Ethereal

Chapter 6

Seeing the keys in Noah's hands (slightly rusted, but nothing a quick-clean up couldn't help) had sent a torrent of emotions running through me.

It was utterly impossible, the kind of thing that should raise questions with unexplainable answers yet I couldn't bring myself to ask any of them.

Instead I found myself reaching my arms out, and clasping them tightly around Noah's waist as I hugged him. It was a warm kind of hug, where you felt safe and at home, the kind that sent butterflies fluttering up through your stomach.

He was hugging me back, I could feel his arms around me. I rested my head against his chest for a moment, silently stunned by the scent that came off of him, intoxicating and inviting.

I let go what felt like too soon, and took the keys from his hand.

It didn't feel real. Yet I could feel the cold metal against my skin, see the small drops of water on it that proved they had been submerged in the lake.

"Noah..." I shook my head in gratitude. "I don't know what to say... thank you."

He smiled down at me, slightly lopsided. I noticed that he had a small dimple on his left cheek, only noticeable at this short distance.

"It's not a problem." He said, looking undeniably pleased with himself. There was a brief moment that all four of us stood in silence, a kind of hazy in between, before I remembered that he was soaking wet.

"Oh, um." I mumbled, turning around for the first time since Noah had returned. Jasmine and Travis were both staring at Noah with varying degrees of surprise. Travis had an eyebrow slightly raised, not in a 'how did you do that' kind of way, but it was more like he didn't understand why he had gone to the trouble.

Jasmine looked mildly irritated, her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched at their sides. The both of them relaxed their expressions when they noticed I was looking.

"Hang on." I said to Noah, "I'll go get you a towel."

I rushed out of the room. There was a slight tension in the air between Jasmine and Noah. Though I couldn't quite figure out why.

With the keys still clutched in my hand, I lowered the lid of the toilet seat and sat down, still in shock. It only hit me then, that he was the first person I had hugged aside from family-members.

The burning questions were only now coming to mind. How did he do it? Why did he do it? The answers were seemingly beyond me, and I couldn't at all figure it out.

I knew that they were from some place else. I couldn't tell you where, but they were. The way they acted in this world... like strangers. But until now, I had never seen them do anything extraordinary.

Yes they were excellent at sports and they were extremely fast learners but... there were people... rare people, that had those talents. It wasn't completely unusual.

I thought back to when I first saw them, emerging out of Entilin lake. I couldn't understand how they had gotten there, how they were moving so swiftly through the water...

I just thought I'd missed something. That I hadn't seen the key to everything making sense. But none of it did, really.

So what were they? Mermaids? It seemed like an obvious answer, but it also seemed incredibly stupid.

Noah was covered in water right now and he quite clearly did not have a tail or any gills.

Speaking of which, I quickly grabbed one of my towels and put the keys into my back pocket to keep them safe.