Loyalties:
Mass Effect Trilogy is a Bioware game. For any reference to the Official Game All rights are owned by Bioware. The Fan Fiction "Mass Effect At Dawn Again" is fruit of my imagination and my work, it is a free tribute, passionate and personal to a great video game. It is not allowed any use partial or total for profit and not.
Chapter 33
Nobody's perfect... but Love!
… The yellowish warm light spreads from the scented candle's small flame. The thrilling atmosphere flickers around, flirty. It rises above the long glass candle holder, placed in plain sight, in the center of the table. The transparent glass invents the multitude of colored reflexes, which dance ethereal, attractive, by encouraging the veil of pleasant shadows, so skillfully created all around the most secluded corner of the small room.
The multiform glimpses are rippling all around. They play in the mirrors, bouncing against the walls. Like blazes, they are swaying in the turquoise blue of the sea, quietly, before to be caught, as if by magic, within the Miranda's eyes. Every irresistible glance of her, producing beautiful waves of light.
The Alan's voice caresses the senses of Miranda with freshness, like a breath of spring in the hot desert wind. Alan's words bring out the emotions of her, like little rays of sunshine. They fill with poetry the feelings of Miranda, before crashing deliberately at the bottom of the abyss, still freezing, being trapped like ice, in the dark maze of her fears.
A: You know, there's no doubt, the little Aurora has a crush on you, Miranda. That baby girl adores you! No one but you could get her to bathe along with his beloved Milo - brushing together to protect each other - This was a great idea! You have an amazing way with children!
Miranda's tone is playful, sprayed with complicity ...
M: Oh, please! I just had one or two childish trauma, to work with!
Alan smiles. A hint of uncertainty in his voice is leading his hand. Alan fingers timidly touching Miranda's, then tenderly pick them up among his own. A frisson of excitement instantly stops Miranda's heart, as well as, the Alan's, which turns upside down. A moment later, both their hearts start pumping back in their chest, with the same unmistakable elation. Alan feels his cheeks burn with joy, he gets butterflies in his stomach, as his voice turns into a delicate revelation ...
A: Well, all of this is very special to me, Miranda, almost like ... to be here with you tonight!
Hush. Alan chews slowly, accidentally swallowing his smile. He looks for Miranda's inscrutable gaze, with discretion, while his own stomach closes with a thump, like a door slammed against the wall. Alan shyly tries to lay his eyes upon Miranda's reluctant face. His apprehension gets grown. It took him more than a month to muster the courage to invite her, and now ... in a single moment, he managed to ruin everything!
The dessert fork of Miranda is still hanging in the air. It hesitant floats over her long silence, and mysterious. Meanwhile, a melancholy discomfort, rummages undisturbed between the internal organs of Alan. It makes them collapse, and hurt, and to be violently clashed against one another. The restlessness swells, then flows. It is like sudden jets of tension. Alan angst penetrates into the bones, pressing stubbornly against his own belly. It claws the chest, and steals, one by one, all the beats of his heart.
Withstands. He bravely barks at the anguish bites, scares the fear, fights against the feeling of abandonment. Alan has never liked giving up, it is not in his nature. There is a magical connection of souls that he does not want to miss. So unique, so special that, he feels like voluptuously mixed in Miranda's senses. He does not want to stop feeling alive, fatally abducted, so much ... fallen in love. Alan just wishes he could rewind the clock, trying to understand, trying to find the error, getting it fixed ...
A: I must have said something damn wrong ... oh, forgive me, I'm not rushing! ... let's start again, shall we?
Miranda drinks another sip of suffocating silence, and barbed wire gets tied tightly around her heart. She gently holds Alan's hand in her own, as a quick, troubled gaze caresses her face. Alan cannot stop staring at her, motionless. His dessert fork still suspended in the air, bright eyes, and sore, voracious for answers.
Miranda is trapped in an urgent need to run away. Whatever forlorn attempt to escape the discomfort, which has frozen her stomach was a failure. Her voice trembles. It staggers hesitating on the confusion, which escapes the gaze of Alan. Miranda looks at him with the eyes of her own soul. A cloud of uncertainty, still entangled in her own throat, desperately searching for the right words. The sound is sweet, the tone is kind, but so melancholic that, it hurts...
M: Actually ... that's a really amazing thing to hear, Alan, and ... ah, I'm sorry ... it's not your fault! The problem here, it's me! There's no point hiding, we're not teens anymore. There's something deep that draws me towards you. Something very special, and sweet, and impetuous! Ever since I met you, I feel like an emotional hurricane inside, Alan! You make me fall in confusion, but ... ah, it's so beautiful confusion! Something I didn't expect, and I've never felt before!
However, there are things in my past ... shadows! Like dark spots, which will weigh forever on my destiny because, they cannot be erased! ... I might be special in your eyes, but ... I'm not at all! The truth is that, sooner or later, you'll see that I'm not who you thought I was, and I will break your heart ... and my own!
The pain burns Miranda's heart. She feels blur in the fog. All her body seems to pass away, like a moment before fainting. A knot of tears freezes down her throat. She feels her stomach full of nails. Miranda has to hide a shiver, while struggling with all the strength to control her voice ...
M: Better if we stop this now, trust me! Before it's too late. Before it gets hurt too much because ... I'm falling in love with you, Alan Foster, and ... I couldn't bear to see you go away!
The very first emotion is joy! Shiny and unbridled euphoria, which wraps Alan's chest, explodes in his stomach, and runs through all his feelings, like if wonder was embracing his soul. A moment later, fear and sadness angrily pounce on him. They suppress his smile, invade every thought, and make him shake. Just when Alan feels crushed, a superhuman force is spreading from every cell, running through his veins, like a river of determination. Something lights up in Alan's voice, who becomes clear, sweet, but decisive, when he starts talking...
A: Neither do I! Look at me, Miranda ... I'm right here, in the grip of the same hurricane! ... You are the most wonderful thing that ever happened in my life! Every one of us is made with light and shadow. Nobody's perfect! It sounds obvious, but it isn't. Happiness comes in a multitude of wonderful moments and perfect, just like this! All of us have escaped our terrible fate. We have fought for this. You, more than others. I guess, you've had to fight a lot in your life. But, it's your journey that makes you, who you are now, and ... for all I care, I feel that you have a very special light!
Miranda can only barely hold back the tears. She would like to cuddle up, getting warm in Alan's arms, to be tight against his chest, her head rested near his heart, to feel it beating, and swear by to believe in every word he says. She just wants to let herself go, but ... fear is like a claw of ice, sunk into the heart. It bites, and pierces, and wounds, coloring with melancholy her voice, once again, as she says ...
M: I killed my father, Alan! With my hands, no regrets! I wanted for years, and I felt a great pleasure in doing so! If I could go back, reliving that moment a thousand times ... a thousand times, I'd do it again! Shepard, in my shoes ... she would have let him go!
Alan remains motionless, as if petrified. His sensitivity perceives a trace of discomfort in Miranda's voice. The bitter flavor of her regret, the sadness that rapt her gaze. Emphatically, he experiences the same pain, and seems to fall, into the same bottomless abyss. The incredible revelation takes Alan completely off guard. Nevertheless, he cannot judge Miranda, he cannot feel disappointed. An ocean of tenderness pervades him, while emphatically, he is reading Miranda's heart. He feels her loneliness, and shame, and love. Alan grabs both Miranda's hands, with a shade of passion feebly impressed on his face. His eyes are shining with conviction, as he softly whispers ...
A: I'm so sorry! He had to be a terrible father! But, this doesn't change how I feel about you, Miranda. The way you make my heart beating, when you're around me is ... priceless! It's worth risking of any pain. I think, after having survived the Reapers, it would not make much sense to escape our lives now, wouldn't it? However, you're right about one thing - we're not teens anymore. So, how about finding a quiet place, where you can try to trust me, and I can decide, with whom I want to risk to be hurt?
Miranda thinks Alan is right, after all. She also has never been afraid to take her own set of risks. Just one thing is abundantly clear - she does not want to stop feeling Alan's hands in her heart. She smirks again, intriguing face, as playfully says ...
M: Well, you know, I'm such a badass, bro! I suppose, I shouldn't be scared not even of myself. So, C'mon, Romeo, let's go to live!
… Alan unlocks the electronic key of his, brand-new, private room at the "Kiddies House," as he likes to affectionately call the Institute of Hospitality. Miranda thoughtfully follows, drawn to a thousand street lights, sparkling in the large window.
M: You know, I've always loved the night! The cloak of darkness hides the imperfections of things. Colorful lights draw out their strengths.
Alan joins her. Gently puts a hand on Miranda's shoulder. They share the wonderful view. Alan smiles as invites her to sit next to him, on the couch. His soft voice, and warm lights a shiver down Miranda's spine ...
A: Yeah, I love the whole vibe of the night! However, there would be no excellence, if it weren't for all those flaws!
Miranda puts her best seductive gaze in Alan's adoring eyes, as she sits down. She caresses Alan's excited senses with the inebriating charm of her voice ...
M: I love your way to always see the light! You are such a sunny and positive guy. You're so sweet Alan, yet you never give up! Those are two qualities that rarely I saw together in such a special way.
Alan blushes a little, smiling ...
A: Thank you, Miss Lawson! ... Well, I can also be red like a tomato, without any scruples whatsoever, if you plan to continue! You want something to drink, by the way?
Miranda cannot hold back a laugh.
M: Yes, I do the same what you will, thanks.
The sparkling wine is stirred in inviting bubbles. The tinkling of the glasses spreads a relaxing effect through the air. Alan smiles at Miranda, doing his best to make her feel comfortable.
A: Dinner was delicious! You know, we should go back to that restaurant. I really had a great evening!
M: Oh, it was ... perfect! Hoping you'll still think so, when we finish talking, indeed!
A: So, come on, it's time to find it out ... together!
Miranda leans her back on the couch. She drinks a little sip of courage, before starting to tell ...
M: An obsessive-compulsive narcissist, who suffers from delusions of grandeur. This was my father! I heard these words for the first time, when I was a little girl. They are etched in my mind since then, as a permanent mark, and painful. I was not eight years old yet, I slunk in my father's office for a joke. He didn't notice that I was hiding myself behind the heavy red velvet curtain, next to the window. My father was distracted by the video-call incoming. The spokesman of the Medical Ethics Commission has begun reading that psychiatric report, about him.
My father was furious, shouted at him. His voice resonated in my stomach. The fists of him that thumped on the heavy wooden desk made me shake with fear. "The damn psych eval of yours is simply ridiculous!" he growled. "You and your colleagues are fucking incompetents. I'm surrounded by a bunch of nobodies, so hypocrites and small-minded!" I stood there, in my hiding place, wide eyes, as if paralyzed. My father was on this "God complex," and he wasn't going to calm down. "You're persisting not to see the perfection in my work! My experiments have borne fruit, and obviously, my methods are working." He hammered.
Whenever the male voice tried to interrupt, my father shouted louder, "We're talking about a perfect specimen here! The perfect human is a fact, and there is a strong evidence in my treatise! So, just in case you shall consider removing me, I want you little bureaucrats to know, I don't give a rat about your blah blah blah! You're not going to get to me. I'll start in-vivo tests without any approval, from now on. I need no one's help! I can self-finance, to be freelance. All of humanity will know, one day. So, all of you nobodies will bow to my genius, and all of you will thank me!" His delirium became more and more intimidating and aggressive. "But, I'm warning you ... do not try to stop me!"
I immediately recognized the voice in the communicator. It was uncle Marcus, my father's friend. One of a select few people, who regularly attended our home. Dr. Marcus Ross was a scientist, one of the best geneticists around. At that time, he lectured me on the biology, without any compensation, "for delight," he said. He was a good and thoughtful, elderly gentleman. He gave me those delicious candies, which he passed secretly from under the table, just for the sake to make it seem forbidden. He told me funny stories, and he was surprisingly complimentary about my acute scientific observations. Uncle Marcus said they were "mind-blowing" for my age.
I heard his voice again, from behind the curtain. Uncle Marcus hissed back to my father in a squeaking tone, the no less threatening answer. "Whatever you want, Henry! But, I suggest you don't go any further than the in-vitro tests because, if one day, I would find out that you are hiding some so-called "perfect specimen," I'll lock you up, I swear! If it's the last thing I do"!
My father sent him to hell, before interrupting communications. Then, he called someone. His voice sounded like an icy hiss. Just a few orders, zero emotion. "It must appear like an accident, do you understand me? It can't be traced back to me. Then, send a hacker to his apartment, and to the Foundation, too. That fuck psych eval has to disappear, right now!" "Yes, Sir". That same day, Dr. Ross was tragically killed in the elevator crash, as climbing up to the Medical Tower Centre's 64th floor! ... Poor uncle Marcus! I was terribly shocked. I cared about him so much!
Alan is empathetically dragged into Miranda's tale. He relives one by one, all dreadful emotions of that frightened little girl. He feels like to be flooded with an ocean of solid tenderness, and sympathy. Alan impulsively brings Miranda into his arms, gently, with a few words whispered in her ear ...
A: Oh, I'm so sorry! Come over to me, poor thing!
Miranda runs into a thought of herself as a child, frozen for years at the bottom of her mind, as hidden. It suddenly reveals itself, like a flash in her head. "I was looking for sun, last night. But, all that I found has been darkness, and darkness, and ice... maybe, was I looking for life?" Surprisingly, the thought stops to be felt like a threat because, Miranda is realizing, she is not afraid of the answer anymore.
Miranda sinks into Alan's sweetness. She cannot escape the intense pleasure. She puts her head on Alan's shoulder, as she begins to talk in a touching voice, but tenacious ...
M: Don't worry, Alan, I'm OK! I've to admit that, at certain times, a shrink would've helped, but ... it was all in the past, and my father is no longer a problem! It was something I had to do, Alan. No regrets, no mercy! That's exactly what is scaring me because ... I'm afraid you can't accept it! But, I'd rather figure it out... tonight!
A: These few memories are already pretty shocking, and hit me straight to the heart! However, to be judgmental is not what I had in mind, Miranda. I must say that, the more I get to know you, the more I care you. So, I intend to be there for you ... I can't change the way I feel about you, no matter what you tell me. So, please, trust me!
Miranda's heart shatters on the rocks of her own fears. But, the voice of Alan is melting gradually the crust of ice that covers her soul. Her last veil of self-defence is dissolving like the foam on the waves, with the secure hold of Alan's trust. Images, emotions, words crams into Miranda's mind. The memories run before her eyes, emotions blossom inside her heart, then roll out of her, one after another.
M: You know, my father was always terribly busy when I was a little girl. He hardly had any time to stay with me. He didn't like to play with me, nor keeping me company. He was an icy man, silent, increasingly frustrated, never laughed. On the other hand, he covered me with any sort of gifts, all kinds of toys. However, when he wasn't travelling, he used to be locked in his lab for days. The only time he used to come to see me, it was for tests.
I didn't like tests. I hated them, indeed! My father was never, ever satisfied! The air became heavy around my room, the atmosphere darker as in the doomsday. The more I tried to please him, and the more things he demanded.
However, a difficult childhood can happen. A lot of children have to deal with this every day! I'm not looking for some shred of justification here. Of course, I didn't kill him for that! Well, it's a long, complicated story, Alan, I know. So, I just think you need a few basic elements. Some key points of my past, to get you an idea, as close as possible, to who I am.
… Miranda speaks about her strict upbringing. When, unlike the others, she could not go to school, or socialize with other children. About Niket, her only one exception, but secret.
M: Niket was the tip of my scale! That little light in the darkness, who I needed, to figure me out where I was about to go. I used to watch him play baseball along with his friends, as I was sitting on the swing in my garden, alone. The ball crossed the fence that day, it rolled right under my feet. Niket asked back the ball for a favour. He was kind, always smiling. He liked to chat a lot, but we had to sneak around. However, when my father was not there, Niket could climb over the gate, and I did allow him to use my swing.
He was a daredevil friend with a tender heart. We loved to play together, fantasizing about space travels in the search for endless cool adventures aboard a great starship. The whole day to wander around, and discover new Relays, unknown Planets on the far corners of the Galaxy. When I was sad he used to tell me these funny stories, and eventful. Niket understood me, he made me feel important, like if I was not alone. He was a true friend, I loved him.
… As a little girl, I was pressed into spend most of my time in studying. My father demanded that my teachers were very strict with me. He selected them personally, with a delusional care. "The top of the line," he joked! My father used to say, "Emotions are nothing but distractions!" That's why, my nanny changed every week.
He forced me to attend the full overview of annuals educational competitions for students. From chemistry to math, and ... Greek, Latin, Lit, many foreign languages. My father demanded only the victory with praise, which promptly arrived. Yet, he was never satisfied with my achievements.
When I was 13, for example, I won the High School's Chemistry Marathon for seniors. I got an extraordinary praise, published in several scientific journals. Oh, I was so proud! I went to my father with my winning smile, and a stack of magazines in my arms. He threw them all on the ground, cold eyes and superior face, turning into disappointment my smile. "You could have done better than so! You're not working hard enough. I've invested a lot on you, Miranda, but your Greek Olympic games weren't perfect. I'm rather disappointed with your results! "
Scorn makes Alan's fists clenched, violent anger rises to his eyes, "What a nasty piece of shit!" He thinks, but says nothing. He caresses Miranda's shoulder, instead, asking...
A: And... your mother?
Miranda keeps her head on Alan's shoulder, hiding the veil of dew, which makes shiny the look on her face. Nonetheless, she strives to appear funny.
M: That's curious, you know? When I was very young, I thought mothers should change once a week! I began to overflow of questions, very soon. But ... if my father didn't respond with continual shilly-shally, he tried to slip away. Finally, I tore off a name out of him, and a last name too. He looked me in the eye that day. His upper lip stretched in a provocative smirk, as that sour voice messed with my heart. My legs didn't stop shaking with excitement, when I first heard her name, "Ashley Wronn. I'll tell you all about your mother, at the right time, Miranda, I promise. But, only if you stop asking questions, right now!"
I started dreaming about that name, "Ashley ... my mom is called Ashley!" I thought. "It sounds so cool!" I fantasized. The more I grew up, and the more I missed her, so intense way, and poignant! I convinced myself she had to be fled because of my father. I needed to hope she would come back for me, one day, and I would've gone away with her. A sort of nagging fervor was pounding my head. It urged me to get out of bed in the morning, it gave me the strength to withstand my father's halo of ice, to handle the intensive study, the massive training. It made me, every day more daring. I wanted to know everything about my mother. Who she was, if I looked like her, but above all ... when she'd be back!
I started doing research. Every spare minute, every second I got. I sounded out extranet, looking for clues, signs. Whatsoever that allowed me to rebuild my mother's past, her movements, her life. However, Ashley Wronn looked like a ghost. She doesn't show up in anyone's searches. No results, no images, no files. There was no credit card number, not even a forwarding address ... no nothing! Anyway, the older I got, and the more my research became sophisticated.
At 16, my computer skill set was more than advanced. I could bypass the highest security systems, undetected. I had unrestricted access to the whole set of Intelligence Archives. I checked and double-checked tons of intel every night. Both governmental and not, of every level of security, but ... no nothing again! The only place I didn't search yet was the Laboratory of my father. I've been dying to snoop around the secret Archive not networked, I supposed he had to have!
So, I decided it was time to go down to his Lab, and hack into his computer. Patiently waited for my chance. I was absolutely sure that I would find a dossier on my mother there. I felt a step away from the truth. I had no choice. If I wanted to know, I had to try. Just the thought of getting into the super protected lab for the first time made me feel excited, euphoric and ... terrified!
The security door conceded itself more easily than I had imagined. I slipped into the twilight, as silent as a ghost, lights off. It was pretty dark inside, but this silence had not lasted long because, I almost immediately painfully knocked the desk. Luckily, nobody could hear me cussing.
The computer was in standby, but it needed a password to be accessed. Instinctively, I wrote Ashley Wronn. All of a sudden, the letters came to life, animated themselves, as if by magic. Every word began to break up into another name, and surname. It all had a very familiar flavor, so bitter!
What kind of a moron! For all those years, the answer had always been right there, under my nose, but I had not realized, or ... maybe, I didn't want to see. It was no longer important. I couldn't keep playing with my subconscious to ignore reality, no more. Ashley Wronn was nothing but ... a fucking anagram of Henry Lawson!
I felt my blood trapped by frost, discomfort to wrap my lucid consternation. Suddenly, the truth turned out to be inevitable. So shocking in its own ruthlessness, like chills me to the bone. The name Ashley can be masculine or feminine, of course. So, my father had left me a devilish clue to the truth. No love but science! Here's what I was! A little lab's animal in the hands of a motherfucker bastard with a freezer in the place of the heart! Although, it's always been clear, after all! From that day behind the curtain, I'd always known, but ... it was a truth too devastating to accept.
So, I've been hiding to myself, for years. Buried the answer in the irrational side, where the unspeakable can sleep, to escape the pain, to overcome fear! But, it was time to accept reality, I could no longer hide myself behind a velvet curtain. The "fruit" of those experiments ... was me! I had to be his most successful model, anyway!
The more I surfed among my father's files, the more I flew into a fit of rage, as confusion chewed off my own heart. "Ashley Wronn" was an endless file full of notes, reports, and cursed details, covering twenty years of my father's studies and experiments on his own ... genome!
It was like I had a broken mirror in my stomach, and an unbridled desire to cry, but also rabid, rebellious eyes, even to tears. I found dozens of reports about those "laboratory products" interrupted at different stages of their development. Some fetuses had not passed the pre-natal phase. On the other hand, others of them had come to the post-natal stage, but at some point they have been deemed "not perfect" and "ended"! Everything described with cool detachment, and documented with maniacal precision.
I bloody wanted to throw up, in the grip of the impulse of hammering out the whole thing. His damn files, his computer, the whole fucking lab ... I just wanted to tear up everything! However, the last notes in the file piqued my interest. They referred to a new experiment. An even more advanced project, more refined, obtained with the further engineering development of my own DNA, called "Oriana Project," and ... already started 38 weeks earlier! I turned on all the lights, but nothing! There had to be a secret room, somewhere. I wanted to see with my eyes. So, I just had to find out how to get in.
It was pretty easy. The release button, was located under the desk. A sliding wall right behind it had been activated by touching. I got swept up in the emotion. I couldn't stop myself from shaking. I entered the room, breathless. That was when I saw her! I couldn't take my eyes off of the bluish growth tube, at the very bottom of the room. It was operative, filled with clear nutritional fluid, a very little body was floating within the large cylinder-shaped tub! I walked over, as my heart exploding out of my chest.
I touched the glass tube with trembling hand. The emotion made weak my knees. "For every horrible thing, there's another one so beautiful!" I thought, and that little baby girl it was! The stage of gestation would be over in a couple of weeks. The baby looked so quiet, peacefully asleep. She was smiling, like if the whole world was good! She was so helpless, delicate. "When I was a baby, I had to be exactly like her," I thought. It sounded so incredible! That little baby was my genetic twin. Suddenly, I saw my life flashing before my eyes.
That sense of abandonment, which accompanied me, as long as I remember, and loneliness. The glacial behavior of my father, so hard to please. All my life spent in preparing myself for something that never came. The painful realization not to be the daughter that my father wanted me to be! I didn't want that my sister had to suffer the same fate as well. Uncle Marcus was right! I had to protect her from the glacial arrogance of our father. Avoid her the bitter heartlessness of that fool! Maybe, this was, after all, the meaning of my life ... the true reason I'd always been searching for. For the first time, I felt like I had a special purpose, some kind of mission. Something priceless worth fighting for, hoping, loving.
I promised myself to make sure that, at least my little sister could be happy, in a real family, with a real life. With a mom and dad who loved her, at light years away from our father's insanity. I talked to the wonderful sleep of hers, with sweetness. The best reassuring tone in my voice. "I'll take care of you, sissy! I'll take you away from here. You'll never stop smiling, as long as I live, I swear!"
… So, the crazy plan of my father, the nutcase, was no less than the "genetic perfection!" He wanted a son, to continue his "perfect dynasty". However, using his own genome, it could only get pathetic clones of the pathetic himself! That's why he needed a specimen of a "perfect woman," like some sort of the X chromosome bank, great shape and freshly selected, to be manipulated, as he pleased, with his own, headcase, Y chromosome! Obviously, I didn't turn out to be perfect enough for this purpose! So, another poor, innocent creature, and unwitting had been "designed" to take my place, and she was there, in that damn developing tube!
All my logical approach sucked away, little by little. I needed a perfect plan, but my emotional state was negatively affecting my reasoning ability. I'd get just one shot at this, no room for error. So, I gave myself a bit of space. I began to perfect my mastery in self-control techniques. I learned how to get myself completely detached from my emotions, to separate my head from my heart. "Emotions are nothing but distractions!" I would have turned that to my advantage. So, I locked my heart inside a prison of ice ... the most of the time!
I didn't care about myself! I did wanna take my sister away, to a safe place, wherever our father wouldn't find her anymore! I could easily provide Oriana with a new identity. However, we were living in a golden prison, secured by armed guards, silent alarm systems scattered everywhere. I trained myself very hard, to be prepared to neutralize any possible threat, in order to anticipate all moves of theirs, undoing even the unexpected. My plan had to be perfect!
I was preparing a sophisticated strategy for action, and in parallel, I was working out to fight and shoot, like a marine... with biotic skills! However, this was the easiest part. Finding ideal parents for my sissy took a lot of time, and all my skills milked, but in the end it really was worth it!
When I finally was ready, Oriana had just had her third birthday. She was a very lively and lovable little girl, but so sweet. I was doing my best in an effort to grant her a loving and secure upbringing. Maybe that's why she was much brighter than me at her age, and of course, much smarter too! I devised a controlled treatment. A light and personalized PKM therapy, to be given the night of our escape, in addition to a very mild sedative. I did wanna to be sure she didn't take notice anything. I was hoping she fell asleep and forgot everything about our father ... about me! I wished Oriana woke up in a normal life, with her new parents, far away from that crazy man! ... I wanted her to be happy!
I was 19, and I had only the courage of my rebellion! My plan worked brilliantly, but our father was chasing us. We had the goons of him on our tail. I couldn't afford to be wrong! Luckily, I'd carefully planned everything. So, I teared up the track behind us, reaching Illium, where Oriana's new parents were waiting. However, it was not over. Actually, it had just begun! It was vital to my sister that, I could protect her at any time, in the present, and in the long-term future. I was sure, my father would never give up looking for her. So, I had to at least try to make it very dangerous for him to go near Oriana again. I needed the support of an even more powerful organization, with efficient and virtually unlimited resources. For that reason, I joined to Cerberus.
I can remember every little detail of that night back on Illium! It was both the most beautiful and harrowing day, in the same time! I held my little sister in my arms, fast asleep. I can still feel her breath on my neck, and the sound of my footsteps, which echoed in the cargo terminal. I crawled silently, among the variegate multitude of people, trying not to be overwhelmed by the fear of being identified. I blended the coming and going teeming with passers-by. My Asari contact was exactly at the meeting point. She was waiting for me next to the bench. The night's shadows lit up the towers with colored lights. The fragrant atmosphere of the street lamps filled with deep feeling my beats. The long awaited moment had arrived.
Lanteia faintly nodded her head. I passed the little one to her. I feel like I'm still there! Here's Oriana's little arms go tighter around my neck in her sleep, instinctively, like she's not leaving me. The sweet smile of Lanteia, as she tenderly held Oriana in her arms, still asleep. Then a slight sigh in my ear crumbled my heart, like a shattered glass that can't be repaired anymore, "Miri!" She hugged Lanteia's neck tighter, thinking it was me. The pang of emotion struck me right in the middle of my stomach, like an unexpected kick, which can double your pain. I was stunned for a while, staring at the thin line between madness and reason!
"Don't worry, Miranda, your sister will be fine!" Lanteia's voice brought me back. It was calm and safe. "Her new parents are waiting in the taxi. I'll take them home, personally. I will protect them with my life! Everything went as planned. You were great! Just let me take care of it, now." I stood motionless, as paralyzed. My look followed Lanteia, who moved away, holding Oriana in her arms, still asleep. I saw them disappear behind the storm of tears, which blurred my eyes. I felt the hole coming up from inside the abyss, enveloping me, ungovernable, like a gust of icy around my soul. I was already missing Oriana, so much. But, the three years that I had with my little sister had been the best three years of my life, and extraordinary!
My protective instincts always took the best of me, when it came to Oriana. It pushed me to look on the bright side, what was best, for her. The beautiful future, which was waiting my sister inflamed my heart with the beats of joy. I let myself to be comforted, reassured. I fought through the pain, until I felt pervaded with bright flashes of happiness. I had to let her go ... "Farewell, my little sissy, I love you! Be happy even for me!"
… Miranda is still leaning on Alan's chest. She cannot give up the reassuring warmth of his embrace. She is carried away by the feeling of relief at every soft caress on her own shoulder. She is penetrating into Alan's emotions, like absorbed by the frantic beat of his heart that pace up and down, gets all emotional, being shaken. A river of sweet confusion grabs their senses, nourishes their own astonishment. Miranda's deep feelings rides up, mixing the fibers of her body, in Alan's soul being reflected. Poignancy grows in waves of sensual turmoil, as transformed their senses into gusts of wonderful abandonment.
Alan feels welcomed in the secret soul of Miranda, like he is channeling in that sliver of the deep universe revealed only by the love. Alan's emotion at the touch of Miranda's body still rested against his own is so intense that he forgets to take a breath. Alan is swimming among his own chills, surrounded by the bitterness of Miranda's tale, which is oppressing him like a dark cloak. He absorbs the flavor sharp of Miranda's suffering, the dreadful oppression by her solitude, the sour intensity of her anger. He let it wash over him the same crushing pain, being dragged away, as in a whirlwind.
Miranda's eyes gently stay in Alan's gaze, out of the blue, for a long magic moment. Alan can barely hide the irresistible urge to be lost on her lips, to kiss her, falling into her heart. Instead, Alan's fingers gently move on Miranda's cheek, and console her beautiful face, with a touch of gentle affection, while he whispers in a thrill of empathy ...
A: I ... I had no idea, Miranda. I'm so sorry! No child should have to go through such an experience! I can barely imagine, and ... what I perceive is terrible, shocking ... it makes me feel very bad! I'm so glad you ran away, you rescued your sister! All you did for her was something purely out of love. Something so heroic that is telling a whole tale about you, Miranda!
Then, Alan's voice gets more deeply, loving...
A: But ... hey, you're looking a little pale. Are you OK? We can stop when you want ... you don't have to go on!
Miranda gently moves Alan's fingers, slowly drags them on her lips. Both their hearts touch, and overflow into each other in a jag of endless sweetness. It's just a brief moment, but perfect.
M: Thanks Alan, but I'd rather go on! You know, it's an odd feeling for me, but I just feel relief at every word. No fear, no masks, no secrets ... no more!
A: You don't have to hide anymore, Miranda! I'm not afraid of you. You can say whatever you want to. I'll always be here for you, I promise!
M: Oh, Alan! It means a lot to me! Anyway... my sister lived on Illium for 16 years with her foster parents. She had the happy and carefree childhood I dreamt of for her! You know, she's really grown into such a beautiful girl! She's quick, with a lot of talents, very smart, and funny. For all these years, I was always looking out for her from afar. Then, we met on Illium, with the help of Shepard, and we talked! It was amazing! We haven't fallen out of touch since then. We talk nearly every day.
Meanwhile, the Reapers rushed the whole galaxy into chaos, on the brink of disaster, hopeless of reprieve. They turned our worlds into pieces of hell, one after the other. The happy islands transformed into nothing but death and destruction. I've seen so many awful things, Alan, that cannot be told!
Somewhere along the line, also the Illusive Man started acting really weird. He became unbalanced, so heartless to sound unsettling! At first, I didn't think it was indoctrinated. However, he suddenly reminded me of my father, more and more. Right after the jump through the Omega 4 Relay, I realized, the Illusive Man's ideal to protect the humankind had turned into a ruthless mad, and delusional. So, I chose to go away.
… Well, long story short, Cerberus wanted me dead! They hunted me, but Oriana and I came up with a secure Comm system. One night, she hasn't gotten back to any of my texts! It was like an ice bullet had opened my heart! I could feel the dreadful presence of my father, who hung in dark suspense. The eager wheeze of him was smirking closer and closer, crawling like a shiver on my back. I felt damn sure Oriana was in danger!
Her adoptive parents were fine, but no news! It was supposed, they had picked her up along the way, returning from the Library. My sister seemed to have disappeared into thin air! I started digging deeper. Luckily, I still had some friends, and a few of personal favours I could call! When I finished putting the pieces together, the picture that came out was rather disturbing!
It was clear there was something the Illusive Man wanted from my father. In return, he was offering the only thing my father couldn't refuse! I thought for sure Oriana was with him! That goddamn must have destroyed the micro-tracer that I implanted in Oriana's bracelet. There was no way of being able to trace her position! All the more reason to find her as quickly as possible! I didn't exactly have time for subtlety. Just one way to get to my sister, before it was too late. Finding out where the hell my father was!
… Cole "the moray" was firmly tied to the chair, hands behind his back. The bucket of icy water brought him immediately back to consciousness. Puffy eyes of his widened appalled. More than the cold, it was shivers of terror what shook his body all black and blue. Former alliance, former merc. For more than twenty years, he was my father's head of security. The trusty henchman, who got the dirty work done. He had no heart, no brain, no scruples. He carried out the boss orders without question. He was the bastard, who killed the poor uncle Marcus.
In my voice nothing but frost, just the wicked heartlessness in the air, "Look, my little sparrow, I've been rushing around so much. So, I'll ask you only once, and your life is closely linked to the answer. Where did you bring my sister?" Cole stared at me, daring eyes, his upper lip tilted into a smirk of defiance. Silence. The intense blue energy of my biotics sparked my grudge. The wave wrapped up Cole's body still tied to the chair. He first touched the ceiling with his head, then he banged against the wall at the bottom of the room. Finally, he dropped to the ground with a dead sound, like a groan. Then, another silence.
I pulled out my gun, as I approached Cole's wheezy body. The sound of my footsteps echoed in the room like an evil countdown. I struck a cold stare into his face, his eyes were howling with fear. That smirk had disappeared from his lips, a scarlet rivulet of blood and pain, in its place. I was trying to dominate my impatience, the anxiety, but I had to look ruthless.
"Time's up!" I shot him. The wound in his leg was a little more than a scratch, but "the moray" was screaming in pain. "You made me promise I'll kill you, little sparrow. So, I will! But first, I wanna hear you scream. You know, I'm so happy you didn't want to spill! I love to take out the rabid dogs like you are!" I shot him again. I just grazed him on his left shoulder this time. My special bullets with the habanero essence burned like the hell. Cole started coughing, spitting and cursing like a Vorcha. Then, finally he decided to spill the beans.
"Ho-Horizon ... I brought her back on Horizon!" I grabbed him by the hair, my gun held at his throat, hissing, "Horizon where?! She's with my father, isn't she?" Cole stammered "S-Sanctuary... Y-Yes, your father is... in the C-Cerberus facility... under the pond! ... That's all I know, I swear!... P-Please, let me alone!" I kicked down the chair, and went away. Cole's poisonous voice shot me in the back, as I was crossing the door. "You fucking whore!" I stopped, and I turned slowly, as an icy smile stretched my lips. "Aw, you know, little sparrow, I was hoping you would say!" I put a bullet in his eye, before he had another chance to speak! "That's for uncle Marcus, you filthy bastard!"
… As soon as I entered the airspace of Horizon, Oriana's voice overwhelmed me with joy from within! "Sanctuary is not what it seems ... get out of here!" "She's alive!" I exulted from the bottom of my heart. Directly after, I was frozen into an abyss of fear. It was a warning, abruptly interrupted. A distress call! Dismay. I chased away the anxiety of my head, with desperate determination. I didn't dare to figure what had happened! When I landed on the facility, no fucking self-control trick could sweep my rage out of me!
The Sanctuary was under attack! Cerberus' forces were clashing against a rich selection of Reapers, pretty well-matched, indeed. A Harvester was knocking down all the shuttles that were crossing its sight. Cerberus withstood the onslaught, but they were beginning to retreat. However, that was the kind of distraction, I was looking for. I had to hurry up! I used the tactical cloak, to break into the underground base unnoticed. That was the funniest part! Finally, I could access to the terminals. The complete picture turned out to be like a nightmare before my very eyes!
I was in front that huge room. Dozens of refugees were walking in some sort of cathartic state. One after the other, they went into conversion pods themselves, and they emerged transformed into husks! It was something gruesome, abominable! I was on the verge of throwing up!
Cerberus was experimenting in a devious, very unethical manner. So mercilessly, and with a shocking disregard for the human life! On top of that, at the head of that project, there was ... my father, the nutcase! He was sending hundreds of innocent people into the slaughter, chasing a new... God complex. He was studying how the Reapers gain control of husks on behalf of the Illusive Man. It sounded like they both had officially drunk their brains out! Obviously, all this horror had been the price to pay for the Oriana's address!
I was shocked, upset! "If I'd killed him, when I got the opportunity...!" I thought. I felt that everything I had been holding inside, was about to explode like fireworks. That monstrous spectacle made me shiver. Now, that had to be stopped! I turned off the facility energy system. I blocked the entrances, and left all the warning messages I could ... but, I had to act fast. I was rushing to find my sister, to take her away from that hell!
… As soon as the bio-detector began to buzz, Kai Lang emerged like a phantom in back of me. The air movement gave me a blade of warning. Instinctively, I rolled on my side, his blade went almost wide! That asshole was bloodthirsty psychopath, damn shrewd and terribly dangerous. An opponent difficult to neutralize. I was still hiding, crouched behind a cover, and trying not to breathe. Time was like a river that pulsed in my neck, as the seconds of an infinite clock. "Miraaandaa!" His metallic voice nagged my ears, egging my disgust, provoked my anger.
The wound in my side hurt so badly! It wasn't fatal, but slowed me down. I was in the state I couldn't compete with that damn charlatan much longer. I had just one shot, I couldn't fail. I felt the tip of his blade scratching the floor, his steps getting threatening, closer and closer. I had to catch Leng by surprise, before he activated his damn kinetic barrier, otherwise I was dead! I stood motionless, my muscles stretched out, all my senses dilated over the threshold.
When he stopped walking, his back was two steps ahead of me. I pulled out the pulse generator hidden in the heel of my boot. I held it angrily in my fist. I gathered all the strength I had, focusing on that sole perfect leap. I swooped in on Kai Leng, sticking the pulse generator on his visor, with surgical precision. The electric impulse, instantly shorted the sensors of his visual scanners, making him temporarily blind.
… The elevator that went up to the Tower had a backup generator. I felt I was near. It was time to catch my breath. I had to keep my head clear, and stay focused. But also, preparing myself for the worst! I used the last medi-gel pack on the wound. I swelled my lungs with all the air I could hold, then I exhaled it slowly, until my heart stopped firing bullets against my breastbone. I was ready! Whatever I could find behind that door, I was prepared to deal with, but ... I was hoping with all my soul, it was the Oriana's smiling face!
The entrance was large, looked like an office. It was dark, deserted, and I couldn't see the whole room. I kept hiding myself under the tactical cloak, moving with circumspection. There was a white screen near the dark wall. I noticed the feet with women's shoes lying on a table. Panic was petrifying my legs, shattering my heart. I had to move forward, but I almost could not walk.
I gathered all my courage between my fingers, faced the screen, my stomach locked between my teeth. Until a groan of relief galloped through my throat, unexpected. I gasped of joy, while I was trying to wake her up! "Ori ... Ori!" ... All I could think of it was, "she's alive, she's alive, she's alive!" That was enough to make my heart singing in my chest. However, Oriana was heavily sedated, her wrists and ankles tied over the table.
My father could come in at any time. We had to go right now! I freed Oriana, and forced her to sit on the bed. The cold water on her forehead and face worked like I hoped. Oriana opened her eyes, and she took me in her arms! "Oh, Miri! ... I love you so much! I knew you'd come!" I wrapped Oriana tightly in my arms, with all the love pulsing inside me. I turned away the waves of tears out of my eyes. "Oh, I love you too, sissy! I was so worried about you! I thought it was too late! ... Are you okay?! What did that nutcase do to you?"
Oriana told in a woozy voice. She was worn out, as tried to stifle her discomfort, but she couldn't hide the throb of terror, which crawled through her throat, all the revulsion. "Analysis, tests. Then, he took my marrow...! He wants a son! He gonna use my DNA, my stem cells! He said my purpose was just to make his legacy perfect! Oh, Miri, you were right, he's a total psycho! You should've killed him the night we ran away!" My eyes widened between the blades of grass swirled in Oriana's gaze. "Hey, he told you so?! You shouldn't know these things!"
Oriana grabbed both my hands and held me tight. The look over her face, like mirrored in my eyes. "Self hypnosis, Miranda. I remember it all! Our father, and all those hateful tests! The icy scorn of his eyes when you two were fighting - Emotions are nothing but distractions! - he shouted! He scared me so much, and I hid myself behind you. Then, you picked me up, as your reassuring voice made me feel good! We had that amazing doll house taller than me. I remember our water games in the garden, and the funny tales you used to tell me before sleeping! I remember everything you've done for me, Miri. You've always been my guardian angel, now I know!"
I embraced my sister. We were suspended like in a breath of emotions, with a shudder of joy in the heart. "You gave my life meaning, sissy, when nothing made any sense! You were my little sunshine, you've always been, but now ... I need you get up! C'mon, let's get out of here!" The sedatives still in Oriana's system made her legs heavy, her steps unsteady, each movement difficult. My wound made every step more painful. Finally, we reached the door, which swung open. I remember a shooting pain in my head. I saw a great light shining on the ceiling, then I began to fall slowly in the dark. My consciousness struggled desperately against the fog of my reason. My forces surrendered slowly, while I inexorably slipped into darkness.
… He caught me off guard, like a damn idiot! I awakened on the floor with the most dreadful headache. Blurred vision, and dozens of thoughts scattered in a jumble around my mind. Oriana was begging in tears. "Please, you got what you wanted ... please, let us off!" Another, unbearable, familiar voice, and disgruntled hissed the response, like a frost blade that cuts the threatening air. "Your sister has always been such a pain in the ass, Oriana! She would set herself on fire just to contradict me! If I don't stop her, she will! But, I can't let her do that. I've been waiting my whole life for this. The momentous day is close at hand. My gift for our species becomes reality, Oriana. My legacy will be the genetic perfection!"
Anger was nourishing my strength, hate poisoned my grudge. I could only throw up all the contempt I had inside, hoping to distract my father enough, being able to throw my biotics against him. "Your ego drove you nuts! You're obsessing over the craving for that fuck'n perfection! You've never been able to love. But, you were a champion to humiliate people, to get their dreams killed, to annihilate their self-confidence! You are not worthy to have children, not even being called a father! The only legacy you are leaving is contempt! The disgrace to have your genes. That unbearable thought that, the frosty insensitivity that wraps whatsoever you have in place of a heart could be handed down ... along with your madness!" Suddenly my gun appeared in his hands, and I thought it was over! "Oriana, do not move! It's OK!" I was terrified at the very thought, he would shoot at my sister too!
… When you say perfect timing! Just then, the door busted open. Shepard came in with her squad, guns in hand, battle eyes. My father grabbed Oriana, fast like a snake, tugging her arm, gun pointed to her head. "Drop your weapon!" Shepard's voice whipped dryly, insidious like a bullet onto a rabid answer "No, I won't do it!" We stumbled into a very dramatic moment, but we were four to one. The situation was turning to our benefit. My father had his eyes wide open, and a look of glass, mixed with anger and ambition. He stood, dead heart incapable of feelings, imbued only with unbridled hatred towards his own blood.
Shepard would never risk putting Oriana in harm's way. She was so calm and determined to seem like invincible. She realized, the only thing that my father really cared about was his little worthless life. Shepard made an offer he couldn't refuse. "I'll spare your life ... how badly do you care?" There were some endless moments. We didn't dare to even breathe. My father had to choose. Shepard backed him into a corner, but she was also offering a way out. My father was insane, not stupid. If he shot Oriana, he would never go out on his own feet from that lab. "All right, take her! But, I want to get out alive, okay?" Shepard always keeps her own promises. As soon as Oriana was safe, she lowered her gun...
… Miranda gets up from the couch, she stands, with her back to Alan, a few steps to the window. The eyes of hers are twinkling in the seductive hues of the night, like in a mixture of anger and emotion. A veil of concern on her face tries to escape the Alan's gaze. The solemn tone of her voice has the flavor of a sad admission. Miranda face with courage the awareness of having to answer her own fate ...
M: What makes me human? The circumstance of my conception, or what I went through in my life! Is the perfect clone of an insane killer driven by its very nature to kill? Or maybe, would it just want to play the violin? Statistics confirm that, inevitably, it follows its nature, once in two. Well, you know Alan, my sister plays the violin beautifully! So, I'm afraid that... I've to be the nut here!
Miranda is a woman who knows what she wants, and she is not afraid to take it. It is not the compassion she is looking for. She is looking for love. She would like to fill her heart, leave the past behind, starting over. The soul of Miranda is craving for it to happen. However, there is only one man who can change her fate. Miranda's heart cannot stop screaming his name! This is the time. A shiver of fear running down her back, but she boldly continues to tell ...
M: I left my fury free to swell up, taking over my indulgence, to steer each cell of mine, every fiber excited, to get all my mercy evaporate out of my body. My wishes, my hands, my heart, twinkled with a sparkling blue energy. All my life I've been waiting for that moment. I felt the power flowing within me, becoming strength, then turning into punishment! It was like a scorching thirst, which intoxicated my senses of pleasure. I slammed my biotics onto my father, as a liberation! He was fairly close, and he took the brunt of all my contempt, falling into nothingness. After a handful of seconds he stopped screaming. Finally, my war was over!
… The silence is caressing Miranda's lips. An overwhelming sense of heaviness fusses her own most internal part. It crushes the fear in her heart, getting the uncertainty trapped in her stomach. Miranda cannot ignore the disquiet to read what is in Alan's heart, sharing his emotions. She falls in the white-hot anguish of accepting Alan's decision, whatever it is. She can hear the sound of his footsteps behind her shoulders.
Alan's exciting presence behind her back produces a wave of love that overwhelms the chest of Miranda, expanding like a river, it makes her shake. Alan is shaking in the same way, as he gently put his hand on Miranda's shoulder. A herd of wild horses is galloping in his heart, thrilled with emotion. Alan has experienced such an amount of emotion that he vividly perceives Miranda's state of mind, feels all the emotional intensity of her feelings. Alan feels so close to her soul, like he can touch it, to be touched, like never before. Each look of Miranda, every smile of hers brings Alan to the top of a skyscraper, then precipitates him down with joy. Miranda's eyes are like islands of seductive inspiration, her voice a cloud of soft unease ...
M: That's who I am, Alan! A ripped book, with a few bright pages here and there, amid too many dark pages! I made mistakes in the past, which caused pain, death. I did good things, sometimes, but I have a whole collection of regrets I don't know how to get over yet. Of course, the Lazarus project transformed my life, made me a different person. But, I can't change what is written in my genes. I'm just the product of a madman, modeled into madness!
Alan gently smiles at Miranda, while lightly takes both her hands. His fingers intertwine in the Miranda's surge of love, who feels like to be protected in that warm touch. Alan's voice is deep of suggestion, so intriguing, as he begins to whisper ...
A: Miranda, I wish I met you sooner, to be on your side all these years! I can't change your past, but if I could choose my own fate now, I would like to risk being happy with you in my future! There's so much bright light hidden inside you. An emotional sweetness, which sometimes doesn't know how to get out, but it always reaches me. And, you make each moment like an extraordinary moment!
I cannot even picture the things you've been through, but putting myself in your shoes just for a moment was so painful! Actually, I see myself like a peaceful man, yet I wouldn't hesitate to descend into hell if someone messed with my kids! If you were in danger, I would just like to protect you... I would fight for you, Miranda! I feel you're so special to me! You're not a clone! You're a person, no matter the circumstance of your conception, and you're not like your father at all!
Miranda's heart skips a beat, then it strikes so hard within her chest that she has the feeling the room is starting to spin. She is frightened to explode with a bang of joy and insecurity, all at once! The longing in her voice is shaking Alan's senses ...
M: Oh Alan, I love you! And ... I always knew it wasn't a phase! So, it was true ... you've to have a shining armor hidden around here somewhere! I'm told all the brave knights have one, and you've already saved me, indeed! However, I think you deserve something better. A woman with lots of light, no shadows ... a perfect mate for a man like you are!
Alan's voluptuous hand slips into the dark brown river of Miranda's hair. It lingers on the skin of peach of her cheek, pleasantly travels on the soft outline of her lips. Alan's eyes caress Miranda, like the light breeze into the bay at the summer sunset, full of peace, and mystery. Miranda rides onto the charming chills dispersed over her body, as the scent of Alan seduces her senses, like a magical secret to be revealed. Alan's warm voice carries her through an intriguing murmur of feelings ...
A: "I do not think, I could love you so much, if you had nothing to complain of, and nothing to regret. I do not like people, who have never fallen or stumbled ..."
The Miranda's voice is throbbing with emotion, while she finishes the sentence of Alan, and a drum is beating hard into her heart ...
M: "... Their virtue is lifeless, and of little value. Life has not revealed its beauty to them!" Pasternàk! Oh, Alan, I've always loved such masterful reversal of perspective! That makes it sound the imperfection as the true point of arrival!
A: Well, perhaps because nobody's perfect ... but Love! I love you, Miranda! No other woman but you! That's the miracle here, which intertwined our way, woven our two paths into a single wonderful fate. Love perfectly knows what it needs to do, and always brings out the best of us! I feel damn lucky, and so happy that, I want to cry! Being here, you and I at this very moment of love is making perfect my whole life! You know, Miranda ... suddenly, I feel like this is an amazing, beautiful dream, and... I don't wanna risk losing not even a breath ...
The sea seems to come out of Miranda's eyes, like wonderful waves of sweet euphoria which overwhelm Alan's senses. It is a magnetic fascination, which lures inevitably both their breaths into each other. Sunbeams are floating in the green moaning of leaves in Alan's eyes, getting Miranda to be stumbled on her trepidation. Alan's skin, which smells of moss and bark, produces a sweet invasion all around the senses of Miranda, stunning of emotion all the beats of her heart.
They look at each other, like ravished, motionless. Their breaths slow down, then stop on their lips, which are seeking out each other, desperately yearning each other for a kiss. Hands intertwine, they are reaching each other with seductive tenderness. The hold of their bodies shares the gentle euphoria of pleasure, the hell of heartbeats and wonder, which lead to love. Their lips are soft touching, sliding in a timid caress. They both feel like their souls is fluctuating around the room. They close their eyes, before starting to vibrate.
Their lips take each other, belong together, gently merging into kisses deeper and deeper. Until the most intimate mystery of each of them is reached, and shared. The rapture of the senses, slowly approaching the borders of their bodies, penetrates them, binds them, turns them into emotions. Emotions to be gathered on the rim of their lips. In the plunge of feelings that inflames their stomach, making soul screams of sweetness, setting on fire the shivers on their bodies, palpitating of excitement.
They undress each other, slow and easy, savoring the great thrill of their bodies poetry. The glares of soft light enlighten their bared skin. The souls of theirs are caressing. They take each other, belong together. Then, their bodies indulge with the drunkenness of passion. It is not just for the tide of pleasure that throws them into an erotic euphoria ocean, but rather to the relentless urge to mix skin and soul, to be merged. They yearn to be together, feeling as one, like to be mixed in a single breath. A single exciting thrill on a verge of a blaze of senses reflection, perfectly coordinated and synced in the same fragment of immensity. I wanna be yours... to be yours... forever ...
The pace of passion is dancing on their joined bodies, it merges into the tangle of hands, which lights up on their skin. The wave blazes nourish their desire. Their breaths gasping turned into shivering. They both hover in the endless moment, which makes them only one soul, one body, just one intense pleasure, overflowing. Ecstasy looks like a rising sun, soaring over the clouds of a sweet hurricane, like a single wing which does not want to fall, but exploding in a magical perfect moment. The unique, short moment, yet so infinite, where the two become one.
To be continued...