Whispered Kiss

Blows of Powerful Emotions Part 2

In life, surprises are imprinted in all aspects of our daily lives, in my life, there appeared to be more than the norm. They popped up right and left, and tried their best to drown me beneath them. By now, I should detect a pattern and realise this strange phenomena I called my life, held buckets full of them but my foolish heart still leapt up and rattled in its cage when it happened. To hear and see my shadowy apparition continued to rattled my heart and system. The room's overall atmosphere faded, replaced by the draining shock in my veins.

"Bladen?" I asked, a squeak creaking through my already widening cracks. In front of me, my shadowed illusion and my terroriser, stood all powerful, blocking my exit. Despite not being able to discern any emotion or pitch in his tone, I imagined his words to be stern, but unwavering. It isn't what I expected in a situation as this. I turned to the only other person in the room, Bladen Black. He held a fragment of my trust, just enough for me to seek solid confirmation in him.

"Yes, Ave?"

Bladen's reply sounded too crisp and too hard, as if a deep form of anger set into his bones and hardened the muscles around his mouth.

For a moment, I felt the same, my bones, and muscles going into a deep sleep, unable to move or to comprehend the actions they needed to do. Bladen could answer two ways in regards to my upcoming question. He could deny its existence or confirm it. I inhaled, ready to face the backlash of his answer.

"Do you see him?" The question appeared foreign and unwanted. The tone I spoke it with too scratchy and fearful. My arm moved without my knowledge, my finger pointing towards the black silhouette.

Bladen didn't answer as quickly as I hoped, his silence drenching the room. One, two, three, four. Have I been mad all this time? Is Bladen searching for the supposed figure I saw? Wondering how many pigs I lost? The shadow shrugged, the action eased and amused, yet it showed no emotion in the black reflective sheen of its facade.

"Ave. Let me introduce you to Arel Mordenheim." Bladen said, breaking the silence. Behind me, I could feel his presence enveloping my back, and holding me upright as the realisation plummeted into me. The muscle in my arm slackened and my shoulders hunched. He's real. He's freaking real! Did all those nights- were they- "So, he's not just a figment of my imagination?" I parroted my thoughts, needing additional confirmation.

"I'm afraid not." Bladen confirmed, solidifying the truth.

Days long gone came to mind. An unforgettable picture of a haunting office, and a man drenched in rude obscurity. How could Arel Mordenheim be a mirage when I met him in person, the day of my interview? Or did I alone see him as such, and Bladen see him as real? "But, I met Arel Mordenheim, he wasn't- he was real."

"I'm afraid you didn't. The true Arel Mordenheim remains unseen apart from his black-like silhouette. The Arel Mordenheim you met is hired. The two aren't related. My partner in Affinity Black is called Ezekiel Adams. In short, you could say, I was spiteful by asking him to accept the name Arel Mordenheim." Bladen clarified with deducible ease.

I sensed more behind the story, but it still didn't add up. Who did I see that first day I met Bladen? Bladen and I were the only two in the office. I saw someone else in his features, the same man plaguing my dreams. Dianna too witnessed the phenomenon. If Arel Mordenheim was one in the same man as in Amelia's dreams, it meant he killed- I angled my body towards Bladen, shaking my head, unsure.

"And when we met? There was a fraction of a second I saw another man's features in your face, Bladen. Dianna herself said she saw something similar."

Bladen's dark eyebrows drew into a frown, his mouth opening to form words, but closed a moment later. He shook his head, and for the first time since entering this supposed world, Bladen was as stunned as I. He didn't appear to have an answer and my heart deflated.