Like the day couldn’t exist without the night, like light couldn’t exist without darkness, as Yin relies on Yang, and like the moon pulled the tides, Hannah and Garin were opposites that couldn’t exist without the other. Their existence was completely dependent on each other and if one of them were to die, the other would find life meaningless and not worth living.
Garin was in trouble and he needed to be saved because if he died in this storm and left Hannah all alone, she would slip into depression and would eventually take her own life just to be with him in Harlem.“Garin,” Hannah called out to him, barely able to hear the sound of her own voice because of how loud everything else was.“Garin,” Hannah searched, barely able to stay on her feet because of how powerful the winds were.She moved closer and closer to where Garin was but, she couldn’t see him yet. Just at the moment when it seemed like she was going to finally run into him, she went in a different direction, unaware that if she just kept moving forward, she would find him.Garin’s head was busted and his blood was mixing with the flood of water. He was getting killed in more ways than one; he was dying from the blow he suffered to the head, he was dying from drowning because the water was getting over his nose, he was dying from hypothermia as his body temperature was dropping exponentially low, and he was also dying emotionally because he didn’t know how Hannah was fairing and that was the worst of it all.Garin could feel the cold hands of Death wrapping its icy fingers around him and when he managed to open his eyes, he found himself in another plane. It was a mental plane that existed in his subconsciousness and he had been transported there by Death so he could face Him and take the test to see if it was his time to leave the Earth, go back to Hell and get sent to Harlem OR if he still had enough will power to cling on to life on Earth.“Hello,” Garin called out and his voice echoed back to him.He didn’t know where he was because it didn’t look like anywhere he had ever been before. The world around him was an endless space of white and just in front of him were two figures and they looked like they were alive. He cautiously went forward and moved closer to the figures and when he got to a certain distance, he felt himself cross over what felt like a bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world.His human clothes on his body transformed into his demon armour and his horns and wings sprouted out of his head and back respectively and Garin smiled when he saw them, though he was confused and didn’t understand what was happening to him.He reached the two figures and they were the same creature but opposite. One of them was completely white while the other was completely red and they both had bowls of water floating right in front of them. They were manlike but didn’t have faces on their heads nor did they have arms on their torso and when they spoke, their weird voice sent spikes of ice down Garin’s spine despite his toughness and former demonhood.“What are you two supposed to be and what is this place?” Garin asked.“Welcome, ex-demon to the crossroads of existence!” The white creature said.“We are Life and Death, Freedom and Bondage, Pain or Peace but unfortunately for whoever comes before us, it is easy to misunderstand which of us is best for you,” The red creature said.“What do you mean by that?” Garin asked.“Many have faced us and they thought that freedom and peace were associated with Life but ended up dying because what makes what isn’t based on one particular entity. Your choice to live or die depends on what lies within your heart, even the emotions and desires you bury deep inside that you can’t even see,” The white said again.“The soul is a mirror that reflects your desires but rather than see what you want, you see what you don’t want and a misconception of what is needed for completion sprouts up in your mind, leaving you to doubt your basic instincts and desires,” The red said as well.“I absolutely have no idea what any of what you’ve said means,” Garin responded.“There’s no need to listen to words that your feeble mind cannot comprehend. Look into the bowls and make your choice but be warned, once a choice is made, it cannot be unmade,” The red said.“Once a path is chosen, it cannot be unchosen and the journey to determine which plane your existence will continue begins and cannot stop,” The white said.They backed away from the bowls and Garin went closer and stared into the white.When he looked inside it, he saw the worst parts of the life he had lived while on Earth. He saw his pain and suffering, he saw his loss and grief, and he saw his disappointments and regrets. The more he looked, the less he wanted to see but he couldn’t look away. He saw his life in Amania and it felt unfulfilling as it was the same boring routine over and over again. The white bowl stopped showing him those visions and he was now able to look away.He walked over to the red bowl and when he looked inside it, he saw the best parts of the life he had lived while he was still a demon. He saw himself soaring through the clouds, freer than a bird. He felt the magic in his blood and the peace that came with that level of power and majesty. He saw himself with his brother Sader, the only one who ever treated him like family and he remembered how much fun they had tormenting their other siblings. The red bowl stopped showing him those visions and he looked away.“Make your choice, Garin,” The red said to him.“…and when you choose, dip your hands into the bowl and let the water wash you into your true existence,” The white added.Garin didn’t feel conflicted at all because the answer was obvious to him. His choice was clear and his mind was already made up. He reached for the red bowl and was about to dip his hands into it but then, he hesitated.“Make your choice,” the red said again, “Why have you stopped?”“Do you hear that?” Garin asked and strained his ears, trying to clarify what he was hearing.The sound was faint and it was coming from the white bowl. He wasn’t sure what he was hearing but for some reason, he felt drawn to the sound.“Make your choice,” The white urged him.“I will, just give me a minute,” Garin told the creature.“Garin,” The sound he was hearing was his name but he still couldn’t make it out.“Garin,” It said again and it was more audible than before.He moved over to the white bowl and then, “Garin” was said again and he could hear it properly now.It was Hannah’s voice and she was calling out to him in the physical world but it was powerful enough to break through the barriers and into the crossroads of existence.“Hannah?” Garin called out back.“There is no Hannah here. There is only Life or Death. Now, choose,” The white said.Garin heard Hannah’s voice again but this time, he heard the sound from behind him and not from the white bowl. He looked back and felt something pulling his soul back from whence it came and then, he realized the reality of his situation.“This is a trick,” He whispered and then, he stared at the white and red, “This is a trick,” He said louder.“Whatever bowl I choose, I’ll still die and nothing promised will be given. You’re not life or death, you’re just death in two different forms and no matter what I choose, there will be no happy ending. The only happy ending is going back towards the sound of her voice. She is my life, she’s what I need, she’s my greatest desire and I choose her. I choose only her, now and always. I choose her. She is my choice,” Garin said.The two bowls fell to the ground and broke into pieces. The white and red creatures blended into each other and became one dark creature; the Grim Reaper! Death himself.“Well done, ex-demon. It would seem it’s not your time yet but when your time comes, I will come again,” Death said and blew him away.Garin flew through the plane and tore through it, out into the physical world. His eyes shot open and he found himself back in the storm and Hannah’s voice was still calling out his name.He got up to his feet and followed the sound of her voice, calling out her name as well so she would find her way to him too.“Hannah,” He called out.“Garin?” She asked when she heard his voice.“I’m over here, my love,” He screamed and moved as fast as he could.Hannah followed his voice and finally, she was able to see him and he saw her as well. They ran to each other and at that moment, nothing else mattered. It was just another obstacle toppled and when their skin touched, it brought not just warmth but also a feeling of certainty that they would survive and their love would last for all eternity.A few days passed and the day of Clinton Corp’s fundraiser finally arrived. The event was scheduled to start by four in the afternoon and run through till it was over, whatever time that may be. Isabelle was really looking forward to going for mainly two reasons; she was excited to finally get back to a work setting and slowly get back into shape and catch up on everything she had missed out on since she was gone AND she wanted to try again to create a bond with Josh’s father and maybe even his sister Janet.A few things had happened in the past days and they included Mrs Rita returning back home to Iowa. She really didn’t want to leave yet but she had duties she needed to attend to back home so she had no choice but to leave. She left happy though, because she knew her daughter was in good hands with Josh and was also in a good place in her life where she didn’t need someone to constantly worry about her.Gwen had moved out of Isabelle’s place and gone back to her matrimonial home. S
After they got to the venue of the fundraiser, Josh parked the car and was getting ready to get out. He took off his seatbelt and just as he was about to open the door, Isabelle held him back by the shoulders."Wait up," She said softly."Wait up from what?" Josh asked.She pulled him over to her and wrapped her hands around his face. She pulled him in and claimed his lips in a long and possessive kiss, almost like a branding of ownership or a reminder that he was hers and no one else's. She kissed him deeply but softly, using her tongue to break the barrier of his lips and into his mouth. After she had had enough, she slowly pulled away and licked his lips one last time which left him dizzy and aroused."Now, we can go," She said mysteriously and got out of the car from her side.Josh still hadn't composed himself because that kiss had messed up his head. He shook himself back to reality and went outside the car. Isabelle was already walking into the event and he caught up to her an
Mr and Mrs Clinton were done with their speech and stepped off the stage so the fundraiser could begin. The MC took to the stage once more and asked the valets to start bringing in the items one after the other so they could start the auction. Mrs Helena sat back down on her seat and Janet leaned over to speak to her. “That was such a moving speech, mom. Absolutely beautiful,” Janet told her mother. “Don’t patronize me, Janet. You already knew the speech by heart so would you stop trying to suck up to me?” Her mother whispered to her. Janet moved away because once again her mother only saw her as scheming and overly ambitious. She didn’t understand why her parents treated her the way they did despite all she had done and was still doing for the company. She was frustrated but she had too much perseverance to stop now. She would take all the abuse and all the maltreatment but in the end, she would get her parent’s trust and confidence. “Where’s your brother?” Helena asked Janet.
About an hour later, the auction was over and the fundraiser was being rounded off. It was a very productive evening for Clinton Corp as the company raised over six million dollars for their charity and the media had broadcasted the whole thing which in turn brought them more publicity and potential new investors and partners.Everyone was saying their congratulations and goodbyes, rubbing elbows and giving thanks so Josh and Isabelle did the same. Mr and Mrs Clinton went around thanking their friends and associates for coming to the event and for their donations as well. Janet didn’t spend a single minute away from her father. She was constantly by his side while he spoke to these people and whenever she could, she would bring up the fact that she was the one who put the auction together so she would come off to them as smart and capable in hopes that her parents would start to feel the same.Isabelle on the other hand went over to Mr Hitchens, her immediate boss at the company to sp
It was late in the night and Josh decided to take Isabelle to his place to spend the night because his house was a lot closer from the venue of the fundraiser than her apartment was. She agreed to it and besides, they were still hot for each other and spending the night in the same bed wasn’t such a bad idea.Josh drove until he arrived at his house. He rode the vehicle into the parking spot and turned off the engine.“Madame, we have arrived,” He said to Isabelle with an Italian accent and it made her laugh.“Thank you, Don Joshua,” She played along.They both chuckled as they got out of the car. Josh walked from his side over to hers so they could head inside together but just as he was about to reach her, an unknown figure flew out of nowhere and snatched Isabelle off the ground and flew with her into the sky.“Isabelle…” Josh screamed after her as whatever took her disappeared out of the sky and was just gone, and so was she.It had moved so fast that Josh didn’t get to see what i
Josh was down on the ground and he was unconscious. What he had just gone through with Garin trying to get out of him had hurt him badly and he was knocked out because of it. As he lay on the ground motionless, a person walked up to him and rolled him over on his back.The person placed a hand on his chest and a bright light shined just before Josh opened his eyes, gasping back to consciousness. Josh was breathing heavily and was very disoriented so he couldn’t see quite clearly who was bent down in front of him.“Josh? Can you hear me?” The person asked him but Josh’s eyes couldn’t quite focus yet because he was seeing multiple warbled faces in front of him.“Come on, Josh. Focus on me…focus,” The person said again and gently slapped Josh on the face to get him focused.Josh’s vision finally found balance and he could see that the person beside him was Garin. He was in his human form and he had a smile on his face to welcome Josh back to reality.“There he is,” Garin said.“Garin? Is
Hannah and Norae flew up high into the sky while striking their weapons against each other’s. They went blow for blow, hit for hit, light against light, each determined to gain the edge against the other as sparks of lightning generated from the clangs their weapons made as they struck.Norae suddenly did a 360 swirl and swung her spear at Hannah’s chest but she was able to block against the hit. It blasted her across the sky and away from Norae who threw her spear at her. The spear came to a stop in front of Hannah and tried to stab her multiple times by itself. Norae was using her telekinesis to control the spear and attack Hannah with it. Hannah had to be quick and sharp as she blocked the floating spear. Norae called the weapon back to her hand and flew at Hannah again. They continued their dance, slicing and swiping at each other, a series of hits that seemed unlikely to yield a victor because of how equally matched they were. Norae held up her spear with both hands and transfo
The angels were still brawling it out with their fists, trading heavy punches hard enough to break down mountains. Norae was still attacking as relentlessly as ever, not holding back her punches and hitting Hannah with everything she had.Hannah fought back but whenever she did, her sister always had an answer for it. She would throw a punch but Norae would avoid it every time. It was almost like she could read Hannah’s mind and knew what she was going to do before she even did it. Hannah threw another punch but Norae grabbed her arm and threw her over her shoulder. She blasted after her in the sky and punched her on the body multiple times, blasting her across the eye of the desert. Hannah caught one of Norae’s fists and countered with an uppercut of her own. Both of them were bleeding as Norae had a busted lip and Hannah had a bruised eye. They held on to each other and traded blows. Their wings weren’t in use while they exchanged hits so they plummeted from the sky and were fallin