Chapter One

The Struggles Of The Heart: Part One

—

I've had the same nightmare my whole life. There is a young man about twenty, tanned skin, black eyes and dark hair in it. The nightmare starts out with me tracing my hands along the skin with a white gloved hand, a silver and blue ornate ring on my hand. I'm always whispering something about the boy being my pet, and the boy always seems so beautifully defiant to the idea. His dark eyes glare up at me as he says I'm no ones bitch; it's magnificent how he refuses me despite his bodily responses. I feel such a ground affection for this boy, even though he clearly does not reciprocate.

The nightmare cuts to a scene of the boy and I making love on some white silky sheets. I'm thrusting into his body while his fingers fumble with my long blonde hair. Only when he's climaxing do his hands grip onto me, with need for support rather than passion. Such a mesmerizing and stubborn mongrel of mine.

Finally, we are surrounded by flames, rubble, blue lightning and a suffocating heat and smoke. My legs are severed, mechanical bones and wires sticking out unnaturally where my legs covered in white slacks used to be. I watch in pure amazement and shock as the boy comes through the rubble and fire, coming back to me. He curls up next to me, resting his head against me. At last, he is mine; heart not just body.

But I wish it hasn't ended there. I wanted us to live everyday as what we finally became the day we died. I wanted us to show others that our relationship had blossomed into something incredible.

The last thought that I wished was that one day we would be reunited.

I love you, Riki.

—

"Riki!" he gasped, sitting upright in his bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why is it always that dream?"

It was reoccurring, constant, endless. Everyday his thoughts were plagued with his past life. He had been a man known as Iason Mink, a Blondie, an android on the planet of Amoï. The man in his dreams was his pet, Riki. The defiant mongrel who he had stolen from the Slums and had blemished his name. Not that it stopped him.

After having the dream, he had done some research and sure enough found the ancient article buried deep within the digital library. He and his pet had perished in an unforeseen accident after a place on Amoï called Dana Burn had caught fire and had explosives in it.

That was one thousand years ago next year.

He was turning twenty five next year, and he had all of his intentions set on going to Amoï to retrace his past life. It felt as if it were necessary. He had to return to the place where his restless soul had been trapped before being shoved into another body.

It frightened him at how he looked exactly like the man from that time. Everything down to his blue eyes to his blonde hair he always felt compelled to let grow. All that had changed was last name. He was Iason McKinley now. But he still had ever bit of Iason Mink trapped within him.

Even his thoughts were that of his past life. He always seemed to have endless information at his fingertips, which he had never learned. He just knew it.

Everything about him seemed to be a human carbon copy of the android who he once was.

His only hope was that somewhere, there was a Riki who was the same as him. And he desperately hoped to be reunited with him and perhaps have him join him on his return to his past life to see if the pain of what haunted him could be somehow remedied.

He glanced over at his alarm clock, the date indicating that it was midnight. It was his twenty fourth birthday today.

The year to find his beloved had just begun.

—

"Good morning, dear," Jules smiled, softly embracing him as he walked past her. "Happy birthday." She pulled a small gift from her bright red traditional dress outfit's hidden pocket. "This is solely from me, so don't let anyone else see."

Iason smiled softly down at the small women with beautiful deep blue eyes and pale blonde hair. "Thank you, Mother."

Jules gave him a small nod. "Go see your Father, he wants to wish you a happy birthday as well."

"Will do," he answered, slipping the gift into his pocket and approached the secluded room where his Father was expecting to hold a meeting soon. "Father?" he called, tapping the digital communication system screen. "You wished to speak with me?"

"Enter."

Iason watched the doors slid open and stepped inside, bowing slightly. "Good morning, Father."

"Good morning, my Son," Kaiden grinned. "Happy twenty fourth birthday."

"Thank you," he answered softly.

"Well?" the blonde and light blue eyed man inquired. "What are your plans?"

"My plans?" Iason repeated.

Kaiden smiled. "Don't play dumb, boy. You and I both know that as tradition states, every twenty four year old male on Atrora must go on the journey to find themselves before they can become a true man."

Iason chuckled. "You still believe in that ancient folktale?"

"Don't mock me, Iason," Kaiden scolded. "I am sending you whether you wish to or not. Our family lives by traditions despite being in the advanced ages, and you shall not ruin the plan."

"I would not dream of it, Father," Iason assured. "I plan on going today to begin my journey."

"Good." Kaiden nodded, pushing a small present forward. "You have my blessings and wishes of safety upon you." He stared straight into Iason's eyes. "Return when you have become a true man."

—

Iason sighed, packing the last of his bag up along with his two presents. When he had recalled his past life and had learned of the tradition on Atrora of each young man going on a journey at age twenty four to find the true meaning of life and their partner, he did not think of it as a mere coincidence that his birthday matched up with the timeline from the disaster on Amoï so perfectly. Usually a man from Atrora took at the minimum a year to find himself as the tradition stated, and it was all to convenient that his twenty fifth birthday or his first year in finding his meaning matched up with the thousand year anniversary of the disaster.

Everything matched up too perfectly to be a mere whim.

Iason paused. "A whim?" he repeated to himself, the familiarity of the word rolling off his tongue smoothly. What else had been a whim? The sudden pop up of his pet's face in his mind answered that. "Ah...yes." He remembered now. He had met his pet on a mere whim—one that changed his life and stayed with him forever, clearly.

Lifting his bag, he slung it over his bag and descended to the bottom floor. After bidding farewell to his parents, he exited his home and looked up to the sun that shone down on his face so brightly. He reached out his hand, spreading his fingers out wide before making a fist and continuing his way down the busy road towards his vehicle.

Soon he hoped to be walking under the sun with his beloved. Reunited again after such a long length of time apart.

—

To Be Continued