Chapter Ten, PROMISE
A day had passed and the two had spoken little, both in confusion upon how they could be together in the same area and in embarrassment upon their actions towards each other. His head was full of bubbling questions and anxiety while hers was in a state of sedated shock.
A hundred and three years. That was a doozy. And considering Wilson himself was a man in his early thirties he would've been a hundred and thirty something.
Her mind wandered as she sat before the newly lit flame, the last light of the fluttering sun licking her exposed shoulders in the open air. The smell of pine heavy in the air and on her sap covered hands. Sticky with the trees resin. The flame took quickly to the wood, burning through the plant's blood like oil.
In the distance she could hear her companion doing something, the sound of stone against wood and patting of hands against each other. She looked to the flame, the ocean reflecting the sun's hard glare.
Flickering light was beginning to fight against the growing shadows as the daylight began to break among the trees. The temperature began to drop with the light, a chill resting upon her pale skin, littering it with gooseflesh and urging a small shutter to wrack her frame. Drawing her arms further up and around her knees.
And there she rested, surrounded by trampled, plucked grass and the occasional flower. The ring of stones a mere two or so feet before her. Home to the new light she'd given life. The dance it made was hypnotic, drawing in her attention almost completely.
Light footsteps didn't even register in her ears as she stared at the flame, eyes drawn to it like a moth would be. There wasn't even a reaction to Wilson as he sat down beside her, a foot of space between the two.
And they sat, one worrying about the growing darkness while the other was in a trance. No words left either of them, their minds working tirelessly on the same topic in different ways.
When the sunshine was gone she spoke his name, eyes never leaving the fire. She sounded flat, something that alarmed the scientist. He nervously looked at her, "yes?" his body shook lightly, either from the cool air or his jittery nerves. When she looked away from the blaze and to him he could feel himself freeze. Eyes meeting him before looking away again, "about the other night," her voice was regaining its normal softness, something that began to soothe him.
"I meant what I said," she looked up at him, the flickering highlight outlining his features, "We will be okay". His gaze softened slightly, looking to her with a new found assurance before he looked down, becoming interested in the summer turf. When she clicked her tongue he returned to her gaze, "I promise, Wilson," she smiled.
Heat pooled in both of their cheeks as Wilson returned the smile, tooth gap drawing a giggle out of her which only widened his smile, coaxing his own bubble of laughter. And there was a fraction of a second where they leaned forwards to each other, only to pull away, pulling off a not so smooth save.