Please Fix the Story!

Higher Realm 4

A few days passed, and although it couldn't be said that I grew stronger in this realm, at least I wasn't any weaker. Every morning Liam would bring me a cup of his blood, and I would drink it silently, pretending not to notice the strange color and taste.

Despite the need for blood to keep me alive, the days were surprisingly fun. Liam and I would go out each morning and explore the forest. We would find more rocks for his collection, and the rare patches of fruits or edible plants that had survived in this life-stealing realm. We spent the time talking, learning about each other.

"You know I actually like this forest quite a bit." He said one day as we walked, his hands idly picking dying leaves from the branches as we passed by.

The confession caught me off guard. "I thought you called this place your cage." A cage for a monster, in fact, which Liam is the furthest thing from.

"Well that's not the forest's fault! It might seem a bit lifeless and dull at first, but the close you watch it, the more things you can discover!" He grinned, the expression bringing a warmth in my heart. "There's the stubborn trees and flowers that survive, the occasional crow and insect! Sometimes when I'm fly... when I'm running through the forest, I see so many different types of life I can't even count them! There's something new to find every day!"

Soo....Liam can fly, right? He definitely said fly.

I didn't say anything to him about it, though. He clearly was hiding something about himself. He was just as clearly extremely bad at keeping secrets. But I never pressed him. I just hoped that when he felt comfortable enough, he would tell me. Watching him laugh and talk about exploring his realm... his cage... and finding the beauty in it made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. What a wonderful person...or whatever it is that he is.

I watched him continue to explore with an excited look, unable to hold back a smile myself.

No matter what Liam really is, nothing could be worse than the company I was keeping in the higher realm. I forcibly turned my thoughts away as they drifted towards Adonis and his betrayal. No use wasting any time or energy on him.

Looking ahead, my eyes widened in shocked delight as a I spotted a familiar object.

"Are those apples?!"

Liam rushed ahead, still much stronger than I was even with his blood, and examined the fruit closely. Finally, he picked one with a broad smile. "It is! I didn't even know there were any apples in this world! See I told you! Something new every day! Let's take a break!"

He cleaned off a tree stump and helped me sit down, before leaning on a tree nearby. I pointed at the fruit in his hand, unable to contain my excitement. "Can I have one too?" I had eaten nothing but meat for the past few days, and although Liam's cooking had improved by leaps and bounds, I was still craving something else.

"Of course, no need to ask! This one is for you!" Liam pulled a knife from his belt and began peeling the apple. His actions were neat and efficient, with the ease of familiarity. It took only a few moments, and then the freshly peeled fruit was passed over to me.

I held it in my hands, confused. "Liam... How did you know I like peeled apples?"

Liam grabbed another fruit, preparing to peel that one as well. "You told me." He seemed unconcerned.

"No... I didn't." I thought back to our conversations over the past few days. Apples had never come up.

Or had it?

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"Why the hatred for the apple peel?" The young man seemed genuinely curious from his tone of voice as he handed me a freshly peeled fruit.