Present day
The Leone Villa, Boston
(Kai 34 years old, Nera 24 years old)
Nera
He’s here.
My eyes are not yet adjusted to the surrounding darkness, so I can’t discern anything except the general shapes of the furniture in my living room. Nothing moves. No sounds, other than my breathing.
Nothing.
But I know he’s here.
It’s a sixth sense that seeped into my bones years ago, since the first moment I met him. His presence creates an imperceptible shift in the air, stirring the very atoms around me. I don’t have to see him or hear him move to know he’s there. My body and mind can feel him. Always could.
I close my eyes and slowly start turning, hearing nothing but my heartbeat. It’s faster than normal, but steady. I’ve nearly completed the turn when my heart flutters. There. When I op
