Return to the Meadow

Chapter Eight: Protected

“I assume this will do?” Damian was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorpost. He had watched her wander the room in amazement, and he enjoyed every second of it. The beautiful woman in front of him turned to face him. “I guess,” she smiled politely, “it’ll be just for tonight though.”

It pleased him to see her eyes filled with excitement. The sound of her voice was pure joy for his ears. He longed for the moment this house would be filled with her presence, her delicious smell lingering on every object, the air filled with her enticing laughter. The knot in his stomach tightened, a feeling Damian was still getting used to. He knew she was powerful, even though she was still unaware of the effect her presence had on him, he felt it and no matter how hard he tried, there was no escaping it.

To allow himself to catch a breath, Damian turned away and walked to the large cabinet in the other room. The room served its purpose by being the most unwelcoming environment he could’ve put her in. The contrast between the two rooms was exactly what he needed to seduce her to stay.

He opened the wooden door of the cabinet and pulled out a stack of neatly folded clothes. He sniffed it, but he knew the smell would be disappointing. He’d washed the clothes several times but the smell of his ex-wife that was absorbed by the fabric was hard to get rid of. Next time, he told himself, next time it’ll smell better. Next time it’ll smell like her. The thought of Liza’s delicious smell on these clothes made Damian smile internally. For a split second, he wished he could move forward in time, rather than only seeing glimpses of what the future held. It had been frustrating to see what was ahead, only to snap back to reality and see he still had a long way to go. He cursed on the unbreakable law of free will, which he struggled with a lot because it made him dependent on Liza’s decisions. He couldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to, and it delayed the process a lot more than Damian anticipated. For some reason he’d expected her to be more cooperative, to be easier to manipulate. But Liza turned out to be a woman adorned by mysteries, who seemed to be spending a lot of time inside her head, and though it’d been frustrating, Damian couldn’t deny it was enviable as well. The more time he spent with her, or just near her for that matter, the more he became convinced she was the one.

Damian returned to the bedroom with the clothes, only to find Liza standing in front of the window. Her head tilted slightly as she observed how the rain cascaded relentlessly from the heavens, while the wind drove it with force against the window. His footsteps must have alerted her because she addressed him when he entered the room. “It’s been raining all day,” she noted without taking her eyes off the stormy scene playing outside, her voice tinged with both wonder and apprehension, "Damian, look at this storm. There is something unusual about it, don’t you think?”

Damian had noticed the peculiarities as well. He knew what it meant but didn’t feel the need to confide it to her. As the wind howled like a tormented spirit, Damian offered her a gentle smile. “The way the lightning strikes seems to form intricate patterns, did you notice?” he said, placing the stack of clothes on the bed, “as if they were reaching out to tell us a tale.”

Liza looked over her shoulder, her eyes gleamed with curiosity as she absorbed his words. He seized the opportunity to move over, standing dangerously close to her. He’d tried it before, when they were in the kitchen, but the change in her aura was undeniable, and he couldn’t get closer to her even though he desperately wanted to. Thankfully, he managed to make it look like he just wanted to move her aside before it became too awkward. The confused look in her eyes confirmed that she was questioning herself and her instincts, instead of his intentions.

This time Liza barely responded to his presence, which was a pleasant improvement. They stood in silence. Whilst Liza was captivated by the enchanting dance of lightning illuminating the darkened sky, Damian quietly explored the energy field surrounding her. Unbeknownst to her, Liza’s aura was a well of information which Damian eagerly examined. Besides his ability to see glimpses of the future, he also possessed the ability to enter auras and decipher their hidden messages. He had spent years developing his skills, travelling far and wide to unravel the mysteries that auras held. When he first saw Liza, he sensed her aura and was immediately intrigued. It was so vibrant and pulsating with energy that it attracted him like a moth drawn to a flame. Liza, on the other hand, was blissfully unaware of the profound impact her aura had on him, though Damian did notice that his extensive stares were making her uncomfortable. He tried to stop or at least make it less obvious, but he simply couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Especially since she put on that dress!

To his surprise, Damian failed to get further than the outer layers of her energy field, regardless of his attempts to pass the barrier that seemed to block his entry. Someone must’ve placed protection over her, and Damian had a good guess who could’ve done it. It bothered him that she got her hands on Liza first, but it had been a necessary and critical part of the process. Still, it was another setback that he couldn’t afford, and it annoyed him to his core.

To add insult to injury, Liza stepped away from him before he had time to think of a way to break the shield that was protecting her. She had broken the invisible bond that Damian had used to roam freely in her energy field.

She had noticed the stack of clothes he had put on the bed and walked over to inspect it. He watched as Liza's fingertips gingerly brushed against a luxurious cashmere sweater, its vibrant color reminiscent of a summer sunset. He remembered its previous owner, a confident and daring woman who effortlessly captivated those around her. Beside the sweater lay a weathered leather jacket, bearing traces of adventures long past. Each item carried memories he once cherished more than his own life, but times had changed. As Liza continued her investigation, he noticed a slight change in her behavior. She’d become eager to see what else he’d brought. He had triggered her curiosity, and he took it as a good sign.