Chapter 20 Nightmare
Daniel’s POV
It was an ancient world, nothing compared to the one we live in now. In this world, I was down by the stream in a small town. And then I saw her.
Delilah.
She wore a soft tan buckskin dress that fell just below her knees, with different colors of flora printed on it. Her skin was smooth and perfect, and finally, her eyes caught mine from afar.
“Lorenzo!” she screamed, joy lighting up her face. Without a second thought, I ran to her, and our bodies collided in a long, tight hug, holding onto each other like we’d never let go.
“Delilah,” I called out, pulling away just for our eyes to meet. “Where on earth have you been?”
“I have searched the world for you.… for decades,” I said, my eyes scanning her as one might inspect a child.
She held my chin, tears circulating in her eyes as she forced them back. “I have been around, just that you haven’t seen me.”
I hugged her again. “Come back to me, sweetheart. I have missed you.”
She scoffed. “When the time comes, I will.”
Her hand curled around my wrist, gripping me with surprising strength. “Come with me,” she said softly.
I didn’t know when my legs followed her. Nothing else mattered to me. The only thing in my mind was to find out when she was actually coming back to me.
We walked past numbers of villagers, beautiful trees that reminded me of my past life, and finally, she stopped at a big mountain. That was when the memories flashed back.
It was where I met Delilah for the first time.
She would always come here to practice dancing, while I would always slip out of my house to avoid my father forcing me to read.
He had wanted me to be a medical doctor, but I wanted to be a dancer.
As a deadbeat, my father had no limits. He would constantly threaten me with my mother’s life. If I failed an exam or even made the slightest mistake, he would strike her instead. And the worst part? My mother could do nothing. In our village, women were expected to obey their husbands without question, treated as subjects rather than human beings.
So that was how I agreed to leave Delilah for my studies but promised to come back for her.
Delilah nudged the corner of my shoulder, her smile stretching. “Lorenzo, do you remember here?”
I smiled genuinely. “Why won’t I?” My fingers slipped into hers, holding her tight like I was scared she might disappear.
“This was the first place that we met. We shared our first kiss here, made loads of promises to each other,” I moved closer. “We had our first sex here.”
She lowered her head, blushing. “A lot of memories, right?”
I nodded, our eyes locked.
She forced out a long breath, scanning the rocks around us.
“And this was where they ended what we shared too.”
A sharp ache struck my heart. The pain brought back memories that I had fought so hard to forget.
How I had run back to the village that day, thinking that my mom was just playing a prank on me. I went to Delilah’s house, but I found out that she was not there. Then I was told to go to the Mountain of Love, this very place. I was told that I would find her here.
But what I never believed was that I would be seeing her in a condition that would shatter my heart.
My eyes moved to the particular spot. That day, she lay lifeless, sprawled on the ground, eyes wide in terror. She had been stoned countless times, patches of dark blood circled her skin. And when I ran close to her, I moved her body only to find the number of stabs those bald monsters had used on her.
I turned to her. “Delilah, don’t you think it’s time that you come back? Trust me, I have been searching and hoping to hold you again.”
She eased her shoulders, her tone softer than before. “Enzo, you know it doesn’t work that way.”
Hell. I just wanted to hold her again, whisper those sweet words that always made her blush when she was in my arms.
Finally, Delilah broke from my hold, eyes buried on the ground. I could sense the pain in her voice. “It’s time to go.”
I shook my head, confused. “What do you mean?” I caught her wrist sharply, searching her eyes. “What do you mean by time to go?”
She eased her shoulders. “Lorenzo, I understand that you still miss what we shared.” Her hand trembled beneath my hold.
My chest tightened. “Miss it?” My voice came out rough, cracking at the edges. I lifted her hand gently, pressing it over my heart. “Delilah….I don’t just miss it, I still live in it. Every day. Every breath I take reminds me of you.”
Her eyes glistened, lashes fluttering as if each blink fought back a memory. I drew in a shaky breath, my fingers tightening just enough to keep her from pulling away.
But she did.
Her eyes slipped away, darting. This time she couldn’t hold back the tears, they streamed down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No, no, no.” I reached for her hands again, but she yanked them away.
“Delilah, you don’t have to be sorry,” I whispered, barely holding my tears. “If there should be anyone apologizing here…. it should be me.” My voice cracked.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you when I should have. I’m sorry that I didn’t make it on time before those evil men took you away from me.” I took a step closer to her.
“Delilah, just come back to me. I promise to make it up to you. With you by my side, I will hunt mortals until they are no longer in existence.” My hands threw open, circling the space. “We can have the whole world under our control and get everyone to worship us.”
Delilah shook her head in disgust. “No, I can’t.” She stepped back. “I can’t join you in hurting humans all in the name of revenge.”
I ran a finger through my hair, breathing too heavily. “Just….”
Delilah shunned me with a hand up. “There is no ‘just’ here, Lorenzo.” Her chest rose and fell. “I know how hard it is,” she whispered, “but it’s been many years, Lorenzo. I have forgiven those who hurt me in the past, and I expect you to do the same… instead of killing them.”
I did not lift my face to her. I knew better than to do so. Those perfect blue eyes would have softened a spot that I’m not ready to let go of, so I decided to remain mute.
When she realized nothing would make me give in, she pulled away completely. “Fine,” she hissed, “I’m out of here.”
Before I could even raise a finger, she had disappeared. My eyes desperately moved around, searching. “Delilah! Lilah!” I moved to the other end. “Where are you!” I screamed.
“Please come back to me.”
I quickly climbed to the upper part of the mountain, hoping to get a glimpse of her shadow. “Delilah....please come back. I will do whatever you want me to do.”
I called again and again, shifting rocks and trees, but she was nowhere to be found.
My chest knotted in fear. Have I lost her again? I thought she loved me. Why would she leave me again?
No, no, no.
Maybe she was playing hide and seek. She can’t leave me just like that, not even a goodbye.
Finally, I gathered all the energy in me and let out the last call.
“Delilah!!!”
My body jolted from the bed. At first, I couldn’t recognize where I was. The morning sun struck my eyesight, making me shut them at once. Then, slowly, I opened them, rubbing them with the back of my hands.
And that was when reality hit me hard.
I had been dreaming, and it was morning already. I raked my brain and all effort to remember what the dream was, was in vain. My hands moved across the bed, hoping to make out a figure, but to my greatest surprise, Evelyn was not there.
I quickly jumped up from the bed. Had she left? Did she sneak away last night?
Could she have escaped without my men seeing her? If they had seen her, they would have called my attention.
I just hoped none of this had happened, because if it had, everyone would smell my rot.