Out of the World

1. Cherry blossom and snow

Zorion

I woke up with a start. Her blurry face appeared in my dreams once again, only her eyes were clear. Warm honey shone in them as golden threads stretched along her irises. Covering my face with both hands, I exhaled sharply. I have been in the Human Realm for almost two years now, looking for her. Her, a mate that I didn’t even know.

Since my eighteenth birthday, there hasn't been a day I’ve not roamed around this Realm in the hope of finding the pair of eyes that haunted my dreams and would change my life. 

Many wizards, like my father, waited for their mates for centuries. But I had this urge to find her now, to meet her now. Maybe she was calling for me, maybe it was my time. Or maybe it was my fear of losing her without even having the chance to actually look into her eyes, since the human lifespan was so short, taking only some dusks and dawns to fade. 

Heading to the shower, I was ready to start another day of searching. It was hard to find someone whom I knew so little about. I craved for her as if I had waited for the whole eternity to hear her name, feel her skin and see the recognition in her eyes as my soul screamed a single word, MINE. 

My legs guided me through the busy streets of Madrid as I searched for a special scent, a pair of eyes, a ray of hope. The day went by in a numb rhythm. 

Suddenly, a delicious and sweet scent entered my nostrils, cherry blossoms and snow. The smell made my mouth water, my heart pound fast, and my d.ick get hard instantly. Following her scent, I saw two young women. A slim blond one and a short brunette. The blond was talking excitedly about a party and the brunette was only nodding in response. I couldn’t see their eyes to determine which of them was my mate. But I knew it. I knew it was her, the petite brunette.

I had to look at her eyes, talk to her, know her name, learn everything about her. The girls walked away. I had to follow her, I felt bad about it, I was somehow breaking into her privacy. But I’ve looked for her for too long to lose her now. They walked for a few minutes until they arrived at an old, simple building in a noisy and dirty part of the city.

I was already starting to worry about her. Is she alright? Does she have a good life? Is she happy? I only hoped she was. I couldn’t bear imagining her suffering. I didn’t even know her, but my soul recognised hers, recognised her.

Should I go and talk to her? Introduce myself? What can I even say? I’d waited and looked forward to this moment for so long and now that I was so close, I didn’t know what to do.

The two women entered the building and I sat on its staircase and placed my head between my hands. I'd just lost my opportunity to talk to her. I can’t wait here, she would think that I am a stalker or a freak. I was lost in my thoughts for a couple of minutes when I smelled my luck changing. Cherry-blossom-and-snow was approaching my direction again. I stood up and turned around just before she opened the door. We almost bumped into each other.

A smile stretched my lips as I saw her face for the first time. Her dark brown hair was up in a messy cute bun and she looked rather tired. All I wanted to do was to hug her and let her rest in my embrace, sleep in my arms.

She looked up at me, her eyes opened wide. Warm, deep, honey-coloured eyes with flashes of gold, just like in my dreams. We stood like that for some time, lost in each other’s gaze. Something stirred deep inside my soul and the word left my lips involuntarily. I couldn’t hold it back, “MINE”.

This snapped her back from her trance, and she gasped sharply and took a step back. “Who are you?” she asked. Her voice was sweet, warm and laced with surprise.

“I’m Zorion.” I reached my hand to her a bit awkwardly. She looked at it, also seemingly not knowing what to do. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Nina.” She replied, still looking at my hand as if it was a foreign object she had never seen before.

Nina, it was a beautiful name and it suited my pretty mate. My Nina.

~ * ~ 

Nina

Looking at my old wristwatch, I ran down the stairs. I was already late for work and very exhausted. Completely exhausted and wanting to quit. But I must go. I didn’t have an option. School fees won’t pay for themselves.

When I opened the door of the building, an amazing smell invaded my nose. It smelled otherworldly. I really needed some sleep. I was having hallucinations. I was smelling a summer day out of the blue in the middle of the chilling autumn. I’d sniffed it before on my way home, but it was faint, now it was growing in intensity. Maybe it was only because I was growing even more sleepy.

I shook my head, confused and lost in my ‘synaesthesia experience’. Smelling a summer day? Only in poetry, I huffed lightly at myself. There was not such a thing in my life.

Because I was so lost in my mind, I almost bumped into a gorgeous guy.

Oh, mine! He looked like something between an angel and the cover model of a sports magazine. His dark blond curls fell on his forehead perfectly. He had a sharp jaw and sculpted body that I could only have a glimpse of through his t-shirt. He couldn’t be photoshopped if he was here in front of me, right? 

My eyes were tracing every inch of his body, the six-pack that his white t-shirt did nothing to hide, his strong neck, his broad shoulders and his biceps.

I was staring, no, I was gawking, drooling! I was totally out of my mind!

My eyes roamed up. He was towering over me, which was something I was used to. I was always the smallest of any group, being only five feet tall. But he was actually as tall as a tower.

My gaze did the whole tour, wandering to his chiselled chin and jaw, very kissable pinkish lips, high cheekbones, straight nose and those eyes. He was perfection.

My eyes locked with his and I was hypnotised. His eyes were so green and intense, and they held something. Something I felt in my bones that belonged to me. Something I felt I spent my whole life looking for but could never find. I just couldn’t name what this ‘something’ was.

But looking at him made my knees weak and my heart warm. I just felt so safe and right this close to him. I was indeed too tired, first smelling the impossible, now getting all these strange sensations and… feelings? For someone I’ve never met. What was I? A teenager from a fairy tale? I wouldn’t make the cut for any tale, I was as plain and simple as it could be. Besides that, there were no fairies.

A word from his mouth sucked me out of my trance and made me gasp and cower away.

“MINE.”

What? The word sounded guttural, raw, and evoked something primal. And its meaning? Mine? What does it even mean? Is he some kind of kidnapper or serial killer? Great, the stranger is a psycho. I just couldn’t imagine why a serial killer would take any interest in me. Maybe he was looking for my flatmate, Laura. She is much more interesting than me, and probably more of a serial-killer type. Gosh, my mind was wandering to funny, crazy places.

“Who are you?” I asked. The air surrounding this guy felt so thick and goose-bumps were rising across my skin.

“I’m Zorion.” He reached his hand to me and I looked at it again, entranced. I’m too tired to behave like a normal person. Is there any possibility it’s all just a dream? I just hope it’s a wet dream. “What’s your name?” he asked. I shouldn’t just say my name to a stranger, it’s dangerous and makes no sense at all.

“Nina.” Yet I said it. Something inside me made me trust him, which was weird because I don’t trust easily. With my life story, trusting was harder than working two jobs after school.

“I have to go…” I mumbled.

I wanted to stay, to stay close to him. I didn’t know why, but I wanted it so much, I needed it.

And that scared me. Needing to be close to someone, let alone a stranger. I passed by him and walked away fast, but he reached me. Not that my fast is really fast, I have short legs. Why is he following me? Is he a crazy stalker?

“Please, can we meet another time? Have a coffee or something?” his voice felt good. It felt cozy and comfortable, like being wrapped in a blanket on a cold night. But at the same time, it awoke something inside me, a sensual, burning feeling. Why did he make me feel so many things I hadn’t ever felt or even imagined before?

I stopped and looked at his eyes again, just to get lost in them once more. Was I seeing it wrong? Have his eyes changed their colour? Are they grey now? I couldn’t keep sleeping only four hours a night, it was killing me! I was losing my mind.

“I…tomorrow at 6 pm?” I replied, stammering.

Great! Not that I was going around exhaling confidence, but I’ve never felt that insecure talking to a guy before. Especially because I didn’t bother, or even have ever given so much thought to the dating topic. I had no time for such a thing.

“Where?” His voice made my breath shake again. I should just find a way to keep him talking. No, I have to go; go away from him, as far away as possible. And… I had to go to work. The manager was going to be so mad at me, today was Friday and we sure had a full house of many drunk annoying customers. Just thinking about it made a lump form in my throat.

I just wanted to be here, with him. With Zorion. But I shouldn’t. I couldn’t. “Here?!” I asked. It was a dumb idea, but it was the first thing that occurred to me and the word left my mouth before I could think about it. We were in the middle of the street, a few meters away from my place. There was nothing here, just a few old buildings and a broken post box.

“Yes, see you then,” he replied with a bright smile. His smile almost made me dizzy. It was magical, gorgeous, and illuminated.

My numb head nodded in response and he walked away. My heart clenched painfully in my chest at the sight of him leaving and a tear slipped down my cheek. Having people leaving wasn’t ever easy for me, but seeing this stranger leaving was almost unbearable. I needed some coffee.

He turned around to look back at me. I hadn't even taken a step forward. I was paralysed. He smiled at me again and my heart was warm, the moisture in my eyes retracted and my lips stretched in a smile on their own accord.

After I arrived at work and had a cup of black coffee, I played the whole scene back in my head and convinced myself that it was a dream. I must have fallen asleep on the bus again. Tomorrow at 6 pm I’ll know for sure if it was a dream or not.