As their bodies intertwined, new memories ignited in Avarka's mind. Fragments of past lives, names and faces, touches, tastes, and scents she had never experienced in this body, yet they were all hers. She felt the weight more and more—the pain and beauty of endless cycles, of eternal return.
The man's whisper was no more than a breath against her skin:
— Now you remember, don't you?
Avarka's eyes closed, but a single tear still rolled down her cheek.
— Yes. But by morning, I will forget.
The man's lips brushed against her neck, and their movements hovered at the boundary of reality and dreams. Avarka clung to his hair, gathering all her strength to keep herself from dissolving too soon into the long-desired ecstasy. Her delicate fingers now gripped his muscles with a firm hold. She clutched his back as if she never wanted to be torn away from this connection.
The man was sensual, yet a relentless hunger burned within him, driving him deeper and deeper. With a single motion, he pulled her beneath him, and as their rhythm quickened, the water splashed against the floor like the echoes of a battle. There was no time, no space, only the union that was more than mere desire.
And when everything finally grew quiet, and Avarka's skin still burned from his touch, the man held her tightly as if he never wanted to let go, as if he wished to preserve what always slipped through their fingers.
The girl took a deep breath and turned her gaze toward the city lights. The neon signs flickered on the glass walls, advertisements pulsed on the sides of the towering buildings. Below, on the streets, people hurried about their lives, unaware of what was happening above them.
The steam had long since faded, the water lapped softly around them. Avarka's skin was hot, as if not just the bathwater, but something inside her was burning. The man's gaze was heavy, deep green—like a vortex one could fall into and be lost forever.
She no longer knew where she ended and where he began. Their bodies intertwined, every movement carrying unspoken longing. The man's hot breath trailed down her neck, his hand resting gently on her waist.
— The world is changing, Avarka — he whispered, his lips barely touching her skin. — People want more. They dig deeper, they seek more knowledge. They develop technologies once thought impossible. But there is one thing they will never change.
Avarka's breath quickened. His voice was deep, vibrating through her very bones.
— Full awareness — he continued, now at her ear. — No matter how much they try, no matter how much they search, no matter how much they want it… they can only reclaim it once they have left their bodies. They cannot disrupt their fate. They cannot rewrite what they have committed to. If they try, I will punish them before they can harm themselves.
His voice faded, and Avarka looked up at him. A strange, aching hope flared in her heart.
— Then… those as well… the ones in dark robes… — she whispered, barely audible.
The man's eyes darkened, and not a single word left his lips. The silence filled everything. The air grew heavy, as if time itself had frozen in one unchangeable moment.
Slowly, she turned, as if her very essence turned with her. And she softly spoke the name she should never have uttered.
But she looked into his eyes, and her lips involuntarily shaped the word:
— Uriel…
The man closed his eyes as if he could barely endure this moment. It felt good to him that she remembered him, but it troubled him that it wouldn't last long.
— This wasn't written in their fate — he finally said, his voice hoarse. — It was just me… making a reckless decision.
The words echoed sharply in Avarka's mind.
— It's not easy for me to handle this situation — Uriel continued, and when he looked at her again, his eyes were filled with pain. — The price of full knowledge is guilt. No matter how I decide, there is never a right choice. There will always be someone who gets hurt. There will always be someone who loses something. And I…
He fell silent. His next words seemed hard to form.
— And you… — he began again, but his voice trembled, just for a moment. — You… hurt me. It hurt when you spoke to me, when you questioned me. Your anger. Your anger burned me. I couldn't calm you. I couldn't kiss you. I couldn't tell you…
The words got stuck in his throat, and Uriel just closed his eyes as if trying to hold back the storm inside him. Then, with determination, he continued.
— I wanted to pull you to me. Into my arms. Into my bed. I would have covered you with kisses, silencing your questions, making you forget what you wanted to know…
Avarka's lips parted, her voice soft, almost pleading.
— Why?
Uriel took a deep breath.
— Because even in this fate, you are not meant for me.
Avarka's eyes filled with tears.
— But my soul… my soul is always yours. I always long to return to you.
The man's hand cupped her face, his thumb tracing her lips as if trying to carve the touch into his memory.
— In this fate, you are not written for me — he repeated softly.
The air vibrated between them. The words were heavy, as if sealing the invisible gate that stood between them.
— To experience lives, to understand destinies… you must also experience relationships — Uriel whispered. — And I… I would rather erase every man from your life.
Avarka trembled as she gripped his hand.
— But I am a being meant to protect and guide you, just as I guide every other learning soul. Not to change your fate. But the time will come when I can finally hold you in my arms forever.
Avarka embraced him, her fingers digging into his shoulders. She didn't want to let go. She didn't want this moment to end. And the man pressed his burning lips to hers once more, a silent promise unspoken. Avarka's whole being tingled.
And then she understood.
She understood why humans sometimes feel an inexplicable longing, why they search for someone whose existence they don't even know. And if they don't find them, they create fleeting loves. They believe in the illusion, in the rose-colored mist, to fill the lingering void.
She understood that sometimes attraction is nothing more than a memory. A memory of someone left behind in another world. But because humans are social beings, we desperately yearn for someone, hoping deep inside that they are the missing piece.
She understood that those we seek are sometimes right beside us, yet we cannot reach them. We cannot see them with our physical eyes. Only when our soul is finally free.
Our fate is written in advance, and yet, we must choose in every moment. We choose love, but often, it is just a lesson, a beautiful experience, or a lifelong teaching. Our true other half waits elsewhere.
Avarka's breathing slowly calmed. She felt the sheets beneath her. She didn't know when she had ended up there. As if only the emotions had carried her, as if the world had slowly blurred around her.
Her fingers clutched the sheets, as if she never wanted to let go of this moment. As if she didn't want to let go of this awareness.
But she knew that her path was different.
In this world, two separate fates, two separate realities had collided. The path of an angel and a human.
A love that could never be fulfilled… until her soul was ready.
And yet, their souls would forever belong to one another.
Just before losing the consciousness she had long since abandoned, the girl took in the man's scent deep into her being.
Narcissus, vanilla, peppermint, and elderflower…