"Is this really you?" I manage weakly. Tears run down my face. My control finally breaks, and I start sobbing uncontrollably. "Don’t lie to me! Don’t be a dream."
His face saddens, his eyes welling up too. "Oh, Salt. I’m telling the truth, and you’re awake, for sure." Senu gives me a soft, warm smile.
He lifts his hand in front of the camera, his fingers splayed as if he could touch me through it. Slowly, I raise mine and press my hand to the glass, our fingers lining up on either side.
I let out a shaky huff.
It’s like someone has let light into the room, and something inside me begins to thaw.
He tilts his head, almost teasingly. "And your eyes. Are they healed?"
But I ignore it. It’s too much.
"S-S-Senu!" I cry out, pressing my hands to my face. "I went through hell! But you’re alive. You’re alive…"
"Yes, Salt, I am. And I’m so happy I can see you, but I’m also so worried about what you did and about the fact that you may never be free, we can’t be together again… It crushes me."
"I really thought you were… dead. I needed to kill them. I love you so much…" I stutter, overwhelmed with emotion.
Senu closes his eyes. Tears stream down his cheeks, one after another. He sobs for a while, and neither of us says anything.
Finally, he calms down a little and takes a deep breath.
"You are the best brother there is, do you know that? What you did for me… avenging me and also, sending him, our savior to rescue me, it’s amazing. I love you so much, Salt. So much!"
He lowers his head, his small hands pressed to his chest, curling into fists. I try to wipe my cheeks with my sleeve, but I can’t keep up, and they’re wet again every few seconds.
Finally, I pull myself together a bit and fix my eyes on him. His light hair is longer than the last time I saw him five months ago, falling all the way to his shoulder blades. He is wearing a clean white T-shirt. His cheeks have a faint flush. He does not look bad at all, healthy, even glowing!
"Where are you, Senu?" I whisper. "Are you safe?" I ask, wiping at my tears that refuse to stop, my heart tight with joy, shock, and disbelief.
My Senu is alive.
A miracle. An impossible miracle.
"How did you escape? Where are you now?" I fire off more questions.
"I’m staying at my True Mate’s home."
"Wait. What? I don’t understand anything."
"Okay, there’s a lot. I’ll start from the beginning."
"Yes, please," I say, my eyes glued to the screen, drinking in every detail of his face, still unable to believe he is real, my brother, alive and well.
"One day, while I was sitting in the cage, I heard loud banging, then the sound of someone forcing a door open. Soon the blanket covering my cage was ripped away, and an unknown alpha was standing there. He came back with another man shortly after. I overheard their conversation and started to hope quietly that they had come to save us, and… they had. Not long after, the police and paramedics arrived. And with them came my True Mate."
"Senu, oh Senu… damn, I cannot believe this. You’re not some AI-generated image?"
Senu smiles softly and shakes his head. "I’m really here. I would have come to see you myself, but this island has very strict rules. No visitors."
I let out a bitter laugh. "I doubt I’ll be here much longer anyway. You need to know that I’m expecting a child, Senu, so the program is ending for me. We’re at a crossroads. We have no idea what comes next."
"Wait, are you serious? You’re pregnant? But you’re…"
Senu presses his fingers to his lips.
I nod. "And yet."
