43. Promises

"Ravi, I'm here. Ravi will be okay." Raymond's voice whispered in his ear, pulling Ravi back into the tantalizing awareness. He slowly opened his eyes and found Raymond just inches away from his face.

He shut his eyes again, but once more, Raymond spoke, whispering near his lips. "Ravi, wake up. I'm here."

Ravi struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and the first thing he saw was a dark shadow behind Raymond, partially obscuring the light entering his vision. He blinked slowly, realizing it wasn't just a shadow but a pair of black wings stretching out behind Raymond. The black wings enveloped them both as if shielding them from the frightening specter that had just emerged in his mind.

"Ravi, it's me." Raymond pressed a kiss to the bridge of his nose as Ravi remained unresponsive.

Ravi carefully processed what had happened earlier, leading him to now lie comfortably on his soft bed. He tried to open his mouth, but he felt like his voice couldn't escape his throat due to exhaustion and f