How did one feel love?

Elias didn’t know how to explain love. Was it an attraction to good looks? A liking for one’s strength? An appreciation for one’s abilities? A sharing of interests?

Sina had asked that he teach her how to feel love. What had she meant by that? Being loved, or being in love?

“I want to love,” she’d clarified when he asked. “I want to feel it myself.”

Okay. She didn’t seem particularly interested in him, but rather in the concept of love itself. There were plenty of forms of love. Love for food, love for nature, love for life, etc. What she wanted was to feel that certain pleasure from an extreme affection for something—or so he guessed. As exhilarated as he’d been when she’d first said the words (he’d thought of it as a confession but quickly realized otherwise), he knew with some reasoning that she wasn’t one to fall in love like that.

But how? How would he teach her?

“Try to love, and I will learn from you,” Sina told him with expectant eyes. “When will we begin?”

“I don’t think I can start loving just like that,” Elias replied, “but we can begin somewhere. I’ll try to make you fall in love with me.”

“That would be a good start.”

He never would have said it to any other person, but because this was a girl who was clueless when it came to such things, he tried being assertive. It still made him feel like writhing inside.

“Why are you embarrassed?” she asked right away. “Isn’t love a good thing?”

“Ah. Haha. Aha.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I mean...love is delicate, you know?”

She blinked.

“Emotions can be delicate?”

“Yes.” Probably.

He decided to give up on explaining.

Project Sina Falls In Love, or Project SFIL. He’d make it work, one way or another. If a beautiful girl such as her fell in love with him, he could live the rest of his life without regrets. Already, he was thinking of marriage and the conversations they would have as they grew old—

It didn’t really work out last time, did it?

Jewel’s echo whispered to him, shards of the past flashing by his mind. He shook it away, determined to help a helpless (emotionally) girl out.

“Are you sure you can carry them back?” Sina asked when he took the bags from her, handing her the rifle.

“I need to do something cool for you to fall in love with me, right?” he snorted, firmly strapping the luggage onto his body. Honestly, it hadn’t been that bad. He would endure it this time.

She didn’t look convinced but didn’t argue. They’d rested for the night at the ruins after searching around for any remains of civilization (which had been unfruitful), so he felt as if he could walk a hundred kilometers without stopping. Sina had healed him again during his sleep, so he was feeling extra spectacular.

It was similar to Crystal modifying his body, but different. With Sina, he didn’t feel sharper or stronger, but alive and refreshed. Determined.

At least until some point. Two hours and forty-eight minutes to be exact.

Elias nearly swore after a branch tripped his tired legs, causing him to tumble a couple of steps forward. His hands met the dirt, and he struggled to get up, his muscles screaming in response.

Sina pulled him up by the hand, her expressionless helmet looking at him. He quickly muttered a ‘thank you’ before stretching his legs.

“You’re distressed, and it would be better for you to hand your bags over to me,” she said, reaching for the luggage. Elias stepped back.

“Why?” she asked. “I can feel the discomfort and pain in you.”

“Can’t you also feel my determination?” Elias breathed, massaging his thighs.

“And your anger.”

He hadn’t wanted her to read that.

“It’s okay.”

“Will your suffering make me feel love?” Sina questioned. “I don’t see the logic in that.”

Elias fluttered his tired hand in the air. His shoulders felt so sore. “It’s called being reliable and self-sacrificing,” he told her, trying to smile. “I can’t let a beautiful girl like you carry something so heavy.”

“So if you are attractive, you should do less? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t.”

A variety of emotions he didn’t want Sina to know bubbled within him, including frustration and annoyance. Not wanting to show her his face, he walked past her in the direction they were headed, letting the bags cover the space between them. She followed, and he prayed that his feelings wouldn’t disgust her—filth created from his weakness.

She didn’t speak as they walked on, and he didn’t have the strength nor will to initiate a conversation. It hadn’t even been a day yet, and he was already discouraged by how difficult the whole situation was. He’d been happy to travel with Sina a while longer with the chance of love, but his body was letting him down. He was being shaved down like ice under the sun.

Something touched his hand, and a ripple of calm flowed through his body. The annoyances of his muscles softened, and he could breathe much more easily than before.

Sina had held his hand, gloves off. She didn’t speak, but walked alongside him.

He was glad she hadn’t said anything more. He felt somewhat sad when she let go, but he was refreshed now, determined again to move on.

This time, he’d keep a cool head.

At least the bags were growing lighter after every meal, which was good for him. But they were running out of fresh water quickly, so he wanted to reach the train as soon as possible. They spent the night together again under one tent after dinner.

It was a quiet night, and Elias couldn’t help but feel conscious of the girl with a delicate appearance sleeping soundly in her pajamas, her lush hair flowing down her neck. He’d suppressed the temptation to peek while she’d changed, and weird thoughts he thought he’d never have began to germinate in his mind as they lay together. He’d hardly thought about Jewel in such a way, perhaps more with Crystal, but something had changed. His dampeners. Perhaps after all the stress he’d been through, something had broken.

He was becoming just like the people he’d blamed for his afflictions. He didn’t want that.

He wasn’t like them.

Closing his eyes, he suppressed his urges and counted the sound of crickets until his dreams overcame him.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

“Finally!” Elias roared, tossing the bags on the table.

His body was drenched in sweat, and his legs felt like tumbling any second from the long walk. He hadn’t realized that he’d become this weak in just a few months; when traveling with Crystal and walking all day, he’d only had the slightest discomfort less than half of what he was feeling now.

But he’d made it. Alone, he never would have. Sina had held his hand a couple more times, making the peculiar energy run through him and give his body strength. He was glad that he’d never asked first, and Sina had somehow known when he was at his weakest to replenish him. Having his emotions read had its pros and cons.

The only worry that he had now was how Sina would view him now since he’d been miserable in front of her. Who’d want to fall in love with a guy like that?

He took a peek at her, who’d taken off her helmet and was proceeding to strip herself.

“Are you going to take a shower?” he asked, averting his eyes from her figure. Honestly, he needed one very badly right now since his body was reeking, but he could wait.

“Yes,” she told him. “Hygiene is important. Would you like to shower first? You’ve sweated more than me.”

“You can go first,” he told her, fanning his face with his hands.

Elias’s heart began to beat faster when Sina approached him, reaching for her bag to fish out fresh clothes for her to wear. She was only wearing her undergarments. Even with a day of not showering, she didn’t smell bad. He tried not to breathe it in too much, and he felt heat rush to his cheeks when she paused to look at him as if to say, “Are you enjoying this?”

She didn’t, thankfully. He heard the door shut with a clack after she entered the bathroom.

Great. Now she thinks I’m a pervert as well as being pathetic.

He sat there, listening to the sound of swishing water while he took out the clothes he’d change into.

“Right,” he told himself, then went to organize their belongings. The bed he’d set was still in place. Sina hadn’t slept, so there was only one table available now, making the space that much more cramped. He put the bags in the back cabinet and awaited his time to wash.

She came out soon enough with a towel draped around her shoulders, her dark hair glistening with moisture. Her lean physique was evident under her tight undergarments, and she looked at him.

Looking very hard at the ceiling, he took his items and passed her, going straight into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. What was the sudden dishabille he was experiencing? Well, he didn’t dislike it, but it was making him feel strange.

Best not to think about it, he decided.

The shower was so refreshing that he had to wash his body two more times before feeling satisfied. He made sure to put on all of his clothes before exiting, afraid that she would look at him in a bad light.

When he came out, he saw that Sina was sitting on his bed, with her arms carefully laid in front of her. She was wearing clothes, thankfully, and it looked like she had something important to talk about given her demeanor.

“Do you need something?” Elias asked while drying his hair off. Hers had already been dried, though how, he didn’t know. It was likely one of her supernatural powers.

“Come and lie down here,” she told him, patting her thigh. “I’ll dry your hair.”

His heart began to thump uncontrollably again.

But he had no reason to refuse.

Putting the towel aside, he did as he was told. He was worried that he’d wet her pants with his hair, but Sina pushed his head down on her lap. While looking at him, she threaded her fingers through his hair. It felt warm.

“I don’t know why you pushed yourself as hard as you did, but I guess you deserve some gratification,” she said softly, her face blank. “I don’t understand falling in love, but I can thank you for trying. I’ve noticed that you like physical contact.”

Well, that was embarrassing. But it was worth it.

“Thanks,” he muttered, closing his eyes. All his worries and fatigue seemed to melt away.

“Humans are truly weak, aren’t they?” she whispered, patting his head. “You did well. It’s not exactly love, but I enjoyed your emotions.”

“...thanks.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she stated, touching his head more. “In that case, I can do it frequently. I’m sure pleasure is closely related to love.”

He gave up on being embarrassed. What was the point in trying to hide when she could literally read him? “And you?” he asked, looking up at her. “Are you enjoying this?”

“I am enjoying the happiness you’re feeling,” she replied, staring into his eyes. She was smiling, if only a little. “While not as fundamental as love, it makes my existence a little more meaningful.”

Elias sniffed.

Sina tilted her head. “Your eyes water, but you’re glad. Why is that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m happy that you like my company.”

She touched his head some more, and his eyelids began to droop. He was at peace, and he wanted the moment to last forever, even if it meant never seeing everyone else again.

What would be waiting for him there? People who didn’t care about his pain, lines of code that pretended to care. Machines weren’t real people—just imitations of the perfect.

Sorry Crystal, he thought. He wanted to believe that there was a soul behind her words, an actual existence that held him dear. He couldn’t ask since she was gone, but he hoped, wished with all of his heart because she had been the only one there for him.

But there was another now. A real, living, caring being whose lap he was resting on.

When would the moment end? When it did, which he knew it would—it would break him.

If the world really had ended and they were the only survivors in an apocalypse, he would be perfectly fine with it, even if his body suffered far more than usual.

When he opened his eyes again, the sunset was peering through the windows, bathing the train in a warm light. He was still on Sina’s lap. Her eyes were closed, but when he got up, she stretched with a yawn.

“You should have woken me,” he said, rubbing his eyes. He hadn’t had a good nap like that in a while.

“You were too tired. Besides, you were having a good dream.”

“Was I?” He didn’t remember.

She nodded. “I’m hungry. We should eat.”

“Yeah, we should,” Elias agreed.

She was no longer a stranger to him anymore. As short as their time together might have been, he felt as if she was the one who understood him the most. The sides of him he had never shown to any living person, she knew. And she wasn’t disgusted.

This wasn’t good. At this rate, he was the one who’d fall in love, not her.

But not yet. How could he? How did he deserve to be selfish when he’d ruined it all the last time he’d been true to himself? The ghost of Jewel held him back like iron chains, whispering to him when he tried to move forward. Maybe—no, most definitely, they wouldn’t care about what he did. They’d likely forgotten about him, casting him away in their minds like spoiled milk down a drain.

But he hated them. And he hated it even more to become like them. Every time he felt something towards Sina, he saw their faces looking down at him.

He didn’t want to think about the past anymore.

They slept on the same side of the train, Sina on the upper and him on the lower deck. While they could have returned to the walled city or continued down the track, they decided to set out in the morning just in case someone was looking for them. Sina had been left for dead by her creator, and if they were searching for her to make sure she was dead, things would become dangerous very soon.

Elias really hoped that that wasn’t the case. Maybe Sina had some kind of memory disorder, or she’d been given the wrong map. Given her abilities, the first was unlikely, and the second made no sense.

Would it be a good thing if they were found? Elias wasn’t sure.

Even with all the time he’d spent in the world, he hadn’t figured out anything. He wasn’t talented, nor was he quick-witted. Every step he took felt like going through mud ever since he’d lost Crystal.

But things felt like they were changing.

He was content with things for now.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

It was still dark when the bombs began falling.

The first explosion woke him up, shaking the earth with a low rumble. It stirred him from his sleep, and he opened an eyelid, wondering if an earthquake had happened.

The second explosion was a nearby crash with a burst of light through the windows, blowing the remaining sleep away from his mind. Just then, Sina appeared before him, the bags and rifle loosely hanging on her back. Before he could say anything, she held him up with unbelievable strength and ran to the door, kicking it open with a great snapping of metal. She leapt into the dark, and Elias felt his stomach drop as they plummeted down a short distance.

Immediately, the vicinity erupted into light, and Elias felt a wave of heat wash over his body. Sina placed him on his legs. Then he saw the train. Only flames remained now.

His legs felt weak all of the sudden.

They’d almost died.

“It’s okay,” Sina reassured. She seemed to have forgotten her helmet. Or rather, they were missing everything except her rifle and the bags. His shoes were gone, as well as the clothes he’d left to dry. It was the same for her.

She’d jumped over fifty meters to escape. He didn’t know how that was possible, but it had saved their lives.

“This is not okay!” Elias exclaimed, grabbing his hair. “So there are people after you. Oh, fecula. We’re going to die.”

“No. We will not die.”

“That’s easy for you to say—” Elias slapped himself on the face and took in a deep breath. “Okay. First, we need to run. They probably have a tracker on us. Did you bring any devices?”

“Only the map. But the map is safe.”

“How do you know?”

“Trust me.”

“Urgh, you know your stuff,” he said, scanning the air. Strangely enough, there weren’t any aircraft flying around.

With the sound of something whistling through the air, another explosion shook the earth, close to where the train was.

“It’s not planes,” he noticed, feeling some relief. “They’re using mortars!”

“They must have tracked the train,” Sina noticed, touching her spine. “That explains many things.”

“Your spine implant.” Wide-eyed, Elias turned to her. “If they’re tracking us through your implant, then there’s no way we can escape.”

“No,” she disagreed. “I don’t think so.”

“Huh?”

“During the fight with the clone, my spine was damaged severely. The machine would have broken then. It’s very delicate.”

“Spine damage?”

She looked at him. “I would have died if it wasn’t for the clone. She did something to me. I didn’t think it would be worth mentioning.”

And he’d dragged her all the way to the station. She could have told him to be more careful. Had she had a deathwish?

Oh Right. She had.

Elias remembered the black tendrils that had clung onto Sina’s body when he’d found her. Had the clone’s abilities somehow transferred over to her? There was something supernatural at work, and he had no idea what it was.

But he wasn’t going to complain.

Suddenly, the giant crater at the explosion site came into his mind. His hypothesis for the clones being killed after they completed their mission seemed so much more valid. The site, he guessed, really had been a place where the clones would be bombed to death. It hadn’t activated for Sina because her implant had been damaged, but if it hadn’t—

They wouldn’t be standing here now. How many had died before them?

“I bet they saw you through the cameras,” Elias said, but some things still didn’t make sense. They’d been away from the train for quite a while. Why now? Why not on the first day?

Were there cameras on the train too? He hadn’t noticed.

No more bombs came after that. But standing in the wilderness, barefooted with their only method of transportation gone, his heart pounding from anxiety, the determination he’d thought he’d had was suddenly running dry.

“Come on,” Sina urged, walking towards the wreckage of the train. Warily, Elias followed after her.

The vehicle was on fire, as well as the area surrounding it. Its upper section had been blown off, and he thought he saw it melting inside.

“I doubt there is anything else they can use to track me. We’re safe for now. What do you want to do, Elias?”

“Huh?”

“Whether I die or not, it doesn’t matter. But you told me that you’d teach me love, so what happens next is your choice.”

Elias looked at the flames and the charred earth.

“We should move through the forest,” he suggested, “just in case. I, uh, learned some wilderness survival skills before you came. We can hunt for food until we—”

Did that mean they wouldn’t be able to go to any cities anymore?

“What we need is information,” he decided. “We can’t head back to where we came from, but we should follow the rails and go to the next city. Then we can figure out what’s going on with the world, and why they’re trying to hunt you down—whoever they are.”

“Okay.”

While he’d said the words, he was just as confused and terrified as before. Were they against Workman? Someone else?

The world he knew had had its last war hundreds of years ago. It was a perfect world, perfectly organized by a superintelligent entity that had developed for centuries. Why this chaos was happening to him all of the sudden, he didn’t know.

He wanted to find out why he’d been sent here. At the same time, he had to teach Sina how to love.

It was still dark, and the only source of light they had was from the fire, but setting up camp nearby didn’t seem like a wise choice.

“Let’s walk for now,” he said, reaching for the bags on Sina. But she shook her head.

“No. You’ll be too exhausted. I won’t.”

“I know, but—”

“It’s okay. I know your resolve, so you can rest. The journey ahead will be very long.”

Letting her carry all of the luggage didn’t sit well with him.

“If you insist,” she said, handing him the sniper rifle, which he took gladly.

Since he couldn’t see well in the dark, Sina led the way between the trees, keeping track of the rails through the moonlight. Eventually, dawn arrived on the horizon, lighting a part of the sky up in purple then finally, orange and yellow.

When the sun came up, the destruction was well behind them, lost from sight. But there was one acute problem Elias had begun experiencing thirty minutes into the trip.

The soles of his feet didn’t enjoy walking on the raw earth too much. They weren’t blistering yet, but he could tell that they would within an hour or two. It also wasn’t good that there were many small rocks embedded in the dirt, threatening to puncture his skin if he stepped too hard.

The walk felt endless, and they only stopped to eat breakfast. Along the way, Elias’s mind wandered off from his body, daydreaming about what he’d do if he was ever rescued. If he ever got Sina to fall in love with him, he’d show her how fun life was if spent with the right person.

“Elias. Elias!”

He broke from his trance, turning to Sina.

“Yeah?”

“Your feet.”

Only then did his brain register the throbbing pain below. He winced, pulling one foot up to look at the injury. It was covered in dirt, so he used his hand to wipe it away and immediately regretted it as more pain shot up his leg.

A blister that had formed had somehow ripped, and he’d exposed the raw skin when he’d wiped away the grime.

He groaned, sitting down on the ground. Sina automatically reached for the survival kit in the bags and took out a bottle of disinfectant along with a bandage.

“Stay still,” she told him while holding his leg. Elias stifled a scream as she gently rubbed the liquid over his wound, completing the operation by neatly wrapping his foot with the bandage. She then turned to his other foot.

“There’s also a blister here that’s about to burst. If it was anywhere else, we should leave it, but if it’s on the foot, it would be better to pop it if it becomes unbearable.”

“Pop it.”

With her help, his left leg was treated and bandaged too. But walking any more would ruin the bandaging, so he decided to use the spare clothes he had as makeshift shoes. But Sina wouldn’t let him take the bags.

“We can’t stop because of me,” he told her. “I can go on. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“It’s better to get away from the train as far as possible, right? We haven’t even walked a day.”

“Is this self-sacrificing again?”

“I wouldn’t call it that. I’m really fine.”

“You want to continue.”

“Yes. So give me my bag and help me up.”

“No. The bandages will be ruined. But if you insist,”

She slung the bags to her front and crouched in front of Elias with her back towards him.

“Get on.”

“What? No.”

“I don’t understand. This is logical.”

“I can't let you carry me.”

“Because you believe that you will be a burden, but you really want to continue. You underestimate me too much.”

Before he could react, she grabbed his arms and pulled him over her body, forcing him into a piggyback. He felt her hair on her face and moved back, almost falling over. He had to grab Sina’s shoulders to keep himself off of the ground.

Then Sina began running—no, sprinting. At a speed that would have exhausted him in ten seconds, she continued without stopping. And she wasn’t even breathing that strongly.

Elias felt a pang of emotion in his heart. He had been holding her back drastically. Every step he didn’t take reminded him of his incompetence.

“I don’t know why you’re sad,” she noticed. “Why?”

“I just haven’t felt this useless in a while,” he replied.

“Useless? You? You’ve saved me twice. You’ve given me a reason to live. What you say is illogical.”

He blinked. Then again, Sina was Sina. He could forget about common sense around her. She was a girl, but she was an incredible superhuman. He could afford to lean on her without feeling too horrible.

“Fine,” he relented. “And thanks.”

At some point, he’d put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. When he woke up, she was still running with not a single drop of sweat on her face. Her body felt warmer, but nothing else was different.

She was barefooted too.

“I’m fine,” she replied, reading his thoughts. “For someone who talks about enjoying life, you worry too much.”

“I can’t believe I fell asleep,” he muttered, leaning against her shoulder again.

He fell asleep one more time, gaining consciousness inside of the tent that had been set. The soles of his feet felt hard, and stepping on the floor told him that they weren’t as raw anymore. The pain was gone—Sina had done something again.

He peeked outside of the tent and saw a small fire crackling in a hole that had been dug. A skewered rabbit was roasting on top of it.

“Feeling better?” Sina asked. She was sitting on top of a boulder with all the water bottles he’d brought around her.

“You found water?” he asked.

“At a nearby stream. Don’t worry—they’re all purified.”

Without shoes, he didn’t want to go out, so he remained within the tent. Then he saw Sina’s dirtied feet, covered with grass and muck from all the walking she’d done.

Elias stepped crawled outside on his knees and approached the fire next to Sina and sat down.

“Are your feet okay?” he asked quietly.

“They’re perfectly fine,” Sina told him, swinging her legs. “Only a little dirty.”

Using his hands, Elias held Sina’s foot and wiped away the filth that had accumulated. She watched while he continued to clean with curious eyes.

“So, are you satisfied?” she asked, crossing her arms. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

He wiped his hand on the grass and leaned back on his arms. Why had he done that? His mind was still numb from sleep, and he’d acted on an impulse.

“Just checking,” he replied.

Sina placed her head on top of her hands and kept her eyes on him. She didn’t say anything, but simply observed.

After dinner, they watched the sun go down. It was then that Sina opened her mouth to speak, as if she’d decided on something.

“You’ve been pushing yourself too much the past few days,” she said, looking at him. “If you continue to do so, you won’t have the energy to teach me.”

Teaching her. He guessed that he’d have to explain it to her through words. Though how, he’d have to ponder about it.

“Yeah,” he agreed, knowing that his denial wouldn’t fool her.

“I’m never tired unless I’ve been close to death. So, I will do everything from now on. From hunting, walking, gathering—I’ll do it all.”

“And me?”

“You can teach me. Talk to me while we walk and before we sleep. That’s all you have to do.”

Elias lowered his head. He could, and it would make his life much more comfortable. But the whole idea didn’t sit right with him. He wanted to do things with her, not leech off of her efforts.

And she seemed to know.

“Hm. But if you insist—”

She took his hands and held them in hers. Elias felt his heart rate increase.

“Huh?”

“I will teach you how to use power.”

What?

“I’m not sure it will work, but we can try.”

“Power?” His eyes lit up. “Do you mean your telekinesis and super-healing?”

“Yes. We can try right now. Close your eyes and focus on your hands.”

He did. Elias felt something warm build up within, but for all he knew, it could simply be the body temperature rising between his and Sina’s skin. Frankly, he didn’t feel much.

“As expected,” Sina observed. “Your presence is small and not controlled.”

“My presence,” Elias repeated.

“It’s the energy I can sense from living things.”

“You’ve told me before. What exactly is it?”

“Energy to produce a certain outcome. The stronger it is, the more likely you are to achieve what you want. Yours is but a tiny speck compared to mine. The presences of animals are weaker and even weaker for plants.”

“So it’s kind of like sorcery points,” Elias noticed, feeling excitement brew within him. After seeing Sina tilt her head, he added, “It’s from a game. It lets your character use skills.”

“I suppose so,” Sina agreed. “But to control the power within you, you need something special.”

He’d read something similar in his books. “Like a sixth sense,” he said.

“You’ve put it perfectly. Yes, a sixth sense.” She squeezed his hands with a determined look in her eyes. “And I’ll teach you how to awaken it. Then you can become stronger and do what your body prevents you from doing.”

Sina looked very into it, gazing into his eyes passionately.

“Of course I’ll do it. Who wouldn’t?” Elias stated, clearing his throat.

He was going to gain supernatural powers.

“I don’t know how long it will take for you. I was born with my abilities,” Sina said, letting go of his hands. “But until then, taking care of you will be my responsibility. And teaching me about love will be yours.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Elias grinned, feeling much better. Sina smiled after him.

“Then we can begin now,” she told him, getting up. “Come into the tent after you’ve prepared to sleep.”

She entered the tent and zipped the door, and he heard the sound of bug spray blowing soon after. Elias carefully crawled to his bag and began to prepare for the night. He quickly wiped his body down with some wet clothes and changed into new ones, quickly brushing his teeth with the miniature brush and toothpaste he’d gotten from the train. It was good that he didn’t smell that bad. He didn’t smell good, but he wasn’t sour or putrid. It was just his smell, not a bacterial odor.

When he was ready, he quickly entered the tent and pulled the zippers up. Sina was lying on the ground. It was cramped as usual.

“Aren’t we going to sit?” he asked, positioning himself so he wouldn’t fall on her.

“No. Lie down,” she told him. He did, though with some confusion.

“Turn your back towards me,” she said. He did as he was told.

He didn’t expect the hug. Sina placed her body right behind his, wrapping her arm around his body and placing her hand on his chest, right above the heart.

“Sina?”

“I can stimulate your sixth sense more if you are between me,” she stated, her breaths reaching his neck. She probably didn’t have any malicious intentions, but Elias’s brain was going haywire.

“Focus. Learning control takes a great amount of patience,” she told him, zapping his mind back into place. He was being childish.

He took in a deep breath. Crystal had hugged him plenty of times. This was not much different from then.

He closed his eyes and focused on his body. Seconds passed without anything changing.

“Focus on my hand. Feel the power I’m moving into you,” Sina whispered.

He tried. Still nothing.

They continued for a long time. There were moments when he thought that he felt something, but the sensation would be lost a second later, making him forget. It was like trying to hold smoke in his hand or plucking a star out of the sky. There, but not exactly there.

Or it could have all been his imagination. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel.

But because staying inside Sina’s embrace felt so comforting, he felt his eyelids droop after light vanished from the sky. It was a gentle hold, a soft touch he’d yearned for all of his life— something he’d wanted deeply for the longest time. His mother had long ceased to provide him with that comfort, and Jewel had only given him a taste of it, only to rip it away from his grasp. But now it was here, in the middle of nowhere, just the two of them together.

She didn’t know love. They hadn’t even known each other for a month. But strangely, Elias found himself admiring the beautiful girl.

It wasn’t just her looks. Maybe it was her supernatural powers that allowed her to read him. She was a simple girl raised as a tool, only being kind to him because she didn’t know better. But her care, the way she comforted him—it made him happy.

He found himself in love with her.

Sina didn’t say anything. She simply continued to hold him until darkness overcame his consciousness.