POV
Soren:
I felt something shuffling against me. I opened my eyes and peered our of my white eyelashes. I saw a black duffel bag beside me wit a dragon embossed into it. I looked around the room to find Nym pulling a maroon shirt with black lettering over her back.
She was facing the pale walls, her long hair was put into a ponytail. The rest of her unbridled auburn hair cascades down past her shoulders. I saw the numerous scars covering her pale body. There was several large marks running along and across her spine. The scars were almost silvery and they shined in the light. It scared me. Why would someone as angelic as her have them? How did she get them? I wondered to myself. She turned around and looked at me. I quickly closed my eyes while pretending that I was asleep.
She walked over to me and gently tapped my hand.
"You saw didn't you?" She asked calmly. I nodded my head not wanting to meet her eyes.
"They are old scars, so don't worry. I feel no pain from them. At least not anymore." She smiled at me tenderly.
I reached my hand out to her to touch her back. I wanted to see if she was lying or not. She understood and turned around slightly lifting her shirt so that I could touch them. I dragged my index finger along on one of the larger scars running across her spine, and into the small of her back. It felt very smooth yet ruff when compared to the rest of her fair skin.
I dropped my hand back to my side. She pulled her shirt back down. I grabbed her hand and paused to look at it. There were scars on her hands too. Was her whole body covered in these permanent marks? Where did she get them?
"Today is the day that we can finally go home." Nym said to me.
I looked at her ; I was slightly afraid. I didn't know what to expect. She slowly reached out her hand. I cautiously grasped her ruff yet gentle fingertips. She grasped my hand and made our fingers intertwine.
Unknowing, the corners of my lips raised; I smiled at her. Her eyes lit up in surprise at my sudden facial change. Her gaze softened when she looked back at me.
"Is there anything that you need to get before we leave?" Nym asked.
I shook my head to tell her that I no longer had anything to retrieve.
"Okay, well we will be leaving here in a little while."
*2 hours later*
POV
Nym:
Soren and I were in the car.
I was driving through an old backroad that was in a forested area. We had to go this way because there is a hidden helicopter pad. Gary was waiting for us there as well. I continued to drive through the woods. I looked in the rear view mirror.
Soren was in awe. He had never seen leaves in hues of golds, reds, oranges, and yellows. His face was pressed against the glass , leaving greasy prints on the window tint. I chuckled then sighed. I reminded myself that this was probably the first time that he had seen the outside world in a long time. My knuckles became white from the grip I had on the steering wheel.
I took a long shaky breath, I filled my lungs to the brim. Pain flooded quickly in my chest from inhaling too much air. I held my breath for a little while longer, savouring that feeling. I breathed out with an audible sigh. He looked up at me briefly. I smiled weakly at him. He turned back to look at the outside world once more. I drove down the dirt road all the way into the ring of trees.
The MH-6 Little Bird was already on the pad waiting. Gary waved at us from the helicopter. I parked the car and removed the keys from the ignition. I grabbed my duffel bag and undid Soren's seatbelt. The click caught his attention as he looked down to see what I was doing. His eyes sparked with excitement. It was just like when a toddler found something new.
"It's time to go now." I said to him. He nodded in agreement. I carefully helped him out of the car and grasped his hand to make sure he wouldn't fall. I held his hand gently because I thought he would wither like a snowdrop ( a delicate white flower) if I grasped him too firmly.
We got to the door of the helicopter and Gary opened the door, so we could get in. I slung the duffel bag into one of the seats before lifting Soren up into the craft. He eyed Gary warily. Apprehension was in his unwavering purple eyes. Gary looked at me with confusion in his eyes. I took Soren to a seat and buckled him in.
*In Dutch*
"This is Soren and I have adopted him." I stated.
"If that is your wish then I have no qualms Nym, but know that raising
a child is difficult." Gary said seriously while slightly raising his voice.
"Grrrrrrghrr" Soren growled at him. I looked back at him fondly. His displeasure was evident from his body language.
"Va bene, Soren" I said calmly. He quieted back down and brought his legs up to his chest. He continued to watch us warily.
We started our conversation once more.
"I know, but this was the only other option he had. He isn't registered in any system, so he doesn't technically exist." I continued.
"You know how it is in this line of business." I said in a sad and grievous voice.
"Fine. If you need help just call me okay?" Gary said, tired of the conversation.
I went and sat beside Soren.
*In Italian*
"I promise that he will not hurt you. He is a friend of mine." He nodded and reached for my hand. The door shut and the helicopter started back up. The blades pierced through the sky.
Soren brought his hands up to his ears trying to block out the sound. I reached into the duffel bag and pulled out my phone and a set of head phones.
I plugged the headphones into my phone and began to play some soft music. I gently took his hands off of his ears and put in the headphones. He looked at me with fear in his eyes. I felt my heart ache for him. Debussy Rêverie, L. 68 began to fill in the headphones. I reached
out and began to softly pet his long silvery-white hair. I pulled him close to my chest. I felt his body starting to relax. After ten minutes or so he fell asleep in my embrace. The lull of the helicopter made me drowsy. I felt my eyelids flutter down and sleep overtook me.
POV
Gary:
I looked back to see the kid asleep in Miss Nym's loving embrace. Her head fell forward as she finally fell asleep. I hope that he can put the happiness and life back into her eyes. I never want to see her as broken as she was back then. I grimaced while remembering the first time I met her. She was thirteen and all of the life was gone from her eyes. Instead of the normal sparkle of mischief and happiness in the eyes of children she only had immense sadness in hers.
A storm was in her grey eyes, one that I was unsure if she would ever survive. I thought that she would succumb to the darkness and continue to let it tear at her flesh. It looked as if she was in a constant battle with herself and her memories. I remember when she lost Scarlet. She was so broken after that. I was not sure that she wouldn't follow her to the realm of the dead.
A small tear fell from my face and onto my pant leg. I hope that you can finally be happy Nym. I hope you find someone that will love you for you once again. You have suffered so much. You deserve to be happy, no matter what you believe. Maybe Soren will... make her smile like that again.