Your Heart

Chapter Four

I walk out of the tent. That was close. I almost lost control. You have to calm down, Abel. How long has it been since you were ever that close to someone?

I hear coughing and some shifts in the tent. I slowly walk back, worried she won't trust me anymore. I unhurriedly unzipped the tent, tossing a blanket over her as I put the warm lantern on a hook, quickly exiting and re-sealing the entrance.

She groans, and more shifts can be heard. I sit down by the fire, gazing at the now occupied tent. Who IS She?

I walk back to my tent, un-closing the flimsy entrance to see my sleeping bag. I let myself fall down into the soft plush of the sleeping bag and drift to a light state of stupor.

I feel the wind travel my back, causing me to turn to find the source, to find her sitting in a chair, limp with her arms snared. I sprint over, trying to cry out, but nothing comes out. I have a stance of surprise, unable so move as I'm wondering how I couldn't talk. I try to scream again, and something I have never heard before gives me a strange sense of nostalgia. "PHOENIX!" I scream. Why am I addressing her with the name of the girl from my past? I finally am able to rip out of this state of no mobility, running to her side as I pry the chains off her arms, her springing up into my embrace.

I pull myself out from my state, jumping up from my resting place. I look around, and everything is silent. I climb out of my tent and start towards the almost silenced fire. I throw in some more wood, and the small fire moves from the embers to the newly placed wood. The only noise in the clearing is the crackling of the fire and the humming of crickets until I hear the sound of rapid movement.

I spin around and sprint over to the girl's tent, quickly zipping it open to see what was happening. She lay there, eyes glazed over so much I can barely see her ice cold eyes. She was still blinking, and small specs of tears were showing as her body twisted, convulsing and contorting madly. She was having a seizure.

I sat down beside her, staring at her as her body continued to seize. After almost fifteen minutes, her body went limp, her eyes closing. After another amount of short time, her eyes shot open, finally clear.She peered over to me, and her mouth opened, but only quiet whispers came out. "For how long have you watched me?" She managed.

"Hmm... About a half an hour. Quite the show, friend." I say. She sighs an I don't know what's up with you kind of sigh, and sits up.

"You're a very out of the ordinary kind of person, huh?" She says, her voice clearer now.

Two weeks later.

We had been talking the whole time, and I had grown an interest in who she is deep down. We started telling each other of the events of what happened before we met, but she never told me her name. She even opened up to me about her disorder, and how she was experimented on for that fact.

I keep trying to ask, but she got awkward about it, so I stopped. Also, despite the romantic expert I am, she doesn't seem to respond well to any advancements. She was a very strange person and was constantly looking over her shoulder. I was always trying to strike up a conversation, but she always seemed to stay away from social contact. An extremely awkward girl, she was.

I start placing the rest of the wood that I had handy in the fire, and I finally get it lit. I place a pot of water over it, putting some chopped vegetables into it with a bit of meat to add flavor. I slowly raise the small pot up, pouring its contents into two bowls. I leave a spoon in one, unzipping Kasumi's tent. "Here," I say as I shove the large bowl into her delicate hands.

"Thanks.." She says as she takes a hefty bite. I walk in and sit down.

"If you don't mind me asking, whats your name?" I ask. She looks away, like something of a far off dream is calling her.

"It's Phoenix." She finally replies. My heart skips a beat, and I grab my chest. "Ummm, Abel?" She says, her eyebrows furrowing. She tries putting her hand out, but clearly falters and places it back down on the cool floor.

My mind is racing but I feel my pulse is slowing, so I control my breathing. Not another outburst, I think. "You look just like her..." I exhale. Her shoulders relax a bit. She is constantly faking those emotions, I don't even get why she won't just stop. It's clearly not because she's worried about me, but what I could've done to her... Because that's how her head works...