DAVID CHIOS
Eros sighed and closed his eyes. “I cannot help you. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, you can, Eros. You must. You have no idea what it’s like to need someone like you need the flow of your own blood.”
“David, you will never be able to procreate from this relationship. It’s against the law. My answer is firm. I can’t help you.”
Eros pressed his temples as if attempting to release the pressure of my petition.
“Eros… I’ve done something to prove my love for her. But I see that your support is too much to ask,
brother. I shouldn’t have come.”
“Wait. Hear my thoughts on the matter. To be in love with a human…that’s impossible. You know the prohibitions of such acts. The law is impenetrable.” He walked to the bar again to serve himself another glass of wine. “You mentioned you had done something to prove your love. What exactly have you done, Romeo?”
“Do you really have to ask?” I sighed.
“I need an answer if you want my help.”
“I gifted her something of mine.”
“O Mon Dieu…”
“The Star Crest-my life-it belongs to her now.”
“Merde.” Eros dropped his drink for a second time. “Dahveed, you have done the unthinkable.”
I stared at the shards of glass on the hardwood floor and nodded. “It’s done.”
“You’ve gone insane. It’s suicide!”
* * *
“Why can’t you believe that I
am real?” he asked.
“Because you’re not. Look at you with your golden skin and wings, wearing a skirt. How can I believe you’re real?”
“I can prove it.”
“Oh, yeah? I dare you.”
“Do you, now?” David raised his brow.
“Double dare. And you should wear a skirt that looks more like pants for the occasion.”
“Your clever quips are very delightful, my lovely. Are you positively sure about this?”
“I’ve been waiting for this for three months.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Bring it on.”
“Very well. But I have to warn you, I’m quite the competitor.”
“Then there should be a prize for the winner to make it more interesting.”
“You’re proposing a wager?”I nodded.
“If I win, you’ll leave my dreams forever,” I said. He gazed at me for a moment. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I saw a trace of a grin on his face.
“If
I should win, you will believe me when I say I’m not a dream,” David said.
“If you say so,” I snickered. “I guess this is goodbye since I’ll be winning.”
“And...” he said.
“There’s more?”
“And...you will never again come here.”
“Okay,” I said. “Fair enough.”
“And...” he said again.
“That’s too many ‘ands’.”
“
And...” he continued, “I bid you not farewell, but good morrow.”
David tipped his head as he disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of golden dust.
* * *
“It’s not working,” David said. “Why isn’t it working?”
“You don’t have much time. If the corrosion reaches her chest, she’s going to die,” Nyx said.
“I’m going to die?” I mumbled.
I always thought I would be afraid of dying. I carried that fear with me since I was twelve, after looking inside that coffin at my dad’s stiff, breathless body. But now that it was my turn, I was ready. This was the destiny that was written for me.
“I can’t do it, Mother. I have nothing to forgive her for,” David said.
If I was going to die, I needed to tell David something I hadn’t had the courage to tell him before.
I glanced at my arm. The decomposition was at my elbow and the tingling had crept up near my shoulder. I didn’t have time to waste.
“David,” I said, and he looked at me. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I needed you to know...to hear it.”
I could feel the tingling a few inches past my shoulder. Nyx pulled my shirt at the neckline exposing my collarbone and part of my shoulder.
“I love you,” I said. “I always have.”
“I’m so sorry I did this to you,” David whispered stroking my forehead.
I could no longer feel my arm, my shoulder and part of my chest. And then I felt it—a searing pain in the middle of my chest. I writhed in anguish, screaming at the top of my lungs. My whole body jerked, and then there was darkness. Everything was silent, including my heart.
A soft light surrounded me, cradling me in a tranquility I had never known existed. I struggled for a last breath, but it was too late. The end was here.
Nely Cab was born on December 9, 1974, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She has lived and resided in a small, quiet South Texas town most of her life. Putting her Computer Accounting skills to use, Nely worked in banking for several years. In 2001, the author relocated to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, where she dedicated time to the study of culinary arts and the art of oil painting. After her return to the U.S., Nely resumed her employment in banking and later transitioned to the field of Social Work.
Today, Nely Cab writes from the comfort of her home, where she lives with her husband and son. Her life goal is to check-off Bucket List Item No. 95,623,351: To conquer the world. While she aspires world domination, Nely continues to work on her debut series
