❝ His touch burned me, scorched me. His large, rough hands were cold, but the heat radiated from the mutual venom we nurture. Yet strangely, I want to feel the blaze again, a memory I am alive, here, with him.❞
Enemies to Lovers
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Weeks have passed since the fight. Each day I sense myself growing quieter, shyer, lonelier. I barely hang out with anyone, waking early in the morning to hunt and spending each day out in the forest of the island. I bring back dinner every night, often whatever I caught in the morning, but sometimes conceding to my mother's request to hunt with her.
She is worried about me. I can sense her glances in the few moments I spend in company. I hear the conversations they all exchange about me when they think I'm in the forest or asleep.
"She barely eats, she barely talks, she barely sleeps. We never see her."
"She's being rebellious. She needs independance. We have to give it to her."
"There's something going on."
"We should help Kiri. She actually talks to us, she needs assistance as well."
"She's right though. They are all our kids. We can't divide love unequally based on their submissiveness."
"We took her in with Kiri. We love them the same."
The last words draw scoffs from me whenever I recall them. I love my sister dearly, and am never bitter towards her, but rather the differences posed between us.
The whispers are stronger now, perhaps since I haven't heard or engaged in conversation for so long. The tales are different as well, talking about approaching storms and the return of the brothers and sisters, whatever that meant. It was hard to believe anything they said, so I ignore it.
I am brought back to myself as something drips over my face and I leap up, staring into the trees above. A branch had dipped, dumping a copious amount of water onto my face. Wiping it off I laugh, but my annoyance battles my amusement.
"Has anyone ever told you you're the least stealthy person ever?" I call, laughing. "I know your there. There's a reason you're not a forest freak. Stick to the ocean, fish lips."
Aonung scrambles reluctantly around the trunk, pausing to glance nervously down at the ground. It's only a few metres, but triple his height is still pretty tall.
"Here," I say, pointing a path through two more branches and along another smaller tree. "Go that way. No, the other one. Yeah."
I watch with amusement as he moves cautiously along the branches, and wait patiently as he hesitates on the last one. Reluctantly I hold up a hand and help him down, and he sheepishly rubs his arms.
"What are you doing, Aonung?"
"We haven't seen you in forever. You've been getting more and more distant, and it's been days now, Akoya."
"I've been busy," I say, and turn away.
"Wait! Where are you going?" He jogs after me as I move through the forest. I move gracefully and swiftly, but he clatters clumsily, pushing bushes aside to keep up.
