A heated grip on my shoulders has me glancing down, thinking I’m caught, and then blinking vacantly as I see I’m not.
I’m frozen, leaden feet seemingly stuck to the ground. Kneeling down, I yank on my shoes, relieved when my feet pull free easily. I manage to take a halting step, but then I find myself turning, the effort to walk away now too great, like trying to sprint through water against a current.
And then he appears through the golden haze, slowly, but with purpose. The closer he gets, the weaker I feel as if he’s syphoning my very being from my body. I sink down to my knees, fully expecting the sharpness of twigs and rocks and feeling nothing. I’m in a clearing, surrounded by moss and leaves, and I’m suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of urgency.
He stops in front of me, that same incandescent aura surrounding him that I saw previously. “You found me.”
“You were never lost.”
Frowning, I shake my head slightly against the haze. I lift my hand, wanting to touch him, and he grabs it with his own, easing down to his knees in front of me. He grips my other hand and then turns so our palms are touching, raising both up between us. Heat builds, and I watch in awe as a soft glow intensifies until it becomes a blinding light. “Vivian,” his voice breaks through, drawing my attention back to his face. “Don’t you see?”
“See what?”
“It’s always been us.”
I hold his gaze, my lips parting on a gasp as my entire world is reflected in his gaze. I'm enraptured, trapped in this story that spanned decades but was then relived in seconds, showing every near miss, every close call, every time we could have crossed paths but didn’t. It’s as if we’ve known each other for lifetimes but were just missing the pieces that bound it all together.
A sob falls from my lips, startling me. One of his hands releases mine, his thumb strokes along my cheek, brushing away the errant tear that fell from my eye.
I should probably be scared or at least somewhat disturbed, but I’m not. All those errant truths seep beneath my psyche, loosening the ties that continue to bind me to my earlier life.
As if I’ve been waiting for this moment since the beginning of time, peace settles over me.
And I let go.
TWENTY-ONE
SOME KIND OF RITUAL THING
Zion
I certainly could have caught her sooner. Especially since she basically left me breadcrumbs with her clothing strewn behind her.
But even as I followed her, I still felt the draw of this place. I come here often, to this clearing in the middle of the forest. For some reason, I just knew this is where she would end up, even as I saw her hiding from tree to tree, she was always headed here.
I hadn’t even spoken her name when I heard it. How it echoed with the sound waves, dancing to her ears, drawing her to a stop.
In my mind's eye, I was running to her, desperate to find her, scared she would vanish into a void.
And when she first turned, her vacant stare disturbed me. I slowly closed the distance between us as she sank to her knees before me, eyes wide, pupils dilated, awareness and want shinning back at me.
But she didn’t belong kneeling before me. So, I joined her, knowing we belong on the same level.
Once I showed her everything I knew, the past, the present, the future as far as I could tell, I wondered if she would spook. All these emotions that clouded her features like a roulette wheel.
Cupping her face, I caress her soft skin with my thumbs and whisper, “It’s not too late.”
“Not too late for what?”
“To escape.”
Her brow creases slightly, and her eyes narrow, but then she laughs softly. “You’re very kind, Zion. But you know it is.”
I return her smile, but I don’t say anything. The time for words is over, and I bend down, intent on pressing my lips to hers, but before I can close the distance entirely, she lifts up, kissing me fully.
Her eyes are open; she meets my gaze as her lips tease mine. At first, I don’t respond, giving her a moment to test the waters, to ease in before being all consumed.
My name falls from her lips, the faintest of whispers, and I drop my hands from her face, wrap my arms around her, pull her impossibly close to me. Then I sink in, first by pressing my lips firmly against hers, teasing, begging her to open for me. And when she does, my tongue slides between her lips, stroking against her tongue.
