How long is a lifetime?
To Luc, it is eternal. Endless and excruciatingly meaningless. His existence on Earth serves as a punishment for the sins he has committed. Immortality is his shackle.
It would forever be that way if Luc didn't stumble upon...
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For the first time in centuries, Luc wished he had tidied up.
The office had been abandoned for weeks besides the one or two times he had come in for some ledgers. Naturally, Albert had not seen the need to clean it. Books, folders, nameless trinkets, and, most of all, empty bottles filled the room.
Luc sighed. With his free hand, he swept everything from the dusty chaise lounge to the ground. He laid the girl down, but as Luc tried to move back, her hand came loose from the towel and grabbed his vest. She was incredibly strong in her unconscious state.
"Baba...Baba...Help me..."
Her distressed cry rang like a bell in his ears. Surely, he was not the person she was calling for, but Luc's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. The feeling was foreign.
The girl's hand still grasped the silk fabric of his vest, not showing any sign of her wanting to let go. Luc had tried to pry it open, but every time he used a little more force, she whimpered, so he yielded, hovering above her like a barn owl. His right hand held onto the chaise lounge back panel while the left one dug into the armrest. He fixed the towel around her body once in a while, as best as he could in his position. A sudden amusing thought came, making Luc chuckle. He could imagine the girl's reaction if she woke up right then.
In this proximity, Luc could see the tiny birthmark under her left eye. He couldn't believe that he had never noticed it before. Luc pressed on it, watching the girl's eyebrows squeeze together.
The night was frigid. Soon, the towel would not be enough to keep her warm. Luc had decided that, since she didn't want to let go of him, it was best to carry the girl back to her room, retrieving her blanket, then they could return to this office. He put his hands under her body and pulled her up toward him. The girl huffed as her head landed on his shoulder. Her breath brushed the side of his neck.
A familiar feeling flooded in, overwhelming Luc as he took a whiff of her scent. He unconsciously squeezed her thin body. Mist clouded his vision.
Pisinia.
The ancient city appeared in his mind as clear as the day he had left it. Long stone-paved roads shaded by millions of wisteria trees lead to the city square with a sparkling fountain. Water flowed out of it day and night. On the viridescent hill, the temple of Eagi and Olios, the Twin Gods, pointed to the sky like a long finger. Its one thousand bells sounded at the exact same hours every day. Luc always waited to hear them from his tablinum'swindow. He could tell every single one of them apart.
Pisinia never slept. Every song and poem told that story. The city was bustling even in that early age of humanity. That was the place Luc had met her, the being had plagued his mind for as long as he could remember. The subject of his nightmares if he could sleep.
Sometimes, she came when he was in a trance. Sometimes, as he smoked Arachnid Tears. She was as vivid as daylight. Luc had learned to live with her presence. Still, it didn't make anything easier.
Even beyond the veil, she managed to affect him. The urge always came shortly after her appearance. Outbursts of violence and bloodthirst drove him close to the edge. They threw away the little control Luc had over his life, but they had been absent for weeks.
Luc didn't miss them. He relished newfound clarity.
Once, many centuries ago, he had thought that, even without his powers, the whole world had belonged to him. That turned out to be only an illusion. A fool's dream. Sand slipping through his fingers. It was naïve to think they would let him have anything good after what he had done.
Luc supposed, to them, his sentence had never been enough. Not for the sins he had committed, but what about her? What about every human they had sent? Had they forgotten about how precious mortal souls were?
Their first attack on Luc had been perfect. His life on this plane of existence had barely taken shape then.Their pawn had been utterly and unexpectedly human. He should've despised her, yet his heart, soul, and every fiber of his being had been captured. Successfully. Completely. Even without her ghost, Luc didn't think he could ever forget.
Many times, he tortured himself with the questions. If she had known. How much she had known. What had forced her down that road of no return. In the end, he knew none of it mattered. No one could turn back the hands of time.
Luc had been with many humans since then, male and female. Some, he was certain, had been sent by them, but he had always chosen to turn a blind eye. He continued searching, but whatever had been there continued to elude him. Pleasures, either from sexual activities, or torturing and killing, were fleeting. They were matches. Once burned, they were lost to him.
He couldn't love another being the way he had loved her. He was also incapable of loving humans the way Father had designed his kind to.
Luc was pretty sure the fall had altered him. A big part of him, besides his powers, was missing, and the event of Pisinia worsened his condition.
Little thing, maybe, you can help me...
A thought passed Luc's mind as he gazed at the sleeping girl.
