Chapter NineLike an illness, Nikola’s pain rushed through me and burned through every part of my body mercilessly. While my heart slammed into my ribcage like a furious bull, I wondered how she could have put up with such agony for so long. It was unfortunate that initially my helping hand made no difference to her psyche and all that truly happened left us both in torturous grief.
Thankfully, my intervention proved successful within a matter of a week and for the first time during the spark of my assignment, I witnessed Nikola’s genuine happiness. I felt as though I finally fulfilled my destiny, serving my human to the best of my abilities. As she continued to blossom I stood by and protected her, despite the pain that ravaged my body tirelessly, pain that I kept secret from her. Diligent may the ache have been, I was equally if not more assiduous against it; I refused to let Nikola down now.
The relief from her previously known suffering allowed Nikola to be who she was meant to, opened doors for her success, granted her to identify with her soul completely. It was such an amazement that she even hid her sexual orientation, even from herself.
“Why would you see this as something bad?” I asked her one morning as she dressed, eager to celebrate her first Gay Pride parade.
“Because… people get harassed for it. It’s seen as something sinful and perverted.” She muttered, fumbling with her necktie in silent frustration.
“What! I can’t believe that for a minute!” My voice rose in disbelief. Stepping behind Nikola, I slipped my arms around her body to aid in the struggle against the tie. “It’s common in the Alter Realm… not a bit different from being heterosexual.”
“Seriously? Can I live there?” She grinned in satisfaction at the perfect knot I tied, running a hand down the length of the neck apparel. “Thanks, Thalia.”
“Anytime.” I whispered, stepping back to watch her.
I practically drowned her in questions on the way to Loring Park, a large commons where the Gay Pride is held annually. Although she answered none, I was far too incredulous to accept that homosexuality was frowned upon here in the Human Realm. Nikola was drilled during the duration of the car ride downtown by her mother and I, but I could feel her excitement and jitters bubbling inside as she gazed intently out of the window.
“Well, call me when you’re ready to come home.” Nikola’s mother watched her closely, a look mixed with worry and pride plastered over her face.
“Okay, thanks. See you later.” Was Nikola’s soft reply, sliding out of the passenger seat and turning away as the car rolled off in a dawdled pace.
“Your mother is accepting.” I took note audibly. Nikola only nodded a bit before trekking down the slope of the hill we stood upon, her eyes widening at the number of people who were crowding the grounds of the park. Quickly I followed after her, my own heart racing in response to her mounting exhilaration.
We rounded the entire park twice, following the winding sidewalks and peeking at every booth. Although Nikola was increasingly sidetracked by all the hullabaloo, I noticed on both occasions of passing by a cubicle for a GLBT oriented choir that an exquisitely beautiful young woman allowed her eyes to linger, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“Oh look, a
choir Nikola. Let’s take a look?” I thought myself clever when I stepped off the sidewalk and into the grass, towards the smiling beauty. When Nikola followed me slowly, I could only chuckle to myself at how dense my poor human was; even when the girl admiring her greeted her with vibrant energy, Nikola seemed to have absolutely no clue.
“Welcome! You like to sing?” the girl asked, smiling brightly.
“Oh… I guess? I mean I’ve never done anything outside of singing alone, to myself…” Nikola, finally entranced, mumbled shyly. Sweat beaded along my brow and slicked my palms, however I knew it was not the summer heat that warmed me.
“Maybe you should sign up… we’ll contact you and you could give us a little audition.” The way the girl’s voice dropped seductively made both Nikola and I shiver. “What’s your name?”
“Um… it’s Nikola…”
“I’m so glad to meet you, Nikola,” the girl smiled brightly once again. “I’m Lihua.”
Chapter TenLihua had quite the hold on Nikola. In fact, I grew to resent her, knowing if she should ever hurt Nikola, I would be to blame. She would be thrown out of sorts each and every time Lihua would call or leave her one of those text messages humans like to share with their cellular phones and I was included in her tizzy, becoming extraordinarily lightheaded with a stomach full of energized butterflies.
However, with each moment of bliss came an equal moment of sorrow; Lihua wasn’t single as was the preliminary thought. Many conversations surrounded her relationship with her girlfriend, how she felt betrayed one moment yet was so in love at the next. Needles stung Nikola at the mention of Zoey, Lihua’s beloved. It angered me to no end how manipulative this girl was! Once again I was plagued with the dark feelings I encountered when I dwelled in the Light Chamber and Nikola’s feelings of anger, sorrow and betrayal only made the darkness stronger.
“I just wish I knew what she
wants from me…” Nikola sighed, pacing her room. Outside, it rained heavily with an occasional flash of lightning followed by a powerful crack of thunder. I frowned.
“Don’t let her make a puppet out of you. I’m worried.”
“You don’t understand, Thalia. I feel like I can’t go without—” Nikola was ready to vent, I could tell, however she was interrupted by the ring tone of her phone. It was Lihua.
“Hello?” Her voice was eager as she answered and the way her face displayed concern let me know that Lihua was only calling because she needed Nikola to do something for her. “Where are you?”
“No, Nikola!” I tried to dissuade her. It was too late for that, Nikola was already out into the hallway and rushing down the stairs. Darting after her down the stairs, through the dining room and into the living room, I reached out to grab her arm.
“Stop, Nikola! You can’t—”
“Please try to understand, Thalia!” Nikola pleaded, yanking open the front door and rushing out into the thunderstorm.
Standing at the door, I didn’t know what to do. There was a heavy nagging in the back of my skull that told me this would only lead to disaster. I sighed, reminding myself tersely that it was not my place to give my human any counsel. With a deep breath, I bound out into the night to follow Nikola’s path.
We had reached the parkway just a few blocks from Nikola’s home in a short amount of time. Soaked to the bone, we searched in attempt to find Lihua, but the rain and darkness cast a veil over everything that was difficult to see through. Right as I planned to bring Nikola to her senses, she cried out in relief.
“I see her!!” Nikola called to me before darting towards the thickest tree, in the middle of the plane of grass. I said nothing and ran after her, hoping this would benefit for something.
“Li!” Nikola shouted over the boom of a deafening thunderclap. The other girl sat with her back pressed into the trunk of the tree, shivering and drenched.
“Oh, Nikola…!”
“Are you fucking insane, you can’t sit under a tree when it’s raining like this!” Nikola pulled Lihua to her feet and attempted to pull her back.
“No, Nikola I can’t… don’t do that, okay?” Lihua begged, trying to pull away. This angered Nikola, which in turn angered me.
“Then what do you want?! What the hell do you want from me?!” Nikola screamed. “I’m not your goddamn puppet!” I realized at that point, being connected with Nikola, I wasn’t just affected by her emotions alone, she experienced mine as well.
“What? Where did you get that from?!” Lihua demanded, shocked and slightly angry.
“You! The way you treat me! I want to be something more than just… than just a
quick fix!” Nikola backed away and when I touched her arm, her skin burned despite the cold rain that rolled down her skin. After a moment of long pause Nikola finally gave up, turned around, and walked back home with me following behind her like an obedient hound.
