Her Eyes

Thirty Three

"Let's recap. If the check-in worker asks for your passport, which one will you show them?" asked Nikolaos, sitting in front of a very tired and bored Esmae who was sitting slouched on the couch, a few documents in her hands and a passport.

As Lukas promised him, the false identification was sent to his house soon and Nikolaos was currently going over the important information with Esmae. He was slightly paranoid and worried that it would fail once they got to airport, so he had her prepare beforehand.

He lied to his parents one final time, telling them before they left that he went to the government office and had Esmae registered for a permanent residency card so that they didn't worry about the legal documentation and processing. They saw Esmae as their daughter and wanted to watch over her.

Her life as a dryad was accepted and they treated her well; if anything, they treated her better than before. Evangelia made sure to explain everything to Esmae and Charis gave her a necklace with a small bear charm as a gift.

She was wearing that exact necklace right now.

"This one." She raised the dark blue passport which contained the picture that Nikolaos took of her and more private information. He nodded and smiled, his tense stature relaxing. He knew she was bored and didn't want to go through the drills of memorization and whatnot again, but he couldn't help but worry.

"We'll leave it there for now then," he said, concluding their small discussion. He stood from the cushioned chair he sat in, holding out his hand for Esmae to take.

Relieved that they weren't going to talk about the government and airport requirements anymore, she took his hand gladly, abandoning her documents on the couch.

Esmae saw the entire process as a major downside of being a human. If she were a leaf, she wouldn't have to pay hundreds of dollars to fly on a deadly vehicle that flew meters into the sky. She didn't need identification or long documents that explained her existence.

She simply lived. That's all that mattered. The leaf wondered why humans and government systems required so many pieces of paper to prove that she was indeed a human that was once born and now existed. Why did it matter to them? Why couldn't she live like everyone else?

Why is this so complicated?

Nikolaos noticed her slight agitation and cupped her cheeks softly, rubbing her soft skin with his thumbs as he sympathized with her. "I know it's annoying, glykiá mou, but it's necessary. I'm sorry," he spoke softly, planting a delicate kiss on her forehead. It was clear that she was confused and her mind hurt thinking about everything; no matter how many times Nikolaos tried simplifying his explanation for her, she couldn't fully grasp the concept of identity.

She hummed and looked at him, seeing his expression softened from what it once was. At least now, there was something she understood. Esmae understood why Nikolaos seemed stressed and was working tirelessly each day. It was for her.

Esmae held his shirt loosely and smiled lightly, trying to show him that he didn't need to apologize for something she didn't understand. "It's okay. I'm okay. Thank you for working hard for me." Her faint voice was melodic in Nikolaos' ears and his heart melted at her simple words, finding them cute.

He sighed, leaning his head down so that their foreheads touched lightly. "If everything goes well, we will be in Greece in a few days. You can see the rest of my family then." He tried staying positive for them both as he pinched her cheeks gently.

"You said you wanted to see them before, yeah?"

Esmae nodded, growing excited at the idea of meeting other people Nikolaos was related to. She assumed they would be as nice as his parents were. "What are they like?" she asked, curious.