AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sorry? Why would she be sorry? It’s not like she was the one to suck all the blood from Aiken’s body,Irving considered. He’d often heard humans expressing their sympathy by apologizing. It was a formality done during funerals and visitations, and Irving had never understood it until hearing it said to him. Oddly enough, her apology had provided him with a sense of comfort.
“Erm, well, yes it was quite a troubling event,” he continued, trying to get his thoughts in order. “He was devoured by creatures… creatures like us, sadly. My other brothers and I survived, but at a price. I often wish I’d been the one to die that night.” Sage pressed herself closer to him, humming with sympathy. Her scent was intoxicating. Everything about her filled Irving with desire. He swallowed, reeling back his urge to rip off her clothing and enter her exquisitely warm body.
Clearing his throat, he continued the story. “That night, I failed to protect Aiken. There were eight knocks on the door. The sound haunts me to this day. I left the door open and the monsters marched in. We tried to fight them off with the lights, but they were extinguished. It was my foolishness that got him killed. That’s why…”
“You’re fixated on doors, lights, and the number eight,” Sage finished.
“Yes,” Irving uttered. He was astounded by the warmth and care that exuded from Sage. No one had ever shown him such compassion and understanding. Moved by her demonstration of love, Irving kissed her.
“You have a lot of guilt surrounding your brother’s death,” Sage remarked when they at last pulled away. “It wasn’t your fault, you know.” She looked up at him with a smile, pushing a strand of hair away from his brow. “Five years ago, there was a tree in a nearby park that was partially uprooted from a storm. A lot of other trees in this area were affected as well. I, along with a team of other horticulturists were called to tend to the injured trees. That tree was in a particularly dire state, but my team and I managed to get it upright. After a couple of years of growth, straightened thanks to the use of stakes, this tree is now stronger than ever.”
Irving stared at Sage as she spoke.. He could feel his eyes glass over as a question of concern developed in his mind. “These, erm, stakes you mentioned… they didn’t happen to be made of wood, did they?”
“Uh, no…” Sage answered. “My point is, maybe you need to stop bottling up all these negative emotions. It’s okay to be vulnerable. Everyone needs to rely on others for support once in a while. That’s what makes us human.”
“Human,” Irving repeated the word quietly to himself. In that moment, accompanied by a beautiful mortal woman surrounded by others of her kind, Irving realized he’d never felt so human in his life.
