LUCEM
Chapter LII

POV

______________MARIA____________________

Slowly my eyelids opened.

Silence exploded, lining my mouth. Hanging in the air, enveloping everything, for three seconds.

Then

Shouts, screams, a million voices. I tried to count everything and my head seemed to be spinning, swimming. My heart was pounding fast and fast in my chest. I looked around too quickly, too quickly, my head spinning forward and backward and everything was swinging around and there were so many faces, blurred and strange.

I felt that I was breathing too hard, the spots adorned my vision, my hands extended upwards, oh. no, my hands below held the cold floor and my feet hung in the air.

I'm what is this?

Who me?

Where'sme?

Everything went quiet again, I was breathing softly.

"Mars!" I cried to the young man who stood behind me. I'm sure it's him.

He turned around very slowly, waiting for his body to face perfectly towards me.

"Mars" call me again.

The young man just looked at me expressionlessly.

Behind him sprung Moonflower, James, Jiso and all the rat troop that just stared at me blankly. Like magic, silence befalls everyone, everything. I exhaled, panic flowed out of me.

A warm hand touched my shoulder, it felt so familiar, so warm. I found Mars by my side, smiling like a crescent moon.

I was silent, my mouth locked to death. My eyes closed. Something moved past me like fire, fire devouring the dust in my chest, my bones heating up like firewood. The touch of a hand on my shoulder became a blazing fire. I jerked, my hand felt the hard line of Mars' body through the soft cotton of his shirt. A face appeared, disappeared, behind my eyes.

"Mars" call me again.

There's something so safe here in her feelings, in her scent—something that's entirely hers. Being around him makes me want to do something, something I can't even explain, I can't control. I know I shouldn't, I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but drag my fingertips to the perfect line of her body.

I heard Mars' breath coming off.

The fire jumped me, jumped into my lungs and I took a breath, dragging oxygen into my body which only made me fan the fire further, more smoldering. One of Mars's hands clasped the back of my head, the other hand clasped my waist. A hot glint roared in my spine, reaching my skull. Her lips in my ears whispered, whispering.

"Wake, baby...

I'll be here when you wake up."

Eyes open. The heat is unforgiving. Confusing.

Mars hugged me. The scent of his body calmed me down, calming my raging heart. His hands moved along my body, a light touch along my arms, my side. My trembling hands traced the shape of her back, my cheeks still clinging to her familiar heartbeat. The scent of Mars, so familiar, so familiar, and then I looked up the Martian eye's fivebeads twitching in search of something from my eyes.

"Your eyes, something about your eyes and that boy...." Mars pointed at the wide courtyard.

The room became focused gradually, my head raised from his chest. My body dragged. Stopped in front of a boy, he was six years old, I guessed it in seconds. My eyes looked at those extremely desperate brown eyes that seemed to know too much, too well. His worried eyes were watching me, his hands raised into the air as if he was about to touch me.

He stared, unblinking, his chest up and down.

"Good morning," I assumed to guess the time. I'm not even sure of my voice, at this hour and today, the words that come out of my lips.

The boy's smile was painful. "Something's wrong" he whispered.

He touched my cheek. Gentle, very gentle, like she's not sure if I'm real, like she's afraid if she gets too close.

She kept looking at me, looking me in the eye for help, for guidance, for some sign of protest like she was so sure I would start screaming or crying or running away but I wouldn't. I don't think I can, even if I want to, because I don't want to. I want to stay here. Right here.

He moved closer, just an inch away. His free hand grabbed to cupper the other side of my face.

He hugged me like I was made of goose feathers. Too tight.

A gentle, trembling breath I could feel from his body.

"Something's not right" he said again, but from a distance, like he was talking to someone else. “Ennergetya different. Polluted.” he said again.

His voice was like wrapped around me. I was tired and weak from hunger, but I seemed to be fine. I lived. I breathe and blink.

I met his eyes. "You saved my life." Her speech. He tilted his head towards me. Slowly my eyes faded. The boy faded. All things fade.

Mars!!

He's not here anymore. I was alone, I was cold. Walked slowly to where I thought I was leaving her. Mars isn't there, he's not everywhere. Mars left me alone.

I was in a garden too big to be alone. For a while I tried to run and hope there was someone, and I just wish it was Mars. I want his touch. It keeps me alive, it makes me breathe.

I stopped at the largest tree in the corner of the park. The sky is gray and on the other side is blue with cloud lines that are as smooth as possible. The small black birds in groups flew past the big tree somewhere. They must want to go home, I guess. I also want to go home, I want to go back to the place where Mars is.

Moonflower. Did he take Mars away? He was there, with Mars.

I got up, I ran back, my legs were tired but I still wanted to run. Where did Moonflower take Mars? I stared in every direction, circling around, my head spinning too fast.

Moonflower.... Martian... Mars!

"Mary" is the voice of Mars.

I turned around immediately. But he wasn't there. There was only a man standing looking at me from a distance. He looked at me intensely. His sight bothers me a lot. I turned my face. And I saw a woman who walked gracefully towards that man. Her face was bright with red lipstick adorning her beautiful looking lips. The man looked annoying with his sharp eyes, but the woman looked like someone so gentle. Eh— the boy is standing in the back. Look at the woman who walks gracefully. I moved closer to him.

"Hi. It's me again" I said.

"Go right away, this is wrong" he whispered.

I stopped one step beside him.

"Where should I go?" many confused.

"That boy," he pointed at someone standing across the row of wavy cut grass.

"Mars," my hiss.