The Unforgiven Chain (On Hold)

The Bond

The intense heat woke me up. I was all sweaty and confused. I don't remember lying on my couch and definitely it wasn't me the one who wrapped my body in all the blankets available in the house.

"What is happening to me?"

It was past nine o'clock and the night breeze would for sure do some good. Trying to force myself to function, I made some coffee and went to the backyard. Today the moon was a no show, but the fireflies were there, dancing, blinking and making every frog around go insane. Nature is a weird thing to watch. For me is the perfect balance between beauty and cruelty that takes my breath away. In order for one to live, another must die. All living things are connected and synchronized with this silent music called 'Life'; all of us seeking to understand the why's and reasons, trying to figure out our purpose and our part inside this giant organism that is earth.

And then, there is Allas Karask, or Shadow... What could possibly be his part in all of it? How long has he been around and why does he do the things that he does?

The enormous black horizon that was the Dark River today was calm and quiet. Looking at this vast and endless void made my heart ached. "What is like to be you, my old friend?" the night breeze carried my voice to the peaceful scenery.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I decided to take a stroll along river shore. The place we first met was not far from here. I remember running away from my mother's fury and hiding among some rocks. She had beat me badly that day and if I close my eyes, I can still remember the pain. When I met Shadow, I had nothing and no one. He was always there for me, never once complained about my temper, and would spend hours just watching me be a kid.

"How could I have forgotten about you?" My heart clenched reliving one small memory from our time together. This one time I'd sneaked out of my home and went to meet Shadow; we talked for hours about bugs and plants. He told me that night, that he always had love for the peacefulness in the woods around the mountain. After guiding me to a beautiful clearing in the forest, He used his claws to engrave a small and distorted unicorn in a tree just because I've told him that I liked them but never saw one in real life. When dawn was close, He sang to me until I fell asleep in his arms and, just like today, I woke up the next morning wrapped like a burrito in my bed.

I was lost in my own brain, but noticed the dark around me rising and coming closer; the familiar warmth evolved and pulled me closer in an embrace that I didn't knew was missing for most of my life.

"You are back to me now, that's all that matters." His voice was back to what it used to be all those years back. " I am sorry about screaming at you. Do you think you can find in your heart the will to forgive me"

Overwhelmed by a thousand emotions, all I could do was nod. We stood there, on the shore, sharing the silence of the night. It was just as I remember, peaceful and safe.

"How tall are you?" I knew he was big, but I realized just now that he was actually massive.

"I don't really know... It depends; I always make myself a lot smaller to be able around you and hold you without doing any damage."

"I still can't remember about our promise..." I've been fighting those memories for fifteen years. And every fragment I can collect and put together comes with a wave of feelings I didn't know I was capable. "Can you pretty please help me with it?"

"Unfortunately, it is not that simple." I was about to start arguing about it, but he continued. "This promise... This vow you made before you left with your father, is something I can't just reveal." He took a deep breath and hugged me tighter, as if I were an amulet he wanted to cling to "I wish you could have returned earlier, so we could have more time to fix everything. But time is against us, and as much as it hurts me to push you to remember, I have no choice."

"Why do you need me to remember it?"

"If we fail, I will disappear forever. Not die, or go to hell. Just vanish into oblivion." I wanted to turn around and look him in his eyes, to tell him that I would protect him like he once did for me. But he had a firm grip on me and wouldn't budge

"Sorry Sparkle, I am weakened now. If you turn around you will see me as I really am, and I can't allow that."

"That's unfair!!!" I scream allowing for angry tears to fall "I am not afraid of you!I am not a scared child anymore!"

"I can't lose you too." His whisper was filled with pain and something that resembled fear mixed with anger. "I won't risk it. You are everything I have left in this existence."

"Shadow..." I was trying my best to hold my ground " I will never abandon you again. I was a child back then a-and..."

" Shh..." He cleaned one stubborn tear from my face. "I don't blame you for leaving this place that time, I may be a Demon, but I am not irrational. Just be patient, my Little Sparkle, everything will make sense when the time is right. For now, I just need you to focus on your task. And even though I have really missed your tantrums, our time tonight must come to an end. You have a visitor approaching fast. So I'll give you my second clue.."

Gods how I love this creature! "Okay..."

" 'A heartless demon walks among us. He's blind and deaf, there is no use to neither scream nor beg. Once he smells his victim, it is done; it'll chase the poor soul until his thirst for violence is satiated.'... And that was the second lie."

The darkness gradually faded, and the creatures of the night that were silent came back to their usual behavior. I was about to walk back home but turned once more to face the river.

"Next time, can you sing me that song again?"