Funny how, a few days ago, I didn’t think I had any of those here, and now … well, it’s nice.Like Fate is reassuring me that I was right.I’m meant to be here.Things will work out.
“Look at this,” he says, pointing at a bronze dagger, its sheath covered in runes.
There’s an inscription in the blade—Beyond earth, moon, and mortal rule.
I’m suddenly desperate to press my fingers into the words, but as I reach out, Lucky stops me.
“I didn’t take you as superstitious,” I say, amused.
I’m expecting a joke or a wink, something playful because that’s how he’s been about everything so far, but there’s only sincerity in his eyes.“Some things are beyond human understanding.I choose to respect that.”
Well, well, well.He really is full of surprises.
“You aren’t even a little curious about what could happen?”I know I am.
“I don’t need all the answers to life,” he says, trailing his hand reverently in the air, careful not to touch the shelf itself.“Mystery is what makes it beautiful, you know?And we’re all free to give it our own meaning.That’s beautiful too.For as long as we’ve been around, we’ve created ways to share that with each other.That’s what interests me.”
The aisle is narrow, leaving no room to pass each other without touching.It draws me closer to him, and he must feel it, too, stepping closer, filling my vision.
“But that doesn’t mean I won’t go after what I want.”
My eyes flutter closed, each breath deep with heat and him.
“Curiosity is a rare gift,” I say.“Respect even more so.”
“What are you curious about?”
You.I don’t say it, but I swear he hears it anyway when I look up and watch as his smile curls deeper into his cheek.
Knowing.Sure.
“People,” I admit.
There’s a box on the shelf beside him, beside vials of swirling ectoplasm and dried flowers.It’s ajar.The need to open it, to look inside and discover, is overwhelming.
I don’t need all the answers, but, wow, do I love looking for them.Always have.
“We’ve proven time and time again that we’re capable of anything.”
Great feats of strength, exploration, science, art, empathy … you name it, and humans have tried to excel in it, but we’ve also discovered new depths of cruelty, apathy, and greed.
For good or for bad, we always find a way to do more, and if we can do better and we don’t, that’s not an accident.
That’s a decision.
I think I’m becoming addicted to Lucky’s smiles.The fluttering in my stomach increases, and like a glass overflowing, I feel more words tumbling out, filling up the silence.
I let them.It’s either that or kiss him.
“Our choices matter.They change us and the people around us, and I never want to forget that.And maybe that makes me rush sometimes; maybe I’m young and inexperienced and need to slow down, but I don’t want to.”
“You want to soak up as much life as you can, while you can.I know the feeling.”
I expect he does.
We move deeper into the shop, which goes farther than I thought it would.New corners appear at every turn, like mirrors facing each other, a series of infinite reflections.
Moira is nowhere to be seen.
