The Shadow That Smiled At Me

Chapter thirty two

Someone knocked on the door of my room. It took me away from reading the book. It confused me a bit because my mother didn't knock and my father didn't enter my room. There was another knock. After a moment's hesitation, I said, "Come in."

The door opened and Henry emerged from behind it. "Hello, Arya." he gave me a sweet smile. That kind of smile when you don't know what to expect from a person. Will you witness his outburst of madness or unnatural calm? Ready to run and help.

I stared at him in shock. What is he doing here? He should be on the other side of the Atlantic. And now he stands here, just as I remember him. But why is he here? After all, he never wanted to return, just like me.

"What are you doing here, Henry?" I asked him slightly annoyed. It sounded more unfriendly than I intended.

He looked around the room. He walked along the wall, looking at the pictures hanging on it, up to me sitting in the window. He leaned his shoulder against the wall. "Nice decoration." he pointed to the walls hidden under the drawings of Samael, which almost gave my mother a heart attack. "I heard about how you were doing, lately, so I got on a plane and came."

"Hmm..... You came to find out if the rumors are true?" I smirked.

He sat down next to me. I put my legs on his knees.

"Also, I heard you don't to talk to anyone," he remarked.

"True," I confirmed. "But I'll make an exception for you."

He grabbed his heart. He gave me a mischievous smile. "I'm honored," he joked.

Henry asked me for my side of the story. He wanted to know more than what he was told, so I told him everything. Henry is the only person I fully trust to tell him the truth. He didn't judge me, nor did he give me that sympathetic look that is given to sick people to reassure them, to give them false hope that everything will be fine again. He listened and seemed to understand. I told him about the years of falling off a cliff. I told him about the day it all changed when Samael saved me and brought me to his world of shadows. He learned about how I myself thought I was crazy. I showed him the crescent moon-shaped scar that Samael used to prove to me that I wasn't and that he is real, tangible, no illusion. I told him how I tried to escape from there, but eventually found my home in the shadows. And finally, I finally got to how it all went wrong, how he let me go, and how ever since then I've been reliving the nightmare of falling into darkness, night after night.

I never told anyone about it. I didn't trust anyone. But if the time came for someone to find out, he was the one I could trust.

Henry sighed deeply.

"So now you know the truth you came here for," I told him. "Am I crazy or not?" I asked him a question.

"Honestly?" he looked at me, an unreadable expression on his face. I was ready for him to say yes.

"I don't think so," he said, taking me by surprise. "I believe that there are things that we cannot explain, that are beyond our understanding. Just because we don't see or hear what someone else does doesn't mean they're crazy. The world is a strange place."

I stared at him with a raised eyebrow. His words pleasantly shocked me. It's unbelievable that at least him, as the only one in this perverted world, they couldn't convince of my madness.

Henry caught my eye. "What?" he asked me.

"Nothing. Nothing." I said. "I just can't believe you don't think I'm crazy."

He gave me an amused smile. "Arya, we've known each other since we were little," he said. "It's been years since I've seen you really be yourself, be happy. I remember how you changed out of nowhere one day. From day to day, you were different - not you. I don't know what happened to you then, but I saw how you were just pretending all this time. You never smiled sincerely again. Not even with Jess."

I never realized that he noticed my game so much that he was able to penetrate the veil that distorted reality. He saw me.

"I watched you over Christmas; you seemed happy, happier than ever."

"I was," I admitted.

"So, if your illusion is to blame." he tore Samael's portrait from the wall. "If it makes you insane, then stay insane."