ISHTARI was Minerva again, and I registered it in my head. This was only a dream, but even while I was aware of it being a dream, I couldn't control the narrative. I was simply a pawn in a bigger— way bigger game.I looked up at the sky outside the house where I was. It was a full moon already, but cloudy skies surrounded the moon, and there were no stars in sight. It was quiet, way quiet, and all I heard was crickets and my sighs.I saw myself waiting for someone. My fingers tapped aggressively against the wooden floor, and my heart wouldn't stop racing. All my thoughts were faced in one direction, and the person I was waiting for dominated over my mind. There was a yearning that I couldn't explain, and as time slipped by, I found myself looking towards the direction of the door, my eyes lingering on it and the want burning me alive.Anticipation could be my greatest enemy yet. I found that my legs wouldn't still so I tried to take control by walking around the room instead. It was

ISHTARThe sun streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room as I went about my household chores. Dishes clinked together as I washed them, the rhythmic sound serving as a backdrop to my thoughts. But in reality, my mind was a thousand miles away, far from the mundane tasks at hand.My thoughts were consumed by Damian, his presence lingering in every corner of my consciousness. The moments we had shared during our recent vacation in Samoa played on a loop in my mind. The laughter, the stolen glances, and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled were etched into my memory.Meeting his friend was also a part of it. I couldn't pull my mind away from those thoughts and the happiness I felt when it happened. Why, then, did I still feel like something was missing? Like I was left in the dark, and every moment I thought I'd crawled out of, it just became that I sunk deeper.Something about Damian didn't add up, and I was tired of making all these excuses in my mind. The

ISHTAR"It's okay, it's all gonna be fine," I muttered as I patted his back. "Abby would be so surprised when she walks in on us like this." I loved being in his arms. It felt like the nicest thing to happen to me in a long long while, and I missed him so much. I missed us. I was so captivated by his scent that I leaned in and let myself fall deeper into it, my eyes tightly shut as I continued to hug him.Our moment ended when Abby called out to me. She'd been in my room to shower, and now she was out. Finally, they could meet. I reluctantly pulled away from Damian, but something felt different — like he pulled away first. His hands slid down my back. "Abby?" I called out as I turned, my face flushed. I was nervous, and I knew she'd tease me a lot for it when we were alone together. "Meet Damian."Damian. He was quiet. Awfully quiet, and it terrified me to turn to me. I sucked my teeth and moved my feet unsteadily. I could feel it cooking inside of me already. Unrest, sadness, everyt