Scattered Souls

Chapter 51 - Epic Love Story

The days leading up to the next weekend were pretty uneventful, aside from me thinking and over thinking my last encounter with Xypher.

I told him I'd reach out when I was ready. He reluctantly agreed to give me some space until then. He said he would continue preparing for the ritual until I told him otherwise. I was happy with that arrangement.

**********

I had confided in Alexa soon after Xypher left the other night - I was still surprised by how well she handled being bombarded with all the information at once. She gushed about how genuine he seemed and his declaration of love. Alexa was a romantic at heart, which probably explains why she was all for team Xypher in this scenario.

"It's like you'll have this one of a kind, epic love story." she pointed out.

"I think you'll were really destined to meet in such a way."

"Also, considering the tragedy he experienced, you can't really blame him for being so intent on revenge." she tried to reason with me.

"You've made it quite obvious who's side you're on." I said teasingly.

"I'm on the side of love." she beamed proudly.

"And it doesn't sound like the guy has much time left. With the ritual being this coming weekend, I think you should make the most of the time that you do have left with him." she reminded me.

"A part of me knows that you're right." I admitted. "I still feel like I need a little more time with my thoughts before I make any decisions."

"I wish I could tell you to take your time. But I'll leave you to it - just remember to call if you need anything. You know I'll be over in a jiffy. " she assured me.

"I know." I said before ending our call. Silently smiling to myself, thanking my lucky stars that I was blessed to have a friend that knew me so well.

**********

I had a lot of processing to get done in a very short space of time.

It wasn't even about Xypher not being completely honest with me anymore. I think I was grateful for his honesty and I could definitely understand where he was coming from. After being murdered and watching the love of his life being forced to marry someone else. Then watching her take her own life right in front him. That kind of pain and heartache was enough to destroy any bit of humanity a person had. I'm surprised, yet glad, that he managed to retain most of his. I couldn't even imagine how I would react to a situation as gruesome as that.

Now my conflict revolved around Xypher actually going through with the ritual. Did being set free mean he'd be gone forever?

A big part of me knew the right thing to do would be encouraging him to get the ritual done so he'd finally be set free. This is what he's been longing for. However, a smaller, more selfish part of me wondered if there was a way for him to stay.

It took me about a day and a half to resolve my internal conflict. After which, I called Xypher to let him know that I was ready to see him. I felt ready. I knew what I wanted and I was ready to negotiate.

**********

Xypher literally showed up at my front door a few minutes after I'd called him.

"I'm assuming you must still be upset with me." he pointed out as soon as we entered my room, looking at me with hesitation in his eyes.

"Actually I'm not upset anymore." I admitted. "I'm more conflicted about you going through with the ritual."

"What are you conflicted about, love?" he asked with concern on his face.

"Does going through with the ritual mean you'd be gone forever?" I wondered out loud, not even caring about how vulnerable I sounded at the moment.

"I'm not sure exactly. What I do know is that I was promised freedom from being trapped in the teapot. I've always assumed that it meant I'd be released into the afterlife or perhaps hell for all my wrong doings." he explained.

"Isn't it possible for you to stay?" I asked.

"I wish I could love. But all the deals I've made with the dark souls have left me with no other choice but to either go through with this ritual or to either have my soul sealed in the teapot again."

"Can't you renew your your deal with them?"

"Unfortunately, I've served my purpose for the dark souls. They don't require anything done out here in the world anymore. In fact their plan is to go into hiding. Which is why they gave me a month to arrange for the ritual to be done. That's why I've been in such a hurry." he explained.

"If I remain trapped in the teapot I'd end up becoming one of them.  That's not something I'm keen on." he said solemnly.

"That doesn't sound like a good outcome." I said, agreeing with him. His urgency to get everything sorted suddenly made a whole lot more sense to me.

"I think you should go through with the ritual." I told him.

There was no point in prolonging the inevitable I realized. Even if he didn't get this particular ritual done, he'd be gone in one way or another.

"I would have stayed if there was a way for me to." he assured me, as he engulfed me in the biggest hug possible.

"I love you too." I told him, responding to the declaration he made the other night.

"I love you, Robyn." He said as he crashed his lips against mine in response. The fireworks and heat that I felt between us magnified tenfold.

Surprisingly, I felt even more connected to him now that I knew everything. Instead of driving us apart like I'd initially anticipated, it actually pulled us closer together.

Thoughts of what Alexa said the other night engulfed my mind as the kiss deepened. 'Make the most of the time you do have left with him. ' That's  exactly what I planned on doing.  Enjoying each and every minute that we had left together. Savouring it as if it were our last.