But it never came; instead, a set of arms was wrapped around her. Bewildered and shocked by what had happened, her eyes frantically moved around until she finally stopped on the chest she was crushed against and looked up to meet the man’s gaze. Natasha’s reaction mirrored his.
“Why I can’t do this?” He murmured it under his breath, but Natasha overheard.
Something tells her that whatever happened was because of him. Inside of her, wrath bubbled, and she clenched her jaw. She shoved him away with all the power she could muster, her hands flat on his chest. He lets her go. She became more irritated because she didn’t understand the emptiness she felt when he stepped back from him.
He turns around, but she grabs his elbow. His arms were covered, but it didn’t stop the sparks from shooting through her arms. He returns her gaze.
“Who are you?”
He didn’t say anything, just stared at her.
“Who are you, and what did you do?” Natasha repeated. He remained mute.
“Answer me!”
He appeared threatening for the first time. The red in his eyes spread over the blue, and his jaw tightens.
“Every day, love, you are lying in the arms of death.” He murmured in a deep and menacing voice, staring her in the eyes. “Stop messing with it.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, an uneasy feeling growing in her chest, “who are you?!?” She asked, her voice becoming increasingly tense.
“You want to know who I am.” He speaks with arrogance, as if he understands all the world’s secrets.
“Yes,”
“Death,” And he vanished into black smoke with her hand in the air. A tap on her shoulder startled her.
Natasha’s heart was racing. She spun around, shocked, to see Jody. She exhales a sigh of relief.
“What?” Jody asked, perplexed.
Natasha shook her head, feeling her mouth dry.
“You are pale; are you okay?” Jody’s voice was concerned.
“Yes, yes,” Natasha reassures her.
“Oh, okay,” she said, plainly confused, but she didn’t push it, which Natasha appreciated. Jody changed the subject, began walking, and told her about the shoes she had purchased and how much fun it would be when they got to wear them. Natasha couldn’t keep up, and her mind wandered again. What is his name? What vanished into nothingness like this?
“Every day, love, you are lying in the arms of death.”
She swallows, recalling his words. What does it imply? Is he real? Or is it a figment of her imagination? What exactly did he mean by death? How could he be…she shuddered.
As the days pass, she wakes up, gets ready, goes to work, and returns, but sleep has abandoned her. The dark circles under her eyes speak of her restless nights, and her eyes won’t stop wandering to nights out the window of the car or the bus, around the corner of the street, and even in the middle of the night in the dark corner of her room. She wasn’t dreaming about him anymore, creating a void that threatened to devour her whole in the middle of the night.
Natasha left work late that night. Jody hardly ever rests. She reasoned that it was good that Jody could go early today and opted to take the bus.
There was no one on the bus. Natasha sat in one of the empty seats, peering out the window at the unusually quiet roads.
Is it this late at night? She swallowed as a cold ran down her spine. Her heart hammered in her ears as the hair on her neck raised. The bus comes to a halt as the wind becomes too loud. The lights began to flicker. As a reaction, she rose and looked about; no one was in sight. The bus’s light burst, and sparks flew everywhere.
She let out a loud gasp as he emerged from the shadows. In her dream, she can only see his eyes, those unusual eyes. Natasha’s heart pounded in her chest, and her fists tightened inside, half in alertness and half in anticipation. She tries to stumble back, but he takes her arm and pulls her back, sparing her from falling.
She struggled to swallow, but something exhilarating about him being right in front of her. The longing of the past few weeks had overtaken her senses.
She had no idea she was moving closer rather than away from him. All her fear had vanished, replaced with the same peculiar warm buzzing sensation she had in her dreams.
She felt caught in his eyes, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be. She exhaled and raised a hand to remove the mask. He holds her wrist, causing her to shiver and heat to flow from her neck to her cheeks. It was the polar opposite reaction to the fear she had just felt.
“Please,” Natasha said, astonished by her need to see his face. Hearing her frantic appeal, he slowly releases her wrist, and she gently peels off the mask. Her heart jumped as if someone had buried a needle inside her heart, an actual ache that hurt but was sweet.
She could now appreciate his looks up close and personal. He was perfect; no human being can be. She stood there, breathless, staring at him. She pressed her palm on his cheek. His skin was cold and smooth, and his eyes were still as captivating as before, with a perfect angular nose, jawline, high cheekbone structure, and thin frame structure. His liquid blue eyes dissolved into the red as he looked at her. A similar sense of yearning hit her. She has no idea how? But she knew He wished to see her just as much. She was entranced, transfixed, unable to perceive any rationale or logic in what was occurring to her.
“Who or what are you?”
She hushes.
She was standing so close to him. His and her lips were inches apart.
“A nightmare,” he said as his lip touched hers. His lips were icy to the touch, yet the heat they radiated was hot enough to consume her. Natasha’s mind goes numb, and her body begins to think for itself. She can’t stop herself from melting in his arms, forgetting everything, including her name. In her veins, his touch played a familiar tune. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt a pulling in her chest as he drew them away.
They had returned to the meadow.
Natasha’s heartbeat echoed like a thunderbolt, feeling the memories of her time with him strike her all at once.
The incident appears to be different from this side
He stepped back, and quiet fell between them. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“You’re attempting to take me,” she said. Azrael looked her in the eyes with stern determination.
“I’m going to die,” she says.
“It’s long overdue,” he replied flatly. Natasha nodded, her heart sinking as she realized the life she had constructed was over. There were other emotions mixed in. She had no idea what to call them. The wind is blowing her hair, and She gazes at the wildflowers.
I’d be here, wouldn’t I, in this serene beauty? Together with Azrael. She remembered his lips, the way they touched her. It was scarcely a kiss, she thought.
It wasn’t the first or second time she’d been kissed, but with him, her cheeks flushed. She had no idea he could feel this way. There is nothing to be scared of because he would be present. She reasoned that she would not be alone or suffering.
“Are you not going to protest?” He asked. She takes a look at him. It is impossible to outrun him, and she has no desire to do so.
“I’m not twelve anymore, so…” She looked him in the eyes and approached him.
“You’d be here; I’m not scared,” Natasha said. Azrael’s teeth clenched.
“I won’t stay here forever,” he says.
“What do you mean?” a chilly knot in her stomach formed.
Azrael’s eyes were a pool of mysteries.
Natasha’s gaze broke the contact, and she looked over his shoulder. The meadow began to shift as the darkness fell over them once more.
“No,” Natasha said quietly. Azrael encircled her with his arms.
“Look at me,” he commanded. Natasha can’t take her gaze away from him, her body at his mercy and her soul at his command.
“Stay with me,” he murmured again, his voice quiet, and tenderness in his gaze drew her to him. His voice was urgent. She placed a palm on his chest, where his heart was, perplexed.
“What-” a circle of fire erupted around them.
He encased her gaze in his own.
The darkness had overtaken the meadow, which had become lifeless, and the haunting black color was everywhere. Natasha’s heartbeat was erratic, and her breathing strained. He never told her to get up. Natasha knew if she died in this fire, she’d never see him again. That realization strangled her heart.
She tries to break free from his hold. “What exactly do you mean? You’re not coming?!” Natasha’s heart pounded with fear… When the fire drew close, it engulfed them.
“Look at me, Natasha,” he says. He pulls her head back and forces her to look at him. She noticed his cold gaze melting in the heat of emotion. She couldn’t think of anything.
“No, no…” tears stream down her face.
“I can’t go where you’re going,” says Azrael.
“Azrael, please let me go!” Natasha insisted.
“Wake me up!” I’m not going anywhere! Azrael!”