Eating food with this cute girl I thought of what I could say, but the only thing I could think of was what her name was... I didn't know...
"Ugghh... I guess I never got your name..."
"Huh? Oh, yeah... I guess we got sidetracked... Well, I am Zara."
"Nice to officially meet you," I put out my hand in a handshake gesture which she took, "I am Ivan."
After that, we sat in silence for a while as we ate the food I had quickly prepared, yet... I felt comfortable just sitting with her. Just being in her presence felt nice.
The silence was broken when she spoke, "So, how long have you been here?"
"Almost a month now. I moved here originally intending to attend college, but I couldn't find a job, so I decided to get all of that figured out before officially going to college. Got the place from a nice old lady named Mary." I smiled thinking of the lady who helped me move out.
"Do you own it?" Zara looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"No, but it doesn't look like I am going to be kicked out no matter what I do and I don't have to pay rent. Only utilities."
She blurted loudly, "Can I live with you?" interrupting my thoughts about how much I liked my current life I suddenly imagined the life I would be living with a cute girl by my side in the middle of the woods...
Swallowing my saliva I couldn't help but wonder, 'Isn't that the perfect cottage core life?'
"Um, yeah I don't mind, but I don't know your situation. Are you going to have any problems? Like with family or... some special situation?"
"NO!" She yelled as she stood up and spoke with stars in her eyes, "Please let me live here! You don't have to worry about anything! I already ran away from my horrible parents! It has been two days now and I haven't heard anything! They should have already abandoned any thoughts of looking for me!"
I hadn't expected such a reaction, so I sat there stunned. After all, it was a cute girl who just asked to live with me. "Just know it gets cold out here, and, and I don't have enough blankets."
"Don't worry about it! I already stayed out in the cold last night. I just need to find my bag which has everything I thought I would need."
I wanted her to stay with me. I so badly wanted to just yell, 'Please! Stay with me!' but I felt worried... I had just gotten used to living alone. Am I weird? Will she run away after a few days? What if I do stupid things? Will she hate me?
The more I thought of it, the more worried I became... Only at this moment, I felt a cooling sensation pass my mind... I suddenly knew it was pointless to worry. I came to the conclusion that I would have, even if the cooling sensation hadn't happened, just much faster.
Suddenly Zara shouted, "Your wings just glowed! It was just for a moment, but they glowed!"
Surprised I thought back to that cooling sensation... Is that what caused it?
I knew I couldn't be sure, so I ignored it and instead focused on what I did know, "I think that glow calmed my mind, but I don't know for sure. For now, I have to talk about our arrangement. You can move in with me anytime, but I don't know how much privacy you can get. After all, I only have four walls with wood on them, and those are the ones on the outside.
If you are still okay with this arrangement I would be happy for you to move in. I will just need to tell the landlady when I get the chance. Also, I haven't lived with anyone other than my family, so just tell me if you need anything, and when I say, anything, I mean it. It can seem stupid, but just know, I am here for you."
As I looked at her with anticipation I could see the surprise on her face, but I just waited for her answer... "YES! YES! You don't have to do anything for me, just let me have a roof over my head and that will be more than enough."
Hearing her agreement, I smiled I looked up at the sky... "The stars sure are beautiful..."
"Yeah... Hey are you tired at all?"
"Huh?" Hearing her question I looked at my hands, then at her... Touching my head I realized it. "I don't..."
She suddenly sighed in relief, "Good thing. I thought I might be the only one. If even the angel doesn't need sleep then I probably have not become a total demon..."
Hearing her degrading words I frowned and asked, "You have called yourself a demon now and a monster before. Why are you calling yourself that?"
"???" Seeing her confusion I didn't know what to say, "I have huge black wings that suddenly grew on my back. If that isn't a clear sign that I have an evil soul I don't know what is."
She spoke with the most deadpan face as if what she said was just a true fact and nothing more.
Unable to think of what to say I just said what came to mind first, "Am I a demon now?"
"NO! You have beautiful silvery wings that show your holiness!" She screamed with horror in her eyes as if the very thought of me being evil was heresy.
"I am no more an angel than you are. You are no more a demon than I am." She stared at me as if not being able to believe what she had heard.
Not knowing what I should do I simply started talking about what we should do today and tomorrow. Neither of us was tired. Yet we originally planned to go to a town to ask around and find out what was happening. To see if we are alone in this world or if there is something strange happening worldwide.