Living alone for so long and out of touch with society, anxiety gets the best of me when I am not invisible in public. For whatever reason, I prefer to be seen inside my favorite book store. Don't ask why, for I don't have a reasonable explanation. Once a week, preferably on a Monday at store opening, I will pick a book on alternate sciences, magic, or the unusual, find a comfy chair and read, or sit in the coffee shop. Oddly enough, I get at least two guys asking me out each month. I would've never expected a book store as a hot location to hook up. Regardless how cute the guy is, each occurrence always ends in 'I'm involved with someone, but thanks for asking.' I'm so full of shit.
Last month, I was scanning the Science section for a book on Tesla's personal life, or more so a biography. I was skimming thru one book, when a fairly handsome shy man stood to my left, eyeing the books one case over. His energy was very warm, honest, and terribly smart. Frustrated with the four books available, I decided to give it a go and ask this good-looking man if he knew of Tesla and if so, which book would he recommend.
"Excuse me?", I asked quietly and with a bit of a shake in my voice, for I was nervous as all heck. He looked up and gave me this surprised 'yeah?' expression.
"Are you familiar with Tesla?", I asked, keeping my eyes on the book in hand.
"I am.", he answered with interest.
"I'm looking for a book which covers his life. More so his personal life, outside of his work. I'm curious to know what he was like outside of his mad world." The man gave me a short surprised look, then a smile, and moved toward the shelf holding books on Tesla.
"I think this book may be a good fit, but there are three others …which, you know, may suit my curiosity.", I shared. He looked at me with a warm smile and returned his eyes to the shelf. I think my heart skipped a beat. Those warm brown eyes? Damn. He may be older by ten years or more, but I'd still fuck him.
"Is this the same book you are holding?"
"Yes it is.", feeling a bit giddy. He read the back, then flipped thru it, and I began to drift into a dirty fantasyland of me and Mr. Smarts making out in my apartment.
"This is a good book. I've never read it myself, but I have heard a lot of good things about it from friends and colleagues.", he said thru his smile.
"Ah. Oh, okay? Wow. Thanks for your help.", I answered nervously and blushed, thanks to my dirty little mind.
"Yeah. Not a problem.", he said with a long smile. With the same book in hand, I quickly made my exit to the checkout and left.
I saw him again, yesterday, as I sat in the coffee shop. I was enjoying a mocha latte and reading a book on Native American Indian myths passed down from generation to generation.
"Hi." I looked up and reacted in shock to see him. Stupid me. Sometimes? I completely forget that I am visible in the store, and when I am noticed, I have the tendency to overreact in shock.
"Oh. Hi!", I said.
"I was curious to know what you thought of the book on Tesla?"
"Oh yeah! Right! Yes, I really liked it. Just what I was looking for. Thanks again!", I said with too much excitement.
"What are you reading now?"
"Um. Native American myths."
"Oh? Sounds interesting.", he said in his same warm smile.
"Yeah, it is. So far. Heh." I tried not to blush. I may have tried too hard, for I felt a sweat grow behind my upper back. He made a 'huh' sound, in a cute chuckle-like way. At that moment, I became so fucking nervous. His very presence. Recognizing me from before. Speaking to me. I had to get the fuck out of there. I stood up, grabbed my drink and the book I borrowed. "Nice to meet you.", I quipped and quickly left him. I put the book back and left. Just like that. I'm seriously fucked up in the head. I swear. I will live alone. Forever.
I have no television or a computer to share my time with. I kill time by reading, working Sudoku puzzles, and holding random chit chats with my greenhouse plants. Living alone doesn't feel lonely. I've grown accustomed to my lifestyle. I accepted it many years ago. I'm desensitized. Yet, it's moments like yesterday where I feel my loneliness grab me around my neck and squeeze. I choked hard, and obviously so, in front of this man. He probably thinks I'm a nut. I remove my mind from yesterday's embarrassment by lying on the comforter, belly down. I am working feverishly on a Sudoku puzzle of difficulty 'medium'. Grossly absorbed with the paper and number two leaded pencil, I chew the butt end as my mind repeats the numbers one thru nine along each row. The gnaw marks on the wooden pencil and lack of paint goes to show just how much stress is placed before me. As I squint my eyes and scribble the number nine into an empty box, a tremendous crash rumbles outside my apartment wall. The rupture of glass is terrifying, screaming to me, as well as the sound of bent aluminum and steel. Wide eyed and panic-stricken, I run to the sliding glass door to investigate. I slowly open the door and witness a tragedy I never in my life ever expected to see. My greenhouse lay in smithereens. A meteor, perhaps? A part of an airplane? What could have penetrated my protective barrier?! I immediately burst into tears.
"What? Why?", I mumble past my lips soaked in salty tears.
As I slowly make my approach, I hear a wet gurgle …a man's voice, it seems. Several long moans and the moving of glass shards emanates within the center of the debris field. Slowly I approach in sniffles, carefully walking over twisted aluminum framing, broken pots, and fragments of glass. Does my vision fail me? Is there really a man, alive, lying within the debris? Impossible!
A constant low gurgle stray from his mouth as he lay on his back upon the collapsed wooden table, which once housed many of my herbal plants. A fancy brown leathery long coat and pants, lined with yellow and green trim and gold thread, is now soaked with his warm red juice along his torso. Fancy engraved silver bracelets sit above his long and slender forearms. His hair is to his shoulders in silver-gray, yet his facial skin appears too young for old age. His glazed midnight blue eyes grabbed my own and immediately my body jolted, for I felt as if I sunk into a dark gorge. Nothing about him says 'Human'. For a moment, I almost believed he to be a cosplayer, for his outfit screams it. Within the carnage I stood frozen in time, trying to decipher how I never received a fair warning that this beautiful stranger was nearing my protective barrier. How did he manage to break thru it? If anything, he should have bounced off it! I am left completely dumbfounded and my repeat questions resembled walking into a brick wall, over and over. He let out a serious and distasteful wet cough, breaking me away from my selfish questions. As I look over his broken body and take notice to his damages, my body begins to shake from the adrenaline rush, and another problem comes to play: Tony Stark.
All Tony can see is an empty rooftop, yet his instincts tells him otherwise. He knows of this man's tricks and adjusts his experimental jetpack to lower him. Watching Tony creep forward and make a beeline to my rooftop put me in a state of panic, for I must act quickly! I look back at the dying man and carefully lower to my knees to get a better assessment of his trauma. His narrow eyes glistened like black glass, twitching due to the intense pain he battles within. He removes his eyes from my own and is now keeping watch on Tony. I look back up and roughly estimate he's about 80 feet away and lowering. I turn and lean my face into the ailing man's right ear and speak calmly.
"I'm going to make us invisible. As a precaution. But he will still be able to hear us. I need you to be as quiet…".
Violently, he coughs up blood and it spatters over my chest and face. The gore does not move me, quickly placing my right hand onto his chest and say the word.
"Vanish!"
I move both my open palms outwards to the debris and vanish it all. With my right hand, I disengage the barrier. Quickly, I return my right hand upon his chest. He violently coughs again, which Tony hears, and lowers at a faster rate. I lean in and speak to the man, once more, with determination.
"I'm going to numb the pain and pray to God it stops your coughing, or you and I are in serious trouble!"
With my right hand still upon his chest, I send forth gentle healing to ease his pain by suppressing his nervous system. Immediately, I sense a change in his demeanor. His trembling chest heaves less and his glossed over eyes are more focused on Tony's arrival. Touching him also gave me insight to how close to death this man was. Less than ten minutes away, should I have not been here to heal his pain and begin his recovery! I have never healed anyone in such magnitude, I begin to scare myself. Tony lowers himself upon the rooftop, near the railing of the front side of the building. He stands there, motionless, with only his head and scrutinizing eyes moving about, scanning and listening for signs of life. Both the injured man and I keep our wary eyes fixed upon Tony. A growing sense of fight or flight reaches into me from the mystery man, along with pounding waves of angry emotions pushing forward into my right palm. If it were not for his nervous system in near shutdown mode, I have no doubt this man would make an attempt to kick Tony's ass.
Tony makes his approach along the wall of my apartment and eyes the open sliding glass door. I raise my body slowly, float over the silvery haired man, and hover over the debris on his left side. His inquisitive eyes lay upon me, as I floated over his body, and then returns to see where Tony stood. Tony shares a puzzled look upon his stern face. I can feel his emotions tell me something is amiss, and it is eating him up. A clear impression comes forth, advising me that Tony does not enjoy an unsolved mystery. For him to spend this much time upon my rooftop meant he saw this man fall here. Tony peers into the open door, but does not enter.
I survey the wet leather and analyze the large glass shard protruding thru his upper torso. The only way to remove it is to push his body over, so I can pull it out from his backside. I wait for Tony to leave. A heavy stench of anger rose from the injured man. That's when I realize this guy is no punk off the street on his way to a cosplay convention. His beauty begins to capture my heart, as his dark eyes shifts from the anger within. The silver hair and pale damp skin glistens as the sun touches him. His great distaste toward Tony excites me, for I never liked the character myself. Suddenly, Tony beings to talk to someone on the radio.
"I lost him. Don't ask me how."
He makes one final visual scan of the rooftop, lets out a long sigh, and lifts up and away from sight. All this time, I continue to heal my beautiful stranger. A fractured left leg below the knee, bumps and bruises, and internal bleeding I mend. Gently, I press the tips of my left fingers near the entry point of the glass shard and apply my magic to lift him. Slowly, I turn him away from me. Gently and meticulously, I pull the large triangular glass shard out of his back. All this time, he watches me with tremendous interest. A Human …a mortal …with so many gifts is not only remarkable but unheard of! His desires peak, bringing his left hand to rest upon my right knee. Quietly, he remain upon the broken table with pursed and bloody lips. His eyes travel over my body, begging for physical evidence I am not Human. His dislike for Midgardian mortals is strong, yet my abilities mask the bitter taste upon his tongue.
I hover back over his body and rest my knees upon the debris to his left. As I lean into his right ear once more, he inhales deeply to take in my pheromones. He wants to believe I am not Human, but the stench of a rotten carcass says otherwise.
"I've completed your healing and I'll restore your nervous system, now . Let me know if you feel any further discomfort."
Once I believe I completed my healing, I stand up and back up four feet from his body. All the while, he keeps his dark eyes upon me, pressing against my skin as to probe me. I do not appreciate his look and share this with my disapproving scowl. His distrust in me creeps under my skin and my hairs stand on end. He looks down and touches his belly, where the brown cloth is tattered from the glass shard, and examines the blood upon his fingers, rubbing the sticky red in his bare fingertips. The slow glance of his midnight blue eyes fall upon me once more, sending forth another wave of shivers inside. He had no trouble getting up onto his feet and quickly moves to me with a single step forward. Startled, I respond with a single step back. He repeats another step forward. A barrage of unease rush over my already heightened, cold and sweaty skin. I throw up my right hand to halt him.
"Whoa! Stop! You are in shock! It's okay!" He remains still and constrict his eyes upon me with intense curiosity.
I just about had enough fun for today. My adrenaline rush ditches me, causing me to suffer a hard crash and my knees begin to give way. I immediately turn around and use the wall to balance myself, as I walk toward the sliding glass door. I never make it. I slump upon the debris strewn floor and sit on my ass. My God! I am completely exhausted and nauseated! Is it my adrenaline crash or my healing which makes me feel fatigued and ill? Birds and plants are the only living things I ever healed, and they never made me feel this way. The mystery man, however, was an unplanned ER event with many abilities used in between. This is all too much for me to process and comprehend. Here I sit, slumped up against the brick outer wall, heartbroken and bemused. All the while, I stare upon the broken glass windows, bent aluminum and steel framing, and damaged plants. Leaves, branches, flower petals, fruit, and vegetables lay slaughtered in every direction. My only friends and family of 9 long years, destroyed in seconds. I don't know how long I allowed myself to meld with the destruction, for it felt like forever and a day. Nothing really feels real to me, anymore. I very much want all of this to end.
'This horrible nightmare, I want it to vanish! Please awake me! Please tell me this is nothing but a really, really bad dream!'
Then? He spoke. Reality sinks its teeth into my innocence, changing me forever.
"Are you alright?"
His voice pulls me back to reality so quickly, I almost feel the need to vomit. With my left hand, I slap it upon my stomach, lean over with my right hand upon the floor, and speak out loudly to myself.
"Breathe. Breathe. Slowly. Don't throw up!"
I hate throwing up. I so hate it. He speaks once more, expressing concern.
"Are you okay?"
"Hell no, I'm not alright! That's more than I can obviously handle in one day's time, thanks to you!", I angrily respond.
The stranger then walks thru the rubble. I watch him approach the railing, look over, and continue his walk around the rooftop. It appears he is looking for a way out. I close my eyes and shake my head in disbelief, for his behavior angers me. This beautiful stranger enters my life to destroy it, I save his life ten minutes shy of his death, and he wants to bail? No fucking way. What an Asshole! Grabbing the brick wall, I slowly rise and stand, and yell out to him.
"Unless you can fly your ass out, the door is THIS way!"
I never look back. I walk straight to the sliding door and stand aside. I hear him walk thru the rubble and approach. He does not say a word but only stares upon my delicate, weak, and trembling body. My exposed upper chest is blotched with his blood and soaked in my cold sweat, confessing to my stranger I worked hard to save his life. I motion my left hand to get him moving.
"This way.", I sternly say.
Just as he was about to enter the doorway, I abruptly cut him off and enter first.
"Ladies first!"
He smirks at my words and is taken by surprise by my action. My silver headed beauty is beginning to enjoy my company.
The adrenaline crash hit me once more, and an intense wave of nausea strikes. I stop at the kitchen sink, and with both hands now gripping the edge, I quickly scan the countertop for edibles. I spot an apple, grab it with ferocity, and tear into it. Sugar. I need sugar! The silver headed beauty walks behind me and stops five feet from my position. He stands well within my comfort zone, watching me devour the delicate red apple down to its core. I throw up my left index finger and point to the apartment door. My body language clearly speaks to him: Get the fuck out. His eyes follow my finger, takes notice of the door, and proceeds only four feet forward. I pay no attention to his actions, for I no longer can focus or process any information surrounding me. Overwhelmed in my emotions, I lean into the kitchen sink. The slaughtered apple core falls forth into the silver basin and my eyes follow suit. Tears begin to flow madly, yet I do not share a single cry. I've never wept this way before. Clearly, I am emotionally fucked up.
"Before I make my leave, I want to thank you …".
"Fuck you!", I bark back.
"Not exactly what I expected? But, thank you for saving my life.", he kindly responds.
I am so angry, I say no more.
My mystery man shrugs his shoulders, turns toward the door, and opens it. I glance to my right and view the destruction he left for me. My brain finally comprehends just how much damage this single man created. How he did not die on the spot, I do not understand. Literally, the greenhouse is obliterated. I still cannot believe my eyes and walk up to the open patio door to get a better look and remain standing in utter disbelief. All this time, I assumed my beautiful stranger had left me. Instead, he remain standing at the open front door, watching my every move with intense interest.
"How. How's this possible? I don't understand!"
I enter the rooftop and carefully take steps thru the rubble, not to get caught in the mangled distress. I spot an unbroken tarragon pot, only missing a handful of dirt, and wave my hand over the delicate stems and leaves. I set the pot upon the three-foot brick wall. I continue to pick up pots, broken or not, and examine my plants wellbeing. I wave my love over each of my friends. I finally spot my beloved lemon tree.
"Oh my God! Shit …let me help you."
The top two feet of the five foot tree broke off and hung on by the its thin strip of bark. I line up the break and clasp my right hand over it, sealing the injury and making the tree whole once more. I believe I spent a good hour, rummaging thru the debris field. I sorted out the broken pots, empty pots, plants without pots …healing everything in plain sight. Most plants suffered decapitation, yet I restored them all. I moved all of my plants, flowers, and trees and line them up against the brick wall. I found my act of healing is terribly therapeutic, subsiding my anger and feeling more at ease. My only family I have, I save nearly all of them. In the end, I say the word 'appear'. There's nothing to hide. Not anymore. Nothing.
Those dark midnight blue eyes remain fixed upon my distressed and sweaty body, as I carefully move about and repair my plants. I am too busy caring for my beloved and take no notice to his presence. I place my last and final pot of basil with the others and head back to the door. I let out a terrifying scream. There stood my mystery man, supporting himself against the door frame. Like a deer in headlights, I freeze in place. I assumed he left the apartment, yet there he is! How could I be so damn stupid not to follow thru and ensure his leave!
"You have gifts most Gods would admire.", slyly he says.
"What?" His use of "God" lost me.
"You heal. You can disappear. You defy gravity."
Shit. He knows too much about me. A sudden urge to rid of the problem enters my mind. Should I kill him? Knock him out cold and dump him thousands of miles away? Shit! What do I do!?
"I am most humble to be in your presence, for you recovered me fully."
As his lips deliver, he also walks towards me. Once again, I throw up my right hand to stop his forward motion.
"Don't come near me! I don't know who you are, where you came from, and why you decided to destroy the love of my life!", I scold him.
He stops his approach and lowers his head. "I meant no harm."
"Really?! Then why the FUCK did you bring your issue HERE! Look …I don't know what beef you've got with Stark, but did you HAVE to bring it HERE?! REALLY?!"
I am fuming. My blood boils and a sweat breaks out on my upper back and in between my breasts. I spot a piece of aluminum, pick it up, and fling it across the rooftop. It comes into contact with another piece of aluminum, lets out a loud clang, and a nearby sheet of glass falls over and breaks. I release a loud groan, full of grief. Quiet falls between us. The uncomfortable silence plays like nails on a chalkboard. Someone needs to speak up, quickly! Fuck it. I open my mouth first.
"So.", I exhale.
"Yes?", he responds.
"This is a really good time for you to leave."
"Ah, yes. Indeed. I believe the door is this way?", he candidly replies.
An impression that he does not take any of this seriously tangles with my distressed mind. He walks ahead, out the door, and I close it with force to express my disapproval to his visit. I lock the handle and put the chain in place. No sooner do I turn around and walk away, a hear three loud knocks on the door. I take in a deep breath to calm myself, turn around, and unlock the door. The chain is left in place.
"Yes?!"
I do not look at him.
"Curious. The invisibility, earlier. Is that …".
"Let me guess. You want to know if it's still working?", I asked.
"Yes. That is correct.", he responds softly.
He does not need my invisibility, for he has magic of his own. He only asks to find an excuse to prolong his company with me. I shake my head in disbelief. At this point, I no longer give a shit. My brain is mush, my emotions coastered out, and I no longer gave a flying fuck what else is thrown at me. I look up at his face and witness his tender eyes. I roll my own, close the door, unsecure the chain, and open the door fully. Astounded, his eyebrows rise.
"Come in.", I exhale in a low tone and eyes on the floor.
"Thank you."
As I close the door and walk to the kitchen counter, I missed his tender smile. He observes my hips move, the light sway of my stiff arms, and my hands now resting upon the countertop.
"Would you like some tea? Coffee? A beverage?", I ask nonchalantly.
"Tea would be nice. Thank you.", he responds with a fine tune of puzzlement.
I need the caffeine from the tea to help settle my nerves. Complete silence falls between us, as I wait for my kettle to sing. I tap into his emotions and sense his strong curiosity and anticipation. He questions my sudden change to accept him back into my home, and he is damn right to. I want answers. Why is he here? Of all places, why my backyard? I do not believe in coincidences. No way in Hell did he just land into my life without reason! There MUST be an explanation. For what I endured, I deserve an answer!
The kettle begins to whisper gently. I pour the hot water into our cups, stir the tea bags for a minute, and carry his cup first. He is still standing by the door.
"Please. Sit down. My bed serves as a couch."
He takes a seat at the right corner and I hand him his cup. I return to the counter, pick up my cup, and return to sit up against my pillow to the left side of the bed.
"Interesting accommodations. How do you live in comfort? It is much too small.", he says with politeness. It's enough to make me gag.
"You do what you can around here. And to live in anonymity? I like to keep, what they call, low profile."
Sips. Sips all around.
"Why. Why here? Of all places. Why here?!", I ask eagerly, pointing my right index finger to the floor. He responds with a shrug. "You see. I don't believe in coincidences. Stark dumped you here for a reason. WHY!"
I watch his eyes shift back and forth, as he looks upon my comforter. He clearly is thinking of a reason to share. The longer he takes, the bigger the lie.
"We entered into a disagreement. I took an uninvited ride, and he eventually got the best of me. He knocked me off his jetpack. I fell. Here, I landed." He takes a long sip of tea, looking away.
"What else? There is more.", I demand.
"What more can I tell you?", still looking away.
"You are not being sincere. I'm an Empath. I know you are holding back.", narrowing my eyes at his own.
"You can read minds?", he asks with his inquisitive dark eyes now upon me.
"No. Emotions!" I let out a sigh. "I can read people based on their emotions. Not by thoughts. And you, sir, are not telling me the whole story."
"I believe if One needs to be told the truth, it is I. You are not sincere.", he responds pragmatically.
"What?!"
"You are out of your realm.", he says firmly.
My mouth falls open. I feel a 'what the fuck' moment pressing on.
"Realm?! What are you TALKING about?!"
He adjusts his body so that his chest is now in direct view.
"You do not know, do you? You do not know who you are."
His body language is stoic. I'm dumbfounded by his question. How DARE he turn the tables on me! I am asking the questions here! Realm?! What the …. And how does he know I question my own Being? Before I can open my mouth, he speaks.
"My brother. He is in a relation with your kind." He crosses his left leg and puts the empty cup down upon the comforter. He clasps his hands above his knee and continues his story. "Relations with Midgardians is forbidden in my realm. I came here to put an end to it."
"If his lady is here and not in your realm, how is this a problem?", I ask.
I feel his dark cold eyes press into my face and a chill escapes down my spine. I shake in response to his stare.
"He wants to bring her back. I will not allow it!" I squint my eyes at him.
"Let me get this straight. This is the reason why you smashed into my beloved greenhouse? Please. In regards to your sibling rivalry? You have an intense jealousy toward your brother. Anything he does? You act against. Am I right?"
I take a long sip and watch his eyes narrow and his smile dissipate.
"NO!", he spits.
He immediately grabs his cup, stands up, and throws the cup at my front door. The cup crushes into a hundred tiny pieces and the sound alone makes me flinch and turn away. I smile, for I hit a sore spot on my mystery man.
"Everything I have done, so has my brother in equal! There is no jealousy! I am only doing what is right …".
"For yourself.", I barge in.
I take a sip and smile at my cup. I can feel him peel my shell away with his intense stare. Indeed, he is angry at me. I change the subject.
"How were you able to get past my barrier?"
"What?"
"I had a barrier placed above the greenhouse and my apartment building. No one's EVER penetrated it. Well. No one's ever tried. I only allow birds to enter. You're clearly no bird. You should've bounced off!", I share.
"I entered a barrier designed for no one?", he asks with surprise.
"No one, but myself, can enter. If anyone comes close, I can feel the presence of said person. I never felt you. Your presence. Stark, I did. Not you. I should've known you were coming!", I say with determination. I want answers! Quietly he remains standing, looking at the floor. "Why?", I ask.
He sits down again and looks at me with a softer glance.
"I do not have the answers you seek. As for the barrier, I was not aware. Had the barrier worked, we would not be having this conversation. Delicious tea, by the way."
I shake my head and smile. Smart ass. I even chuckle a bit. As I stare at the ripples within the tea cup from my shaking hands, he glances at his blood spatter upon my face, neck, chest, shoulders, and the dried blood upon both my hands and forearms. His life spilled upon my low cut dress. I watch him stand up and approach the sink. He picks up the wash cloth, runs hot water over it, and rings it out. He returns to me with a gentle smile.
"I have my life and no way to thank you for it. Please. Allow me to remove my memories."
My body tenses and heats up.
"May I?", he gingerly asks.
I lean back into my pillow and hold my cup of tea in my right hand. I frown heavily and give in.
"Sure.", I whisper.
His thin and long fingers teases the dishcloth into a ball. Kneeling, he takes his left hand and gently holds my left forearm. The dishcloth glides from top to bottom, over and over, with his right. He even wiped in between my fingers. As he stands up and returns to the sink to rinse the towel, my emotions take a turn for the worse. My silent tears are no more. I cry out loud. I have been alone for nine long years and have not been touched, held, or hugged. I forgot what it feels like to be in the accompany of another person. Birds and plants cannot replace this pleasure. A bond between two people, whether it be friends, family, or love, I have missed dearly. I simply forgot how it feels, and the enormity of recollection is much too overwhelming. I cry even further into my left hand. He returns and wipes my left shoulder down.
"My apologies. Should I stop?", he gently asks.
"No. Please don't. It's just …".
I dip my head even further into my left hand and cry harder. He stands up and returns the dishcloth to the sink. My tears link up with his blood spatter upon my cheeks like connect the dots. The mixture rolls down my neck and connect with more of his blood. The gentle cascade of blood and tears reach my pendant, which a single drop comes into contact with the stone and it begins to emanate a light glow of baby blue. The blue stone of my pendant, which all this time I believed to be a phony piece of plastic, begins to glow! I do not take notice, but my silver-haired beauty does. As he returns to me, the glow catches his immediate attention and stops him dead. He tilts his head slightly to the left and thinks hard, for he feels a familiarity with this glow.
"Your pendant. It is glowing.", he says in amusement.
I am sniffling and sobbing so hard, I only hear the words "your" and "it is".
He takes a few more steps closer, yet cautiously.
"The stone in your pendant."
I look up at him and see his wide eyes staring upon my chest. I scornfully look back. He looks at my eyes, smiling, and looks back at my chest once more. I look down and now notice the stone glowing. My eyes widen.
"Oh my God! It's never done this before!"
A tickle upon my right cheek from another tear leads my left hand to wipe it away. I continue to wipe the blood and tears with from my cheek, down my neck, and upon my chest. I hold the stone with the same blood and tear-stained fingers, raising it to get a better look. As I rub my stone with my fingers, it glows harder. Excitement sets in. He takes a few steps forward and crouches down to look at my stone at eye level. He shares my astonishment.
"All these years, it has never glowed. Never!"
I take my same hand, damp with his blood and my tears mixed, and firmly grasp the pendant. I witness his eyes grow even wider and his mouth falls open. A blinding light ensues. It is so bright, I truly believe I have just died and entered the light. It envelops me fully, blocking out my view of the mystery man, and I begin to panic. He is equally shocked to see my transformation. In a mere second, my hands and forearms turn dark blue and is lighter in color past my elbows. The skin of my lower chest and breasts turn a light blue hue. My long brown hair changes to an uneven streak of dark and light blues. My wide eyes further astonish him, for they no longer are brown. A distinct pink iris with golden flakes surround it.
'I can't see him!'
I am literally blind! My panic ensues and anxiety now sets in.
'Where is he? What is he doing?'
I am completely vulnerable and no longer can defend myself! He knew what he was looking at. It all makes sense now. My ability to heal and strong magic. He read about my kind, when he was young in school. My question to why he landed here, of all places, begins to haunt him equally. Was it fate? Destiny? Did the stone bring him forth to discover me?
"I can't see! I can't see!", I scream in agonizing fear.
He moves in and carefully releases my death grip around my pendant. Had he not done so, I would still be lost. The light dims enough for me to see my room. I look down at my legs and notice the blue hue of my skin upon my hands and lower arms. My eyes shift side to side from my shock and I holler with fear. Quickly, I jump out of bed, drop the cup out of my right hand, and run into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. I catch a glimpse of my eyes in a different fashion, just before it fades back to my browns. Seeing the golden specks with a pink iris, I feel the hairs upon my back stand on end. I look like a monster! I then check the skin of my hands and see the blues have already slowly faded back to my normal medium complexion.
"What's happening to me!?"
I leave the bathroom and head for the tall mirror, rudely pushing the man out of my way. I thoroughly examine all of my skin, from my hairs to my toes. I take notice the roots of my hairs appear slightly blue. I gasp loudly and speak to him, fuming.
"What did you do to me!"
I instantly blame him for my daunting transformation. Just like I blame him for my life turned upside down, all thanks to his uninvited visit thru my greenhouse and for my most intimate secrets exposed. My mind begins to swirl in disbelief and the urge to fight or flight ensues. With eyebrows narrowed and tears running freely over my emotional strife, I quickly dash out the open patio door and run thru the debris field of glass shards and aluminum rods. Cuts appear over my calves and ankles, yet I'm unfazed and continue to quickly move around in complete confusion. Anxiety ensues, and everything around me begins to narrow into a small tight corridor.
I panic.
"God … please help me! Oh my God!"
I finally make it to the far corner of the rooftop and white knuckle the ledge, hyperventilating from the blazing terrors within. I have never been so scared in my whole life.
"What …why's this happening to me?!", I holler.
I hear the silver beauty fast approach me, for his clumsy footing avoids the dangerous debris below. I quickly turn around to face him, throwing daggers from my eyes to kill him on the spot. I want him dead.
"For nine long years, I lived in hiding to protect myself from the outside World. Nine long years! Do you hear me!? Damn you for destroying my life!"
I force all the air out of my lungs, as I deliver my angry message. He throws up both of his open hands, face me, and moves forward a single step.
"You need to know who you are.", he calmly speaks.
"I don't WANT to know! I don't give a dam! I grew tired living my life in question at sixteen. I'm done asking! I don't care! I just want to be left alone!"
"A moment …".
I abruptly cut him off, screaming.
"Don't you get it?! If others find out about me? I'm going to become someone's fucking experiment! You …you people probably got some kind of code, right? Or a deal with the Government? Is that it? You're with the guys in black? Are you some kind of superior alien? A God? Is that why they don't touch you? Is it?!"
My hands are in tight fists, ready to throw a blast. The nails dig into my palms, bringing forth a slow drip of blood to the floor. My body is in a state of shock, and any pain endured I cannot feel. I cannot even feel the reeling pain in my chest from my racing heart. His chest heaves heavy with his hands doing the talking to calm the storm.
"Stop …", he says loudly.
I throw my right bloody index finger at his face and scream.
"NO! YOU stop! YOU started this! I hate you for it!"
I take in a deep breath and scream bloody murder.
"I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!"
At that very moment, I jump up and take flight high into the atmosphere until my lungs nearly froze and burned and my skin no longer could bear the extreme cold. As I free fall to the surface, my tears leave me and turn into ice crystals. My beautiful stranger did reach for my feet, as I lifted away, and he was nearly successful. I left him in disbelief. Disbelief, because what he read in his youth and stories told of my kind was now nothing more than a false myth. My kind still existed, and a new desire itched below his hidden blue skin. All his concerns over his brother's Midgardian relationship left him for a greater purpose: To find the woman whom saved his life. To win her trust. To determine the wealth of her power, all to benefit him. A great pleasure moved within, shutting his eyes tight, and feeling his manhood harden. He has not felt such pleasure from thoughts alone, since his last teenage rendezvous with an Alfheimian girl. Recalling her near death from his sexual advances snaps him back to reality, shaking his head hard to refocus.
"We will meet again. I swear this on Odin's blood."