— Eyder —
I spent the whole time with her, helped her turn back the window so she could see the sky, and we stood there together.
"Did you know that you are the first person in the world who can make me think that family can be a good thing?" I said as we looked up at the sky together.
"I hated that word," she said, surprising me.
"Me too."
"But I don't hate it anymore; after all, Reid is my family, and he's the best big brother I could ask for." And I see friends as part of my family now.
"I see, I only started liking that word after I met you."
"Because there are two of us, I like you, Eyder, and you've shown me that I have a family that cares about me, and I see you as part of it."
"I also see you as part of mine."
She smiled.
"I need to get out of this bed," she said.
"Where do you want to go?"
"The beach."
***
We walked to the beach. I would never stop her from going to the beach.
"Do you like the sea?" I asked.
"I like it."
"Do you want to get in the water?" It's hot today; we can come in.
"I would like to, but not today; I just want to stay here and look at this beautiful view."
"Sit down."
"No, let's walk along the beach."
"Okay, then, let's go."
I offered my hand to her without thinking, and she took it. I was happy; she had taken my hand. We walked on the beach for a while, observing everything. Her hair fluttered with the breeze that came from the sea; it was beautiful. I never understood how people could find her ugly; she was the embodiment of the word beautiful. There was no one more beautiful than her. And I knew she thought she was a monster.
I stood a little behind her, watching her; she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life, and if she wanted to see beautiful landscapes, just by looking at her, I already had this beautiful landscape.
"Look, it's a shell!" She exclaimed, letting go of my hand to get the shell.
"Let me see," I said, getting close to her.
She took the shell and showed it to me; it was one of those very beautiful, intact ones. Then I saw another one there on the ground and picked it up.
"Now we have a pair," I said.
She smiled without looking at me, just looking at the shells, but when she looked, she looked deep into my soul. I lost myself in her eyes, which looked like the most beautiful diamonds. I could live my whole life looking into those eyes, and I wouldn't get tired; I could spend eternity looking at them. I got lost in his gaze and didn't come back.
After a brief second, I realized that I had moved closer to her, getting so close that I was pulling her by the waist. And then something happened: the distance was gone, her eyes were gone, and I just had sensations; I felt my lips touch hers. And it was the best feeling I've ever had in my entire life to date.
We finally kissed.
— Ayra —
I felt the distance disappear; I felt my eyes close, but I had no fear or hesitation; and then I felt his lips on mine, and I liked it. I wish I had done it a long time ago. And everything was perfect, even the scenery. And I wanted it to be eternal—my first kiss with someone I really liked, maybe even more than just that.
It was like the best of dreams, until it was over, and it was as if I had woken up from a trance, or rather from the dream itself.
He looked me in the eyes again. I felt lost in the forest of his eyes; it was as beautiful as the most beautiful of forests. Then he said,
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
I smiled, touched his face, and replied,
"I want to. Now I don't know how my brother will react."
"He's not going to like it at all."
"Do you want to keep it a secret for a while?" I asked fearfully.
"No way," and he pulled me in for another kiss.
I was living a dream; I was free; and the boy I liked liked me too. I was happy. If it was a dream and I was still in the dome, I'd rather not wake up. But that was reality; I felt its warmth—the warmth of a human body.
Then we went back, hand in hand, and I carried the two shells in my hand. From time to time, I liked to look at them again. They were so beautiful. When I looked at Eyder, I saw a smile from ear to ear plastered across his face. I knew my brother wasn't exactly going to be happy about it. But if he loved me, he would want my happiness, and I was very happy with Eyder.
So, I was hopeful that my brother would accept our relationship.
***
We walked back to the town hall. I wanted to walk more, but Eyder said I needed to recover. I didn't understand at the time that fainting wasn't resting, especially when I was using a skill. We entered the town hall and went up to my brother's house, which was now also mine. I thought it was strange that my brother didn't say anything when we walked through the door, but we soon found out why. He and Lina were arguing in the kitchen.
"She must have just gone to stretch her legs a little with Eyder," Lina said. It seems that we caught the discussion halfway there.
"First, that she wasn't in a position to stretch her legs very far from here; second, since when is her being with Eyder a good thing?"
"Since they met, it's been a good thing."
"You don't understand."
"What don't I understand?"
"You know what?!" He bellowed.
"I do," she replied without raising her voice.
"Eyder hates family; he once told me that he would never want to build one since, according to him, it's pure hypocrisy. And he's not being serious with my sister; in fact, for someone who hates the word family so much, it surprises me."
"What? Has he thought of that? I read your mind; I know what part of you believed even though it seemed absurd, maybe because it was absurd."
"But that's not the point; he judged me a lot for all the time I talked about my family. How can he now want to redeem himself? He said I was wrong."
"But it wasn't," Eyder said as we walked in holding hands.
"What?" my brother asked.
"You weren't wrong; I was. And I admit to you—I admit that for the first time in my life, I want to have a family. It seems to me that I've only been very unlucky before."
"Wait, I don't understand what's the matter." I said.
"What do you mean?" my brother asked. He hadn't noticed that we were holding hands.
"You don't want us to be together; why does Eyder hate the word family?" I asked.
"Yes, he would never stay with you thinking about anything serious."
"That's where you're wrong; I also had a lot of trouble with that word until I found out what you did. Now I have a new family, but I understand Eyder. I hated to think that it was my family, my own mother, who turned me in to the government when she found out I had a skill. I still remember, thanks to my new ability, exactly what she said to me when she called them. I remember what our middle brother said. I didn't believe that word anymore until I found out what you did, until I found out what you created, and Eyder wasn't as lucky as I was with family, as far as I can see."
"I'll tell you," he said, smiling at me.
"You haven't told her yet?" asked my angry brother.
"Not yet," Eyder replied.
"Not yet?! And what were you doing until now?" Reid started watching us; I already knew, and it was only a matter of time before he realized we were holding hands. I thought about letting go of my hand to give Eyder time, but even though he didn't have telepathy, he knew what I wanted to do because he squeezed my hand a little more.
It was his decision; I didn't care; one day they would find out.
"Other things," said Eyder.
"I said I wanted to get out of here for a while; I needed to stretch my legs."
"I didn't tell her she had gone out to stretch her legs."
And then he saw it. He looked at the two of us holding hands, and I noticed that his first reaction was to widen his eyes. I knew he wasn't happy at all with what he was seeing, but I was very happy, and that should matter to him, no?
"Why do you two...?"
"Because we're dating," we both said at the same time, before he finished the sentence.
I felt my brother falling backwards, but he leaned against the table.
"What's that story?" He asked, staring at us.
"He asked, and I accepted?" I answered it more like a question.
"What's this story about you asking my sister out on a date?" He asked, looking at Eyder with a killer look.
I put my hand in front of Eyder to stop him from speaking. Then I said,
"Wait, why aren't you happy for me? Eyder makes me happy; why can't you be happy that we're together?"
"Because he thinks family..."
"Stop, who cares what he thinks of family? Have you ever thought about what I think of family? Do you know what our mother said to me before sending me to the dome?"
"No."
"She said I was a monster, an abomination. Murf, our middle brother, said the same thing. You were a child; you had no way of knowing everything; I didn't even remember it myself until I delved into my memories, so don't come to say that Eyder has a bad family thought, and that's why we can't be together. When I myself found out what you did for me, I didn't have the best opinions."
He opened and closed his mouth, then opened it again and said,
"Okay, I just want you to tell her your story." "I know you're another victim; no wonder you've become the best protector, but you know a lot about her. Because I told you, I think it's unfair that you don't tell your story, even if you hate it.
"I'll tell her."
"Don't take too long."
"Guys, but what a climax," Lina said. "I'm glad you two are together. What do you think about us celebrating by eating pizza?"
"No way!" Eyder and Reid said it together.
Lina and I looked at them in amazement; they didn't even look like they were fighting even 5 seconds ago.
"Why not?" Lina asked.
"Because Ayra should eat light food until she's totally better," they said once again together, looking at each other strangely.
"Okay, okay, if you say so, you're actually right."
And I stood there, thinking of pizza as a tempting idea. Lina had shown me pictures of them, but I had never eaten them.
Hello everyone, how are you? Thank you so much for reading this far, I hope you're enjoying the story so far.
And tell me, what did you think of this chapter? Were you expecting this? I would say that what we wanted to happen finally happened, right? But did you like how it was?
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Have a good weekend and see you next Friday!