ECHOES OF EDEN

Part VI

As Eden's eyes adjusted to the dim light of the ship, her expression shifted from the serene stillness of sleep to one of confusion. Her brow furrowed slightly, and her lips parted as she drew her first conscious breath in billions of years. The man stood frozen, not daring to move, not even to breathe, as if a single motion might shatter this delicate moment.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. The silence between them was thick, heavy with all the years that had passed. She looked around, her gaze taking in the sterile, metallic surroundings of the ship, the strange machinery that hummed softly, and finally, it landed on him.

The man's heart ached as her eyes locked onto his face, the face that was no longer his own. He could see the confusion deepen in her expression, a flicker of fear creeping into her eyes. She didn't recognize him. How could she? The man she had loved, the man she had spent her life with, was long gone. And in his place stood a figure twisted by time, his skin scarred and worn, his body aged in ways that no serum could fully hide.

"Eden," he whispered, his voice hoarse, barely audible. It was the first time he had spoken her name in millennia, and the sound of it seemed almost foreign to him, like a ghost from a life he could hardly remember.

Her eyes widened at the sound of her name, and she stared at him, searching for something familiar. For a moment, there was only confusion and fear in her gaze, and the man's heart broke a little more. But then, something shifted. Her brow furrowed, her lips parted slightly, and recognition-faint but unmistakable-began to dawn in her eyes.

"Who...?" Her voice was weak, shaky, as though it had been buried under the weight of eons. She struggled to sit up, her body still sluggish from the long stasis. "Where am I? Who are you?"

The man swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in his throat. He had imagined this moment so many times, but now that it was here, he didn't know what to say. How could he possibly explain? How could he tell her that everything she knew, everything she remembered, was gone? That the universe they had once shared had been destroyed, and that he had spent an eternity alone, waiting for this moment?

"It's me," he said softly, his voice trembling. "It's... it's me, Eden. I'm... I'm the man you knew, from before."

Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head slowly, disbelief clouding her expression. "No... no, that's not possible. You can't be..." She trailed off, her gaze darting over him, taking in the scars, the disfigurement, the pain etched into every line of his face. "What happened to you? What happened to... to everything?"

The man's breath hitched, and for a moment, he couldn't speak. He wanted to tell her everything, to explain the universe he had destroyed, the worlds he had rebuilt, the countless years he had spent alone, waiting for this moment. But the words wouldn't come. Instead, all he could do was reach out, his scarred hand trembling as he gently touched her arm.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I'm so sorry, Eden. I... I've made so many mistakes. I've... I've been alone for so long."

She flinched at his touch, pulling back slightly, but she didn't push him away. Her gaze softened, though the fear and confusion were still there. "How long?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "How long have I been... asleep?"

The man closed his eyes, the weight of the years pressing down on him. "Billions of years," he said quietly. "I... I couldn't wake you. I... I was afraid. Afraid of what you'd think of me, of what I had become."

Her eyes widened again, her breath catching in her throat. "Billions?" She shook her head, disbelief flooding her voice. "No... no, that's not possible. It can't be..."

"It is," he said, his voice filled with the pain of countless lifetimes. "The universe is different now, Eden. It's... it's all different. I've changed. Everything has."

She stared at him, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, struggling to process the enormity of what he was telling her. Her gaze drifted down to his hand, still resting on her arm, and then back to his face, her expression unreadable.

For a long moment, she said nothing. The silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken words, unasked questions. And then, finally, she spoke.

"Why?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but the single word was heavy with meaning. "Why did you wake me?"

The man's heart clenched, and for a moment, he didn't know how to answer. Why had he woken her? After all these years, after all the pain and suffering, why had he chosen to wake her now?

"Because," he said, his voice trembling, "I couldn't do it alone anymore. I... I needed you, Eden. I needed you to remind me of who I was, of what we were. I couldn't bear the thought of... of never seeing you again."

Tears welled in his eyes as he spoke, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm sorry, Eden. I'm so, so sorry. For everything. For all the mistakes, for leaving you behind. I... I just couldn't live without you."

Eden's gaze softened, and for the first time, she reached out, her hand trembling as she touched his scarred face. Her fingers brushed lightly over the rough, uneven skin, and though there was still confusion in her eyes, there was also something else-something like understanding.

"You... you've been through so much," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You've suffered."

The man closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, the warmth of her hand like a balm to his soul. "I have," he whispered. "But now that you're here... maybe I can heal."