Not Real. Not Imaginary.

PART FOUR: GREER. [The kiss revealed]

I woke up to a warmth touching my cheek and opened my eyes lazily; I still felt weak, drained after all the events that had unfolded so far. There was a single bright light that hurt my eyes at first so I had to squint to look at the source of it. Then…a myriad of tiny, brief moments of warmth covered my face. It took me a minute to realize what was going on and where I was….

The first hint I got…was her scent.

She was cupping my cheek, and I was happy about it…I was happy that I finally got to her after all that time. I felt like it had been years without feeling her warmth or seeing her face.

I placed my hand over hers…I didn’t want her to take her hand away…I wanted to stay like that…for at least a little while longer...

“You silly, silly girl…I missed you.”

I finally decided she could move her hand away, and I moved it towards my lips…just to be able to press them against her delicate soft and warm skin. She responded with a soft giggle…and a cascade of tears.

“I was so worried…”

It almost sounded like a whimper, as those words scaped her lips, then…she leaned down as if she wanted to lay next to me…and unexpectedly…she nuzzled against my shoulder. I was very confused, since she had never done anything like that…but I was glad she had done it at that time.

“I know silly…And I’ve been really worried too...that you would keep me locked in here for longer…without even coming to see me…”

That wasn’t entirely true…but she didn’t know that…and I was enjoying all the attention…

“I’m so sorry…so, so sorry.” She said as she kissed my face over and over…I was confused at her sudden effusiveness…but I was content…I was so happy… “I must’ve been too shocked, and I just blocked it all. I honestly couldn’t remember anything, until just now, after seeing you here.”

After she said that…I knew… I couldn’t just blurt it all out…and to help her break the cycle, and also find all the pieces of herself, that she had lost in that life, I would have to be very careful…and very patient.

“I thought so…You’re not ready yet…not consciously. Your subconscious however, seems to be fine…”

“Well, how do we get you out?” She looked at me with a worried expression that made me realize that I probably looked terrible….

“Uhm…. yeah…I’m not sure about that...”

“I don’t even know how I did this…” She looked at me with guilt…and then…she held me tightly against her.

“Well…this is a…funny pickle we got ourselves into…” I blurted out hoping to make her smile a little. I couldn’t stand the fact that she would think I was in that state because of her…even if I had said that myself….

“Why do you look so bad? I know this isn’t the best place in the world…but I don’t think it is that bad…is it?” And as she asked that I confirmed…I looked like crap in that moment…how embarrassing.…

“Oh no, this wasn’t you I…to be honest I had already kinda gotten out but I…did some things that made some…’people’…upset and uh…I came back here in this state, and then, you wouldn’t let me out…and I was just too weak to force my exit.” I tried to explain but I was too confused…and then made sure to add a couple of white lies in hopes that she would give me more attention…cause I was so greedy…but…she walked away.

I sat up and she looked around, as if she was searching for the light switch.

“What happened with the door?”

And…I guess, she was looking for the light switch after all....

“Well…it’s closed for now. Until you are ready to face what’s on the other side…I think…” I couldn’t be completely sure…but that only made sense to me.

“I’m so confused about all of this…”.

“I know…I would be too…well, more like…I am…too...” I had no idea of what to say or how. I knew what I couldn’t say…but I wasn’t sure of what I could say that would help her…help us….

“Why aren’t you in your other form?” She looked at me tilting her head.

“I…forgot…I’ll change right now...just…” Too many things had happened and I had a lot on my mind…so…I had forgotten about changing….

“No, no…It’s okay, I was just curious…silly.” She ruffled my hair and I couldn’t help but to smile…I was happy that she seemed to be a bit more comfortable around this form now. “By the way… I kinda told Terry about…you…”

Ugh… I had forgotten about her. As soon as I heard her name, I couldn’t hide my irritation…but at the same time… I couldn’t believe what I had just heard her say.

“Why? ...What did she say?” I leant forward and grabbed her by the shoulders…maybe a little too aggressively since she trembled a little…I moved back to my spot immediately.

“Well, she heard me cry and saw me in distress because of the stalker…” She began to explain…but I stopped listening after stalker….

She was facing that again? There was someone after her again…someone attempting against her safety and peace of mind...again. She…she was in danger again.

I could feel the tragedy cycle closing in on her. I felt like I was too late…I wanted to prevent more tragedy from appearing in her life…but, what could I do?

I needed her to remember...and I needed her to remember more than what she had forgotten now…I needed her to remember…everything....

“Nina…It’s okay. You went through a lot because of me, and I would’ve hated to make you go through the same again. So, it is understandable…you’re not awful, just hurt.” I wasn’t sure of what I was talking about… I was just sure I wanted to console her.

“She didn’t seem to mind very much by the way. She said it didn’t matter, that she would always see me as she has always done…well, she used other words, but that’s the idea.”

She suddenly wrapped her arms around me…and immediately, I felt like all that I had missed while I was trapped in the witness…all that I had lost after watching her…die…over and over…all that warmth inside me, that I had lost…it had returned.

I wrapped my arms back around her frame. Her warmth comforted me in a much deeper level this time. Her scent tickled my nose, and then… I couldn’t help but to inhale deeply.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t picked that scent up during this entire time…It was just that this was different…this time she was really here…and this time maybe… I could actually do something to keep her safe.

“You act like if you had been here for a long time...”

“Well…not here…precisely, but those things I did… I…went to a place where time is…different than here…and…to me…it feels like it’s been months.” I squeezed her in my arms for the last time before getting up.

“Will you tell me about it already?”

After I offered my hand, she took it and I pulled her up gently.

“I…am...” I knew I had to explain… I just didn’t know how much I should or could tell her without making her erase and rewind again.

I proceeded to explain as best as I could without giving away the information that would make her try to lock up, once more.

The way she was looking at me reminded me of that girl…carrying the weight of an entire civilization on her shoulders…taking care of a whole village alone despite being so young…I wanted to make sure she could enjoy the freedom now…I wanted to make sure she left the worry, of all that had happened back then, behind… I wanted her to be able to let go of all that again. I wanted to take care of her… I wanted to…kiss her….

I couldn’t stop myself…my body was leaning forward on its own…all I could think of was…that I wanted to see those eyes worry free...I wanted to see them free from sorrow…and full of happiness and peace….

I kept leaning forward, and she closed her eyes…a soft blush colored her cheeks…and then… I couldn’t stop myself.

My lips touched hers, and then…I could feel it…the connection that had led me to her that life…the connection that was there from the beginning of times…and I could remember…every single one of the humans I had to guard throughout the times…all of them…every single one of them looked at me at the same time…with those same dark brown eyes.