Serenity watched as Darien undressed her bandages. Most were healed, but her head injury still gave her constant headaches and required a lot of attention. "His hands are gentle," Serenity thought to herself. Ever since she had woken up two days ago, he had been nothing but gentle and kind to her, never raising his voice and never losing patience with her lack of ability to communicate. She smiled at him tentatively, watching for his reaction. She noticed that he never smiled. He moved with a purpose, but there was never a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. He never talked about himself and only asked her clinical questions. Darien never pushed her about her lack of memories. Even though her lack of memories bothered her, she did not see a point to be stressed about something out of her control. If her memories came back, they would. As she watched him care for her, she tried to gauge her body's strength. She felt weak, as if she was missing some vital nutritional element. She felt a pull towards the outside, but did not have the strength to stand on her own feet yet.
Darien looked at Serenity's wounds, noting how it was healing nicely. His medical ointments were working quickly, and he was grateful his father was still in the hospital until the end of the week, at the very earliest. He did not want to bring stress to Serenity. Darien did not know why, but he felt strangely protective of the young woman. Her elegant body structure was appealing, and Darien was not a person to deny his attraction to her. As he was finishing unwrapping the bandage on her head, he looked to see Serenity's reaction to see if he was causing her pain. Her blue eyes looked into his and as if she knew he was trying to be as gentle as possible, she smiled serenely. It was a small tilt of her lips and the corners of her eyes crinkled. She brought her hand up to his face, and placed it on his cheek. Darien was startled. No one had shown him such pure affection in years. He pulled away slightly, looking away from Serenity.
Serenity was surprised at her own audacity to touch Darien. She did not even know him. But she wanted to show some way of gratitude and tell him she wasn't in pain. Serenity also wanted to see him smile. So when she put her hand on his cheek, she was only half-conscious of herself. But he pulled away, and she realized she might have offended him. She put her hand back in her lap, but still continued to stare at Darien. Looking at his side profile, she realized Darien was quite handsome. His black hair was cut neatly, with a little falling over his eyes. Even though he wore loose fitting clothes, Serenity knew he was strong because he always pulled his sleeves up to his elbows, showing how toned his arms were.
While Serenity was lost in thought, Darien got up to go to the shopping bags he had brought in from earlier in the day. He grabbed a pink bag, and held it out for Serenity, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "These are for you. There is underwear inside. I wasn't sure what size you were, so I hope they fit. Let me show you the shower so that you can clean up and then change," he mumbled quickly. He had never shopped for women undergarments before, and had been so embarrassed in the store. He had also gotten her some basic necessities as well- some clothes, a toothbrush, shampoo, etc. He had not been sure how long Serenity would stay in his company, but he liked to be prepared.
As Darien walked to a small room, Serenity looked at his red face and tried to giggle. No sounds came out, but Serenity did not let that bother her. She looked at the bag and started blushing as well. But she knew he only had good intentions and was touched by how much he cared. "I wonder if he is this way with other women," she wondered. As quickly as that thought jumped into her head, she shook her head as if trying to get it out. What did it matter about other women? She was not Darien's wife. What he did was his own business. Serenity got up on shaky legs and tried to stand on her own. She wobbled a little and fell. "Why am I so weak?" Serenity made a frustrated growl and tried to push herself up by using the bed as leverage. Darien had come back after realizing she was not following and realized the problem.
"You don't have enough strength as of yet. I should have thought about that," he scooped her up neatly and Serenity almost squealed in surprise. As it was, a little squeak did come out. Darien carried her to the small room. It had all sorts of objects. Serenity looked confused at everything so Darien tried to explain. "This is a bathroom. I guess you don't remember what that is either. You wash your hands at the sink here, do your business on the toilet there, and can wash your body in the shower there." At every object, Darien made a gesture with his head. "Okay. Time for you to shower. I would leave you alone, but seeing as how weak you are, do you want my help? I promise not to do anything," he said quickly.
Serenity looked at him and nodded. She did not know anything here and was a little scared at the thought of being alone.
"Okay. Take off your clothes and wrap this towel around you," instructed Darien. He turned around and Serenity quickly did as he asked. When she had the towel wrapped around herself, she tapped Darien's back. He turned back to her and tried not to stare at anywhere but her face. He gestured to the tub and she stepped in. "Sit down on the stool. The tub is big enough to fit both of us. I am going to go behind you and wash your hair, so do not panic. Okay?" Darien asked. Serenity nodded and she looked into the "shower" and saw the stool he was talking about. She gingerly stepped into the tub, a little worried about what a shower was. Darien took a few deep breaths and stepped in behind her. He grabbed the showerhead and turned on the water. Serenity jumped away and tried to cling to the wall behind her. "It's okay. Look, it is just water. The water is warm. It won't hurt you," Darien said as he tried to comfort her.
With apprehension in her eyes, Serenity moved a little closer to feel the water with her hands. "It is so warm!" Serenity thought, surprised by this discovery. All of a sudden, a flash of memories came to her, memories of a river and of women gathered around the riverbank washing clothes. Serenity brought up a hand to hold her head, while her other clenched the towel tighter.
"Serenity! Are you okay?" questioned Darien urgently. He had quickly registered the pain in her eyes and while he was panicking inside, he tried to move slowly so as not to surprise her. Serenity had tears in her eyes, but she slowly nodded her head. Her eyes opened and looked at Darien. "What happened?" Darien asked.
Serenity made some gestures to her head and the water. After some time, Darien deciphered that she had regained a memory, and that she had never used a shower before. "I wonder…if she has never seen something as simple as a shower…could she be from the forest? Could she be a Ghost?" thought Darien. He could not confirm anything but it would explain why she was in the forest in the first place. "Do you feel better, Serenity?" he asked. She nodded and finally sat down on the stool. He proceeded to wash her hair, applying the shampoo and conditioner he had bought her. As he washed, he tried not to stare at her pale shoulders, how her body lines were as graceful as if someone had painted them on canvas, how her eyes were closed in contentment as the warm water washed over her. He tried not to notice how soft and silky her hair was, how relaxed her body had become, and how small and delicate she was. He methodically washed her hair, trying to ignore all of that. Once he was done, he gave the showerhead to Serena and started to walk out. She grabbed the back of his shirt, her eyes curious.
"I am going to leave so that you can wash the rest of your body. Sit on the stool as you scrub with soap and I am going to bring another towel and the bag for you to change clothes," Darien explained. Serenity nodded, scolding herself mentally for trying to keep him in the shower with her. Darien left the bathroom and closed the door behind her. He went to his own drawers and quickly changed out of his wet clothes, then collapsed on the bed. His heart was racing, though he could not figure out why. Serenity was his patient, and he should not be feeling anything toward her. He gripped the front of his shirt where his heart was and tried to calm himself down. After a few moments, he got the bag and towel as promised and placed them in the bathroom. Not looking inside, he shouted to Serenity, "I am going to go for food. I will be right back!" Darien grabbed any jacket, his wallet, and keys and ran out as fast as he could. He figured he just needed some air and time away from Serenity and he would be fine. "No matter how beautiful she is, she is my patient and I will take care of her," he promised to himself.
Serenity finished washing herself and felt very clean. Holding onto the bar on the stall, she stepped out and reached for the bag. While her legs still felt shaky, it was not as bad as before. If she concentrated, she could stand at the very least. She reached inside the bag and put on the clothes Darien bought for her, pulling out a simple black dress. It was a little tight around her chest but was very loose around her legs, ending at her knees. Her hair was still wet, so she put the towel around her shoulders so that her new clothes would not get wet as well. She slowly stepped back into the room and stood that the bathroom door, looking around the room. There were no pictures or sign of life. Besides the chair next to the bed, and a desk with papers and books, it seemed as if no one lived in the room. Serenity felt a small ache in her heart as she wondered how Darien lived such a lonely life.
She took slow steps back to the bed. She was already exhausted and felt alone without Darien's comforting presence. She looked toward the window and saw that the curtains were mostly closed. Serenity reached for the cord that would pull back the curtains and moonlight streamed in. Almost instinctively, she put her hand out so that the moonlight would touch it, and she felt strength streaming into her. She crawled toward the space of moonlight and sat cross-legged as more and more power flowed into her. Serenity felt almost like a new person, and when she got up, she realized she did not feel tired anymore. She was able to stand on her own! Jubilated, she experimented with how far she could push herself and jumped around the square of moonlight. Serenity ran around the house, opening all the windows and curtains. Almost as if she were a whirlwind herself, Serenity became more exhilarated as adrenaline pumped through her and the cool night air swept through the house. She came to another door and opened it, and realized it led to the outside.
Serenity stepped out gingerly for she had no shoes on and was becoming afraid again. Darien was not home, but surely the front of his home would be safe. With nothing blocking the moonlight from Serenity, she felt at peace and comforted. She walked to the grass and sat down. Closing her eyes, her hands fell open on her knees as if by habit. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and looked around. There were other houses like Darien's, all in a row. She saw tall houses, short houses, and strange vehicles. But she saw almost no wildlife. Besides Darien's home, there were maybe three or four other homes that had grass in front. Serenity flopped down on the grass, and realized there were tears in her eyes. She did not know why, but seeing so little nature made her indescribably sad. She closed her eyes and as if she was in another world, she saw herself surrounded by trees and small bushes, and the sound of a waterfall was near. She could hear the laughter of children and the crackle of a fire. A woman with black hair called out her name as a man with white hair held out his hand for her. Without noticing, her hand had reached out in the real world, towards the imaginary hand. Serenity opened her eyes and saw golden flecks around her hand.
Keeping still, she slowly moved her head side and side and saw that the golden flecks were all along the grass. There were none near the houses, but where there was nature, there were flecks. She got up slowly and the flecks quickly flooded to where she had previous laid down. Her eyes wide, she watched as they moved slowly around her, as if they were dancing. She lifted her hands and they rose slightly from the ground. Serenity broke out into a smile and used her hands to direct the flecks in whatever direction she wanted. She swirled them back and forth, around her feet then around her hands. She began to build a tornado of flecks around her, and they shivered as if they were excited. Serenity let them sink slowly back into the ground and watched as flower buds came up from the ground and bloomed around her. She silently giggled and began to twirl around, not noticing that Darien had been watching her for the last few minutes.
Darien had come home with bags in his arms. He was still thinking about Serenity and was worried about her being in the house by herself. He walked as quickly as he could and came to his gate. As he was opening the small white gate, he saw Serenity out on the lawn. And she was beautiful.
As if she was an angel, Serenity was dancing in the grass. Which should be physically impossible for her, but she was. He could practically see the wings on her back. In her black dress, she should have melded in with the darkness but a light that seemed to be coming from inside her body surrounded her, illuminating her features. She was smiling widely and she moved her hands back and forth. Darien dropped the bags softly on the floor and watched as Serenity twirled. Then all of a sudden, flowers started to grow and bloom around her, even though he had never planted anything in his yard before. His mouth wide open, he made a startled gasp and Serenity turned around and saw him for the first time.
Serenity heard a sound behind her and turned around quickly. Seeing it was Darien, she gestured him to come close to her, still smiling widely. He walked towards her, as if in a trance. She held out her hand, the same gesture he had done to her when she had first woken up. Darien looked at her hand, confused. Patiently, Serenity waited until he finally touched the tips of his fingers to hers and slowly slid his hand against hers to grasp her hand entirely. Serenity came closer to Darien and grabbed his other hand, bringing it to her cheek. She closed her eyes and turned her face toward his hand, smelling his unique scent. It was of chocolate and sunlight. It was a warm scent, and made her heart beat faster.
Darien was not paying attention to his surroundings anymore. Never mind the fact that it was late and everyone else in the neighborhood was probably getting ready for bed. He could only keep his eyes on the silver-haired angel as she grabbed his hand. When she did that, as if by magic, he started to see golden flecks around his yard, surrounding her. Serenity had grabbed his hand to place it on her cheek, and this time, Darien did not flinch away. He was in awe of this young woman who had broken the laws of nature. He had just finished unwrapping her wounds and now she was dancing around as if she had not nearly died a few days ago. Darien turned his head to look at her again, away from the flecks on the ground, and she brought his hand to her cheek, inhaling his scent. He was so shocked he did not know what to do. All his previous thoughts of treating her like a patient flew out of his mind as he realized she was not going to make it easy.
She had opened her eyes again and was looking at him. She stared deeply into his sapphire eyes, and her eyes told him of how satisfied she was. She looked at him almost as if she loved him. "But that is impossible. It has only been a few days since she has been awake," he thought to himself. He looked back into her eyes and, still holding one of his hands, she gestured to the moon and then her legs. She jumped up and down, as if trying to prove to him how much she could move. Darien was confused as to how that was medically possible, but he could not deny that she had healed almost miraculously. He looked down at their hands that were together and he squeezed it. She squeezed his hand back, and started to take a small step towards him. He quickly leaned back and let go of her hand, as if he had been burned. He turned around to grab the bags he had previously dropped saying, "We should go inside. It is cold out tonight."
As he turned back to look at her, he saw a slightly wounded look on her features. She was hurt that he had rejected her so coldly. Sighing, he quickly tried to think of a solution. Holding all the bags with one hand, he reached for her hand again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he said slowly. She shook her head and started to walk towards the door. "No really," he said as he pulled her back to look at him. "I am just not used to people touching me. Don't be sad," he begged.
She looked back to his face, gauging the sincerity in his words and made a sad smile. She shook her head again and placed her hand on his chest. Darien tried to slow his heart, nervous that she could feel how fast his heart was racing. After a few moments, she took her hand away and smiled as cheerfully as before, gesturing to the bags in his other hand.
"I bought us food. I figured you've been on the IV long enough and it's time to feed you some decent food," Darien explained. She jumped up and down in excitement, and started to pull him towards the front door. He almost chuckled, but caught himself in time. Straightening his face, he let himself be dragged by the small female into his home.