Of Gears and Humanity

| 06.2

[DAMIEN]

Slowly pulling my hand back in through the Gate, the woman in front of me wasn't what I had pictured at all. I wondered if the movies Arvon allowed me to watch were filled with inaccuracies. While I may have seen a movie or two with a beautiful woman, none of them took my breath away like her. Was it because she stood just a foot from me?

It could've been because she was so close I could smell her. A sweet scent I couldn't but it filled my senses in a way I had to smile. Or it could've been her curls, dark and pinned to one side; in the way it was, it framed her cheek perfectly, even allowed me to see the red jewel adorning her ear on the other side.

I had to lean against the Gate's door when she said, "Hello," because her voice was better without a wall between us. And when I was closer, even with the bars blocking my face, I was sucked into the dark color of her eyes. Small reflections from the wall's light shimmered in them.

I had to grin and repeat the greeting back. It was only polite. "Hello," I said.

Once the word left me and the shock of the girl's beauty gracing my presence, the idea of a human took over my mind; because she was a real human, not a demon or a shadow. The very fact that she stood in front of me-living, breathing, flesh, and bone-only solidified what I believed was a lie.

Humans hadn't gone extinct. And I wasn't alone in this world.

With her so close, I didn't want her to leave. There were so many questions in my head, words on my tongue, I needed to say them all.

They started with the journal.

Not taking my eyes off of her, not moving away from the Gate, I reached behind me, into my bag, where I slowly pulled a book out and showed it to her. When she glanced at it, lifted her brows, and frowned, I looked down and realized I'd grabbed the wrong one.

Laughing, I pushed that book into the back of my pants as I nodded. "Sorry, wrong one," I said, reaching in my bag once again. With only one book left inside of it, I knew the one I presented had to be right.

Unless there was more than one traveling shadow with more than one journal out on her side of the world.

Her eyes widened, brightened, and I felt my heart hammer in my chest. "I believe this is yours," I said, nodding again as I pushed it through the Gate.

The girl wasted no time. Her long fingers, painted a pale pink at the tips, wrapped around it and pulled it in her direction, on her side of the Gate. She squeezed it against her chest as she sighed.

Still, I didn't move. My forehead pressed against my forearm as I watched her spin in a slow circle, excitement rattling through her. The sounds of her giggles prickled against my skin. "Seems that journal is precious to you, isn't it?" I asked.

She stopped mid-turn, parts of her curls falling onto her shoulder. The smile on her face, the way it lifted her round cheeks-I had to sigh as I took it all in.

Are all humans as beautiful as she is? Or is she just the goddess of them all?

"It is." She didn't let it go, only squeezed it harder. Facing her, she approached the door. There was a twinkle in her dark eyes. "It was my mama's journal. I thank you very much for returning it to me."

"Your mother's journal, hm?" I pressed my tongue against my cheek as I glanced down at the book in her hands. "Seems you and her are the same."

Her eyes widened. It wasn't shock, but curiosity. What I said pleased her. It made me smile even more.