The End of Eden

XXVI

Since nothing is expected of me anymore now that I'm the bride of Sleep, the morning I wake in Vessels bed from a near dreamless rest, I decide to not do anything that day. I know Vessel is already gone from the bed because of how cold the sheets are, and the silk ribbon has slipped from my eyes to my neck.

But I know he's still in the room with me, because I hear the most curious sound that I haven't heard since before I came to Eden; typing.

Light is shining into the inner sanctum already as I tug the silken ribbon from my neck and tie it around my wrist. and blink up to the ceiling, looking at the perfectly blue sky with puffy fat clouds floating past the window in the roof.

"Good morning," Vessel says, and I lift my head to peer at him. He has just the hoodie on again, though the mask is ever present. He does indeed have a laptop sitting in front of him at his desk. "Any dreams during the night?"

"Hardly any," I say, sitting up. I see him typing on the laptop, and I find my white robe laying across the foot of his bed; I have no idea who brings it to me while I am resting, but I am thankful for who does it. I pull it around me, and stand from the bed. "What are you working on? I had no idea we had service here."

I see him close the laptop, then tuck it away under the desk. "Inviting more people to Eden," he says, and he gestures me to his desk. I approach, and he pulls me down to his lap, his severely smudged fingers toying with the neck of the robe as I stretch my arms around him. "It was me who you talked to when you first inquired about information."

I know I shouldn't be shocked when he tells me this, but I am. I had no idea it was he who did this work, but I suppose it does make sense that he, or another vessel, would do it. And the thought that he knew about me before I came here, almost three months prior, makes me smile. I suddenly feel floored by how much my life has changed since then. I look at the bracelets on my wrist, and what they signify, the little bird on Four's catching my eye.

"What plans do you have today, my love?" Vessel asks gently,and I lean my head onto his strong shoulder.

"I think I wanted to take a walk and finish exploring Eden," I say after a few moments, and I pick my head back up from his shoulder.

"Take someone with you," Vessel urges, and I arch an eyebrow.

"Why? Am I not safe in Eden?"

He reaches up and takes my hand from behind his head and he kisses the smooth skin beneath the bracelets he nudged away. "You are safe, but you are more precious now, to me, to the other vessels, and to Sleep. We cannot have anything happen to you. You are a most prized treasure."

I wonder if he knows about my little swimming fiasco from the day before, or if he is still worried that Annabelle might attack me out of spite, even though she is nothing but a bug, and I have forbidden them from doing anything about her. But I will not argue with him; he has given me so much to live for now, a reason to exist, and I am grateful for that.

"I will ask one of the other vessels to join me then," I say, and I tilt my head to press a kiss to his mouth through the opening of his white mask. He tastes like pomegranate again.

"Any of them would happily oblige you," Vessel says after I slide off his lap, his hand holding mine aloft for me to balance with.

I can see his lips curl up in a smile before I turn around. I swipe my clothes from the ground and find the door to my room. I know his eyes are tracking my movements, but I don't slow down until I'm in my room, which is glaringly empty of any one else.

I take a scalding hot shower, washing away everything into the drain, including the ever present black body paint that always coats my body now. I have grown used to it being on me, marking my skin, and I don't even care now if someone sees it. They have all witnessed my union between the vessels, so it would be a given that I have their body paint on me.