Nameless Ghoul

Lazy Sunday

Itzal woke up alone, wrapped in the warm blankets on Sunshine’s bed. He didn’t feel ready to leave the cozy nest he’d built for himself during sleep, so he snuggled deeper. His eyes felt gritty and sore as memories of last night came rushing back. Falling apart in Sunshine’s arms. He thought he should feel ashamed for breaking down like that in front of her, but strangely, he didn’t. Instead, he grasped the stone pendant his mother had given him and felt a quiet contentment that he’d finally seen her and said goodbye.

It felt like he’d laid his old life to rest last night. The ghoul he once was, the one he could never go back to being, was gone. He imagined his mother had expected him to slip back into his old life with ease. That the twenty years under Santos’s control were over, and he could simply pick up where he left off. But to Itzal, that ghoul had died the moment he was summoned to Earth. All the hopes and dreams of that life had died with him.

A cruel master had shaped the ghoul he had become now. Through lessons in pain and degradation, Santos had stripped him right down to the bone and rebuilt him.

Yet, being here made him feel like that old ghoul again. The one he used to be. He’d made friends, done normal things; things he’d chosen.

He realized he was afraid to look beyond the next week or so. He didn’t want to make plans with Sunshine, fearing they’d never come to pass.

His mother said they’d bonded, and she had a freaky way of knowing these things. Omega had said something similar. He didn’t feel a true bond with Sunshine yet, but the way he felt about her was more than even he had realized. If he dared to daydream, he could see them bonded in the future, but he didn’t let himself get that far.

For now, he’d take things day by day, handling whatever came and hoping to avoid the sting of disappointment that planning could bring.

The door opened, and Sunshine entered carrying a tray of food, setting it carefully on the coffee table. She looked at him and smiled. Itzal tried to sit up, but she stopped him.

“No, it’s fine. Stay there if you want. I brought us some food, but we don’t need to eat now. I figured you could use a lazy day. It’s Sunday, so not much going on. How about we watch some movies and chill? You don’t even have to get out of bed if you don’t want. If we’re lucky, there won’t be any dramas today,” she joked.

“How fantastic would it be to be lucky?” he chuckled, flopping back onto his pillow and shielding his eyes with his forearm.

Sunshine busied herself laying out plates, drinks, and snacks for later.

Itzal must have fallen back asleep because he woke up cold, the covers kicked off the bed. He figured it was time to get up. The clock read ten forty-five. He used the bathroom and brushed his teeth with the spare toothbrush Sunshine must have gotten out for him.

When he looked in the mirror, his eyes were still red, but nothing too drastic. His bruises had mostly faded, and only the cut on his forehead from the fight with Alpha was still healing. He lifted his t-shirt and twisted to check his back. The wounds were nearly healed, the scabs replaced by raised pink welts that would eventually turn into white scars, just like the others crisscrossing his skin. At least none of them hurt anymore.

Back in the living room, Sunshine was flicking through Netflix. She patted the sofa beside her, and Itzal sat down.

“Any preference?” she asked.

They settled on watching the rest of the Lord of the Rings movies, a favourite of hers too. They ate snacks and some leftover pasta Sunshine had found in the fridge. Itzal enjoyed doing nothing in particular with her.