Flowing Flawlessly

Chapter VII

Don watched me carefully. He looked so vulnerable as he looked at my reaction to his words. He knows how I really feel and I can tell. He knows I only feel relaxed, but he also knows that deep down I'm freaking out. His hand moved gently, coming towards me like he was unsure if I'd bite it off or not. "Nyx, say something please," he pleaded. I shook my head, leaning away from the hand that nearly caressed my cheek.

"You didn't answer my question. I asked why you were using past tense," I said, not having anything adequate enough to fuel an argument in me. Besides, what he said only left me with more questions and I can physically ask right now. Retracting his hand, Don looked at it as if it was alien. He remained quiet and his silence spoke volumes. Something is wrong. "Don, answer me please. I want to go home," I pleaded. I didn't actually feel like leaving, but my logic told me that if I was in the right state I would have ran from here the minute I woke up.

"You're stuck here, Nyx. You can never leave."

I moved to hit him but he put his hand up, stopping me with a silent command. "This is the only way. The only way for you to live. The minute you hit the water you-you changed. This is the only way for me to preserve you. For me to keep you the way you need to be." He chose his words too carefully and made them too cryptic for me to decipher. A sinking feeling rose in my gut and I knew this was a bad sign since this is the most real thing I've felt all day. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He ran his hands over his face sniffing to keep himself composed. "You died. The moment you hit the water it was like you slammed into concrete. You weren't diving and the impact shattered your bones. I-If you would have dived you would've probably lived, but this was the only way. I couldn't let you go. It's selfish but you mean too much to me, Nyx. You remind me that I have feelings like every other organism in this universe."

My mouth felt dry, so dry I choked on my own tongue and ended up in a fit of coughs. "Died," I repeated. "I died." I laughed as humorlessly as I could to attempt to enforce some madness inside of me but it didn't work. Don frowned and looked at me seriously and it was then that I knew he wasn't joking. Some kind of tingle-induced intuition made me believe. "Don..." I trailed off, my voice cracking as grief broke its way passed the barriers. "Who are you? What are you?" I asked through sobs.

He came down from the chair, engulfing me in a hug that completely made me stop crying and my whole body feel like I was on a cloud. He soothed me by running his hands over my head repeatedly. "This island is called Trigos. It's between the heavens and earth. I've lived here for a millennium off and on, but a part of me is always out there, in the sea. I've watched you like other mortals. At first I thought you were just like the rest of them- selfish and judgmental. I don't blame them for being that way though because it all dates back to the seven sins being unleashed on you all. But that doesn't stop them from annoying me."

He planted his nose in my hair, inhaling and nuzzling me with his face. I felt more affection and warmth for him than I've felt for anyone in my life. I don't understand anything that's going on, but I for some reason am beginning to get it. Some of it anyways.