The Essence Of The Darkness
Episode 61: Defeat
"Good night,"
The greeting was immediately heard when Elana opened her eyes. His gaze was directly faced with Akram's chest which was attached close to his face. Elana tried to retreat, but her body was held back by a strong arm that hugged her tightly, preventing her from moving away.
Awkwardly, Elana looked up at the head, looking at Akram who was lying on her side hugging her and looking at her with an unreadable expression. Once again Elana tried to stay away because of the boredom with the closeness that was forced, but of course Akram was not that easy to release.The man's hands were strong but soft, sighing Elana's body to sink back in his embrace.
In contrast to his gaze earlier this morning when Akram greeted the newly awakened Elana with a wrathful expression and piercing glare. This time, although her expression was illegible, Akram's gaze aimed at Elana was very gentle. His attitude was also a little cautious as if afraid of scaring.
"It's half-twelve o'clock at night, you sleep a long time. It may also be the effect of serum and toxins on your body that make you sleepy all day." Akram moved his finger to stroke Elana's cheek.
When he felt Elana's body stiffened due to her touch, a flash appeared in Akram's eyes. But, the man did not bother about it and continued to gently stroke Elana's cheek.
"Are you not hungry? You haven't eaten all day. I wanted to wake you up for a meal, but you slept very well, so I decided to wait for you to wake up" Akram said calmly and looked softer than usual, leaving Elana frowning in confusion.
Could it be that this evil and arrogant Akram Night was feeling guilty towards him?
As if giving an answer to Elana's question using body cues, Akram who usually always forces it suddenly releases his grip from Elana's body and leaves the woman free from her touch.
Slowly the man stepped down from the bed and walked over to the phone table offering.
"What do you want to eat? I'll call the hotel for...."
"I don't want to eat any restaurant food" Elana said in a flat, cold tone of voice. "I want to eat instant noodles. And since that menu is definitely not going to be in any restaurant you're going to call, so. I'd like to go to the nearest minimarket myself and buy it!"
Akram's body was transfixed, filled with shock at not expecting that the food of the commoners who were on the number one list in the most unhealthy types of food was requested by Elana tonight.
Her own expression turned horrified, as if unable to imagine Elana stuffing the food into her stomach. Akram has never eaten instant noodles before. Apart from being an instant noodle including unhealthy foods that are forbidden to be consumed by him even since he was a child, Akram also found no benefit from consuming the instant noodles.
It was clearly junk food, which did not provide any nutrients to the body, only gave a feeling of fullness.
"Instant noodles?" repeat slowly, looking at Elana carefully. "You mustn't forget that you have gastritis, Elana! Why are you filling your stomach with instant noodles?" she was quick, trying to get Elana to change her mind.
"I don't care. Anyway I want instant noodles," Elana raised her head haughtily. Di did not care because what he wanted right now was to find a way to oppose Akram as much as he could.
Akram was stunned again, staring at the expression of Elana who looked like an eight-year-old child who was in phases of defiance and rebellion, satisfied when he had succeeded against what his parents said.
Akram knew that he shouldn't have faced Elana's attitude this time around with a hard attitude. While Elana was asleep, Akram sat pensively alone, spending a few hours just watching the sound Elana, promising in his heart that he would try to be lenient towards her. Even if Elana tries to stretch the limits of her patience to the most powerful point she can do, Akram has promised that the strings of her patience will not break as easily as before.
Elana herself was not wasting her time. As soon as he opened his eyes, in that second he immediately opposed Akram.
Their previous relationship had developed at a point where they had cherished and were happy with each other's presence. However, due to Akram's mistake, they are currently back again at a starting point filled with hostility.
His fault. It's all his fault. If only he hadn't gotten out of control with Elana....
Akram let out a long sigh, trying to throw away the pulse of regret that resonated in his soul. There is no point in regretting the past. Now, he must focus on repairing all the damage before they fall into a deep hatred for each other that can no longer be saved.
"All right, you want instant noodles? I'll call the hotel to provide for you, "Aram's trying to compromise, his hand moving back to grab the phone.
"No. I said I wanted to go to the supermarket by myself and buy myself the instant noodles I wanted, "Elana said quickly with a stubborn tone, making the hand of Akram who had grabbed the phone so frozen in the air.
Akram took a deep breath that I had no idea how many times, trying to control himself and cultivating a lot of patience in his soul.
"Then I'll ask the driver to pick me up in front of the special elevator...."
"I don't want to get in the car, I want to walk."
Acram eyes widen. "Elana, it's night. Although this area is located in an elite area that is quite crowded and awake, walking at night is still dangerous. Because walking is unprotected, it can be shot or attacked at close range...."
"That may be true for you who have many enemies, but if for me who is this commoner, walking alone is not a problem!" Elana still remained stubborn, clearly wanting to use all means to fight back. "I saw a twenty-four-hour minimarket not far from this place, too close to be reached by car. So, it would be more efficient to walk than to use a car,"
Once again Akram breathed. His molars begin to tighten as anger crawls his soul, but Akram manages to extinguish them in time.
"I've ordered new clothes for you, change clothes and I'll take you to buy whatever you want" he said, then in the softest voice he could give.
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Heavy rain immediately greeted them as the two of them stood at the hotel exit, on the part of his magnificent lobby.
Elana stared irritatedly at the rain which seemed to be conspiring with Akram to hold back his departure, while Akram was busy beside him, apparently trying to refuse an offer from the hotel manager who was struggling to come and offer them a car to drive them wherever they want to go.
Akram refused in a firm voice that finally made the hotel manager surrender and then stepped away according to orders, even from Elana's eyes, the expression of the hotel manager still shows confusion seeing the hotel owner who prefers to walk through the rain in the middle of this cold and wet night.
"Cold?" Akram asked attentively to Elana. Although lab results and Xavier himself have said that Elana's condition will be very stable after the serum was given and only began to worsen after the third day when his body billed the antidote serum again, still Akram can not forget that Elana just escaped from acute hypothermia that attacked him.
"It's not cold, I'm fine" Elana replied firmly, she didn't even want to look at Akram and chose to look at the heavy rain.
"Hows it? Want to continue?" Akram develops an umbrella in his hand, provoking Elana's doubts while hoping that she will undo his intentions.
Elana replied with a determined nod, making Akram put on a smile full of irony. Know that he has no other choice.
You stubborn woman.
Akram sighed in his heart, and his hand moved to embrace Elana so that she could draped into the shelter of the big umbrella with him, before then carrying the woman in her arms running through the rain.
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The twenty-four-hour minimarket is usually crowded, providing chairs and tables on the front for customers who want to just sit around drinking coffee, smoke or eat a snack he just bought from there. But, tonight, the atmosphere was quite quiet, in contrast to usual. Perhaps because heavy rain seems to have flushed this side of the city since this afternoon and held people who prefer to take shelter in the warmth of the roof of the house.
Gleefully, Elana steps through the minimarket alleys towards the instant noodle shelf, while Akram follows awkwardly in the back, filled with the discomfort of being in a place that feels unfamiliar to her. Of course this is the first time for Akram Night to enter the minimarket which turned out to be full of non-organic food and unhealthy snacks.
If it wasn't for Elana, it would have been impossible in his lifetime that Akram would have set foot in a place like this.
However, seeing Elana was so carefree when choosing from among the various variations of instant noodles that she wanted to choose, as if forgetting the shock and sadness that plagued her before, as if, Akram so did not regret his decision to agree to accompany Elana here.
Elana's eyes were still puffy, but the twinkle that appeared there coupled with her skin that began to fade no longer, really made relief flood Akram to put a thin smile on his lips.
"Acram?"
The sound of Elana whispering made Akram devoured from his own daydream. He put on his flatest expression before he turned his head towards Elana who was already in front of him and looked at him seriously.
"What's wrong?" sahut Akram was full of curiosity because Elana did not speak.
"Are you carrying cash? Since here did not facilitate payment by credit card," Elana turned to the cashier with an anxious expression, then looked back at Akram expectantly.
This time, Akram's lips couldn't help but break down the smile. As powerful as Akram prevents his hands that can not stand the move to wipe Elana's hair like rubbing the hair of a child, want to keep the nuances of Elana's heart that began to light is maintained.
"You can buy whatever you want, Elana. Of course I brought money," Akram replied withholding feelings.
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"You sure you're gonna eat it straight out of that styrofoam container?"
They were sitting in small chairs in the shade of the minimarket yard. Despite not wanting to eat a quality meal, Akram is forced to buy a slice of sandwich with a filling of salty cheese that is not tempting to himself because he knows that he has to fill his stomach. Meanwhile, Elana eats instant noodles in a glass-shaped styrofoam container that is cooked completely instantaneously, just by pouring hot water that has been provided by the minimarket.
"Why indeed?" Elana asked again as she devoured the noodles from the container in her hand without any guilt.
"Styrofoam contains carcinogens that will appear and migrate to your diet when the styrofoam material interacts with heat. Just like you do now. Carcinogens can trigger cancer and various other terrible diseases," Akram squinted as if deliberately making Elana unpleasant to eat. "Styrofoam is a plastic that is one of the components is benzene which is included in the list of 100 toxicology toxins in the world. It is also a type of plastic that is difficult to decompose even though a hundred years are buried in the ground, and also cannot be recycled like other plastics,"
Elana frowned at Akram's unnecessary explanation. He even deliberately spent his instant noodles voraciously, then drank the hot instant noodle soup until it made a loud assimilation sound that made Akram's face turn sour.
Elana's heart somehow felt happy when it managed to make Akram annoyed and disliked. Gleefully, he got up from his seat, then threw the instant noodle container into the trash, before then sitting back in front of Akram while looking at the man with an innocent face.
"I'm full, why don't you finish your sandwich?" elana asked deliberately, knowing that Akram was forced to buy food that would have been considered not up to that standard and wanted to spend it half-heartedly.
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"You're soaking wet,"
Akram stepped across the hotel room and picked up a thick, soft white towel that was available on a shelf near the bathroom door. Heavy rain was still fluttering on their way home earlier, even faster than when they left. The rain was accompanied by wind, thus making their bodies unprotected from the gushing water, even though they were using umbrellas.
Elana received the towel, then rubbed it into her wet hair. He shivered a little when his soaked body intersected with the air conditioner to set up the fur of his crutches.
It certainly did not escape from Akram's view so quickly, Akram's hand grabbed Elana's hand and gently greeted her into the bathroom.
"Come, we should take a warm bath if we don't want to get sick,"
Akram movement is very fast, so Elana did not have time to refuse. When he regained consciousness, he was already under a lighted shower, covered in warm water that washed him from head to toe.
Elana's eyes widened when she saw Akram who was casually taking off her clothes that were also soaked. The man was under the same shower as Elana, very close to her body.
"Wait moreover? Take off your wet clothes and take a shower" Akram said, raising his eyebrows, as if puzzled by Elana's frozen sternness.
Elana looked at Akram who had taken off her clothes, her cheeks were red and her eyes were unable to look straight, feeling embarrassed and awkward.
"You... You also take a shower?" finally Elana managed to issue that silly question with a stammering tone.
Akram snaps Elana against the wall, the man stands towering over her, while his hand without asking for permission moves to help Elana take off her clothes.
"Why indeed? You take a shower, I take a shower. I am also as cold as you are and need warm water to warm myself," Akram's gaze glowed meaningfully, slightly teasing this woman in front of him. "I won't bother you, Elana. Unless you ask," he said casually, making Elana turn her head and move back in a panic.
Akram chuckles with Elana's reaction. But, unlike Elana's previous guess that Akram would force her, the man instead stepped back after finishing cleaning himself with warm water.
"I'm done. Do not take too long to bathe, use warm water only to wash rain water from your body. I'll help you dry your hair in the room before we go back to sleep. Tomorrow I'll get rid of all my work and take you where you want to go the most." Akram's voice stopped a little hesitating. "To make amends to you" she continued in a soft voice full of apologies, then stepped up and left Elana alone under the shower to continue her bath alone.
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