Hidden World

Chapter XX - Shadows from the Past

The night passed by fast, and it was an eventful one. As soon as Rose entered the house, she raided the liqueur cabinet and now, close to noon, she sat hungover on the kitchen floor oscillating between crying and laughing. Her entire night's been like this. She felt like her heart was slowly darkening as she did not know who to put her trust in. Her attempt to a normal evening turned into one that she will not forget too soon.

She did not even change her clothes; she was the same as the evening before. She lost her motivation, and she knew that Sebastian might eventually bring her end sooner or later, especially once he got all that he desired from her.

The doorbell rang only once but she ignored it as she did not want to get up from the ground. Her head felt heavy and so did her heart. When it rang again, she took a deep breath not wanting to deal with anyone that might disturb her mental breakdown.

When the third time she finally got up. She looked into her reflection in metallic cooking pot that was sitting on the countertop and wiped what was left of her makeup from the night before. She tried to arrange herself, but it seemed that no small adjustment could help her at this point.

At the fourth ring, she walked to the door a little curious to see who had the patience to stay there for more than ten minutes and not continuously press the button. She unlocked the door and opened it only to be met with a familiar face.

"Hi..." Malwin said with a soft smile that faded as soon as Rose slapped him so hard his cheek turned red. "....what?" he remained stunned not knowing how to react to the girl's action, but his smile came back as soon as she felt her arms wrap around him.

Rose was stunned at the sight but her first instinct was to slap him. She wanted to know if he was really there or just an illusion, a fabrication of her mind. "I wanted to know if you are really here..." she mumbled hiding her face in his chest, hugging him tightly afraid that he might vanish right then and there.

"You might break my ribs." He said and patted her head slowly before trying to unstick her from his body. "I am not going anywhere now." He added trying to reassure her.

Rose looked up at him and took a step back before entering the house leaving the door open behind her for him to follow. She took the full ashtray and emptied it in the trashcan before setting it back on the table. She sat down and lit a cigarette and watched him as he entered the dining room and looked around.

"This looks like a war zone." He remarked before sitting on a chair across from her. "How do you feel about a day off from all?" he asked and smiled softly, a smile she could not help but respond to.

Rose smiled back at him and thought a little. "And where would we go?" she asked. Somehow her mind down felt calmer, and her heart was no longer heavy. Even if she only knew Malwin from her memories and dreams, she felt safe in his presence.

"I thought we could go to the seaside, away from this place." He said and started playing with a piece of plastic he found on the table. "But you should change first." He added and tried not to chuckle at the mess that she was in that moment.

Rose looked down at her clothes and as much as she did not want to admit, he was right. "I will be back soon." She said as she extinguished her unfinished cigarette and got up. "I will hit you again if you vanish on me." She added as a warning before leaving the room. Hearing him laugh at her remark made her smile as she went up the stairs. It felt nostalgic to be there with him. It was like she was meeting again someone that was once close to her heart but absent from her life for a long while. A few images from the past came to her mind and her smile only grew. He was not only a friend to her before she lost her memories, but he was also someone that stuck by her for centuries. Someone she trusted and cared for deeply, but she never knew how much he did care for her. Afterall he was a God, and she was just a creation of others, a weapon made for one purpose and one destiny that she kept fighting against.