Thankfully, the restriction of light became natural and effortless after a month of dating. Although that was a good thing, there were plenty of bad ones to think about. For example, he would have to tell her what he is if he planned to keep this relationship going, but again, why would he? For the first time ever, something was going the way he wanted. He finally had something certain going on, something that wasn't temporary. Every day seemed the same, but since he met Zaylie, days became distinguishable again. He knew where they'd been on which day and what time, how long they were together, and when was the next time he'd see her.
Every moment seemed to be imprinted into his head and his memories. The first date at the restaurant, every coffee they had, every meal they ate, the park walks, the movies they watched, the arcade, shopping in a mall, the picnic on the warm grass next to the city fountain, staring into the stars... every moment. He even met two of her friends
The time to tell her the truth was coming but Adriel wasn't aware of how fast it was really coming.
It was Friday afternoon and he was waiting for her in front of the college wondering about what they'll do next. It didn't really matter as long as he was with her, but still - it seemed like they did everything there was. His thinking was interrupted when he heard a familiar voice coming from across the street. It was Zaylie, running out of the yard and across the street, yelling something along the lines, "Adriel! Guess what..." but before she could even finish the sentence, everything went silent. It was like a slow-motion of the event and he didn't even realize he was now running standing up.
She was on the ground, her head slammed into the ground with a pool of blood surrounding her silvery hair. The red car standing almost over her backed off before he could get to her. In that split second he saw her on the ground he realized the time had really stopped. Somehow, in the back of his head, he stopped the time. Everything around him was frozen - the car, the driver coming out, other students running to the road... He found himself staring at Zaylie. She looked as dead as she could with no light around her, her body motionless just like her face. How much time had passed, he didn't know, but he had to act fast. His mind was racing. Time doesn't affect souls. I have minutes if not less to return it. Pressing down the consequences of his actions, he kneeled next to her. Adriel mumbled something in a low voice and was now standing in the whiteness.
Her soul. Empty space was all around him. Everything was white. It felt as if he was walking on soft clouds. Suddenly, Zaylie's pictures started showing up in front of him, but he knew he couldn't watch. There was no time to watch any of that. The pictures were familiar - her family, friends, college professors, him. But he was running as fast as he could concentrating to run forward. To the core of her soul. And there it was. After pictures of her deepest memories, her subconscious mind... he saw it. A crystal orb that seemed to move away from him. It slowly hovered above the black void in front of his feet. Without thinking, he jumped and caught the ball with his hand.
He said the words in a low voice and the next thing he knew, he was standing next to Zaylie who was slowly opening her eyes. Everything was still frozen around them as Zaylie lifted herself slowly. He put his hand on her back helping her stand up. The blood was gone and she looked as if nothing had happened.
Zaylie: Wh-what happened?
Adriel: I have no time to explain now. You have to go.
Zaylie: What? Where? I saw some... white light... and then you and me and...
Adriel: I know, I know. Come with me, I'll explain everything to you.
He caught her hand in a hurry, knowing that the longer the time was stopped, the bigger the consequences would be. She pulled her hand from his quickly, "No. I- I... I wanna go home."
The fright and shock were visible on his face, "Okay. But promise me you won't tell anyone what happened..."
Suddenly, she cried out, "I don't know what happened!"
With those words, she started running to her house. Adriel quickly put an invisibility spell on himself and snapped his fingers. The students seemed to run towards no one, just like the driver who quickly got out of the car but seemed to forget why. Adriel kept walking as if nothing had happened, trying to clear his head. When he got to his apartment, he sent her a message to meet with him so that he could explain everything, but there was no reply. That day was the longest one he ever experienced. He wanted to make himself invisible and go to her house - to see if she was okay. Unfortunately, he knew that was wrong so he kept waiting for her message. Checking his phone every few seconds was exhausting and he felt like he could faint every moment.
The day after that, he finally got a message that simply said
*Meet me tomorrow on that bench in the park*
He knew exactly where that was and he didn't know why he wanted her to reply... because the fear he felt at that moment was the most terrifying feeling he ever felt.
As he was walking to the bench, his stomach tightened and although he was relieved to see she was okay, he felt awful.
