Sweet Burden (40 page)

“It sounds amazing.”

“It was. Isbian was a great leader.”

“You seem like you miss it.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Guri replied finally glancing up at her. “It was your very own paradise. But that’s sealed away now and I moved into the incredibly depressing Afterworld.”

If the Heavens were paradise, Hitomi cringed at the thought of the Afterworld. She wasn’t sure what to say, but thinking about the Afterworld made her extremely sad. They walked for a few more moments until Guri stopped and turned around.

“I mean, not that the Afterworld was all bad. It was just different,” he blurted out. “I did get to become friends with Obi, Rediisu and Liam. And you, of course.”

Hitomi let out a little giggle. She found it endearing that Guri could take a terrible situation and come up with something good out of it. “You truly are an optimist.”

“I try,” he shrugged with a grin. “Shall we continue?” He offered his arm to her.

“Absolutely.” She hooked her arm through his and they continued their hike. They walked and talked for hours circling through the woods. A few times they would stop while Guri would tell her some outlandish story of things he did while in the Heavens. He would detail the places he would imagine to live in for short periods of time. But he liked to talk about the people he met the most. He would map out every feature of the most interesting people he met over the times.

She intently listened to him describing important people like kings and queens, presidents, prime ministers, and tribal chiefs. But he would describe bartenders, shop owners, and maids with the same vigor. Listening to him extremely calmed her, when she realized he must have sensed her uneasiness. Yes, he could enter another’s mind and overpower their senses, but his words had the same effect.

Hours had passed and Hitomi’s stomach groaned for something to eat. Guri stopped in the middle of his sentence as he was talking about some bar maiden in centuries-long ago Scotland. He looked up at the sky as there was a low rumble.

“That was not my stomach that time,” Hitomi joked.

“I didn’t realize how late it was getting. Sounds like a storm is rolling in. We better get back to the cabin. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept you out here this long.”

“It’s fine. I’ve loved listening to your stories.”

“Well, let’s get going. I just hope Obi isn’t back yet.” He grabbed her hand and started hurrying through the dense forest.

“Guri, slow down. I can’t go that fast.” As the last word was fumbling between her lips, her foot caught on something on the wooded floor. Her hand slipped from Guri’s grip and she crashed down to the dirt. She could immediately feel the skin open back up on her knee and a new gash tore up her shin. Hitomi let out a shriek as her hands were scraped across the ground trying to protect herself, but somehow her forehead seemed to be able to find the one rock on the ground. “Son of a…ouch.”

“Hitomi?” Guri was quickly beside her. He put his hands on her shoulders and rolled her over. “I am so sorry. Are you alright?”

“Yah. I think so.” She pressed her fingers to her hair line on her forehead and winced. “I fell pretty good this time.”

“Oh damn. You’re a mess. Obsidian is going to kill me.”

She pulled back her fingers inspecting the red tips. “He’s not going to kill you. Just help me up so we can get back.” He pulled her up from the ground and she got a look at her legs. The left leg seemed unscathed. Her right leg however was not so lucky. Guri supported her body weight as she let out a huff surveying the damage. She glanced up at him. “If you are an angel, can’t you heal me?”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. “My powers were bound to conceal my identity. I still have them, but I can’t use them. You could heal yourself if you want to try.”

“I’m not sure we have that kind of time,” she replied brushing off some dirt.

“Alright, well, let’s go.” Within the amount of a blink, Guri had pulled her onto his back and started hurrying to the cabin. She secured her arms around his neck and tried not to think about the pain running up her leg and the severe headache that was beginning. It had only been a few minutes when the cabin came into view. He ran up the steps and let her down on the porch. Guri glanced around the outside curiously. “I don’t think he’s back yet. C’mon.” He helped her inside and set her down on the couch before rushing to the kitchen.

Hitomi propped her leg up on the coffee table and groaned at the gash running up her shin. It had already stopped bleeding but she knew it would still be there for the next few hours. Guri came back over to her and sat down in front of her. He pulled her leg onto his lap and pressed a wet towel onto the gash.

“Ouch Guri. Not so rough.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled as there was another rumble of thunder. The storm was getting closer. “I’m out of practice with this stuff.”

“Just a little bit of pressure is fine.”

The screen door slammed and they both froze.

“What’s going on?” Obi said with a hint of anger.

Hitomi and Guri glanced at each other and then Hitomi lit up with a big smile. “You’re back.”

“What are you two doing?” he asked this time with more annoyance as he took a step closer and dropped his bag on the ground. He eyed the two of them and then his gaze settled on Hitomi’s wounds. “Hitomi, what happened?” His demeanor changed to concern as he moved over to her. He sat next to her and inspected the cut on her forehead.

“I tripped and fell. It’s no big deal.”

“Your leg…your head. Are you alright?” Obi put his hands on her face and made her look at him.

“Of course. It’ll all be healed by morning. I promise.” Obi shot Guri a glare and got up. Hitomi and Guri exchanged a look. “Don’t say anything,” she mouthed to Guri. Within a few seconds Obi was back and dabbing a cloth against her forehead.

“Guri, I’ll take care of this. Go get some firewood,” Obi instructed. He gave a huff as he got up, but headed out to the porch. Obi was quiet as he continued to get the scrapes and cuts cleaned up. He dropped the cloths onto the table and stared at her. “What happened Hitomi?”

“Nothing. I just tripped and fell.” An uneasy grin crept across her face. “I missed you.”

He let out a sigh and reached over placing one of his hands on her cheek. “Me too.” Obi leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right back.” He got up and headed for the door.

“But you just got back.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes.” He went out the front entrance pulling the door shut behind him. It was only seconds and then she heard Obi yelling at Guri. He was so loud that she could hear every single word. She didn’t hear anything from Guri. Obi basically just screamed over and over that Guri shouldn’t have let her get hurt. She didn’t know what Guri was saying to defend him, but she couldn’t let him continue to get bombarded with Obi’s rage. She got up and limped over to the door yanking it open.

“Obi! That’s enough.” She stepped out onto the porch. “It’s not Guri’s fault so stop screaming at him. I’m the one who is the klutz.”

“No, Obi’s right. Its fine,” Guri said quietly. “I’m sorry.” He clutched at the pile of wood in his arms and went inside.

Obi stood there with his back to her as she walked up to him. “Hey. I am going to be okay. You didn’t need to give Guri such a hard time. He already feels bad enough.” She put her hand on his shoulder. Quickly he turned around and pulled her into a hug.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” His words trembled slightly.

“I know.” She wrapped her arms around him. “But you have to get used to the fact I have accidents…a lot.”

He let out a sigh and pulled away from her resting his forehead against hers. “I didn’t like being away today.”

“I didn’t like you being away. So, we’re even,” she smirked and leaned up kissing him.

The night was too quiet for Obi’s liking. He found it difficult to settle his nerves without any other sound to distract him. He was constantly alone with his thoughts in the silence and his thoughts weren’t things that he was comfortable with yet. Obi let out a sigh and rolled over onto his side. Hitomi lay next to him curled in the covers. She was the only thing that seemed to bring him any sort of peace to his mind. She let out a groan and flopped over onto her back but then quickly moved back onto her side. He watched her as she continued to toss and turn. Her face contorted into worry and pain. Obi couldn’t help but reach over and lay his hand on her cheek.

“Shhh,” he sounded through his teeth.

Hitomi stopped moving and the lines on her face smoothed out. Letting out a small sigh, she fell back into a restful sleep curled up on her side. Obi got out of bed and pulled his jeans on. He walked around the bed and leaned down planting a kiss on her forehead before he left the room. The storm had passed leaving the night still. Quietly he walked out onto the porch. He looked up into the clear sky at the stars glowing brightly.

Obi was scared and he had a hard time fully grasping the concept. He never had reason to be frightened before. People were usually terrified of him. But now he was overwhelmed with fear. Not for himself, but for the girl who had become more important to him than his own life. She was more important than anyone’s life in his opinion. He knew he would kill for her. He also knew he would die for her.

The only thing that feared him concerning himself was that he wouldn’t get to spend eternity with her. His chest clenched at the notion and he grabbed onto the porch railing. He felt his body tremble trying to shake the thought.

“Obi?” her voice whispered.

He spun around surprised to find her standing in the doorway. “Hitomi, what are you doing up?” She gave him a silent shrug. “Are you alright?”

Hitomi nodded her head with an odd expression on her face as she walked over to him. She was abnormally silent and she quickly wrapped her arms around him. The warmth flowed through him from her embrace as she squeezed him tightly and buried her face in his chest.

“What happened?” he questioned with a new sense of worry. She shook her head as he brought his hand up and stroked her hair. “Did you have another bad dream?”

“Um hm,” she mumbled.

“What was this one about?” Hitomi shook her head again as he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Hitomi, they’re just dreams.”

“What if they’re not?” she lifted her head. “They’re so real, like I’m being told the future, or the present.”

He ran his hand down the side of her head and brought it around to her face cradling her cheek. “Nothing is…”