23. Yvonne

23

YVONNE

Oarus traces lazy circles across my stomach, staring at me with admiration in his eyes. I feel so much closer to him, closer than I’ve ever felt with anyone before. It’s a vulnerable feeling, but it’s a good one. I don’t want it to end.

As we lie together, I realize how much things have changed between us, even before today. I can tell that Oarus feels more for me than he has communicated out loud. It’s obvious in everything he does.

My heart is full to the brim with love for him, and for the first time in a long time, I actually have hope. For the future, for wherever this thing between us is going. For life.

To think, I almost ended it not that long ago. I would have missed all of this and everything that is to come.

“What are you thinking about?” Oarus asks.

I turn to look at the cavern roof and smile. “Oh, nothing.”

His lazy circles across my stomach turn into tickles, and in seconds, he’s on top of me.

“Tell me,” he whispers into my ear.

“Okay, okay, fine. I was just thinking about how much I’ve been enjoying our time together.”

Oarus’ expression changes. “Really?”

I nod. “Yes. I’m… adjusting to what it feels like to actually be happy, but yes.”

He leans in, pressing his lips to mine. The kiss is soft, passionate, and ends all too soon. But when he pulls away, there’s a glint in his red eyes that wasn’t there a second ago.

“Let’s do something tomorrow. I know just the spot. You’ll love it.”

I beam up at him. “I’d love to.”

“Tell me another story,”I say as Oarus and I walk hand in hand through the tunnels. We’re heading to a mystery location that he has yet to describe to me.

Oarus thinks for a moment.

“Well, a long time ago, I came across these small, bioluminescent winged creatures. Similar to birds but not quite the same. I had never seen them before or heard anything about them. I became fascinated, and I started researching them, trying to understand them. They lived in a cave system similar to these ones. No one seemed to bother them. In fact, it was unusual the way everyone seemed to stay away from these creatures.”

“Did they interact with you?”

“Well, they stayed pretty isolated, and they didn’t speak, or at least they didn’t speak to me. Which made studying them pretty hard, but I still tried. I didn’t get much information on them, but one day I went back to find them again, and they were gone. Every single one of them. No sign as to where they went, nothing. And no one knew anything about it. It still remains a mystery.”

“Did you look for them?”

“A little. If I visit somewhere new or somewhere I haven’t been in a long time, I look for them. I even went back to the tunnels they lived in a few times, but they never came back.”

“Your life is so fascinating. I don’t have even one story that’s as cool as that one.”

He laughs. “You still have time to experience what I have. Maybe we can do some exploring so you can have some good stories, too.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool. I really like it down here. It feels peaceful. And safe.”

“Well, it wasn’t always this way. We have to work hard to keep it like this. The amount of different species that coexist down here together, in every cave system surrounding Pref, and in Pref itself, leads to a lot of clashing. But it usually doesn’t get too bad.”

“Are you trying to discourage me from living down here?” I joke.

He pulls me closer to his side. “Not at all. Though you should be aware of your surroundings.”

“Do you think the violence down here is worse than the above ground world?” I ask.

He’s silent for a minute before replying. “No. I think it’s worse up there. From what I’ve seen, at least.”

That makes me feel good. The world I knew while living on the surface level was cruel and idolized certain species while enslaving the ones they deemed worthless. It’s no place for me, and the more time I spend down here, the more I want to stay.

Hearing more about Oarus’ life today through the stories he’s been telling me has made me feel even closer to him. Like I know him better now. It just makes me want to know more.

“How close are we?” I ask as I admire a carving of some sea creature etched into the tunnel wall.

“Not too far.”

We walk a bit longer before Oarus leads me up through a tunnel, and we resurface above ground. I feel exposed, but I trust Oarus to keep me safe.

“Where are we?”

He points behind me. “The shore of Pref. I hope you don’t mind getting wet.”

“We’re going in the sea?”

“Yes. It’s the only way to get to our destination. Normally I would have taken a different route through the sea, but since you cannot survive underwater that long even with that grass, we had to take a shortcut.”

Oarus takes my hand and leads me to the water. We wade in until the water becomes too deep and we have to swim.

“The water is a lot warmer than I thought it would be,” I comment as we swim side by side.

“It usually is this time of year. But it can get pretty cold sometimes.”

Oarus swims with such grace, such ease, that it makes me jealous. I feel clumsy next to him, but I’m also in awe of how beautiful he looks.

Somehow, he looks different in the water than on land. His long, seaweed-like hair is splayed out behind him. His scales are practically glittering in the sun, with the water reflecting light on them. I reach out to touch one, feeling its smooth texture.

Oarus looks at me and stops swimming for a moment. His red eyes are a stark contrast against the greenish-blue hues that cover him and the water surrounding us.

He brings me in for a kiss, holding my body against his. I become lost in him, our lips working in tandem, his tongue caressing mine softly. Finally, he pulls away, and a smirk takes over his face.

“I’ll race you,” he says, nodding his head in the direction we had been swimming. I look in that direction, noticing what looks like an island up ahead. Before I can reply, he dives forward, leaving me behind.

I begin swimming furiously toward him. “Hey! That’s not fair! You got a head start, and you were literally made to swim!”

“I can’t hear you, I’m too far ahead!” he taunts.

I swim even faster, and my body screams at me to stop, but I don’t. I’m determined to at least try.

After a minute, I catch up to him, but then he disappears under the water and pops up in front of me, grabbing me in his arms and swinging me around. I scream and laugh at the same time, joy coursing through me.

He plants a kiss on my lips and pulls away, reaching to touch my hair. But I use his moment of distraction to dive back in the direction of the island. I swim at full speed, all of my focus going into getting there before him.

I don’t even risk a glance back at him, not until I reach the shore and can start running. Oarus is not far behind me, but I did it.

“Ha! I beat you!”

“Yeah, because you cheated!”

“You cheated first!”

“Okay fine, we’re even.”

Oarus’ lower half shifts back to his more human-like legs so that he can walk on land. He scoops me into his arms, holding me against his chest as he walks. I stare up at him, watching the calm, happy expression on his face.

After a minute, he sets me down. In front of us is a large, green blanket laid out on the sand, with food arranged on it. My jaw drops.

“How…”

“I swam here earlier and dropped all of this off.”

I throw my arms around him, squeezing him before pulling away and sitting down on the blanket. Oarus sits next to me.

“This is amazing. Thank you, Oarus.”

He smiles at the food.

“I brought some of the things you liked from the market.”

I survey the items, seeing that he did in fact do that. Tears well up in my eyes, but I blink them away.

“No one has ever done anything this nice for me before.”

“I’d like to think our trip to the market that day and the things I bought you were just as nice,” he says playfully.

I smile. “Well, besides you.”

The two of us dive in, enjoying the food and the sights around us.

“How did you know about this place? Do you come here a lot?”

“I’ve been a couple of times. Mostly just to scavenge for things, though. No one is ever here, so I figured it’d be the perfect spot for us to spend the day.”

I nod and continue eating.

Hours go by as Oarus and I have an amazing time, playing silly games together and just enjoying the sun. It might just be the best day I’ve ever had. We don’t start heading back home until the sun sets.

As we walk through the tunnels and back to his lair, I stop and turn to him.

“Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun.”

“We can go back any day. Tomorrow, even.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. I’d like to show you the rest of the island. It’s small, but there are some pretty interesting things.”

“I can’t wait.”

I continue walking, skipping up ahead. I dance through the tunnels, throwing my arms out and twirling around while Oarus walks behind me, watching.

After a couple of minutes, I have to stop dancing as I start feeling dizzy. But the dizziness doesn’t stop when I do. The floor almost feels like it’s moving underneath me, and I stop for a moment, thinking I’m about to fall over.

Suddenly, a loud boom sounds around us and the movement escalates. I clutch the wall to my right to stop myself from falling. I turn back to Oarus with a confused look on my face.

It’s then that I realize I was never dizzy. The ground really is moving.

Oarus stops, too, looking around us. The shaking intensifies, like the tunnel is vibrating.

“Oarus?”