Love My Wings

Chapter 15

It was a calm afternoon. A few customers came by, but there was silence in the air. The kind of silence that is pleasant. Like a fresh summer morning after a night of rain. "Ya' hungry yet, big boy?"

Rory was leaning on the counter looking out at the market blankly when he turned his head to Lei, who crept up behind him and squished his arms playfully.

"Yeah. But I don't know what to eat." He replied.

"Well, I could go to the apartment and make us some sandwiches. With some chicken and stuff." Rory shook his head violently.

"NO. What if you start a fire and break stuff and the apartment explodes?!" Lei rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"I'm not that useless. I can do things by myself just fine. It's just making a sandwich." Rory looked at him worriedly. He stared at his violet-blue eyes. Examining the colors while Lei kept talking in the background. He fell completely into a trance losing himself in the color that seemed to glimmer and shine.

"Rory... Rory! RORY!" Lei shook him vigorously by the shoulders. "Rory, wake up! What's wrong with you?" He shook the haze off and grabbed his head.

"I'm so sorry. What just happened? I don't remember anything you said after 'sandwich.'"

Lei's eyes were not only filled with glow but now with concern. "Are you okay?" Rory looked at the ground lost in thought and nodded. 

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm ok."

"You- You started rambling like a maniac. Thankfully you did so quietly, but you seemed like you were losing it. Some girls that walked by were weirded out. I think they've bought some stuff here before." Rory bit his lips nervously.

"Really?"

"Yeah! You were saying something about the light. You sounded like you wanted to gouge my eyeballs out with a spoon. I recorded you though."

Rory unlocked his phone in a panic. "I am so sorry, Lei. I have no idea what just happened." He played the voice recording.

"They glow. It's so bright. Your eyes are glowing. I have to get to it. Don't move. I have to get to the light. Please."

They both looked at each other wide-eyed. Everything Rory said was in a soft voice different from his usual tone as if he were being possessed. "This is crazy," they said in unison. Shortly they both clenched their chest.

"Did you feel that?!" Lei nodded.

It was that feeling again. The one they got when something was the same in the two worlds. Lei pointed behind Rory. "Look."

It was Lizu levitating and watching both of them closely in disappointment. When Rory turned to look at Lizu it disappeared in a blink. Rory scratched his head frustratedly.

"You should go make those sandwiches, maybe Lizu will talk to you alone. I'll take care of the stand." Lei frowned.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Rory nodded dully handing Lei his cell phone

"Here, take it, call me if you need anything."

Lei left with his heart racing at what had just happened. He was scared. He was scared of Rory. For the first time, he felt like he wanted to be alone. Yet something told him he had to stay by his side.

The keys jingled as he took them out of his pocket and stepped into the apartment cautiously.

The silence in the air was deafening. An unpleasant kind of silence surrounded Lei. Chilling his skin and every last hair on his body. He took a deep breath and began to make the sandwiches. As he cut the tomatoes he looked to his side. Lizu was hovering in place watching him yet again. "Hi, Lizu. Can we talk?" Lizu nodded, as expected, it was much easier for Lei to do this.

"I'm scared. I feel so scared. My gut is telling me something is wrong." Lizu merely blinked in response.

"That wasn't Rory. Something possessed him. And I have a terrible feeling about it. I mean, he could just be playing some stupid prank on me, but it felt way too real. I could feel him just as frightened as myself. It was real." Lizu blinked yet again.

"You're not gonna say anything are you?" Lizu sighed.

"Do you want me to talk to you using this voice?" Lizu replied which made Lei remember Lizu's voice was a mere illusion.

"Yes, please, I need you to help us."

"Those are the consequences of crossing barriers never meant to be crossed." Lei looked at Lizu attentively.

"And?..." It stared him dead in the eyes with not another word. Lei disconsolately packed the sandwiches in paper bags.

He knew it was no use asking Lizu more questions. The solution was all laid out. There was nothing they could do. There was no reason for false hopes. The day was getting closer and closer. This wasn't like the novels Lei read when he was younger. There were no happy endings for characters whose mere existence was a mistake.

What did I do to deserve this? What is the meaning of this? Why does it feel like a dream? I don't even know what's real anymore.

Yet another voice entered Lei's thoughts. You know I can hear your thoughts, right? Don't wear yourself out. Let me tell you, your mediocre life is not worth struggling this much. You're only a mortal, I would suggest you put an end to your pain. Or if you want... I can do it for you.

Lei broke down on the floor and began screaming uncontrollably. He felt like something was going to consume him. He couldn't see, he couldn't move, he couldn't feel, he couldn't think. It was gone. It was all gone.

What's the point? Who am I supposed to be? Why do I even exist?

Just as quickly as it came, everything froze, all the noise was gone with another voice calling his name. He looked up and let go of the firm grip he had on his hair, his ears were ringing loudly.

"LEI! ARE YOU OKAY?" Tears fell like cascades from his eyes and traveled the smooth skin of his cheek until they reached his chest sending a chill down his spine.

Rory found him in the corner of the kitchen cabinets. He ran and embraced him. Lei rested his head on his shoulders and grasped the fabric of his warm, salmon-colored sweater slowly letting his hands slide into Rory's sleeves causing small bursts of violet electricity.

He sobbed loudly and Rory held him as if he would break. Between whimpers, he whispered. "Why- How did you know?" Rory patted his back.

"Because. I felt you. I almost heard you scream. I knew something was wrong." Lei shook his head letting out many cries.

"You shouldn't have come... All I've ever been is a burden. To you, to everyone. I can't do this. There's no point. I don't want to suffer anymore."

Rory grabbed Lei's shoulders and struck him across the face impulsively.

"ARE YOU STUPID?! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?"

"It's over, Rory. I am no good for you. Stop pretending everything will be okay, IT'S NOT OKAY, AND IT WON'T BE!"

"MAYBE IT WON'T BE OKAY, MAYBE WE ARE MISTAKES, MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST NOT EXIST. BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON'T TRY. THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU GIVE UP!" Rory shouted, shaking him violently while Lei kept his eyes on the ground.

"Just because life is unfair to you, doesn't mean you're the only one who suffers. You can't be that selfish, you can't be a coward. You can't run away, Lei. You have to face your problems. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm sure that whatever we're going through has a meaning. Everything has a purpose, and whatever happens, just remember, I'm here with you now, and as long as I can be, I won't let go of you."

Lei shook his head and his crying intensified. "THAT'S NOT TRUE... I have to... I have to lose you, I can feel it, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO. TRUST ME, IF I COULD, I WOULD KEEP GOING, BUT I'M NOT PERFECT LIKE YOU. You're... You're all I've ever wanted to be. You're everything I'm not. You're the piece of me that's missing."

Rory couldn't choke back his tears any longer. "I think the same thing about you." They tenderly touched foreheads as they sat collapsed on the kitchen floor. Their fingers zapped at the lightest encounter of their skin. Their tears mixed, dampening each other's clothing. Everything was crumbling. Bound to end any second.