>> Hazel
I ran like crazy through the forest since at the moment the only thing on my mind was to lose the men who were tailing me. For that purpose, I deliberately took a lot of turns and ran into thicker parts of the forest where there were a lot of bushes and plants to cover me.
I purposely chose the path which didn’t allow a proper view of the way ahead and had many things to block the view of a person.
I ignored everything and focused only on escaping but still running barefooted was not a good idea. I was getting scratches all over my feet from all sorts of things on the ground and the pain was tingling the rest of my body.
After a while of simply running like crazy, I glanced back and saw no sign of anyone behind me, that’s when I slowed down.
The adrenaline running through my veins started calming down as well and exhaustion began to take over.
As I shifted from running to jogging to walking I felt the heat leave my body in heavy puffs while sweat started dripping down my skin.
Wow.
I sure ran like a dog.
I stopped in the clearing that was only about two square feet in area.
There, I placed my hands on my waist and took deep breaths in order to steady my breathing.
After a few seconds, I looked around and noticed a small stump in the clearing.
That’s a nice chair. I nodded to myself in approval of my own thought and walked over to it and sat down.
As soon as I did a sigh of relief escaped my mouth.
Man! Sitting down feels so good!
I looked up at the sky. It was a clear day with white clouds traveling across the sky in all sorts of shapes.
I wonder if I’m really safe from Valek’s men now or do I need to keep going?
I was still thinking about it when suddenly pain started creeping in like a little bitch.
“Ow! Ow!” I looked down at my feet since that’s where the feeling was coming from, “Oh…”
I noticed that my feet were bleeding.
I sighed as I stared at them because there was nothing I could do to treat them at the moment.
I sighed yet again.
This was bound to happen since I had no shoes on.
Maybe I should have used something else as a weapon?
I slumped my shoulder and intertwined my fingers over my lap to think.
Did I have any other option? There was nothing in the car I could use…
Besides, Valek would have noticed I was up to something. Taking my shoes off gave me an excuse that I just wanted to free my feet. If I had grabbed something else it would have caused way more suspicion.
I closed my eyes in distress but opened them up soon after since the pain wasn’t letting me rest.
Guess I should get out of this place first.
I stood up.
That’s enough rest, I can’t take any chances.
I began walking as one thought persisted in my mind.
I have to find her. I came all this way for her. I have to find her at all costs! And because of that, I can’t get stuck in any place, especially not with a man as dangerous as Valek Vincenzo.
I was about to leave the clearing when I heard rustling from behind me. I flinched and froze in my path. Then I heard some rustling from my left and then right. I shot my head in both directions and realized I had no time to waste and have to get out immediately.
I started running again while trying to ignore the pain in my feet, except that this time, I was already conscious of it and it was very difficult to dismiss it yet I gave it my all.
I can’t lose here!
As soon as I started sprinting I heard a voice, “I found her!!” A man yelled, “She’s going West!!” He screamed and then started running after me.
I immediately realized it wasn’t just him. I could hear more than one person running after me.
The urge to look back was killing me, the fear and anxiety were swelling up and even though I knew looking back while running in an area with thick obstacles is bad, I still turned my head around for a glance.
Three men were behind me, running to get me at full speed. At that moment I felt thankful to God for making me a fast runner.
I shot my head straight ahead after a short glance and even though I didn’t bump into anything, I failed to realize there was a ditch right in front of me, which I fell into almost immediately after I looked ahead.
A painful scream left my mouth as I crashed at the bottom while something pierced through the side of my right foot. On top of that, I bumped my head while falling down due to which the world around me began to spin a little.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I looked at the tree branch hanging on my foot as it pierced through the edge. Drops of blood began to trickle down while the pain started getting unbearable.
Oh no…
I’m done for…
I groaned in pain but held my tears in with all my might.
In frustration I looked up and noticed the three men circled the ditch and looked down.
“We found her.” One of them looked behind and spoke. He was most likely telling that to someone who made his way to them, someone, or some people.
Shit.
At that moment, everything felt lost. There was no way for me to escape and even if I miraculously did, there was no way I could run now. I somehow managed before but now, it was impossible.
I looked down at the ground in defeat while everything felt like it was spinning.
The number of men above the ditch increased and I sighed in defeat and slumped on the ground.
Fuck…
As I lay there I looked back up at them but I couldn’t focus clearly. My vision was getting a bit dark and heavy.
Ah well…
Might as well go to sleep.
>>Roshni (4 years later) “You know.” I licked the ice cream from my ice cream cone as Emilio and I sat on the beach side at night, “I can tell you’ve been meaning to ask something for quite some time now.” He looked at me guiltily, “How long…?” He looked like a criminal who had got caught. “Honestly, for months at this point.” “Shit..” He looked defeated as buried his head in his free hand while the ice cream was melting in his other. “Finish that before it melts onto your hand,” I said and he raised his head to look at the starry sky. He sighed, “It’s nice,” He stared at something distant, “Isn’t it?” The soft sand was comfortable to sit on, the sound of ocean waves was extremely calming and the soft wind that followed just blew one's worries away. “Mmm,” I replied to affirm. Emilio quietly ate his ice cream as he kept looking at the clear black sky and I could tell there was something on his mind but I waited for him to say it first and ate my dessert quietly. The silence b
>>Roshni I knew I had to give him an answer. I couldn’t stall it anymore. Not for him, not for me. I knew it wasn’t possible. I knew the words of rejection won’t ever come out of my mouth since I’m madly in love with him too. The feelings that were exploding like a volcano in my heart would say only one thing now. Just looking at him and just thinking about him makes me happy. And perhaps, I should think about what makes me happy. I’m fretting over the world I lived in for centuries but never got to experience these feelings there. But here, it’s different. My life here has been short but I’ve loved every single day. I wish to stay here more than anything, I wish to stay with this person in front of me. “Fine,” I gripped his finger tightly as my own heart pounded violently in my chest, “I’ll stay with you.” I felt so shy it was hard to look at him, “I surrender.” I smiled, “To you.” “Really?” He couldn’t believe it at first. He was even bewildered and stared at me with his eyes
>>Roshni I ran back home. As soon as Lio was done singing, I dashed towards the exit, took the bus, and ran into the mansion, straight to my room Why? Because I was overwhelmed. I ran away because I felt like my feelings would explode. My heart felt so full I had no idea what to do. I crashed on my bed as the sound of my heart pounding drummed in my ears. God! What is this? I’m supposed to be a demon! My heart shouldn’t be trembling like this! I placed my hand on my chest. I guess I’m getting like this because he’s being straightforward now. Before he was avoiding the subject and didn’t respond that well but now, it’s like he’s taken the sword and is charging full speed ahead on the battlefield. My face was hot, my cheeks flushed, and my thoughts a mess. I want him. I want him so much but what about my life in the demon realm? Do I just abandon it? Do I just forsake centuries of life there? I picked the pillow from the bed and hugged it tightly but still the tightness in
>>Roshni A few days have passed and Lio didn’t come to visit me. We went to college separately too and to be honest. I had all the time to think for myself. The half of me that was here is already madly in love with him and now that we’ve combined into a whole again, those feelings are affecting me too. I wasn’t expecting I’d fall for this guy and so much that just the thought of him gets me all excited. Now that I think about it, he’s done everything to make me fall for him over the years. He’s fulfilled my wish of living as a human and experiencing all that I’ve ever wanted. He’s been the sweetest most caring person in my life. I rolled on my bed in my room and a soft flush appeared on my cheeks. I know I love him, I was only able to tackle his words that day because my two halves had combined and everything hadn’t merged completely but now, after a few days, everything is in order yet this human heart of mine is in agony. The agony of love. I thought the feeling would neutr
>>Roshni “You don’t love me,” I told him. “Oh!” He smiled, “But I do,” He seemed quite confident. “No, you don’t,” I shook my head at him “I most definitely do,” He stood his ground, “I always have.” “No,” I shook my head as I felt a little annoyed, “If you did, you would have loved me as Roshni too.” “What makes you think I don’t?” His immediate reply left me baffled. !!! “I- , What?” I shook my head, “You’ve never responded to anything I ever did!” I was feeling furious, “You never made a move.” “It’s because you don’t understand,” His voice got a little serious “I do,” I glared at him, “Your love, your confession of love, it's all fake.” My words made his expression turn grim yet he answered me in a normal voice. “No, you don’t,” He moved to close the space between us and I began to move back. He looked at me with so much longing in his eyes it made me feel things, weird things, “I’ve held myself back for years.” I stopped at the edge of the summoning circle and he close
>>Emilio (4 years old)“I want you.” I said, “Can’t you come with me?”“Hmmm~” The demon wasn’t sure what to say to me, “You want me?” It looked at me quite fondly, “Why?”“I like you,” I said but my confession alarmed it.“You like me?” It looked at me as if I had said the most unusual thing in the world, “You,” It pointed at me, “A human,” Then it pointed at myself, “Like me?” It looked like it didn’t believe me.I nodded at the question, “Yes.”