Eva's Sins.

III

„If I can be an angel, then I'll choose to be a demon: only this way I'll have enough power to punish this world."

  Running, with her breath interrupted and with her heart madly beating in her chest as if it was a mad bird that was trying to make a hole through which to fly away, with her hands shaking because of that avalanche of emotions that were felt in her chest at that moment, Eva was heading toward the lake shore seen in the distance.

  And that place seemed both far and close at the same time due to that dizzy feeling of vertigo felt in her head and stomach that made her eventually want to vomit. But even so, Eva couldn't force herself to stop and smile: she felt powerless and hopeless.

  And how not to feel like that when the only words that were spinning all the time in her head were betrayal, madness, and loneliness, something that made her feel that she was about to collapse, more and more, and this happened not because she had to leave that house where she spent almost whole life, not because she had to leave behind all she had known or dreamt about till that moment, but because she felt that someone like her, that had loved others so much, that had dreamt about others to be happy without asking anything in exchange from them has been betrayed eventually, used and then thrown like an old cloth which was generally used for washing the floor: damn comparison, but damn so precise. And... Eva stumbled.

  The stump of a dried herb forced her eventually to stop, lying on her stomach and feeling so intensely the feeling of nothingness at that moment.

  „A bad luck, huh?"

  This amazed Eva so much, for she hadn't expected a man to be there to talk to her and more to stretch his hand to help her stand up.

  „Someone is trying to help me?! What a surprise!" and she finally found the strength to look up and she saw him: beautiful like an angel, but with the aura of a demon - black eyes, black hair, and a suit of the same color to complement the beautiful view seen in front of her.

  „Will we stay for longer this way?" the man asked her and his tenor voice made her shudder from top to toe, bringing her back to reality.

  „No, sir, I just..."

  „...you were just trying to see for how long a man can stay with his hand stretched to help a lady, isn't it?!"

  And he smiled: oh, God, that smile could kill even angels if they existed somewhere in this world, especially an angel like Eva, who, hearing the word „lady" told her - an unripened girl, who could barely be called young lady because of her breasts in the bud, almost unnoticed through the too-tight cloth of her dress what made her seem even skinnier than she actually was, blushed. But she was probably someone in his fantasies: a kind of butterfly that will become a real beauty someday and he'll feel honored for being the first one in discovering her and... damn, she kept saying nonsense in her head while staring like a dumb at his charming smile.

  Perfect lips: red and medium size, but fleshy enough to awake some dreams not only in the head of a child but also in the soul of each lady who knew life better. And, for sure, any woman in this world could let herself seduced by those tasty lips and by those demon eyes in which one could lose himself - completely and without the possibility to ever recover from that spell.

  And, above those eyes, a pair of black long eyelashes could be seen, something that was perfectly combined with that beautiful abyss of his eyes.

  „The stranger" was a man about 30, not very tall, but also not short to be called a dwarf, with an athletic body that made him really handsome. „He probably does some sports or maybe he doesn't eat so much or...," were spinning the nonsense questions in Eva's head.

  „What are you thinking of?" he asked her, making her wince.

  They were sitting at that moment on the only wooden bench that was seen on the lake shore, looking at the sunset that was coloring red the horizon.

  „If I had been older, I could have told myself that it was my first romantic date with someone worthy enough to receive all the love kept in my chest all these years since I've been born and which I never had the opportunity to share it with someone," though Eva, but she said loudly „may I dare to dream about the future?"

  The man smiled, a hint that her twisted thoughts were reflecting the innocence, something that made his heart wince too, even if for a second only, reminding him about his youth, about the fleeting and passionate love of adolescence.

  „You should dream about happiness instead," he said.

  „But... was it still something left?"

  „Certainly and if we see each other again and you are enough mature to understand that, I'll show you what happiness means. Good afternoon, Elizabeth! How are things going?"

  Only then did Eva notice Beth's silhouette outlining behind her and she has been so amazed to see her blushing, hearing those words addressed to her. But... it was so comic to watch her red face and ears as if they were poppies in full flower while she kept staring like a dumb at the stranger, murmuring a barely heard: „I'm fine, mister Beneath! Thank you!"

  The one named mister Beneath eventually stood up, preparing for leaving: „nice to meet you, Miss Stonebridge. I hope our next meeting will be yet in circumstances less... weird than this one."

  And he stretched his hand then, toward Eva, but he had to wait for good moments till Eva shook it, and this happened only after Beth slapped her back, making her come back to her senses. Then, feeling so weird while shaking his hand, she felt that she was actually burning inside and she understood that he had a certain influence over her, making her even more obedient than she actually was.

  „He's so handsome," murmured Beth, staring behind him while he was moving away.

  And Beth was right: something that Eva understood only after his departure, that he was that kind of man that could awaken feelings in the young ladies'chest only with his simple presence.

  „Let's go, Miss Stonebridge. Destiny is waiting for you," said Beth, taking a few steps away from the bench and heading toward the house, built from grey brick, seen in the distance.

  Eva looked thunderstruck at Beth, for she never heard her talking so politely to her, and this even if Beth was a few months younger than Eva was and neither that she worked in Eva's service since they were only 7.

  Of course, Eva also never treated her like a servant, and probably because of this they had such a wonderful friendship. And... Beth was that kind of child good and sweet, who you can't hate ever, but who you also can't love too much for her bad habit of approaching each person that was kindly smiling at her or telling a good word to her - totally the opposite of what Eva always tried to do, even if she only managed to always be caught in weird stories in her head, like the main character of those events.

  Like at that moment when she felt caught in that vertigo that was dizzily spinning inside her as if trying to suck her inside it and make her vanish as if she has never existed on earth.