Chapter 189 - 183. Amber and Sunlight
Zein spent a long time just staring at the ceiling after he woke up the next day.
He realized there was carving on the platform that looked pretty with sunlight pouring into the bedroom. And then he realized the sun was high in the sky already, realizing that this must have been the longest time he spent asleep, and then realizing his body felt wholly refreshed.
By the ceiling and the wide glass door that showed the beautiful small garden on the balcony, Zein recognized the room as Bassena’s. Or rather, it used to be his mother’s room that he took over after he started living here. A simple observation of his position in the center of the mattress told Zein that he was the only one to sleep on that bed.
After spending a lot of time recalling what happened last night while tracing the carving on the ceiling, Zein raised his body and sat on the edge of the bed. There was a glass of water and what seemed to be a serum to cure a hangover. He picked up the serum and rubbed the label, a wry smile on his face.
Turning his head to the left, he could see a pillow and a blanket on the couch, and his heart was tickled by a lot of sharp feathers.
Zein was sure there were at least two other bedrooms in this huge two floors apartment, and even if Bassena decided to sleep on the bed, Zein wouldn’t mind. He couldn’t help but sigh, running his hand at the blanket that was already cold.
People said he had been indulging Bassena--which was true at the start--but really...it was Bassena that had been indulging him lately. The esper truly understood when he needed to stop and when he needed to plow through with Zein. It was hard to believe Zein’s first impression of Bassena was an entitled, overbearing, conceited esper.
From the couch where he stopped to just feel the blanket, Zein could see into the full-body mirror of the coat wardrobe. It was the first time he realized he was not in his own clothes anymore. He slowly recalled, through his vague memory, of Bassena helping him get out of his damp, dirty, vomit-stained clothes and putting him on the esper’s soft white sweater.
He remembered being so...out of it. It had been five years since he cried, and that last time, it wasn’t a good cry; he was alone, he was hurt, he was scared. Last night, however...how should he describe last night?
Like he finally grasped the hand that had been stubbornly holding him from the edge of the cliff, that had been preventing him from plunging into the void completely. Zein couldn’t say that he was completely out of the void, but he definitely had his upper body on the cliff, at least.
It was weird. He felt so relieved, and yet so silly. It was almost ridiculous how light his heart became after a single outburst and a night of tears. Of course, not every shadow and every cloud in his heart and mind had been cleared. But compared to how he was these past few weeks...