Poseidon (Rated R)

(13) The strange Man.

In this state of mind It is best to play it as if he is a child, "Look it stopped" I softly tap onto his shoulders, it doesn't work, he can still feel the trembles and quickening pace of my heart rate. With a deep inhale I change my way of thinking looking away from the window, focusing elsewhere that can steady my heart rate.

"Hey Arjun?" I whisper, my eyes finally meeting something that warmed my heart enough to ease my quivers.

"Yes?" he sniffles, whimpering softly.

"It stopped."

For a second I tore my eyes away, meeting his glossy orbs, running tears with a drippy nose, still shivering in my arms. Water was his biggest fear ever since that tragedy, in a frantic he looks around, "look at me, hey, I'm right here the water stopped."

"It did?" he shudders with a broken voice, breath fanning my face.

I nodded, "Yes, it did, see? were ok."

Once more he looks around softening his shoulders before crumbling in my arms, "Monica" he cries, "I'm sorry" his weight bringing us down to the ground while I coddled him.

Rubbing his back while forcing my tears away. "Shhh, it's ok." Moments of silence as he cries into my shoulder while I return my eyes to the man on the bed rolling the necklace softly in his hand. Whatever that pendant meant to him, it seemed to have ease his nightmare finally allowing the clouds to clear.

Arjuns cries soften pulling away, a messily look of smeared tears and hair strands stuck to his face, I wanted to giggle at the slimy trail of mucus dripping from his nose but there was a look in his eyes I could not express, an apathetic expression.

My smile falters, "What's wrong?" I question.

"He is angry with us"

"He?"

His eyes protrude leaning in "God."

I clear my throat, "Why so?"

"Monica we are messing with his creatures," He seethes, in my peripherals the man moves a toe.

"Keep it down," I Nudge, gliding my eyes towards him.

"Monica, have you kept your promise?"

Bolts of electricity shoots through me leaving a sudden wave of overwhelming guilt, "What?"

Coming in closer, "Have you kept your promise to me? have you not gone behind my back?"

Im stilled, frozen by the question, fingers trembling before I dug my thumb nail in my skin. "Arjun" I coughed "Why would you think that?"

"We left those things alone, so why does God still punish us?"

I'm cornered looking into his eyes, anxiety building as the tears climb up before beads glide down, Do I dare speak the truth now? Letting him know I did not keep my end of the bargain, I still can feel him trembling in my palm, his asthma could activate at any moment.

"No" I force out, instantly hating myself. The Inward guilt making it hard to breathe.

"Are you being serious?"

Tell the truth, it'll set you free. "Yes Arjun, I kept my promise."

"I never doubted you" He sniffles, "Thank you." The intensity dies down. "What do you think caused all of this" He questioned rising up to his feet.

I shrug, "I don't know. But it is strange"

Hesitantly he looks out the window, at a loss for words when we watched the water recede leaving behind millions of live fishes that flop around, large spider crabs and turtles slowly returning to the sea not before glaring right at the window, a phenomenon even the nearby neighbors record from their homes.