We entered the place and we met the sage where we had seen her the first time we came. "Welcome, you passed your first test," she said in her old but alluring voice. "We did!" I exclaimed in surprise, "Yes, if not you will be trapped down there" she replied while I nodded my head. I looked around for Anabella but she was nowhere to be seen until I looked closer at the entrance where I saw her in the arms of her man. A feeling of envy embodied me.
Anyway, it's just a matter of time before I meet mine.
The sage brought out the book from the locker it was kept. She handed it over to Anabella who gave it to me, "I thought you were not going to leave him alone" I said to her jokingly, "stop teasing me" she replied with a smile, the book is made of shimmering, iridescent scales and keep coral bound together with strands of seaweed. It glowed with a soft, ethereal light, and the words inside were written in the swirling, curling shapes of seaweed. The pages turned like the waves of the ocean and the book reeked of salt and brine.
I was still lost in my world of examining the book when the sage spoke up "I knew a day like this would come, a day whereby the Isnamerman and the Isnamermaid will refuse to get married but still open the book together. Now let us hurry up with the opening of the book" the old sage said, "How do we start?" I asked. "The greatest fortune and the future of Lemuria, the greatest Merfolk kingdom in history will be determined by whatever happens here today" he explained while we looked at each other and nodded in the affirmative, "so you both have to place your hands on the book while I make sure your blood touch the front cover of the book," she said.
I placed my hand on the book while the safe made a small cut on my palm then blood oozed out of it and she did the same for Anabella, a light beamed from the book as it shone brightly letting us let go of our hands in the process. The book opened by itself with a picture of one of the past Isnamermaid and Isnamerman on it holding the gem together which served as a union between them.
The sage read out aloud what was in the book starting from the next page "Once upon a time, long ago I prayed to Kanaloa the god of death and life. And I asked him a question in return for my penance, it was 'will there be a time when the world above us will be in danger?' and the reply was 'Yes, there will be a time when cunning traitors will turn the world into a place of death, An era that will claim humanity'. So then at that time, the Isnamerman will be the one to take the responsibility of saving the people" she read out loud.
"What! how come? why me?....why is everything scripted there? All these constitute that everything going on in my life, Lemuria, and the world abi e is already predestined?" I asked as I stood up from where I was seated already. "Yes, everything is stated in this book till a certain time" Anabella explained. "So can I continue with the story?" she asked. "Yes," Anabella replied.
"So after the Isnamerman has identified and killed the five traitors, there will be another traitor but this time around a mystic traitor which no one knows about. The arrival of the sixth traitor will mark a new story and change, the traitor will at its very best try to take the life of his love" she read out again, and that time I got impatient and angry for the last sentence she made. "What was that, how can I believe it is true and not lies?" I asked her. "According to my mother, anything written in this book remains the truth and nothing more" Anabella answered.
"The sixth traitor will be right in front of his eyes but he won't realize it. The Colo dynasty is the greatest enemy of the Lemuria tribe, the sixth traitor will hail from that dynasty" she read out finally. "Well, if that is true I cannot be here. I won't be allowing anything bad to happen to Doris so I have to be there" I swam out of the sage's dwelling quickly.
I entered the room where I met Doris seated on the bed with her legs crossed "Why are you just coming? Where have you been since you left?" she asked without taking a minute to look at me. I ran to her jumped on the bed and hugged her "Thank you for staying here, I love you" I said as I closed my eyes expressing the feeling that had eaten every inch of my lungs out.
I couldn't believe I said that
"Did you just say you love me?" she asked and I nodded my head instead of answering her question. She pushed me off suddenly and I felt the annoyance in her "Why did you do that? I just proclaimed my love to you and you rejected me" I said with teary eyes. "So now you feel the same, what did you do the other day I confessed my feelings to you?" she asked, I could not reply as I kept looking at her. She got down from the bed and dipped her right hand in her pocket, I understood she was imitating me "...when you knew I decided to get married to Emily for money, do you think I would love you. Don't waste your time on me' was that not the statement you made?" she asked me, she hissed and stood in front of the mirror as she backed me.
I stood up from the bed and hugged her tightly from behind, "I swear I have always loved you but I just couldn't tell you. A lot was going on then and I had to put a lie to cover it up, and now everything has ended. Nothing will come up or cause a moment of separation from ourselves, I promise" I said as I held her still but she struggled out of my grip again.
She turned facing me and pointed a finger at me "I can never trust you again, the other day I confessed to you, and you mocked me and laughed stating your motive then. I cannot accept someone like you into my life" she shouted.
"I'm sorry I didn't realize my feelings for you sooner," I said while my voice shook. "I was a fool to deny my heart. But now I'm here, and I'm ready to tell you how I feel. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." I expressed myself more clearly.
As I spoke, I reached out and took Doris' hand in mine. She looked down at our joined hands, and then back up into my eyes. I sensed she could see the sincerity in my gaze, and her anger subsided. The moment hung in the air between us, as if time had stopped to allow us to savor the moment. Then, slowly, she smiled which I did not expect. The smile grew, and she threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.
Hmmmmm....so cute!
"I've been waiting for you to say that for so long," she whispered. "I'm so glad you finally realized it. When I first got married to you, I did not want to at first because all of a sudden, you all told me I must have hit my head on something after seeing the doctor which caused a partial memory loss for me. I married you to find out what was in your mind and what your life was about. I doubted that you had a hand in the pandemic that struck the country, I doubted you several times and that is why I took up the job as a detective. I am so sorry for that" she said but....
I held her close, savoring the warmth of her body against mine. For the first time after we first met, I truly felt complete. But was I still betraying her? I couldn't reveal who I was to her and my real agenda. Her life would be in danger if she gets involved, this is supernatural and she is a mere human so I cannot take the risk. "There is nothing to be sorry about, let us forget the past and move on with our life happily. If we don't forget the past, we won't be able to get a futile future" I said with a smile.
Happy feeling!
After a few moments, Doris pulled back and looked up at me, her eyes shone with tears of happiness. "You have no idea how much this means to me," she said, her voice trembling. "I thought I would never hear those words from you. I thought you would leave me as well."
I brushed away a tear that had escaped from her eye, and said softly, "I should have told you sooner. I didn't realize what I was missing until now. You're the most important person in my life, and I never want to be without you again." I assured her.
I leaned down and kissed her gently, savoring the sweetness of her lips. It was as if the world had faded away, and we were the only two people left in existence. The kiss deepened, and we held each other close, lost in the moment.
But then the spell was broken, and we pulled apart, we both a little breathless. I looked into her eyes and said, "I love you, and I always will. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." I said softly with a smile in my heart.
A few minutes later, we were in the kitchen and I was making her dinner. It's nothing fancy, just some pasta and salad, but it was the thought that counts. We laughed and talked, enjoyed each other's company in the warm glow of the kitchen lights and all my sorrows faded away.
Then, out of the blue, I had something in mind so I said, "I have something to show you." I led her to the living room, where a small Christmas tree was set up in the corner, decorated with white lights and red bows. She looked at me, my eyes wide with surprise. "You got a tree?" she asked with an intoxicating voice.
I smiled and replied "Well, it's not just any tree. I got it so we could decorate it together. I know a new year just passed, but I wanted to start a new tradition with you." She couldn't help but smile back at me, and we both went to the tree. I pulled out a box of ornaments, and we started to hang them on the branches.
As we decorated the tree, she shared stories about her favorite Christmas memories while I had nothing to say but it was nice that I was there and starting it with her. She talked about her family and the traditions she grew up with. As we talked, we both realized how much we had in common, and how much we had come to mean to each other. When the tree was finally decorated, we stepped back to admire our work. It was not perfect, but it's ours.
For some reason, I felt her lingering gaze set on me. My heartbeat raced like a stallion, time seemed to slow down. Nothing else mattered at that moment. I finally turned to look at her, and without saying a word, I understood what she was thinking. I reached for her hand, and we kissed again, this time with a deep sense of connection and understanding which ended up in me lifting her in my arms. I carried her to our room upstairs and the night lasted long.
Would you like to stay updated on the progress of the book? Please leave a comment below and I will make sure to keep you informed. Thank you for your interest!