Her Redemption

4 – Bout

BREATHING heavily, Malakai close the front door softly. She staggered toward the chaise. She leaned her back on the upholstered chair.

She bit her lower lip to prevent the sound of pain from her mouth when she takes the jacket off.

“f**k!” She whispered when the pain shot up.

She looked down to inspect the injury she got. The end of the black shirt she wears was torn. She found the waistband of the dark jeans she wore was also ripped.

She split the shirt apart before unbuttoning the jeans. She lowered the waist band of the jeans to examine the extent of the damaged.

She made another hissing sound when she saw shards of broken glasses embedded in the wounded skin.

“What happened?!”

Malakai opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Amari squats beside her in the chaise. The woman is already checking the wounds.

Without another word, her housemate left her. She came back holding the first aid kit she kept under the sink.

The first thing that Amari did was to guide her to lie on her side. The woman cuts the part of the garment near the offended skin. Slowly, she picks up the pieces of broken glass using the tweezers.

When the shards of glasses were gone, Amari cleans the wound and applied antiseptic on it. After putting a fresh bandage on it, she continue cutting the already torn jeans. She removed the entire pants off her including the shirt.

Malakai was left on her underwear that were also black.

Amari left again. She has the first aid kit with her. She immediately returned with a glass of water and a tablet of unknown medicine. Malakai drink it without question.

“I will move you. You can rest better in the bedroom.”

Before she could shift herself from the chair, Amari lifted her with ease. Surprise is quite clear on her face, she stared at the shorter woman who was carrying her.

There was no emotion displayed on Amari’s beautiful face. The short walk between the living room and the bedroom ended quickly.

Gently, she was put down the bed.

“Rest. It will help you recuperate.”

“Thank you.”

Amari nods at her. For the third since she arrived, her housemate left her.

Malakai woke up the next day with the striking pain on her side. She groan as the throbbing continues.

She was alone in the room when she looks around.

She remembered what happened last night. She can still recall how Amari tend to her injury when the woman found her in the living room.

Last night was a bad call for her.

With a heavy sigh she got up from the bed. She walked towards the door. She was making slow steps seeing that every step she made bring forth the pain in her side.

She found Amari in the kitchen. Their eyes met for a while.

“Good morning. I’m sorry for my state of undress.”

“Do you need help?”

“Maybe later.”

She made a slow shower being careful not to add more pressure to the injured side. Drying herself was easy but putting clean clothes was harder.

Carrying the first aid kit, she returned to the living room. She laid on her side and lift the lose shirt she puts on.

Amari tend to her wounds and put on fresh bandages. She did not protest when the woman lifts her again.

“I never imagined that I will experience being lifted like a blushing, virgin bride.” She said to cover the embarrassment she felt.

“You can charge it to experience. Your girlfriends never carried you before?”

Amari put her down on the chair. Malakai sat carefully. She looks for a more comfortable position to ease the pressure from the abrasion in her middle.

“I preferred petite female and more on a girly side. I do most of the carrying and I like it that way.” She responded.

“Oh?”  

“Don’t be offended. You’re strong.”

“I carried women buffer than you.”

Taken aback, she gaped at Amari. The woman nods at her before placing the cup of coffee beside her hand.

“What do you do exactly?”

“Are you ready to hear the answers to your questions?”

“Are you?”

The shorter woman gave her a smile. She placed the toast bread in the counter together with the jam and the peanut butter. She occupied the chair opposite hers.

“You’re not dumb, Malakai. I knew that you already have an idea to who I really am. In the same way that I knew who you are. Or what you are.”

She chuckled but there was no humor in it.

“You’re a myth.”

Amari stared back at her. The looks that the woman is giving her proved her nothing.

“And you’re a science fiction.”

“I have no reason to believe of what I thought you could be. I may have read about the likes of you but writers were just doing it to sell their books.”

The woman opposite hers gave her a sarcastic smile before drinking coffee.

“Judging the words from your mouth, you’re not ready for this conversation.”

Malakai looked away. She took a deep sigh.

“Eat. You may have attained an extra ability but you’re still human. You have to regain your strength. The people that you have encountered last night may be after you again.”

“How did you know?” She asked after reaching for the peanut butter and jelly that Amari made for her. She takes a sip from the still hot coffee.

“I watched the news while waiting for you. I didn’t know that it was you.”

“You want to know what happened?”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

“I’ve been trying to catch this group of kids that has been breaking and entering the small business in the nearby town. They were using one of my kind.”

She made a bite from her sandwich. She gulped it down with coffee.

“Last night, I saw them in one of my run in the neighborhood. It was tough luck but one of the kids was carrying a gun. I was calling them from the other side of the window. He shot me before they ran away.”

“The cops arrested two kids.”

“Which one?”

“Two boys, both Caucasian. The authority was not able to get your friend.”

“How did you know which kid?”

“When I see your kind, your eyes shined like a light bulb. No one noticed it though.”

“Did you see many of us here?”

“Mrs. Dela Cruz’ youngest is one of yours. The child is not as strong as you though.”

Her eyes shot up and stared at the mythical woman. Her eyes were full of questions as she waits for her explanation.

Amari shrugged. “You emit this aura that could shake a weaker human. If I’m not me, I might shake, too.”

She released another sigh before finishing the sandwich. She reached for the bread and made the sandwich herself.

“The tattoo at the side of your nape, your kind have it?”

Staring at her eyes, Amari shook her head. “Apparently, I was chosen. I have been marked to be one of the greatest.”

Once again, she has this faraway look in her eyes. She wore the expression of remembering a painful past.

“Were you born with the mark of your father?”

Amari’s gaze turned to her. With a sad smile she responded. “It was bestowed to me by the man himself during the highs of my life.”

“You must be a great warrior.”

“I was.” She followed it with a deep sigh. “That was history. That history was long forgotten.”

“How long?”

“I have lived for a long time, Malakai. My heart is full of sorrows that I could take the burden off Atlas shoulder.”

“He’s a myth.”

“As I am.” She muttered in almost whisper.

“What did you do?”

“I made a mistake that my sisters cannot forgive. If not for my mother’s mercy, I would have perished in the hands of the person I grew up with.”

The frown on Malakai’s face deepened. “Leaving with us will give you salvation?”

“A person like me does not deserve salvation. The reason I breathed was due to the mercy of the mother who favored me.”

“This is your punishment?”

Amari nods sadly. The woman handed her another tablet. She took it with question.

“You’ll be fine comes Monday. Two days rest will make a difference. I wish I could give you my blood but I’m afraid that the purity of it might kill you.”

“W-what?”

“Haven’t you read about that?” She shook her head. “My blood has healing ability. That was the reason why my injuries healed quickly. Demigods restored back to health whenever they had a sip from my kind.”

“W-what?”

Amari chuckled at the look on her face. “You have to read more judging from the look on your face, Malakai. Haven’t you said that this world is full of mystery?”

The long haired woman sent her a smile before living her alone in the kitchen.

The information she learned in the conversation were still swimming her head. Aside from the sting she felt in her middle, her temple is starting to throb.

“Amari.” She called out. “Amari!”

“What?” The woman peek her head from the bedroom door.

“I need help. I think my head is drowning.”

“You can walk.”

“Please.” She murmured. She closed her eyes when she started seeing black spots.

She felt the arms that catch her when she fell from the chair. Amari was mumbling but she was not able to grasps what she was saying.

“Such a baby.”

“Hey.” She protested groggily when she became aware of the soft mattress on her back.

“Sleep. You’ll be better when you wake up.”

“Stay.”

The side of the bed dips when Amari’s weight pressed on the mattress. She felt the woman caressed her forehead.

“Mother, is she my redemption?”

That was the last thing she heard before sleep totally claimed her conscious.