REBIRTH

THE BLACK HEART

It was a glowing afternoon as Mera and her friends walked past a bridge. Below it was a small river. They were on their weekend adventure, gathering up every rare items they found. Mera was almost in her twenties. She was one of youngest of her friends. She was an average height young lady and almost spotless except from a tiny dot strategically positioned at the side of her nose. A wealthier family would have brought her beauty beyond imagination and would have exposed her to several juicy opportunities. She was also conscious of her new developments and would secretly admire herself before reflective objects. She had a boyfriend, Oliver. He was also among the adventurers.
They reached a small valley and began searching.
"Found anything yet, Mera"Nyx asked
"You should be asking Freya, not me"
Freya had the ability of searching places with her brain. It made her quite unique amongst the others and she felt at the peak. Whereas, Mera had great senses, especially for dangers. It sometimes gave her a striking pain on her forehead.
Not long, Nyx called the attention of his mates, claiming he found something as they went to him quickly
"It's granite idiot" Oliver lamented in dissatisfaction
"It's not a mouse at least"Fired back Nyx as they all laughed. Mera couldn't help but laughed too. She tried covering up when Oliver faced her. He looked embarrassed.
"Sorry"she apologized and walked towards him. She laughed gently before kissing him. Nyx stared at them before Freya caught his attention.
"That could be us" Nyx said "but you're just so hard to get, you know"
"Gross I'll never kiss you" Freya said irritatedly and walked away
They continued their hiking, finding nothing really useful in the valley. Freya felt they should return because it was getting late but the others refused. After walking about a mile, they approached a lowland. Suddenly, Mera felt a sharp pain on her forehead. She recognized the feeling. No one noticed her and she decided to say nothing to them. Mera walked forward as the pain grew stronger. She had never felt so much pain like it before. The pain then stopped abruptly. It was like a flash. She could have let go a scream if the pain had continued a second. She looked down and noticed something almost buried under the soil she took it. "It's like a black heart" she said to herself, gazing at it thoroughly. The heart shone brighter and brighter and appeared to be cracking.
"Hey guys, come over"Mera said, appearing terrified. Unexpectedly before the others could make it to her,the heart exploded on Mera, tossing her to the ground. Her mates ran to her hurriedly
"Hey are you okay?" Oliver asked, breathing fast.
Mera groaned in pain "I think so"
They sat her up and cleaned her stains. Oliver found a cut at the back of her forehead. They asked her what happened but she couldn't think straight. It was like she developed Alzheimer's. Mera got back to her feet carefully, claiming she was okay. They all left her, hoping she would speak up later. They concluded on heading back home. Mera could still feel the pain on her forehead. Oliver wasn't okay with the way Mera felt. He kept on asking her what happened on their way back but Mera couldn't say anything specific. She kept on stammering but Oliver calmed her down
"Does it still hurt" Oliver said "the cut, at the back your head"
"What cut" Mera asked, perplexed
Confused, Oliver took a look at her head. He could have sworn she had a cut
It was nightfall before Mera and Oliver reached Mera's place. The rest had gone to their respective destinations. Oliver had to make sure she was okay. Mera tried telling him about the black heart but it couldn't come out well. Oliver could sense she was scared. He gave her a consolating peck on her forehead, assuring her everything is fine. He gathered her belongings and placed it round her neck before walking really fragile back to his home.
Nyx opened the entrance door to his residence ajar. He scanned thoroughly, ensuring no one could see him. Everywhere being clear to him, he tiptoed his way back to his room gently. He could perceive the aroma of lasagna, still fresh. Someone was still awake or probably just gone to sleep, he felt
"You are past curfew". A familiar masculine voice said to Nyx
" I'm sorry" Nyx apologized, disguising an awful face
"Don't let it happen again" the voice said "your dinner is in the kitchen. Let's hope it isn't cold" The man then left to his room
Nyx sighed heavily. He thought he was in trouble. He had been living with his step father for a while. His parents died half a decade ago. He lost his father in a shipwreck. This didn't bring him out of bed for weeks. His dad was his confider. He learnt a lot of things from him and losing him was the last thing he could ever think of. A year later, his mom remarried. Nyx hated him and he had the feeling this stepdad hated him too. They never smiled to each other. Few months after his mom remarried, she died also. The death was claimed to be from food poisoning but his stepdad never wanted to accept the claims. Nyx always felt his stepdad had an answer to his mom's death. He said nothing although. He had no choice but to stay with his stepdad. His late dad's house was sold when his mom remarried.
Nyx hated being under control. That was written all over his stepdad. He was very strict. He never attempted to show Nyx a bit of love but Nyx didn't care. He had his friends. Sometimes when Nyx was alone, he had a fantasy of his dad returning back to life. Then, he'll be out of his stepdad's life for good but when the frustrations seems to be at the verge, he wishes his stepdad could kick the bucket.
Nyx had the ability of controlling the water current even though, he wasn't really good at it. He inherited the ability from his father. His father always gave him lessons of controlling his powers before he died. Then, he always felt he could never get his powers to a mastery level.
Nyx abandoned the food. Lasagna was one of his favourites. He knew the consequences but he didn't care. All he cared about was his freedom. And Freya also. He thinks he has feelings for her. He calls it lust at times. Her butt was quite big. He never mentioned to her his feelings but he always made silly and mirthful advances to her. Freya never seemed to have time for guys. Most night, Nyx would go into his bathroom and practice his ability. He would end up flooding everywhere and it sometimes gave him sleepless night. His stepdad mustn't see it. Nyx believed he would one day, have the freedom he longed for. It was all he wanted. He climbed on his bed and dozed off almost immediately.

Mera had a long night. She couldn't sleep well. Her head hurt throughout. Everything seemed different to her but she blamed it all on the fall. She walked briskly to the living room and grabbed herself a jar of milk
"Morning darling" her mom said, walking out of her room towards her "how was your night"
"Okay" she took a sip of her milk "Couldn't sleep well though"
"You look pale"
Mera had a glance at herself through a mirror. It had some minor cracks. She felt her face had grown leaner.
She returned to her room with her jar of milk to prepare for another day of adventure with her mates. They normally summon at Oliver's before initiating their journey. Mera loved adventures since she was five. She would go with her father on long walks, exploring the town. She grew up falling in love with it and luckily had friends who had something in common with her. She met Oliver in one of her walks. She never wanted to believe it was love at first sight. They would sneak out most nights to have fun. They never had the chance during the day. Oliver worked in a small restaurant, owned by a scoundrel while Mera was busy with her items
Few minutes after Mera returned to her room, she came back out, looking fully prepared. She wore a black jacket which had a minor tear on the left shoulder on a white camisole. She kissed her mom goodbyes before leaving for Oliver's. On her way, Mera wasn't feeling okay. She had recurrent flashbacks on what happened the previous day. Suddenly, her sight was murky and she fell to the ground, unconscious.