Set Me As A Seal ✓

16. it was only them in the room

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

The first time Kali met Evgenis was an odd day indeed. Days passed predictably in this village, and never did strangers show up at doorways unannounced - especially not strangers who struck you still and speechless as soon as you opened your door to them. He was stunning: Evgenis stood there, something playful about his eyes, like he had some secret... out of breath, and leaning against the door frame. She wasn't sure what it was about him that was so striking: it could be the gold of his eyes or the way he used them; it could be the soft of his long hair that he combed his hand through as he said "I'm looking for Tharos?"

But Tharos was behind him just as quickly - seemingly appearing out of nowhere; out of breath, too, and with that same dazed look in his eyes. "Evgenis, my old friend!" He exclaimed in what seemed like a caricature of surprise... "come come," and he led him through the narrow doorway. Kali didn't say a word - couldn't.

As soon as Evgenis walked into the room the air had shifted. It was too thick for Kali to break through it. Evgenis stole all the attention like a magnet - like he was draining it out of the air and feeding off it; he was glowing. He had some charismatic tale about how he ended up in the village, and Kali's mother leaned across the table in awe. Neither mother listened to any word Evgenis said - they were simply captivated. He had these stories, long and winding, about his time in the war. He'd just returned for some reason or other. He told of his feats, and the things he'd seen, and there was a vacuum everywhere except in his seat. He spoke of this and that; he complimented Tharos' mother on her cooking and she gleamed.

Tharos was not captivated. In fact, he recoiled. He turned nervous in a way Kali hadn't seen in him for months and months. She'd grown to know Tharos, as familiar as her own hands... they'd established well-trodden paths of communication and rituals and habits between them. Like when Tharos would pass her the pot of stew after he served himself, but now... he placed it back on the table, his mind trapped elsewhere. He wasn't himself. He hardly looked up from his palms.

"Tharos?" She whispered to him, resting her hand gently on his knee underneath the cover of the table. He was to be her husband someday. She knew him more than anyone. She knew when something was wrong. And there was something now, but she couldn't place it.

"I'm okay," he smiled a little too widely, turning himself toward her to whisper. He saw the concern wash over her face. She knew she worried too much sometimes but... she couldn't help it; Tharos lived in such a soft place in her heart. He had lived there from the moment she met him at the market - from the moment he'd grabbed an orange from his bag to offer it to her and she'd looked up and had been confront with the depth of kindness in his eyes. It looked limitless. She'd been right. And when it was proposed Tharos could take Giorgo's place as her suitor, she didn't care one bit if he had no war medal and had no riches to offer her. He had himself; and she wouldn't trade being the wealthiest woman on earth for that ocean of kindness that was Tharos' eyes. She hesitated only because things had never been romantic between them. But to spend the rest of her life alongside him, every day, just as they had done these months... she couldn't possibly say no. She didn't want to wait it out to see Giorgo's fate - she would have Tharos instead. On this humble farm, day in and day out, as long as they could live their days beside each other, she would have Tharos.

But he was not teasing and funny now. He did not poke her under the table as Mother said something ridiculous. He did not roll his eyes while his own mother spoke, communicating to Kali that they shared a secret... even amidst a crowd of other people, it was just the two of them when they shared these looks. He was her best friend.

But this was not the Tharos she knew. Tense and quick in his responses. Dazed and inattentive. She thought they may be able to exchange knowing looks about their new guest. Maybe he would roll his eyes, with her, as Evgenis rhymed off his war feats. Kali knew Tharos hated this boastfulness - it was a hatred they shared. Yet he did not roll his eyes, or poke her, or even so much as glance at her. Not unless she commanded his attention. "What is it Tharos?"