The Dance Of Fire

Chapter 1.

The night was heavy upon him. One of many that he had to survive. And he found himself at the bridge. Holding a half empty bottle of whiskey in his left hand. He has been on this bridge once before. But it was different tonight. The decision was taken. There was no going back now. The moon was mirroring clearly in the dark water below him. Einar could not have been waiting for a better night. The rain had stopped falling only an hour before. Everything was still wet so they would just think he had slipped. Lost his footing while drinking. He had left his car in a small parking lot in front of a supermarket. There was no note. He had nothing left to say. The only pain in his heart. Pain that he didn’t know how to live with any longer. Slowly he crossed the iron fence. At that late hour, there weren’t any people or cars. Carefully placing the bottle down behind him. His green eyes were attracted to the black abyss below him. It was a 20-meter fall. He could survive it if he wanted to. But he planned to land on his neck. Snapping it. Giving his life back to the place where it came from. Enough was enough. He had searched for a long time. He had searched for too long. And there was nothing out there to release him from the pain he had been feeling. Taking off his leather jacket, he stood in his white t-shirt. Felt the metal fence in his back. All it took was another step forward. Just one more step and all of this will be over. He closed his eyes, surrendering his soul to oblivion. He will finally find some comfort. He will finally stop feeling the pain. The sorrow. The chaos of forever being without her. He heard some voices behind him but he chose to ignore them. They were late. He didn’t want to be saved. He didn’t want to disturb this night of all nights. He made a step forward. Pushed himself off. Greedily taking the only way out that he had left.

First, he had thought his hand had caught on something. It was left behind him dragging the rest of his body. But when he raised his head his eyes met something he could not explain. Another hand. A small hand, to be precise. He looked above him and that is when he almost screamed. He had met a pair of the darkest eyes he had known in his life. And he could recognize those eyes everywhere. Someone was holding him. But not only someone. It was her. It was Nahara. He recognized the pain in her face. She was much younger than he had remembered her. Her long black hair pushed forward, hiding the rest of her face. She was bent over the fence holding his hand in hers. Slowly losing the battle. He was heavy. Probably twice as heavy as she was. And he was pulling her in. He was expecting she would let go. Surely she would let him go after realizing that she was late. She can't save him. She can't help him without being drowned on the bridge herself. But her skin was so soft on his. Her hand was so strong, holding all his weight. Even if it was only for seconds. Einar almost smiled. He had almost enjoyed watching her face so close to his. This was only a dream. Fate was playing with him. This was one last reflection of his broken mind trying to save himself. This would never happen. And it wasn’t until she fell right in his arms. It wasn’t until he had felt the weight of her body and the smell of her skin that his mind woke up. His body decided to react. His urge to protect switched on. Grabbing her and pushing her into his body, he readies himself to break the surface of the water. To do the least amount of damage and harm. He heard her screaming while they were falling. That was her voice. When they broke the water, he pulled her down. Even if she was struggling against him, he had pulled her down with him. His hands wrapped around her waist. To push her back up as soon as they were free from gravity. He heard her taking long breaths of air. Her hands were still holding his shoulders as if in panic. He was holding them on the surface. Nahara was in his hands but her face was angry. Upset.

-I can't swim.-that was the thing she was screaming at him while they were falling down the bridge. A part of him wanted to laugh.

-So next time don’t jump.-he answered. She looked at him as if he was sick. Probably thought he was crazy. She would have made her distance but it wasn’t possible as she would probably drown. -Just hold on.-Einar whispered. Slowly he started swimming to the shore through the ice-cold water. It was the end of summer. But the water in the bay was always cold. That was why he had chosen it. It took him around ten minutes to bring them back to more shallow water. Nahara stood away from him still weak and cold from spending so much time in the water. Her clothes stuck to her skin and she was still coughing from the water entering her nose and throat. When they finally reached the dry ground, she stopped bowing her head and resting her hands on her knees. Taking a moment to take a couple of deep breaths. Her chest hurt and she was shivering under the cold night breeze. Einar stood next to her feeling guilty. -My car is parked close to the bridge.-he said. She turned to him with fury in her dark eyes.

-You think I'm going somewhere with you? After the thing you just did! You dropped me from the bridge!-she wanted to scream at him but her voice was too weak. And at that moment she stopped. While he was on the bridge, she didn’t get the chance to see him. Not even when they were in the water. The moonlight wasn’t strong enough to see him any better. But now. Under the shy light of the streetlights and neon signs, it just became clear. He was so much taller than her. And heavier. And stronger. He seemed like a giant with clear, deep, crystal-green eyes that could see straight to her soul. And she regretted speaking out of line. Not when she was alone with him like this. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run from a man that didn’t value his own life. He stood silent for a moment, as if thinking about something. There was confusion on his face.

-I never dropped you. You fell.-he corrected her in a calm voice. Nahara opened her mouth to speak again but decided against it. It was clear to her that something was wrong with him. It was never a good idea to argue with a person who was prepared to jump from a bridge. She crossed her hands in front of her chest, freezing. He took another look at her. -I know what you tried to do back there for me. And we will not discuss it again. I'm not going to kill you or hurt you in any way. My car is close. I will take you to my office. It's just around the block from here. You can have a change of clothes, warm-up and then be on your way. Or you can stand here all night freezing. It’s a one-time offer and it will be closing soon.-he said that in a business kind of way. She was still doubting his motives. But judging from his expensive clothes and the way he talked, she judged him to be just another depressed accountant or a struggling CEO.

-Fine. But if you try to touch me in any way, or even look at me funny I will kill you!-she said, telling him to lead the way. It took them only a five-minute walk to come to the parked black SUV. Einar was smart enough to leave the keys below the car. His driver was supposed to pick up the car in the morning. Nahara didn’t say anything after seeing that. It just made the feeling in her heart even sadder. She knew what he was trying to do just there, and she also knew that people didn’t usually jump from the bridge for small things. But looking at him. He seemed so strong. It would take something really serious to break him.