Slowly opening her eyes, she felt a splitting headache forming. Her ears were ringing and she was in the bathtub. Great, she finally got her clothes dry and they turned around and were wet again. Grabbing her head she sat up before looking around. She was at her house!!! At that moment, Zack walked in with some plants, “Phew, it is such a pain trying to find waterways that link dimensions. Here, eat this, it should help with the pain.”

“Why do you want me to eat leaves? There’s medicine in the cabinet….. Wait Dimensions?” She felt her forehead crinkle as she raised one eyebrow in confusion.

“Why would I go to your ‘cabinet’ if these herbs will be sufficient enough. And yeah where did you think you were?” Looking at the leaves he then moved his hands closer insisting her eat them.

She tilted her face away, avoiding his insistence, “Um I thought I was in the woods. And I don’t really want to eat those. They look like you pulled them out of my garden.”

“You were in the woods, just not in the woods in your dimension. Oh, okay. Sorry, I just thought they would help your headache.”

The thought of trying to understand dimensional travel gave her such a major headache that she decided to address it again later when she’d actually had a full night's sleep. Moving on she considered the list of questions running around in her head that she had for him.

Tilting her face into her hand she said, “So, how were you able to find my house across dimensions, without my help anyway?”

“Actually, I searched for the location where your energy was the strongest. I utilized your energy signature and sought out the place you spent the most time.”

“I see.” She thought back to her parents, it would certainly make sense in a long term situation. Other questions popped up into her head. “Can I ask you something?”

He plopped down next to her on the side of the tub. Again, he raised his arm, offering her the leaves before responding, “Yes?”

“Why am I in the bathtub and what’s worse is why is it filled with water?” She asked as a shiver overtook her body. Involuntarily, her arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to warm herself up.

Tilting his head to the side, he asked, “Where else would you sleep?” An image of a confused or curious puppy unsure of what he’d done wrong tickled her thoughts.

Chuckling, she responded, “I don’t know, maybe on a bed or the couch, you know, warm and dry!” She emphasized to her entire body in the water before pointing out the goosebumps springing up across her arms.

Dropping his hands, he lowered his head, “Typically, merrows sleep on damp beds of seaweed. And being in or near water has always made me feel better. ”

Gripping her shoulders tighter she tried to keep herself as warm as possible before saying, “Well it’s just making me cold.”

Zack suddenly dropped the leaves to the floor and jumped up, “Oh, well that problem can easily be solved.” He then reached down and scooped her up out of the water.

Squirming, she complained, “I can walk just fine, let me down.” A wave of water ran down her body and puddled on the floor following behind them as he walked out of the bathroom. Damn, she was going to have to clean that up later. Not wanting to fall, she grabbed his shirt.

Zack chuckled as he looked down at her, “I won’t drop you Ayalet. You weigh next to nothing.” As if to make her feel better he pulled her in closer, his arms tightening around her back and legs.

He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, continuing to hold her close. She noticed how cold it was in the house and assumed he probably didn’t turn on the fireplace. Being wet didn’t help the fact of the matter. Despite her shivering, she still continued to protest, “You can let me down; just get a blanket and turn on the fireplace; it’s a gas one so just press the button to the left on the wall. That’ll be perfectly fine for me.”

They sat there, but after her shivers refused to fade, he placed her to the side, got up and started the fire. “Thank you.” He then picked up a blanket, placed it on top of her before picking her back up and placing her back on his lap. She let a sigh escape her lips, so much for that, she still ended up on his lap. This was so awkward, why was she letting this happen? He was just so easy to be around, was this what it was like having a friend? Or did he think they were more than that?

Before the thought had time to simmer, despite the awkwardness, moments later warmth slowly seeped into her body as she dozed off.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When she opened her eyes, she was laying down on the couch. She went to get up but something heavy was keeping her from getting up. She turned to look behind her and found Zack sleeping with his arms encircling her. It scared her how strong he was and that she couldn’t escape his embrace even while he was sleeping.

Giving up, she relaxed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Normally she went camping for aboutWithin seconds he started moving and slowly opened his eyes. His face was within an inch of her own, so close she could feel the heat from his breath. It took him a second for recognition to cross his face. He then tightened his grip around her and snuggled his face in her hair. Instantly her heart skipped a beat, “Please let me up; I’m finding it rather hard to breathe.”

Zack loosened his arms and she pulled herself out from under him. Getting up, she walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer and sat in front of it, “I would love to know; why are you so affectionate and clingy?”

“My people, the Yerith, usually are pretty affectionate with each other. It’s pretty common to see people leaning against each other, playing with each other's hair, rubbing each other's back, and altogether having nonchalant skinship. Is it not normal to be this affectionate with people?” Walking up he rested his head on top of her own. The pressure was light but the warmth was comforting. Again, she almost felt like she was laying in a warm bathtub, comfortable and relaxed.

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“No, it’s not normal out in public at all, at least not around here anyways; unless you’re in a relationship. I was affectionate with my parent’s, which is normal, but that’s it.”

“Was? Are you not anymore?”

She shook her head and fought back the beginning of tears, “No, they aren’t around anymore. And before you ask, I don’t know what happened. The police never found bodies and no one’s been able to locate them. I know they aren’t present anymore but I don’t know how to describe their disappearance.”

“Hm, well, who do you live with? Are you not affectionate with your new guardian?”

Without meaning to, she snorted, “Definitely not. With my aunt, it’s always been about her appearance. When I was younger, I met her briefly at family gatherings but felt shocked when she became very cold the day I moved in. Anytime I needed materials for school, my aunt made me feel like a massive burden. I wasn’t allowed to use the stove until I was 10 so I basically lived off PB&Js, veggies from my garden, and anything that didn’t need the stove that someone my age at the time could make. She refused to make food for me, and said at my age I should be more self-sufficient. Sometimes my aunt would invite friends over and for one brief moment would act “motherly” towards me. She would make a big dinner, even though she was awful at cooking, then lie to her friends about all the things she and I did together; as if we were a big happy family. But those moments were far and few between, not to mention disgustingly fake.”

Zack stood there in silence, pain wrinkling his facial features. She felt the intense need to change the subject. “Anyway, you know when school starts, if you want to attend, you can’t do this.” As she said the words out loud, a gust of wind rushed at them from the side. It felt as if a big hand slipped between them and pushed him away. It trickled past her and grazed the side of her face. Just as quickly as it appeared, the wind was gone.

Not a word escaped his lips as they stood in silence. Unsure of what to say, she decided to water her garden. It’d been a little while since she last had a chance to. She closed the freezer door and walked outside, Zack right on her tail.

When she reached the side of her house she loosened the water hose and turned the knob. Folding the water hose to avoid water from getting out, she started dragging it in the direction of her garden.

“Do you need some water? Because if you do, I can help you get your watering done much faster.” At that moment water materialized out of the air like rain and fell over her entire garden at once just like he did in the forest.

In amazement she dropped the water hose, instantly the water uncontrollably started flying all over the place. Spraying her, Zack and just about everything else in sight. Slipping and sliding, she looked down to see icy puddles? What the hell? She made her way back to the house where she turned the water off.

Zack bursts out laughing, in embarrassment she asked, “What?”

He pointed down at the frozen puddle, “Water reacts to you in odd ways. It froze under your feet in it’s own playful manner.”

Squeezing her hair of water she asked, “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you notice that the water gets excited around you? Like it’s playing with you, welcoming back an old friend.”

Shaking her hair out, she nonchalantly responded, “No it doesn’t, I dropped the hose.”

Going over to the hose, he picked it up before saying, “Stop it, stop pretending this isn’t all happening. Not everything needs a scientific explanation for what happens. The water actually does react to you differently. For example, didn’t you find it somewhat odd that the current in the lake wouldn’t let you resurface, the puddle freezing or the water hose’s reaction just now?”

She turned her back to him, not wanting to look him in the eyes right now. “No, because those things could easily be explained.”

Dropping the hose, he walked over to the closest puddle. “Cut it out! Geez, you are so oblivious to the world around you. Let go, let the earth around you speak; you have the power to listen.” All around the water was turning to fog, seeming to react to Zack’s annoyance.

“I wanted all my life to meet a Seraph and when I finally do she’s oblivious to what she is! Urgh!!! You’re impossible.” He dropped down to the ground abruptly, a sigh bursting from his lips as he dropped his head into his hands. “As a kid, I heard so many stories about the Seraphs, their glory, grace, cloaked by beautiful wings of sunlight and clouds, as if the very air around them vibrated with life.”

He lifted his face, stood up and walked over to her. His arms encircled her in a sincere embrace as he continued, “I don’t mean it in any bad way but it almost hurts to see you not only don’t know what you are but you are rejecting your own existence. You’re rejecting who and what you are.”

Walking over toward her, Zack reached out and dragged Ayalet into a big bear hug. Gently he rested his chin on top of her head and continued to embrace her, heaving a big sigh. Almost every part of her felt relaxed by the closeness of him. Growing up so alone, she wasn’t able to recall the last time she had this much physical contact with another well… “human” being. As nice as it felt though, she started to feel anxious and uncomfortable. Right before she was about to try and wiggle away, an abnormally large gust of wind rushed between them making Zack spin and stumble backwards a little. As if sensing Zack’s distress the water in the hose started to whip around making the hose flail as if trying to jump to his defense.

They both stood there, staring at each other. Seconds felt like hours as Ayalet’s mind reeled in an attempt to come up with a rational explanation to what just happened. Suddenly she noticed a smirk slowly made its way across Zack’s face. The grin reached his eyes and illuminated his face.

“See, I told you. You should really stop trying to fight it so hard.” He said, trying to hold in a laugh.

Just as Ayalet was trying to find the words to respond, she heard footsteps on the gravel road. Turning her head past Zacks arms, she saw Jaison looking over at them. A mixture of emotions played across his face. The three of them stood silently staring at each other. Jaison went to take a step forward then stopped, his hands tightened against his legs as his body stiffened.

Ayalet immediately pushed out of Zack's arms. All she could do was avert her eyes, how could she possibly explain this? His eyes though, she hated to see him look. . . what? Jealous? Angry? Upset? She didn’t know.

Just as she thought he was about to come over to talk, he spun his body and walked back down the road.

“Who was that, he looked a little mad? His energy is kind of similar to yours.” Zack looked at her confused.

“Don’t worry about it, I really don’t want to talk about it right now.” She sighed, how could she explain Jaison to Zack? Why did it matter? What were they to her? What was going on with her social life all of a sudden? UUGGHH this hurt her head.

“Let’s just go in and make some dinner.” She huffed.

“Oh, alright.” Zack cocked his head to the side as if trying to figure out her emotions. Turning her head to avoid any prolonged eye contact she moved past him and headed for the kitchen. Next she might find out he could read minds or something.

Later that night, with Zack sleeping in the tub... weird… and while laying in bed, she thought back to seeing Jaison outside earlier. Why did she have to keep running into Jaison; This town was way too small. a week the first week of summer, so much for that. She started moving around again in hopes of escaping. Unfortunately, the only thing it did was overheat her body, making her rather dizzy. “Zack, please let me up, it’s really hot right now.”