Chapter Six - Memories Surface

Chapter Six – Memories Surface

I was dreaming about them again. About my family: Mom, Dad, and my brother. I kept calling out to them, but I couldn't get them to respond. They would neither look at me or come to me. I felt a lone and neglected. I called out to them again. This time I awoke to the sound of my own voice calling out to them. Had I been calling out their names in my sleep?
I suddenly realized I had no idea where I was. I extended my arms out to feel my surroundings and my hand met something soft and warm. My fingers quickly repelled from where they were entangled in the fur. I sighed, relieved the creature laying next to me was still asleep. It was then I realized the warmth of his body and the unusual closeness compared to the past when he'd sleep at least a foot away from me. It made me uneasy, and I edged an inch away. This seemed to trigger more movement than my hand had and Saeron's eyes popped open. I nearly gasped in fright, but held it all in long enough to realize something even stranger than the closeness of his body. His eyes were cool blue with serene, very calm and even somewhat understanding, like he sympathized with me. I had only seen that look once before when I was wounded by the dragon, but he had reason to have this look in his eyes and even now the look was more intense, more sincere. Had he heard me talking in my sleep? Did he know now what I was going though having to stay here without my family? Perhaps it was too much to hope for.
I sat up in the bed and smoothed back my hair before staring out the exit of the bedroom. The sun was allowing little streams of light to come into the room. The morning had just begun from the looks of things. But where was my Nameless stranger? Surely Saeron had seen him when he left me here. I turned to where the dark tiger lay next to me.
“You didn't happen to see another human come here last night did you?” I inquired.
“No,” Saeron said without a second thought. “I found you lying here when I came in.”
I plopped myself back on the bed and breathed out a sigh of relief. Perhaps he had found a way to sneak passed Saeron. The bed suddenly vibrated from underneath me. My fingers grasped at the bedding and once again my left hand found the soft fur. But before removing my hands immediately this time they took in the waves of the vibration and I realized without a doubt that Saeron was....purring? Okay, maybe I did have my doubts. Never, in all the time I had stayed in the temple, had Saeron purred. What could he be so content about? I couldn't very well ask him, even if he was happy I was still a little afraid to ask for fear of the reaction he may have for asking such a silly question.
I finally decided it wasn't worth thinking about and moved on to my other thoughts, like one that was now showing interest in the fur I now held in my hand. I rarely ever felt Saeron's fur and now that I was feeling it I couldn't let go. I twisted a soft piece in my fingers and enjoyed the feeling it gave them. I wanted to put my hands deeper in the mass, but I was too frightened to even consider it. I was just about to take my fingers away when I noticed the sound of his purring getting louder. Was he enjoying it? I took one deep breath and closed my eyes just before diving my hand inside the forest of fur. Carefully and slowly I wove my fingers through the nest of fluff. The inside was even softer. I began to get a little braver and my hand started moving a little faster. The purring became louder and when I opened my eyes I found Saeron's were closed. From what I could see he was in total heaven. I wasn't sure whether I should keep going or not, my hand was edging higher up the body, toward his head. Would he mind if I stroked his head? I tried to remember back to when I had cat as a child and where the cat had liked to be scratched. If I was right the head was the best place to scratch a cat.
My fingers edged forward, each scratch continued the vibrating waves that now numbed my body. I reached as high as I could until my body was stretched to it full length, I was now at the top of his head and the purring was getting so loud my ears were ringing. I continued to rub the top of his head, each second my body and arm growing number, until I fell back on the bed, unable to continue.
Before I could catch my breath I was suffocated with a vise grip, or perhaps he thought of it as a hug, and I just about lost my air when Saeron realized what he was doing and loosened his grip. Suddenly a large pink object licked its was across my face, leaving it wet with saliva.
“Ewww!” I couldn't fight back the disgust as I wiped my face in the bedding. I could hear the faint snickers of Saeron as I cleaned up the last of the the saliva. I looked up to find him grinning a toothy grin “That was disgusting.” But I was suddenly grin as well. Despite how gross it was Saeron had only done it in good humor and I had to admit, if it had been someone else being hugged and licked by a tiger I could have laughed too.
“Sorry,” he said after a throaty laugh. “I just enjoyed that a lot. I had to thank you somehow.”
“Don't worry about it,” I said with a smile. “Just don't do it again.”

After that incident I couldn't stop smiling. Even after Saeron left the corners of my mouth were still touching my cheeks. It took me a while to realize that he had been a long time since I'd been this happy. Even around my family I had never been this giddy. There was only one other time I could remember feeling this way.

It was several years again, back when I was young. I was only in 3rd grade and it was the beginning of the school. I had only a few friends, but never any best friends until I met Taj. When Taj came to the school none of the other kids liked him because he was strange and an outsider. He was an orphan who was looked after by the city and he acted different. But somehow I found who he was appealing. One day, while we were having recess I started talking to Taj. I continued to talk to him everyday after that, and the more I talked to him the more I wondered why no one liked Taj. He seemed so cool to me in ways I just could never quite figure out and it felt so great to hang out with him. One day I asked my friends if Taj could join our group and one by one each other them rejected the offer, just as I had feared. I begged and pleaded with them, but in then end not even I was considered worthy enough to play with them if I was going to hang out with an outsider. So I stop being their friends and continued to hang out with Taj.

I was just about done with my chores around the temple when realized a lizard crawling in the garden. Its colors immediately reminded me of a lizard I saw once when Taj and I were playing at recess.
“Stay back, Princess,” Taj called in his manliest voice. Well, as manly as a third grader could sound. He extended his arms out to protect me. I looked over his shoulder to see what he was guarding me from. A brilliantly colored lizard crawled just in front of us on a tree. “Don't worry I'll slay the dragon!”
“No, Knight! It's too dangerous.” I had played along as dramatically as I could.
“But I have to save the Princess. Here I go!” He charged at the tiny creature, picking up a stick and pretending to slay the dragon. He hacked this way and that and before I knew it he had gotten a little too carried away and sent the lizard flying off the tree and into a girls hair. The girl cried and Taj got his recess taken away for a week. That was the loneliest week of my third grade life.

That night I waited up, eager to see him. Saeron had not returned from the jungle and I was beginning to wonder where he was, but not as interested as I was to see the nameless stranger. I waited outside my room, looking out to the jungle where I knew he'd come from.
It was getting later and I was beginning to get tired. I was also beginning to wonder if he'd ever show up. A rustle noise woke me up and make me more alert. My eyes struggled to scan the dark patchy area of the jungle where noise had come from. There was definitely movement. I strained to see the figure that made its way towards me and sighed. The stocky creature only gave me an intrigued look as he passed and I my shoulders slumped as I moped to the bedroom. I quickly lay my head down on the bed and closed my eyes, but disappointed and tired.
He was in my dream. I could see his face as clearly as if I had just seen him the other day. Taj sat next to me on the bed, only he was older now and he looked like the nameless stranger. I had had dreams like this a few times before. You see someone else's face on a person but you know its another person. I had learned once in class that to see something like this in a dream meant I viewed Taj as I did the nameless stranger. But what did that really mean? Did that mean I didn't know who Taj really was just like I didn't know who the nameless stranger was? Or perhaps I was suppressing feelings for Taj that I feel for the nameless stranger as well? In any case my dream confused me too much. I suddenly woke up in a state of confusion and my body quickly met the floor. I stood on my feet and began wobbling toward the entrance. I felt as though I would fall over any minute and I just might have had I not caught sight of the shining perfection laying in the moonlight. My eyes widened with realization and my feet began carrying me to him without a second thought.
My Nameless stranger lay still on the floor of the temple, eyes closed, breathing calmly. But something about him had really caught my eye. The reason why my feet carried me so eagerly to him. As I paced forward I saw his chest: perfectly visible and gorgeous as I could imagine. Not only was it smooth, but it shown pearly white as the beams of the moon danced upon it. I stood above him marveling his perfection and suddenly, without thinking again, I crouched down beside him. I wasn't sure what exactly I was doing, but my hand was extending toward him. Suddenly his eyes looked up at me and I realized what I was doing, but before I could pull away I felt him pulling me in. I closed my eyes, afraid I was about to hit my head on the ground, but his arms pulled me into him and my head met the soft chest I had been admiring. I immediately felt the warmth radiating from it and my face suddenly began warm as well, only it was warm from embarrassment. My Nameless stranger began laughing, no doubt realizing I was blushing, and kissed my forehead making me feel even hotter and now dizzy.
“I've missed you,” he said with a smile.
“I'll have to admit, I've missed you too,” I said with a laugh. “Kinda hard not to miss a sweet guy like you.”
“Aww, you don't mean that,” he said as he hugged me closer to him.
“Really, I do,” I said, my word coming out in muffles through his chest.
“That makes me happy to hear you say that. Oh, by the way I got you something.” He said as he pulled out a small stringy object from his pocket. “I hope you like it. I made it for you today.”
I looked at the bracelet he set in my hand and took in all the little stones and jewels pieced together on it. I held it up to the moon to get a better look at it. An array of different colored lights shot out every which way sending rainbows dancing along with the moonlight. Each jewel had its own color shaded rainbow, one more red, the other more blue and altogether lovely. I looked back at my Nameless stranger who's eyes were admiring not the color of the jewels, but me. “Do you like it?”
“It's....beautiful. I've never seen anything like them.”
“They don't even amount to your beauty.” His voice was soft like velvet. I felt as though I could melt where I sat.
“How could you say those things?” I said, my temperature rising. “You barely know me and I don't even know your--
His fingers stopped my speech as they pressed against my lips. It wasn't fair the way he could manipulate me. But I was too seduced to really care. I waited to see what he did next.
His eyes focus on me. He seemed to be taking in all of me, my hair, my face, my eyes. Did he really see me as beautiful?
He leaned in and our eyes were less than a few inches away. I could feel the heat between us colliding as the space between up grew smaller and smaller. I could now feel his hot breath on my skin. Our eyes both closed as the space ceased to exist and our lips met in a passionate kiss driven by a longing I had never thought I'd possessed for him. It was as though I had wanted to kiss him since I was born into this world, his touch felt so right and so addicting. I felt myself wanting more and I longed for those extra minutes of no oxygen. But my desires were met with a halt that left my lips moving desperately in the air for more. Why had he stopped?
“It's getting late. I think, if I'm not mistaken it's almost 5,” he said. I could hear a hint of disappointment in his voice, but it was very subtle.
“Do you have to be somewhere?” I asked, hoping he could stay just a bit longer.
“Yeah, but I'll see you again tomorrow, I promise.” He began getting up and I followed his lead. “Try not to think about me too much while I'm gone, you copycat.” He said with a wink. I smiled and allowed a chuckle to slip out despite how corny he sounded.
“Don't worry, I'll only think about you as much as you think of me.”
“Wow, I guess you don't sleep either?” He said with a laugh. “Oh, before I go.”He took the bracelet from my hand and very gently tied it around my wrist. He then tilted my chin up and brought his soft blue eyes to meet mine once again and our lips clung together in a sweet dance of passion. I was just about to wrap my arm around his neck when he pulled away just before saying good bye and heading for the jungle. I waved good bye, locked in a trance, my head spinning with delight from previous encounter.
That night I couldn't help but think about his the entire time and almost didn't fall asleep. When my eyes were finally closing I felt Saeron leap onto the bed and curl up next to me. His body was warm and his fur was soft. It wasn't long before the feeling of his body near me put me into a deep sleep.

As I lay dreaming I saw him again. Taj was where he had been the last day I saw him. He was only trying to protect me, but in the end it took him away from me.