The End of Eden

XXVIII

Long after I leave Two's room, and after I have returned to my own room, I see him.

He is in the shadows of my room, and even turning on every light and opening up the curtains over the windows to bring as much light as possible into the darkness, and yet he still lingers.

"What do you want from me?" I ask, picking up a pillow from my bed. I hold it in front of me like it's a shield, and a terrible one at that.

I watch him as he watches me. His eyes blink at different times, and though it's not open, I can see the mouth that split open so he could sink his teeth into me in my mind. I see that, even though he sits on the floor, his head is halfway up the wall. I hear his liquid voice all around me when he answers me.

You cannot use my vessels to hide yourself from me, Sleep says. I will never leave you. I will always be with you. You carry me inside you. You cannot hide from me, my bride. We are One.

I don't hesitate in throwing the pillow into the dark corner of the room. It slaps against the wall, then falls to the ground. I'm breathing heavy, my heart racing as I look at the dark corner, then around the room.

Sleep is gone.

No one remains in my room but me.

I stare at the corner where the light barely touches as I climb onto my bed, and tuck my knees under my chin, my arms wrapping around my legs.

He doesn't reappear, not as the sun sets, and dinner is called, and not even as full night settles over Eden. No one visits me, or bothers me, as I stare at the wall until my eyes blur, and I feel dizzy. I eventually slump to my bed, desperate to keep my eyes open, to avoid Sleep, but eventually my eyes fall closed.

It's the lights of the room that I left on that drag me from a blissfully dreamless rest. A headache throbs behind my eyes, and I slide off the bed; I hadn't even pulled any covers on me during the night.

The pillow I threw at the wall is still abandoned on the ground, and Sleep is still gone. There is the barest hint of the sun brightening the sky, and I feel like I am a caged bird, needing to get myself free. My skin is crawling the entire time I brush my teeth, and change into clean clothes, leggings and a plain t-shirt I swiped from Two, and I am out of my room with a book tucked under my armpit in only a few minutes.

Eden still slumbers, and the summer nighttime noises are the only sound I hear as I walk out of the main area of Eden, following the normal path I usually take to the Fields of Elation. The chirp of crickets along with the croak of frogs, the whisper of the breeze, the occasional hoot of an owl are the only music of my walk.

I have completely ignored what Vessel asked me to do, to take someone with me, but I didn't want to wake anyone up, and really, I wanted to be left alone for a while.

I pause at the top of the hill that looks down into the Fields. The poppies are gone, surely replaced with new seeds already, but I don't want to stare out at a blank field, so I veer from the path and continue on my walk, until I find another hillside, this one looking out into a meadow of wildflowers, a mature weeping willow tree providing shelter from the coming sun.

I sink down onto the ground and kick off my shoes, and my feet sink to the thick, dark green clover. I don't open the book I brought with me yet. Instead, my fingers idly trace the red marks on my wrists as I watch the breathtaking sunrise. The sky is streaked in pinks and purples, then eventually red.

As the run rises, I pick up the book I grabbed, and open it up, but I don't start reading it.

I let my eyes fall closed...

"Are you okay?"

His voice doesn't startle me. I've gotten used to not ever truly being alone since I got to Eden, and even more since I belong to the vessels now. I feel his presence sink down around me, and it is instinct now to lean against him.

"I'm fine," I say, and his arms are around me, his hands unblackened in the early morning. "How did you know I was here?"

"I was already awake when I saw you leave," Four says, tucking my head under his chin. His fingers twine together with mine, and I see his thumb brush along the red marks around my wrists. "Are you really okay?"

I don't know how to answer. I feel fine, healthy and well, but there is a sinking feeling inside me that I may not actually be okay, but I don't know how to tell him that, or what could possibly be wrong with me.

"I think so," I say quietly. I take a breath to say more, but I don't. He doesn't pressure me to say anything else though, nor does he ask about the marks on my wrists. Instead we watch the rest of the sunrise over the meadow, until the sun has risen past the trees.

"Will you tell me what happened that made you wake up screaming by the lake?"

I let my eyes close as embarrassment burns my cheeks. It was the one thing I didn't want him to ask me, but I can trust him... can't I?

I turn my body and face him, his lovely blue eyes meeting mine, his arms still wrapped around me.

"I had a dream," I start, my eyes dropping from his to fiddle with one of the pulls of his hood. "Sleep came to me and... and he... we made love, but it was a dream, but it felt so real. I felt him inside me. And then..."

I take a stuttering breath before I continue, Four still quiet for me to continue.

"And then it was like he showed me his true form, with a huge mouth full of sharp teeth that bit into me, and tentacles and a tongue that choked me," I finish in a whisper. I can see Four's eyebrows pop as I talk about what Sleep showed me. "And it scared me."

He lifts a hand from my waist, and brushes a thumb along my cheek. I lean into his hand, then turn to press my lips against his palm.

"I don't know anything about a true form," he eventually says, pulling my head to his chest, his arms settling around me. "But you have a connection with him that none of us share; you are his bride here in Eden, so he will show you things that even we don't know about. I can't help you with that, or give you guidance, but I will always be here for you, no matter what."

I wrap my arms around him, and breathe him in. He has always been there for me. Ever since I came to Eden, he has been there for me.

"Thank you," I whisper, and I feel his hands brush down my hair. Eventually, I turn from him and I pause.

I see him in the meadow below us. He's staring up at us.

I glance away from Sleep, but my eyes return back to him in the meadow. Apprehension ticks through me as I stare down at him, his eyes blinking slowly up at me. My heart starts to race in my chest as his eyes shift to look at Four behind me.

"Are you alright?" Four asks, his hand gentle on my back as he brushes it down my spine.

"You don't see him sitting in the meadow?" I whisper, as Sleep's face turns back to mine. Four's hand pauses on my back, and I know he is looking towards the flower patch. I watch as Sleep's head turns from one side to the other, as he shakes his head. I swallow back the fear, my heart now pounding in my chest.

"Let's get something to eat," Four says, standing up, angling himself between my line of vision and the meadow. I look up at him as he lowers his hands for mine, and I take them. He helps me stand, and then kneels back down to help me slip my shoes back on.

Sleep is gone.

I take a deep breath of relief, and when Four stands back up, abandoned book in hand, I slump against him. He immediately wraps an arm around me, and we start our walk back to Eden.

But I can't help but look over my shoulder, to the meadow, just to see if Sleep remains away.

He's gone.

For now.