The Soulmate Curse

Vision - Part 3

Zhen woke up in a daze. The room was covered in a floral perfume scent coming from candles placed around the bed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let the tendrils of scent thread themselves around her soul. Tisha was a master perfumer. She designed scents for high-end customers, with a clientele that spanned from celebrities to politicians and royalty. When they first met, she made a scent just for Zhen. It was the one currently swirling around the room. The nose was based on a harmony between orange blossom, fresh spicy notes of ginger and warm sandalwood. It had a sensual trail that brought a sweet unity between all the components which included vanilla and honey as its base notes. Zhen absolutely loved it.

She stretched out on the bed, her naked body appreciating the high thread count sheets that draped Tisha's bed. They were royal purple, complimenting her favourite fragrance. Zhen slipped out of the bed and headed to the shower. She's been here so many times from when they first met that it was another home for her. The steam from the shower helped ease her even more. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater from her bags and walked to the dining room where she heard Tisha and Richie talking. Her bare feet soaked up the warmth from the heated hardwood floorboards.

"Z! Z! Z!"

The happy chanting was coming from the perpetual bundle of joy that was three year old Richie. He was snapping together 3D holographic shapes into a variety of objects in the middle of the living rom. Zhen walked over and gave him a big hug, letting his giggles and struggles to get out of the hold fill her up to the brim. She let him be and walked over to join Tisha in the kitchen.

"Welcome back," said Tisha, handing her a glass of water.

"Thank you," said Zhen.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Zhen took a sip from her glass. "Hungry."

"I bet," Tisha pushed a full plate of food towards Zhen. "You've been asleep for hours."

Zhen looked up at her after a moment of attacking her food. She swallowed. "Thank you."

"After that workout this morning, I think I should be the one thanking you," said Tisha with a smile.

Tisha let Zhen finish her plate, going over to play with Richie. She was teaching him about scents. Letting him pick his favourites and telling him about their properties. Their power. He was already a natural at separating individual elements in a fragrance. It was wonderful to watch. Scarily impressive. And he was extremely picky at the scents he liked and those he didn't, even though Tisha kept telling him that they were all equally important. After the little lesson, she walked back to Zhen.

"So, how was space?"

"Being up there," Zhen started, taking a moment to gather her thoughts so she knew how best to say this. "It beat anything I could have ever imagined it to be."

They sat in silence for a moment, watching her little boy play.

"Are we going to talk about this morning?" Tisha finally asked.

"Can I stay here for a few days?" Zhen replied.

"Of course."

Zhen's head went up from her tablet to look at the door. She was surprised at how fast the day had gone by. She'd spent the last few days diving into MechSoft's database looking for anything she could use to get some leverage on Cruz and get out from under his thumb. She hated feeling helpless, especially when she was being backed into a corner by an entitled narcissist willing to rob humanity blind while at the same time taking advantage of her friend, Jo. Zhen wasn't going to just accept that. Her thoughts were interrupted when Tisha and Richie walked into the house after a day of work and play school. Zhen stood up from the office desk to go meet them. Richie ran over screaming her name. He gave Zhen a big hug and peck on the cheek then went to change out of his outside clothes. Tisha walked into Zhen's welcoming arms. Zhen gave her a kiss.