"We should get going now, Claud," she said, turning to her husband. "We should give the soon-to-be some space to themselves.'
I smiled, my first genuine one since I ended up in this strange world. It wasn't because of what she said, but rather because of what she had done for me unknowingly.
'Thank you, Mother," Zion said, relief on his face.
'Thank you, Mom," I added, offering her my hand, guiding her to the door.
My brother stood up, holding her back. "They'll have all the time in the world when they get married. Why should we give them space?'
Claud hit him on the head, throwing him over his shoulders as he waved goodbye to me and hissed at Zion.
I closed the door once they left, waving goodbye back before they did.
Zion fell on the chair, spreading his arms out. 'Finally," he sighed. "Whenever I see your father, I start panicking; my blood pressure even rises.'
I looked toward the window. Even in this fake world, in-laws were the same.
'Sorry,' I replied. "I'm sure he likes you.'
He laughed. 'Hopefully.'
We went silent for a while, and he just stared at me, but I didn't mind it. I wished it would remain like this till 12AM, or even better, Uel would take me back home now.
I already had the only thing that could reverse any curse—a mother's blessing.
'Do you want to read a book with me, Honey?'
'A book?' I asked. "What book?'
He stood up, walking toward me. "Your favorite, Honey. 'A Reader's Tongue', that's the name, right?'
I nodded, not wanting to seem confused. It wasn't a name I had heard before, though I wasn't expecting to hear the name of an actual book. This one was quite peculiar.
He took my hand, startling me, just to guide me to a small shelf by the side.
'Here," he said, handing me a book with the title he mentioned earlier. "Let's go to our bedroom. It'll be more comfortable.'
11:45 PM
The house had somehow become more awkward now that it was almost midnight.
I couldn't find an excuse to skip my bath, so I had to do it, even though it felt like bathing in a stranger's bathroom.
Now we were both lying on the bed; I was dressed in clothes he said were mine, and they fit perfectly.
We were unnecessarily close, close enough that I had begun to notice his unusual sunflower scent.
"Fifteen minutes," I whispered, hoping I would look up and see the clock strike twelve.
A hand touched my hair, stroking it. "How are you still awake? You always fall asleep so quickly.", Zion said. His voice was sleepy, and so were his eyes, making it hard to believe he was truly awake.
"I just don't feel tired today," I replied, shifting uncomfortably. He stopped stroking my hair, moving his hand away to stretch it, then he gently rubbed his eyes.
He sat up on the bed, a grin forming on his face. "You're not tired today, huh? That gives me a great idea."
I held my chest, sitting up slightly, feeling a bit afraid. "An idea? I'm not sure I'm in the mood for ideas."
"Really?" he smirked, resting his head on me. "I'm sure you'll love this idea. You always do."
I looked at the clock—11:58PM.
"I think you're too sleepy for sane ideas, Zion," I replied, worried, a fake chuckle escaping me.
He placed a hand on my cheek. "I'm fully awake, Genessa. You can trust me. The idea is definitely sane."
He moved closer, unnecessarily close, his hands still on my face as if holding it in place. I couldn't look at the clock.
He moved closer again, slowly closing his eyes, his cherry-pink lips very close.
Then it all crumbled.
Everything slowly got reduced to square blocks that disappeared once they reached the ground, like pieces of a puzzle shattering.
Zion, the building, everything else—except me—disintegrated into nothingness.
An illusion, I thought, fascinated. "I was right. This world is not real."
The bed disintegrated along with everything else, causing me to fall to the floor, my backside aching all over.
Slowly, I started to see the river—the Marin River. The entire illusion had been shattered, leaving nothing of that fake world.
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to endure the pain I just experienced. My body was resting on someone's lap, likely someone kneeling with their knees spread out.
I opened my eyes, seeing the redhead’s face above me. Uel had called him something earlier—Faythe, I believed.
I groaned, trying to sit up, but he gently held my shoulder, stopping me. "You can't get up. You need some rest after what you went through."
I frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine!"
He completely ignored me, turning his head to the other side. "Master Uel, she's awake. You can let the cat out of the bag".
I looked up as Uel approached, walking to Faythe’s opposite side. He crouched down with a smile on his face.
It was awkward being caught between two men in such a position—like an animal cornered by predators.
"Was it fun?" Uel smirked; I knew he couldn't go three seconds without doing that. "You guessed it way too easily. How did you know it was an illusion?"
"Because you sea gods have some kind of stupid obsession with illusions. That’s how you destroy innocent people's lives," I retorted, memories coming back.
He giggled, "You sound angry, but you're doing your best to hide it. Afraid I'll curse you again?"
I clenched my fists, not allowing him to get the best of me. "From what I'm hearing, you reversed the curse?"
Faythe nodded. "Master Uel told me you figured out the curse breaker was a mother's blessing. You did well, mortal."
I smiled, but in truth, I hadn’t done anything. It was the bond I felt with that woman—like she would guide me throughout my life.
That bond made me realize.
"Why did you do that, Uel? Create an illusion where I got exactly what I needed to reverse the curse? That doesn’t sound like you."
They didn't answer me. Instead, Uel gave me a confused look, and Faythe suddenly became angry. "Miss Genessa," Faythe called, "Do not ever dare call a god by his name. This is a warning; next time I will be forced to kill you."
I glanced at both of them—finally realizing that I had spent so much time with them that I had forgotten they were gods.
"I'm very sorry," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Uel adjusted his position, still crouched. "Your payment to me was simply your suffering and confusion in that world. I loved it; it really fed my soul."
He laughed like it was funny, then asked, "Faythe, where do you think we drop her?"
"Maybe at the house of the man you saw her with; they must be close."
I raised my hand to protest, but Faythe lowered it and covered my eyes, making me feel drowsy.
"I'm sorry, but we must head back. There’s no time for additional opinions. Sir Matthew, right? We'll help take you to his home."