"Nia?! Nia, no no no... Please!"
Yre was dreaming, cold sweat and hot tears. Aer is fast enough to teleport to her room just in time to wake her up.
"Yre? Wake up!"
With his light tap in her cheek, Yre opened her eyes wide open, waking up from that bad dream. Or rather from that memory of the day Nia died in a mission.
Yre covered her face to silently weep. She doesn't care if Aer can see her wearing nothing, she badly needed to release her grief. She felt him covering her with her robe, the aroma of the herbal plant he burned enveloped the room. She just continued crying while he uttered prayers of protection and healing.
"It was her time to go, Yre. You'll surely meet again in other lifetimes if she is really dear to you..."
Aer said carefully.
"Time?!"
In a snap, Yre was furious.
"Fuck time, Aer! Maybe you are a healer but sorry, you know nothing! Can you please leave me alone?!"
"I instructed you to burn this plant before you sleep to cleanse this space, why didn't you?"
Yre snorted.
"Well, I'm sorry for that but I don't think it will be enough to cleanse my raging spirit! I thought that I would heal here but well, bullshit!"
Aer just let Yre burst. It is part of her healing after all. He had healed many Warriors here in Pita but he never felt this way while watching Yre, he felt helpless. As if he is sharing Yre's burdens, as if he should also feel Yre's despair, his heart almost ached.
Is this because we are soulmates?
Aer silently thought.
"I need to go back to Aseb, Aer! I feel like I am just getting worse here! I need to return before I go crazy and do stupid things here!"
Aer smiled weakly.
"You still have three weeks here, Yre. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, you are already suffering enough. Can you trust me as your healer?"
Yre shook her head.
"It is myself that I don't trust at this point, Aer. I barely survived this past week, maybe I just need to be in the missions again then I'll get better as I come along. I honestly don't feel like I am getting any better here..."
Aer nodded his head.
"I see, I am grateful for your honesty. We have protocols here, Yre. The best option that I can give you is this, you have to endure staying here for another week. Then spend the remaining two weeks in Aseb. There is just one condition..."
Yre's face lightened up a bit.
"What condition? I will take that, Aer!"
"As your healer, I have to go with you in Aseb to continue the healing..."
Yre was confused.
"But you healers can't leave Pita, right? Or do you have that privilege as an Elder here?"
"No privileges, Yre. Healers are only allowed to leave Pita with their soulmate. And once we give up our life here, we can never return..."
Yre gasped, not knowing what to say. They were silent for a while.
"If I manage to survive and finish my one month stay here, I can never return here, right? I know that Pita is a one-time thing only..."
Yre asked.
Aer nodded. His soulmate has a good memory.
"And we will never meet again in this lifetime after I leave, right?"
Why did I sound scared and sad?
Yre wondered after asking Aer another question.
Aer smiled, it reached his chinky eyes. He reached out to Yre and held her hand.
"And who told you that I will not be with you? No matter what your option is, you must leave Pita for your life in Aseb. No matter what, I will leave Pita with you, Yre. We are soulmates so we must be together..."
Yre don't know how many shocks she must endure today. It is like revelation after revelation in such a short span of time.
"But Pita is your home in this lifetime, Aer! There is no law that requires soulmates to stay together once they meet in any lifetime or any realm. It is actually rare to see soulmates together in higher realms..."
Aer stifled a laugh.
"Then let's join that rarity someday, Yre..."
Yre looked at him ridiculously.
"Life in Aseb is very different here in Pita, Aer! It is a Warrior Camp, we only live for battles and just hope that we can do another one after the other. I already took the hit of gambling to have a friend there, and you know how I am almost losing myself now after I lost Nia! If we are really soulmates, then we'll surely meet again in our next lifetimes..."
"Hmmm, we'll meet again just because of that, not because I am dear to you?"
It was stupid to blush but Yre's face heaten up. She realized that it is almost impossible to compose a rebuttal to Aer, the Elder healer.
Aer finally released his laugh. He let go of Yre's hand, he immediately felt empty inside but he had to let Yre rest.
"Unfortunately, I have already decided Yre. This is not something that you can say no to. I will accompany you in Aseb for the rest of our lifetime now. You don't have to worry because I have always felt like I will leave Pita one day, so I am ready. And I will do my best to also prepare you to be with me..."
Aer winked at her. Yre was shocked again, having a hard time to process the words that her so-called soulmate is saying.
"But for now, rest Yre. No more bad dreams for you tonight..."
And in a snap of his finger, Aer left the shocked Yre in her room alone.
