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twelve
*SPICY MATERIAL AHEAD FOLKS. IT'S WILD WEST NASTY*
Eyes stared up emptily at the ceiling, the room in a shade of black. It was so long ago and yet he felt as if he could still feel her skin beneath his fingers, smell the fragrance that lied there at her gate of heaven, his tongue eager to taste it once more. It was his price. Every creature of the sea... every soul damned to the dark murky waves had his own consequence. Closing his eyes, he turned onto his side and looked out of the window. He missed the conversations they had...the laughter they shared. He missed everything about her.
Restless, he shoved the covers off of him and sat up, lifting a hand to scratch his head. Shaking his messy strands, he sighed and got up. On a night like this one he had to find something to keep him busy. Heading into the living room, he clicked on a light and sat down at his desk. Opening up his laptop, he began to work on his next lecture.
***
Fei-hua laid awake after about a good three hours of tossing and turning. Her brain was on overload from the past month. She'd gotten her wish to know more about Professor Yi...but in doing so... felt a deep sadness. She had never expected him to tell her that he was a mystical fabled merman. She hadn't expected him to tell her that he was over 1320 years old. She'd never expected for him to have had so much misery and torment inside of him. Sighing, she turned onto her side and welcomed the snuggle of her cat Rui Shi.
It was a wonder that she was still able to turn in her assignments and conduct experiments and he be able to grade them. Her thoughts were consumed by his tale. She couldn't stop thinking about the latest conversation they'd had at their usual spot. Her heart shattered into a million pieces the more she listened to him and at the end of the meet she wanted even more to take all of his pain away from him. He deserved to be happy again. He deserved to love again.
***
Standing in front of the courthouse, she felt her palms sweat. A gentle hand came up to take hold of hers. Miss Mable.
"The time has finally come. Are you excited?" She was at a loss for words, every fear running through her mind.
"Today you will be free. Today starts the first day of your life." She felt tears well up in her eyes but by the grace of God held them back. Swallowing them back down her throat, she gripped Mable's hand and the two began to ascend up the stairs.
***
Sweat dripped down his nose as he lifted the plow. His hair messily caressed his neck and framed the sides of his face. This was the last row. And then he'd be done. He had already set up his table in the town square and he was set to go there after planting these seeds. The dry desert dirt was difficult to plant in but with some persistence and attention, he was sure he could get the plants to grow. The Master of the farm he was tilling was due to return in the coming months and he wanted to make sure everything was appropriate. Striking the earth once more, he scattered the seeds in the trenches. As he covered them up, he heard a clearing of the throat.
