Cold Coffee (Xephmadia)

Of Darkness and Warmth

Of Darkness and Warmth:

“It was in that moment that Xephos decided he despised this planet, all it was to him was darkness and pain. He would never be happy here”

His miscalculations had cost him.

Some of the last things he remembered ever seeing were the flashing buttons and bright red words:

WARNING

WARNING

IMPACT CALCULATED IN T MINUS 20 SECONDS

It was like his chest had turned to stone, halting his previous frantic actions of lever pulling and button pushing. He felt his eyes go wide as he made his last desperate lunge for the eject button.

SYSTEM MALFUNCTION

SYST3M 3AL&U#N<TI0N

$YSTEM #@1F^!&%&@#($^*@*^@!#&%

3RR0R___//_**@$#_

And then all at once, the world went black.

When he awakes, the world around him is loud and painful. He chokes on something metallic tasting that he can only assume is blood as a gruff hand grabs him and pulls him from the wreckage, and although he hears people talking, he doesn’t absorb what they’re saying; he was far too confused and in pain for that. Soon enough he is set down on a flat piece of land where he coughs the blood out of his lungs and wills for his eyes to open, and although it feels as though his eyelids are complying, all he sees is black.

It isn’t until later after medication had been infused with his blood that his situation’s severity had begun to reveal itself.

The man who called himself ‘Lalna’ was in the room with him, the gruffer one had left on some errands, and was flashing a light into his eyes. At least, that’s what he said he was doing, Xephos could tell no difference from the other hours he had spent in coherency.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, sir, but it seems your vision was lost in the crash.” He paused and set a hand on Xephos’ shoulder “If you regain it, well, only time will tell.”

Xephos flinched at his words and nodded, not trusting his voice. He could hear Lalna sigh and a quietly leave, gently closing his door on the way out.

It was in that moment that Xephos decided he despised this planet, all it was to him was darkness and pain. He would never be happy here.

That was true for a long time, long after his body had managed to stitch himself back together he still greeted each day with a scowl, an upturned nose to anything and everything.

But then she came along and ruined everything for him.

Honeydew, one of the few people he actually tolerated, introduced him to a woman by the name of Lomadia. Her voice was strong and smooth, and the way she greeted him would of caused a falter in his step had he been walking.

“I’m Lomadia, and you’re going to be working with me for a couple months. I don’t permit any slacking, so you better bring your A-game!”

Unbeknownst to him, Lalna and Honeydew had conspired to get him out more, thus, they had basically handed him off to this woman who didn’t sound as soft as the others he had met so far on this planet. He didn’t know if that made him relieved or weary.

When he left, he stumbled.

His time with Lomadia toyed with his mind. It made him unsure and soon his facade of hate and indifference started to slip. Was this world as dark as he thought it was?

He wasn’t so sure anymore.

He felt warmer now… not different, but as if something had wiggled itself through the cracks in his armor and wrapped itself around him. It was as if something had simply been added, and… It felt sort of nice.

Now, he woke up without a scowl, and he knew where everything he needed was. He had mapped out the entire workplace that Lomadia resided and knew almost every bloody owl by hoot, or if one particularly disliked him, their bite. He had memorized her laugh, the sounds her footsteps made when she was in a hurry or excited, and eventually in time, he would memorize the curve of her lips and even her hips. He smiles more now, while only months before he had accepted the life he thought he would live in anger and sadness.

She took him on adventures, let him explore and touch plants and stones. She let him wander but took care to not lose him, she gave him a freedom he had not had with the others, and slowly but surely, he fell in love.

So did she.

When he returns to Lalna and Honeydew, he walks with a confident stride. Armor gone, his friendship blooms with them and they join Lomadia in his heart.

He doesn’t realize it all at once, it was something he learned over time, but if he was given the chance to go back and prevent this all from happening and keep his sight, he wouldn’t.

He decides it was a worthy price to pay.