it will be your strength, building a determination to never go back to that feeling ever again.

“My Lady, are you feeling unwell?” Sally’s voice was with concern when she turned on the lights in the room.

“It’s nothing to worry about. It was just a dream.”

“I see. Do you want something warm to drink? I can fetch you some tea or warm milk to help you calm down and get a proper rest.”

“There is no need. I do not want to impose on you two while I am here. You both have already done plenty for me.”

“Don’t ponder too much on the little things or you’ll get wrinkles!” A hint of mischief could be heard in her voice. “Go and wash your face to freshen up while I’ll get you something soothing to help you sleep.”

“Alright. Guess you do not take no for an answer once you set your mind to it.”

“You got that right!”

I stood from the bed; “is the bathroom empty? I mean, it does connect to his room.”

“Yes, My Lady!” The section of the bookshelf that led to the bathroom that connected the two rooms opened. “Take all the time you need. Master is busy with other things so; he has not returned yet.”

I headed towards the other room. Sally logged off like she did when I was going to sleep.

As I was wondering if Sally was acting more unnatural than how she was treating me when we were talking earlier when I arrived here; the young man that had rescued me was standing near the bath, naked; water drops coursing serenely down his muscle lines and dripping off the ends of his short damp hair. He was reaching towards the towel when he noticed my presence and as our eyes met. Time stopped as both of us stood in place not knowing how to react. Seconds seemed like minutes; until he cleared his throat and looked away to hurriedly cover himself from the waist down with the towel.

As he did so I snapped out of my daze, embarrassment clear in my cheeks as they turned scarlet red. Turning away ashamed of the intrusion, I started to apologize, not knowing what else to do. “Saints, I am SO sorry!” Nervousness clear in my voice and uneasiness clouding my mind. Sally lied? What do I do now?

“No, do not worry. It was not your fault; I apologize for this… awkward situation.” His tone of voice seemed incredibly nervous as he hurriedly walked across the room towards the dresser that was on the other side of the bathroom. “It’s late; couldn’t sleep?”

Without turning to face him, still embarrassed, I answer him; “No. Apparently you either.”

A phew drawers opening and closing softly could be heard before he spoke again; “Bad dream?”

“Something like that. And you? Why are you up so late?”

The room fell silent; the next thing I knew, I felt his breath near me; one of his hands covered my eyes and the other pulled my hair away, exposing my neck. “Take a guess.” He spoke in a low sweet voice, his breath tickling me near my ear along with his words. I felt his lips press against the back of my neck, near the hairline. The warmth of his brief touch spread throughout my body, making me feel lightweight and the headache that I was feeling after I tried to dig through my memory, was gone.

“I apologize if I startled you. Twice.” His hands where slowly letting me go, leaving a lingering warmth like those other times he has touched me.

“What did you…” I turned to face him, only to find him shirtless with only dark sweatpants, his hair still wet; making me feel embarrassed once again and my words froze along with me.

He smiled deviously at my reaction; “I casted a small soothing spell to calm your energy circuits. They were causing you trouble to fall and stay asleep.”

I placed my hand where his lips had touched me. “What?”

He lifted both of his hands in a gest of defeat “I swear I have no ulterior motive…” He lowered his arms and walked towards the door that leads to his room. Just before opening the door, he looked back at me and gave a playful smile; “not yet at least.” He winked and opened the door. Leaving me dumbfounded where I was standing, still touching the back of my neck.

Suddenly, a cheerful familiar voice bursts out laughing; bringing me back to reality. “I should have recorded this! Hah, this was fun.”

“Your brain is filled with dirt, you know that?”

“So, I have been told, but it was worth it. I got to tease the both of you and the best part is I saw a new side of master that I can use against him for a while.”

I touched delicately the back of my neck once more, “I’m guessing this was the soothing drink you offered me?” I left the bathroom and sat on the bed feeling aggravated by her scheme.

“Of course! I knew he would notice your unstable energy and do something about it. Everything went according to plan!” Sally sounded triumphant and proud of what had happened between the two of us just now. “So, tell me, isn’t he sexy? I mean, his face is handsome too, but don’t you think my master is a total eye-candy?”

My cheeks flushed at her question; “what are you even asking? I am going to sleep! Good night.” I laid down on the bed and wrapped myself with the soft warm blankets as fast as I could.

Sally laughed at my reaction; “how cute! Well, that was enough fun for today. Good night, My Lady.” Sally turned off the lights before she left, leaving the room dark and silent, making it feel somehow lonely but warm at the same time; knowing that I am no longer alone.

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room, it was dark with no windows to give light, but I somehow could tell the sun had risen. Slowly everything came back to me; that is right, I was rescued and brought here by a young man last night. He is the boy from that time in the forest that I remember well when I was a kid. I sat up on the bed; my mind felt a little fuzzy.

A cheerful Sally greeted me; “Good morning, My Lady.” The lights were turned on along with her greeting.

“Morning, Sally.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“I guess you could say that I did. I have not slept so soundly in what feels like… well, ever.” As I stretched myself and filled my lungs with air, I noticed the scent of distinct types of foods that I could not recognize. My eyes wandered to the source of the smells. To my surprise there were many diverse types of breakfast dishes and fruits cut in different shapes; enough food to feed a household of six to seven members. I stood up to get a closer look at the dishes that were displayed in a tray table twice the size of the one that was brought in last night. “What is all this? I mean, I know it is food but…” I fell silent, amazed by how well made and decorated the food was; especially the amount and size of it.

Sally sighed in a way that gave away exasperation, like this has happened too many times to count. “Just eat what you can, My Lady. Master’s maid was too excited that master asked for breakfast and made a little too much.”

“I see. If the maid gets this excited over making breakfast, I am guessing, he does not eat much.”

“He just gets carried away and forgets he needs to eat to have sufficient energy.”

“And did he eat this morning?” I started to taste curiously one of the fruit dishes that I was unfamiliar with.

“Surprisingly, he did. He said that leaving you with two tray tables worth of food was too much.”

At the mention of the actual amount of food that was made I stopped eating, feeling shocked at how ridiculous it sounded for a regular person to eat. “Two? You are joking.”

“Like I said, that’s why he ate everything in one of them and left you the smallest one.”

I felt even more overwhelmed than before, making my tone of voice higher than normal; “This is the smallest one? Who can even eat this much food? Does he have an endless pit for a stomach?”

“Speak of the devil!” To add to my surprise, the young man stepped in the room; the bookshelf silently slid into place.

“So, I have an endless pit for a stomach now, huh.” He stood in front of me and gave me an amused smile as he snatched away and ate the slice of fruit I was holding. “I can understand why you would be surprised but eventually when your health is in its prime condition you will see this tray table as an appetizer.”

“What are you saying? Normal people do not eat this much, I think.”

“That is because the normal you have seen is not the same definition of normal to our kind, we eat three times more than the average person. A healthy diet for us would be to eat both trays since our bodies burn three times faster the food source than the average person you have seen.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“It is fine. For now, just focus on recovering your health status, until I return. While you are at it, Sally will teach you the basics on how to control your abilities and fill you in on what is necessary to know about our kind, for now.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear with the most loving smile I had ever seen him and then turned to leave.

Before he could leave, I called out to him anxiously, not wanting him to leave my side; “wait. Where are you going? Are you going to be away for long? At least tell me what to call you.”

The young man gave me a loving smile; sending my heart in a flutter; “missing me already? You used to call me Eli when we were kids. Just call me that for now.” Then he left just like he had come; suddenly, silently, and rapidly.