Fallen Saints

Smoke and tides

The soft light embraced the dock,enhancing the shadows of the crates.All of them were perfectly alligned for the shipment next day.
Ethan inhaled deeply the salty air that  made his nostrils burn,his gaze lingering on Harold that was still loading.
"Harold!I finished mine.Let me help you"
The worker's eyes lightened a bit,his lips curving into a soft smile and placed a reassuring hand on Ethan's shoulder.
"Go home,son.You had a rough day,you should really go check on your sister.I can handle this damn boxes alone"
Ethan always liked Harold more that others,but even though,sometimes,that silly old man still managed to surprise him.
"Fine.Take care of yourself.Tell your wife that I wish her all the best. "
He hugged Harold shortly,althoigh he knew that all this scene was carefully analysed by Enoch's harsh and envious gaze,his green eyes digging into Ethan's mind.
He shrruged of the thought of Enoch's opinion as he walked away.
The path home was familiar,filled with mud and uneven pebbles.He though about his sister and a spark of joy invaded his heart.
Arizona's gaze,her soft voice,her small hand on the cold wooden cane crossed his mind for a few times.He couldn't shake the feeling that their encounter put something that couldn't be stopped in motion.
As he approached his modest home,the faint flickrring light invite him in as greedly as a skilled lover .He was greeted by a strong smell of soup and parsley.He inhaled deeply the fragance that lingered in the  kitchen.
Diana looked up from the table where she skillfully drew something on a crumpled piece of paper.
"Ethan!"she jumped high from her chair and ran to embrace him with her bony hands.
Ethan smiled back trying to confine all the emotions he felt today.
"How are you feeling,Kitty?"
She shook her head,her smile not leaving her face
"I'm better.I slept less today,I got up and even made a soup for you."
Ethan placed a hand on her forehead checking for fever or other signs he had learned to check since she was sick.
"The medicine is working well.I will be fine.We will be fine."
Ethan smiled and nodded,trying to conceal the fact that the medicine was expensive,that he was sick of working at the dock,that he wished their mother was alive so she can help them.
Diana turned quickly with a swift of a motion and started pouring soup for him.
"You look like you've seen a ghost"
"Not a ghost,just someone...unexpected."
Diana raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "Oh? Do tell."
"Kitty...."
"Please"
Ethan hesitated, wondering how to explain the encounter with Arizona without sounding like a fool. "I met Mr. Lacks' daughter today. She... intervened when her father was about to punish me. It was... surprising."
Diana's eyes darkened at the sight of her brother's sparkly blue eyes before telling him
"She's just like him,you know?She was raised by him,she works with him.She is her father's daughter no matter what you saw today."
But Diana didn't know what he felt today....

They ate in silence after that.Ethan thought of money a lot these days,even though Diana had no idee about the sacrifices he made at the dock.
The silence that surrounded the kitchen was pierced by Diana's fainted voice.
"Ethan, do you think things will ever change for us?"

Ethan looked up from his soup, his thoughts interrupted. He saw the hope and the fear in his sister's eyes, a mirror of his own internal struggle. He reached across the table and took her hand, squeezing it gently.
"I believe they will, Kitty. We just have to keep going, keep believing."
"I think I want to sleep if that's fine by you.I feel a bit drowsy."
Ethan felt the adrenaline rushing through him as he stood up and helped his sister go into bed,he tucked her gently snd placed a loving kiss on her forehead.
He stood by her until she fell asleep,carresing her golden lock of hair,observing each small breath that became unnoticeble after some time.
He then took a grey coat on and walked like a mad man till he reached the dock.It was ironic that his safe place was right where every nightmare he had began,but it was where his heart felt still,where his soul guided him that cold,gloomy,October night.
The dock was empty,like a crooked memory of  each worker that was ever there.The wind was howling between the crates making a spooky sound that resembled a weep.
Ethan sat on a crate that waited to be loaded and watched the tides crashing into the metal bars that emerged from the sea.He searched his pockets for a long time and reached out to a small pack of cigarettes. He took one out and lit it while taking in the harsh smell of wood and sea.
As he stood there, he glanced back at the empty dock, a silent promise to himself that he would find a way out of this life.
When his glanced returned to the sea,he trembled in fear at the sight of a dark,slender figure standing next to him.
"Long time,no see,Mr Forest."
That soft voice haunted Ethan's mind and only made his heart beat even faster that before.
"Ms.Lacks..."said quickly as he stood up trying to put out the ciggarete.
"I'm sorry,I am here just to make sure that all the crates all alligned for the morning shipment."
Ethan's voice stuttered a bit as he lowered his gaze,trying to conceal his surprise and the emotion caused by Arizona's presence.
"It's fine,I often come here at night.It adds a sense of control for me."
"I should go,miss Lacks..."
"Please,stay.My father will not know and he will not care who I stay with unless it interferes with his plans."

Ethan hesitated, unsure of how to respond to this poisoned proposal. The excitment of staying with Arizona, of continuing their conversation pulled at him. Yet, the practical voice in his head warned of the risks, the consequences of being seen with the daughter of Conrad Lacks.He would not allow himself to lose this job or even his ability to ever work again for a girl.

"I... I appreciate your kindness, Miss Lacks," Ethan managed to finally say, his voice low and uncertain. "But it's late, and I should really..."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.You are free to go"

Ethan met her gaze,his heart pounding with a mixture of longing and curiosity.In other circumstances he would have turned away,but today he looked at the lit ciggarette and walked past Arizona to sit on a crate nearby.
Arizona smilled softly,not turning away yet.She felt a trill she haven't experienced in such a long time and Ethan's sharp,chiseled features didn't help her brush off this feeling.
She sit on a crate nearby and watched him in silence while he smoked,deep in his thoughts.His lips pursed with each smoke he blew out,tainting the salty air with a ashy smell.
"Care to share that ciggarette?"she asked after some moments of taking in his beauty
He took his ciggarette and handed it to her without any questions,like she bewitched him. "Didn't think you would smoke"
He watched her as she took a deep drag from the ciggarette with gracious movements.The faint light from a nearby lamp drawed mysterious shadows on her pale face.She exhaled a cloud of smoke and asked with her low voice and a tingle of amusement

"Surprised?"

"A bit"Ethan admitted eith his eyes fixed on her rosy cheeks "I just did not expect it"

She chuckled lightly, the sound carrying over the quiet lapping of the waves against the dock. "There's a lot more to me than what people expect."

Ethan nodded, his mind racing with questions and a strange sense of connection he couldn't quite grasp. He took another drag from the cigarette, letting the nicotine calm his nerves.

"What brings you here,Ethan?"

He opened his mouth to speak but somewhere deep down the words of his sister lingered.Diana's fragile beauty invaded his mind,her power for fighting sickness,her optimism.Diana was right.
She was still Lacks' daughter.
He wanted to speak,he needed to tell her his pain,he wanted her to ease his wounds,but he chose to stay silent and finish the ciggarette.

"Not very talkative...I see....A lot of people stop talking whem they know who I am."

Ethan looked into her glimmerimg eyes and he could have swore he saw tears in them,but the dark covered her glossy eyes.

She turned her gaze quickly like she was trying to hide her true self from Ethan and whispered to him:

"Those stars there near the pier are the Pleiades.It's a constelation that marks winter's coming.They were Atlas' daughters,their beauty enchanting every mortal or god. Zeus made them doves then stars so.."
" So Orion can't find them"Ethan continued  while avoiding meeting her alluring gaze "Orion constellation is on the other side still pursuing those stars"
"Yes..."

They stood there in silence, the weight of unspoken words lingering between them like the mist over the water. Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that Arizona's presence on the dock was more than a chance encounter. Her unexpected knowledge of constellations and her calm demeanor despite her father's deeds intrigued him.

As the cigarette burned down to its end, Ethan finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "I come here to think. To find some peace."
He never knew if she heard him but he had to confess this to her.Arizona nodded ,her expression softened and her burning eyes searching for a specific sign on Ethan's face like she was trying to decipher him.

Eventually, Arizona stood up, crushing the cigarette under her boot. "I should go," she said softly, her gaze lingering on Ethan's broad shoulders admiring his handsome features that she missed before .

Ethan nodded, watching as she walked away, her figure blending into the darkness beyond the lamplight.
He remained on the crate, his thoughts swirling like the violent tides in the water below.He lit another ciggarette and let himself go.He took a look at the stars,closed his eyes and inhaled deeply the cold October air.

"What am I doing" He muttered to himself,his voice being carried away by the harsh wind.

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