Ethereal Mortal {DISCONTINUED}

CHAPTER XVI

"Father?" 

I ran towards him, the man I could always count on. This was proved by his return. I had missed my father so much, it made me nervous to actually see him. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes, but I wanted to get to him first. With graceful steps towards him, I reached out to be in his arms.

Only to feel nothing but air.

I had passed through his body, which I am now certain that it was not real. I stared at his back in pain, seeing Adonis approach me. He lightly pushed me to stand in front of the fake image of my father. He sent me an apologetic look.

The image was perfect, every detail on my father shown. 

"I see you have met Adonis." The image spoke like a recording. "I asked Adonis to show this to you in case something had happened to me. You need not to worry, Alina. He is a man you can trust, as you have known him all your life." 

I stared at him with confusion and wonder. I did not get why my father would say that I knew Adonis and yet not able to remember a single thing about him. I am certain I had not met Adonis before, but it did feel like he was vaguely familiar to me. I only thought that it was how his aura gave off the same feel with my father's.

"I apologize for not telling you what is happening or why I have kept you hidden. You must be so curious. As you've always been, but you learned to control yourself." He smiled lightly, as if remembering a memory. We both knew we were thinking of the same thing, making me smile despite my grief. "Seeing this, I would probably not be able to return to you. Someday, you will understand and know everything."

"What?" I asked in disbelief and devastation at the thought of my father not returning. "What happened to you, Father?" My tears began falling, making my breath hitch. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Sam pulling me into his arms for my comfort. The warmth made me feel strong despite the weakness I felt on my knees.

"Alina, you will soon awaken to your true self. You could ask Adonis to take your memories from you once again or not, it is entirely your choice. Having been outside, I cannot imagine you not meeting Samuel. There is more to it than you can see, Alina. Always remember to be careful of whom you can trust." 

Just like that, the image was gone and Adonis snapped his fingers. I looked at the face he made, contorted into a look of sadness. He refused to look back at me despite my stare. I did not know why, but it made me feel anguish and anger. 

"What happened to him?" I demanded, knowing that Adonis knew I was speaking to him. "Adonis." I gritted my teeth, wanting the truth more than anything now. I stepped away from Samuel, not wanting anything else. At the back of my mind, I fear that I might do something that I would regret.

"I don't know exactly." He finally answered after a sigh. He looked at me with pained eyes. I looked back at him, my eyes demanding more information. "I received the news three days ago. It was so late since my idiot of a messenger -- Right, you wouldn't care." He cleared his throat. "All I know is that rumors have been going around that he is being punished. I still haven't found him after I gathered information for three days before coming here."

I did not know what else to think, except for the fact that my father said he might not be able to return at this point. It felt like my heart was ripped and left in pieces. My father was the only family I had, the only person I knew I could truly trust. The one person that should have been there for me despite the changes happening around me. He was supposed to be the only person that exists in my past and my future. He is special, the rock I could count on as my constant.

Not knowing what else to do, I decided to distract myself from thinking. My mind is too much of a mess right now and I knew I could not think even if I do nothing. Taking my mind off of it for a moment will help me. I stood and walked towards the kitchen. 

"About the--" 

"Let's not talk about it right now." I cut off Adonis before he could add anymore to my jumbled thoughts. Fortunately, he did not attempt to continue his sentence and walked away. I was grateful that he knew that I needed the time to process.

Just as I started walking again, Sam reached out for my hand. It sent me a warm feeling, a feeling of trust and comfort. Yet, I did not want it right now. It had only added to the pain that I was feeling, because of remembering my father's comfort. To make it worse, Sam had even held both my hands with both of his. It was a sweet gesture, one that I should have surely liked if only it was not in these circumstances.

"Stop," I told his softly, watching as his green eyes flashed with pain. "Leave me be for now." I could not hide the coldness in my voice. I did not want to make trouble in his mind as my father's message had been for me. I carefully pried his hands off of mine, watching the pain in his eyes become permanent.

Not wanting to cause more pain for him, I disappeared into the kitchen. 

I did my best to concentrate on cooking three meals for dinner. I had only made an easy dish with the seafood Carter and I picked out. I wondered how it got there, but I can only assume Adonis bringing the groceries in when he came inside. 

Splitting the crab claws open to get the meat, a memory flashed in my brain. The first time my father bought home seafood was the first time he taught me how to cook. Before this, I had only watched him cook different kinds of meat. They all looked pretty much the same, but the crab he brought home that day was very different. 

It had bright red hard shell that he told me I could not bite off even if I wanted to. The crab was alive, its claws tied up to prevent it from pinching, he said. I felt sorry for the poor creature, but he told me it was fresher that way. It became clear to him that I did not want to eat the crab, much less the chicken and cow meat he always bought.

"The law of nature is hard, but it is the only way to survive and live life. Such is the cycle of life, pumpkin."

I felt a tear drip down on my cheek and onto my left arm, wanting nothing else but to disappear. However, I could not leave my guests and disappoint my father. Even if he was not here or if he was not going to return, I wanted to make him proud and let him know that he raised a great daughter despite not letting me go outside. 

By the time I had finished the food, Sam slipped into the kitchen. He gave me an unspoken appreciation at the sight of my work and grabbed the plates to help me out. I only watched him as he carried three plates towards the dining room where Adonis was already sitting. 

The table was already fixed, leaving me wondering how my guests knew exactly what I would do to set up a table. The three of us started eating silently, both of them exchanging looks briefly. I knew they wanted to speak, but they did not know when to do so.

I watched as both of their auras get tinged with worry whilst trying not to look directly at me. I sighed, letting go of the burden I have unfairly inflicted onto them. Father would not want me to do this to people he clearly knew and are probably his friends.

"Adonis," I called out softly, making him almost choke on what he was eating. After a few moments of composing himself, he waited for what I was going to say. "Could you start explaining everything to me?" 

"Darling, even I do not know everything." He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "There is something first that I need to ask you before I'll reveal everything in front of you and Samuel."

"What is it?" I asked, Sam stopping to listen. He cautiously looked at me, as I did to him. He immediately looked away and I instantly felt guilty of my rejection to him. He did not deserve it and I will make sure that I would apologize later.

"Your father told you that you had the choice of making me seal your true self again." Adonis paused, looking more serious now. For an unknown reason, a part of me wants to seal it. However, doing so would deprive me from the truth that I needed. "By not letting me do it, you will open yourself to old pain. A pain that you desperately tried to escape all these years. I cannot undo it for you, it is only you who can awaken yourself. 

For with your true self, are the memories you sealed away in order to hide yourself from everyone."