Chapter 8

• Tezy
• _____
• I thought I would burn, but I did not. Delta Garro slowly held me by the shoulders, leaning me against the tiled wall. The water continued to pour down like rain.
• “How’s the water, Goddess?” he inquired, almost breathlessly.
• I swallowed hard. My eyes wandered from his face down to his scarred neck, shoulder, and arm. The jagged long scar looked whiter than his tanned skin. My heart went out to him, reminding me what I had done to him and his family.
• “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here… I shouldn’t have…” I whispered softly, looking at him in the eye.
• He gazed back at me. I felt like drowning in his blue-black orbs, making me breathless.
• “Yes, we can agree on that. But losing my family… I think it’s fate. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for pinning it on you.” He looked thoughtful, eyebrows knitting together.
• I blinked, staring at him in disbelief. “Do you mean that? What made you change your mind?”
• He slowly nodded. “I know, I should be angry with you. I should stay mad at you for killing my family, but…” He shook his head, telling me, “In my thirty years on this Earth, I’ve never felt like this. I don’t have any clue what you have that my anger, my grudge… just faded in a matter of hours. In normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to smile or laugh. Do you even know what I’m saying? I should grieve for my losses and hate you for being the cause!”
• I swallowed and slightly flinched when his hold of my shoulders became tighter.
• “You’ve never lost anyone, have you, Goddess?” His eyes penetrated mine.
• The water droplets slipped down his face, racing with each other. His thick curly dark lashes were so damp. His short dark hair was limp on his scalp. He wasn’t really the standard good-looking creature I had ever seen, but there was something about him that would not let me pull away my eyes from him.
• “I can’t say if I lost my brothers, but I think it’s the same. Kigga’s imprisoned them in the dark pit of Hebbiza. I want to save them, Delta Garro, but look where I am right now. I’m trapped in your realm, here with you, with no idea if I can even go back and make things right! Every moment, I also fear that my insane sister goes to Benzai and wipe out the Shirouhebbi Tribe. What if she’ll do that in my absence? No one can protect my worshippers and the others. I must get my powers back! You must help me, please!” The back of my eyes started to burn. I had never cried in my life, but now, I knew that I was. I could feel the hot tears that came out of my eyes. It was odd at first, but it felt natural for some reason.
• Ah, a goddess like me… I never thought I would cry like this, feeling helpless. So helpless, in fact. Now, I understood why my worshippers were so happy whenever I granted their prayers. I understood why they needed help, because they could not do anything at all. Above all, I could comprehend now why praying hard was so important, hoping that it would be granted by someone who had the power to make it happen and putting their trust in that powerful one.
• Delta Garro shook his head, after staring at my watery eyes. “I don’t know how you can recuperate, Goddess.” He slowly let my shoulders go, and I hung my head.
• Right. What did he know? He was nothing but a werewolf from a different dimension.
• I began to step out of the shower cubicle. However, he stopped me.
• “Let me show you how to use the shower, at least.” He pointed to the left valve. “This is the hot water, and this on the right is the cold water.” He adjusted it, turning off the hot water.
• The corners of my lips started to lift when the cold water oozed from the shower head. “I love it, thank you!” My heart began to dance with joy. I could actually enjoy this cold shower!
• Delta Garro began to strip me naked. He pumped the so-called shower gel bottle and began to glide his rough hands on my neck, shoulders, arms, and chest. The scent penetrated in my olfactory system, loving it. His eyes held mine, when he paused just above my chest, as though asking for permission to touch me downward.
• I swallowed and guided his hands further down. His big hands covered each of my breasts. An involuntary moan escaped from my throat when he gently massaged them. I felt my tips pucker in reaction. His hands slid downward, to my stomach and abdomen. He paused once more, looking deep into my eyes and holding his breath. I held his hands again, guiding them away from my most private area. He bent to caress my thighs, legs, and feet instead. I had already used my powers to remove my strappy sandals, and my clothing was clean and dry, floating in the air just outside the shower cubicle.
• He watched me as I washed, rinsing the shower gel off my body. The bubbles were washed away, and I had never felt so clean in my life than now. It was refreshing indeed.
• ***
• I was alone in bed after the relaxing shower. The werewolf went out of the room after we both changed into our clean clothes.
• “I will speak to my mother downstairs. You rest up, and maybe you’ll be good as new in the morning,” he told me.
• As I rested my head on the pillow, I asked, “What’s morning?”
• He blinked a couple times. “It’s when the sun will shine. If you don’t have it in your realm, then you’ll see it in a matter of an hour or so.”
• “Okay.” I closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I was already sound asleep.
• It was a dreamless sleep, surprisingly so. Regardless of the stressful series of events of my life a while ago, it was curious that I had no nightmares at all.
• I slowly opened my eyes. It was so bright even though the light in the room was off. Delta Garro had turned it off before he went out of the room, I recalled it. But why was it so bright? It was even brighter than earlier. Was this morning then?
• I got up and looked outside the window. I was amazed by the beauty outside. The color of the sky was blue, not black like in Hebbiza. There was a blinding light coming from a golden globe in the sky. I had to squint my eyes. Black spots appeared in my vision that I had to look away. Now that was a weird experience.
• “Is this the sun?” I whispered to myself.
• I span around when I heard a knock on the door. Delta Garro came in as soon as he opened the door.
• “Never saw the sun before?” he asked. He rested his right shoulder against the door jamb, watching me with fascinated eyes.
• “No, there’s no sun in Hebbiza. We have two moons, which alternately disappear every other night and come together every third night.
• “Hmm. That’s weird but interesting,” he remarked. “I might want to witness that.”
• My lips parted, and I could just stare at him. “It will be impossible for you to see it for yourself. Your kind will never make it through the portal. As you’ve witnessed yourself, the less powerful creatures can’t withstand the strong energy that the portal projects. You lost your family because of it, remember?”
• He stared at me for the longest moment. I could not read his mind or whatsoever was going on inside his head. Would he take it as a challenge? No matter, it was impossible for him to go through the portal. It required a lot of our powers, even though I was a goddess myself. It was not easy to use it, without consuming a portion of my powers.
• Kigga even used the last of her powers just to go back to Hebbiza, and so that she could recuperate there.
• “How was your talk with your mother?” I changed the subject.