The Medallion

Nilla: His Confession

I told him that my friends wanted to meet him, but the idea of it changed his mood. I wondered if Allison was right, if maybe he was hiding something from me... but what it could be if he didn't even want to do something as harmless as meeting my friends.

I just couldn't take the secrecy. We usually spent our time together at the spot where we first met. I had to tell him how I felt.

"It sure turned out to be a gorgeous day," I said nervously.

"Yes," Jace said in agreement. He put his arm around my shoulders protecting me from the chilly breezes.

I pushed him away. His confused look was heartbreaking.

"Listen, Jace. I just have to know why you won't meet my friends. It may seem like a silly thing to insist upon, but I just can't feel our relationship going any farther if you insist on keeping things from me."

He just looked at me. It broke my heart to tell him these things. I began to think that maybe the idea of a lasting relationship built on mutual trust was outdated and immediately hated myself. How could one person cause me to question everything I believed in?

He nodded. "Ok. I understand."

Oh no. I thought. He's about to break up with me because I'm pushing him too hard.

"I was just afraid of them," he smiled. "I thought maybe they would not like me and then they would talk you out of being with me. One of them... might find something in me that they do not find to their liking and insist upon our separation actually."

I wanted to laugh at such a ridiculous thought, but he was right. Allison had already warned her many times about his secrecy, and she had only seen him a few times from a distance. It was eerie that he would even suggest such a thing. Did he already know about Allison's extrasensory perception? Did he feel something in her as well?

"Why would you think that?"

He evaded my gaze. "Perhaps I am hiding something from you. Perhaps it will cause you harm." He let out a large sigh. "Perhaps I was foolish to get involved with someone like you at all. "

I reached out for his arm. I felt so dumb for all of it. I didn't want him to leave, but I didn't want him to keep things from me either. I wanted a relationship of trust, but I was willing to throw that trust away just to keep him with me. It was dumb. It was ridiculous. But I wanted him more than I wanted his trust. I was pretty sure that meant I was becoming a certifiable loon or a doormat. What sane, responsible, proud woman would rather just have a man in their lives over a relationship of pure trust? It made no sense, but I had been told that love often makes no sense whatsoever.

"Please, forgive me," he said.

He gave me a gentle kiss and I welcomed it gratefully. It meant that he wasn't so willing to throw it all away. It had only been a few weeks, sure, but for me, it was the best time of my life. I finally understood that feeling of love that had been so elusive in years past.

He reached into his shirt and pulled out the silvery chain. It sparkled more than she remembered. On the end of it was a silver medallion. The outside rim looked to be covered in evenly spaced diamonds. The space inside of it was a beautiful shade of blue, the exact color of the deep ocean. There was what appeared to be a clock or sundial inside of the blue circle only with a dolphin shape in the middle instead of an arrow pointing to the side with his nose at four o'clock.

"This is my medallion. It allows me to stay with you during the day. Every few years, one of us is allowed to come to land and experience the life it has to offer. We can stay even longer if there are two full moons in the month. However, the main purpose of the trip is to find a mate worthy of us."