Shadows like mine

15

Azriel and Aurora cleaned up the kitchen, which took longer than expected. They talked, a lot. Azriel couldn't remember the last time he talked so much with someone. Maybe it was because he wanted to know more about her. Maybe it was because her soul looked like his. Or because their shadows constantly tried to touch each other, but were pulled back to their bodies.
"So," he finally said and wiped up the milk. "Why did you leave tonight?"
Aurora shook her head and threw the eggshells away. "No reason."
"Sure." She gave him a glare. Azriel just shrugged. "You didn't want to eat with us?"
She took a deep breath. "It's just..." Again she shook her head. "I've never been around people for so long. I don't want to mess this up."
Azriel stopped what he was doing for a second. For some reason he thought she went back here because she didn't want to be around them. But actually, she left because she was afraid of hurting them.
"You won't hurt us, Aurora," he said soft and stepped towards her. She also stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. She was so tiny, so petite. "I promise you."
"You can't promise me that," she whispered and blinked a few times, he saw the tears she fighting.
It made him angry. She shouldn't feel like that.
"Then I'll promise you that we will break that curse."
He didn't know if he had said too much. But it was already done. Her eyes shot up at him, big and frightened. Her face became pale, like she was sick.
"What did you say?" she whispered. Carefully, he placed his hand upon her upper arm.
"We will put an end to this," he said. "In the library we found books that might have the answer. Death cursed you with his presence."
He saw the tears fighting their way back to her eyes. Her bottom lip started to shake.
And Aurora cried.
"I never wanted to admit it," she sobbed and hid her face in her hands. "I hated it. I hated how stupid I was."
Azriel didn't let go of her arm. Instead, he pulled her towards him and held Aurora close to his chest. She kept crying.
"You were a child," he reminded her. "You didn't know any better."
He felt how she wrapped her arms around him. Azriel held her as long as she needed. When she finally stopped crying, he still didn't let go of her. And she didn't either.
Their shadows intertwined like fingers and suddenly, they were back. Back in the space if shadows.
When Aurora looked up and saw their nee surrounding, she seemed to calm down. Her cheeks were red and her eyes a little swollen. She wiped her cheeks and breathed out.
"I like it here," she whispered and looked up at him. He gasped for air when her shining eyes looked at him. His heart started to beat faster.
"As do I."
With a finger Aurora followed the outer lines of his blue stones. He watched her face — and saw strength. It left him almost breathless.
He was hoping she couldn't feel his heart beating so fast. He was hoping she didn't notice his breathing.
"What else do you like to do?" he asked her, because for a reason he didn't understand he was desperate to hear her voice. "Next to singing and baking?" A suffocated laugh escaped him.
Aurora smirked. "Flying."
Suddenly they were back in the real world, their shadows left behind. Both blinked with their eyes, the light was too bright.
Azriel still didn't let go. "So you wanna take a trip?"

Aurora was wearing a thick coat and a scarf. They flew over the city, close to the mountains. They followed the Sidra. He pointed out a lot of places and enjoyed the way Aurora watched the world, the stars.
She held her face close to his neck, still didn't dare to loosen up. But she loved flying over the city.
She asked many questions, pointed at buildings she didn't recognise. When she saw the theatre, her eyes grew so big that Azriel landed on the roof. He hadn't been here for years.
"I've heard of a place like this," she said and walked around the roof. "But I could only imagine how it looked like."
"You should go inside once," he said and pointed with his finger at the front doors.
She shrugged shyly. "Perhaps."
They sat down at the edge of the roof, watching people walk inside and going out. But when the music started to play, like a soft heartbeat in the background, he noticed that Aurora was softly singing to herself.