Beyond the Veil

Chapter 22

Sera was humming to herself, adding honey to the tea, as the sweet smell of lavender wafted through the house.

She turned around and jumped, startled, as she saw Saul sitting patiently on one of her barstools listening to her humming.

"Oh umm... sorry." She said awkwardly.

"Don't be. I enjoyed it." Saul said simply.

Sera coughed awkwardly, turning around to hide the pink gracing the tops of her cheeks. "I didn't hear you come down the stairs." She defended herself, mostly under her breath.

"I didn't use the stairs." Saul replied matter of factly. He was back to his stoic self, which was so hard for her to believe considering she had seen him for the predator that he was, just days prior. It was hard to believe she was being so normal about all of this.

"So everything I saw was real?" Sera asked cautiously.

Saul nodded solemnly, "Yes."

"It was a monster in the forest the night of the camping trip?"

"Yes."

"Nishay was a monster?"

"Yes."

"Sam too?"

Saul's posture stiffened ever so slightly at the mention of his name. "Yes."

"Wow." Sera paused, taking it all in. "And you brainwashed Quinn?"

Saul didn't respond immediately, but guiltily replied. "Yes."

"And the men at the police station?"

"Yes."

"And the guy in the front office at school?"

"Sera." Saul pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yes."

"Saul. You're supposed to be explaining." Sera stated, with her hands on her hips.

Saul said nothing. Was he still not going to explain things to her?

"Why? Why did you let me believe I was losing my mind? I was tearing myself apart." Sera said forlorn, warming her hands on her cup of tea.

Saul looked her in the eyes, and looked down. No words came out of his mouth. Sera grabbed a mug from the cupboard and filled it directly from the pot. The whole time his sad eyes never left her.

"Here." She said quietly, placing it down in front of him.

He looked at the tea and looked at her. "Sera. I didn't know what to do." He started. "I tried to stay away from you, I really did. Nothing about this makes sense, from the moment I realized I couldn't alter your thoughts I was trying to figure it all out... trying to figure you out, but I went too far and you started to see things for what they really are. I tried to remove myself from your life, and protect you, but its difficult to do both at the same time. I did everything I could to ensure you'd never find out about this. I used lies, I used deceit, I manipulated you and lied to your face, but ultimately, I failed. Look at us, sitting in your home, discussing everything you were never supposed to find out about."

"There's so much to unpack here." Sera stated. "It's hard to believe that you're not human..."

"I used to be at the very least, and I still see myself as one. I'm what humans might refer to as a 'ghost'. As in, I'm made out of energy instead of organic materials." Saul explained.

"So ghosts are real." Sera took a seat, sipping her tea politely. "Why are they all trying to hurt me?"

Saul didn't miss a beat, "nothing is going to hurt you, Sera."