me. I have something I want to show you.”
The smile he offered her in return was genuine, making the blue rings in his eyes expand and sparkle. “Anything for you, my love.”
She swallowed back her tears, turning away so that he wouldn’t see a trace of them on her face. His future was firmly in her hands, and if he suspected that what she was going to do would hurt her, she feared he would stay. And if she let him stay, it would be the same as murdering the man he’d been—stealing from him those he loved.
Clothes grated against her skin as she dressed. She watched him move, following her lead like a child eager for a present.
She kept telling herself that this wasn’t a betrayal. This was the right thing to do.
Once her clothes were on, she felt more in control, stronger. She was doing this for the man she loved, and because of that, she would not be deterred.
She led him onto the back porch where his device sat in near completion. He stared at it, frowning as if it struck some kind of chord. Maybe he remembered more than she’d thought.
“Do you know what this is?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It is pretty. Did you make it?”
“Sort of. I helped. It’s only missing one piece. Stay here while I get it?”
He watched her as she darted down the steps and began poking around the fallen leaves for something she could use. There, near the base of a tree, she found a single blade of new grass trying to survive the cold. Her mind lit up with recognition as she spied it, knowing it was the right thing to send him home. She dug around the grass with her fingers, pulling it up with a little ball of dirt and roots still attached.
She cradled the shivering blade of grass in her palm, protecting it from the wind.
“What is that for?” he asked.
“It’s the last piece.” She placed the grass in the bowl at the top of the sculpture. Sunlight bounced off aluminum foil, copper and silver and a variety of other items she’d collected for him.
“Stand right here,” she told him.
“Why?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She poured water from a pitcher into the bowl. It tipped the grass on its side and ran out through the holes Toren had cut into the bottom of the wooden bowl. Rivulets of sunlit water cascaded down along the aluminum ribs, making them spin as it passed. Their motion sped until the blazing glare of sunlight bouncing off of them looked like a continuous streak of silver.
A subtle rumble shook the boards beneath her feet.
“What is happening?” asked Toren, sounding confused.
“Everything is fine,” she shouted over the growing rumble.
The symbol he’d formed from her earrings began to glow the same color as the heart of a flame. Blue light poured out over Toren’s body, instantly returning his pale skin tone to what it had been the night she’d met him. Until now, she hadn’t realized just how much his appearance had changed—how human he had begun to look.
His jaw clenched, and a low groan of pain rose up over the noise of the device. He turned his head enough to look at her, and the moment he did, she saw recognition light his eyes. He knew who he was again. He remembered.
She couldn’t hear him speak, but she saw him mouth the words, “Thank you, Adreeahbenwah.”
The line of light widened out, consuming his body. Adria instinctively lifted her hand to cover her eyes from the glare. It heated her skin and tingled across her nerves, as though she’d been standing too close to the strike of a lightning bolt.
And then the light was gone. It winked out and the world went quiet and still.
Even though she’d prepared herself, seeing the empty spot where Toren had just been standing was a crushing blow. He was gone. Utterly gone. No phone, no mail, no way to ever see him or speak to him again.
Just like William.
She stood there for a long time, letting the tears fall. Wind sucked the warmth from her until she was shivering uncontrollably.
Like a brainless zombie, she
The smile he offered her in return was genuine, making the blue rings in his eyes expand and sparkle. “Anything for you, my love.”
She swallowed back her tears, turning away so that he wouldn’t see a trace of them on her face. His future was firmly in her hands, and if he suspected that what she was going to do would hurt her, she feared he would stay. And if she let him stay, it would be the same as murdering the man he’d been—stealing from him those he loved.
Clothes grated against her skin as she dressed. She watched him move, following her lead like a child eager for a present.
She kept telling herself that this wasn’t a betrayal. This was the right thing to do.
Once her clothes were on, she felt more in control, stronger. She was doing this for the man she loved, and because of that, she would not be deterred.
She led him onto the back porch where his device sat in near completion. He stared at it, frowning as if it struck some kind of chord. Maybe he remembered more than she’d thought.
“Do you know what this is?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It is pretty. Did you make it?”
“Sort of. I helped. It’s only missing one piece. Stay here while I get it?”
He watched her as she darted down the steps and began poking around the fallen leaves for something she could use. There, near the base of a tree, she found a single blade of new grass trying to survive the cold. Her mind lit up with recognition as she spied it, knowing it was the right thing to send him home. She dug around the grass with her fingers, pulling it up with a little ball of dirt and roots still attached.
She cradled the shivering blade of grass in her palm, protecting it from the wind.
“What is that for?” he asked.
“It’s the last piece.” She placed the grass in the bowl at the top of the sculpture. Sunlight bounced off aluminum foil, copper and silver and a variety of other items she’d collected for him.
“Stand right here,” she told him.
“Why?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She poured water from a pitcher into the bowl. It tipped the grass on its side and ran out through the holes Toren had cut into the bottom of the wooden bowl. Rivulets of sunlit water cascaded down along the aluminum ribs, making them spin as it passed. Their motion sped until the blazing glare of sunlight bouncing off of them looked like a continuous streak of silver.
A subtle rumble shook the boards beneath her feet.
“What is happening?” asked Toren, sounding confused.
“Everything is fine,” she shouted over the growing rumble.
The symbol he’d formed from her earrings began to glow the same color as the heart of a flame. Blue light poured out over Toren’s body, instantly returning his pale skin tone to what it had been the night she’d met him. Until now, she hadn’t realized just how much his appearance had changed—how human he had begun to look.
His jaw clenched, and a low groan of pain rose up over the noise of the device. He turned his head enough to look at her, and the moment he did, she saw recognition light his eyes. He knew who he was again. He remembered.
She couldn’t hear him speak, but she saw him mouth the words, “Thank you, Adreeahbenwah.”
The line of light widened out, consuming his body. Adria instinctively lifted her hand to cover her eyes from the glare. It heated her skin and tingled across her nerves, as though she’d been standing too close to the strike of a lightning bolt.
And then the light was gone. It winked out and the world went quiet and still.
Even though she’d prepared herself, seeing the empty spot where Toren had just been standing was a crushing blow. He was gone. Utterly gone. No phone, no mail, no way to ever see him or speak to him again.
Just like William.
She stood there for a long time, letting the tears fall. Wind sucked the warmth from her until she was shivering uncontrollably.
Like a brainless zombie, she
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