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The present.

"...and just like that, we penetrated through the bathroom door..." Anaya flipped the page to the next, trying so hard to keep her eyes open.

Reading the book had brought her into a new realm where even her sense of self was distorted. She didn't know what to believe anymore — unconsciously drawing symbols...Hands shooting lights...Dead bodies disappearing...walking through bathroom doors. These were just too many for her.

And she hadn't gone any further in her reading. What more was she to discover? Paintings can come to life? There are some creatures in the world that no one knows of?

She lurched forward to get back to the reading when the doorbell chimed. She shuffled to the door to see who it was. Anaya wasn't expecting to see him when she opened the door. It was the handsome bellboy from earlier. She leaned against the door frame trying her best to restrain the smile that so stubbornly wanted to leave her lips.

"Oh, hey, it is you...you..." Again, he left her speechless.

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry to bother you at this time. I had to deliver this to you." He pointed to a wrapped white box in his hands.

Seriously? At this time? She thought as she finally let free the smile from her lips. What could go wrong?

"Oh, it is alright. Come in." She ushered him in.

Finding the next available table, he placed the white box on it, unwrapped it and brought out a bottle of Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs. "Compliments of the house." he smiled.

Seeing him made her heart leap around in its cage. Such a strange feeling! Hearing his voice made her stomach flutter and she couldn't help but feel that way about him. His eyes, those brown eyes, were just refreshing to look at. And the way he moved, if the gods didn't have mercy...

She couldn't get her mind around how he was effortlessly looking handsome.

"You guys really offer the best service." Anaya managed to say before walking over to take the champagne from him. Then his hands brushed against hers. Her skin tingled at the touch. For some seconds, they froze, then they locked eyes. Her heart beat erratically in her chest so hard that she felt as it would burst.

"Ermm...maybe I should go. It's already late and my shift has ended." He muttered, making his way to the door.

"Or you can stay and have this drink with me?" Anaya found herself spewing these words before she could stop herself.

"Sure?" He asked.

"Of course, why not? I've had a rough day. I could use some company."

She sure had had a rough day but she wasn't sure that was the only motivation behind such a hastened decision. What would she talk to him about if he stayed?

Anaya! You should have thought this through. She thought but before she could do anything about it, Dembe replied.

"Alright, if you say so, ma'am. I wouldn't mind a glass." He turned and grabbed a seat at the somewhat small living area the hotel room had, his smile, still wide on his face.

He brought out the elegant transparent bottle from the box, unwrapped the gold seal and yanked the cork of the champagne the second he sat which gave a small pop sound. Anaya took out some champagne glasses — the flute type — poured the golden yellow contents of the Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs into the glasses, gave one to him and picked one.

They raised the glass to the sky in a manner which suggested they were having a toast. To what occasion, that wasn't evident but they began the journey of filling their stomachs with the champagne right after the toast.

This journey brought silence between them. I mean, what do you say to a total stranger for whatever reason, you've invited to have a drink with you? There was this unsettling tension between them but that didn't stop Anaya from stealing a glance or two at Dembe when she had the chance.

It was on one of these stolen glances at him that she saw the tattoo on his right forearm. The design of the tattoo looked strange to her and she tried to think of reasons that would make one draw such strange things on their body but gave up trying when she couldn't find any logical reason.

"So, I didn't catch your name?" She broke the silence. Someone had to. Eventually.

"Dembe, ma'am. I am Dembe."

"Ma'am?" Anaya snickered. "Now, you will have to stop calling me that, Dembe. I am Anaya," she added.

"Anaya?" Dembe repeated, a little surprised. Anaya didn't miss that sign.

"You seem surprised. First time hearing this name? Or does it remind you of someone?"

"Oh, not really. I just like the sound of it."

"Thank you." She replied, trying so hard to hide the blush. "Dembe isn't bad either by the way." They both laughed.

The conversations continued from there talking about everything and nothing. Each passing second came with the attraction between them growing stronger until they couldn't hold back any longer. He made the first move by walking from his seat to hers. Anaya silently thanked her stars for that. Right then and there, they both knew it was going to happen and they needn't the gods to tell them that.

In the heat of the moment, Dembe kissed Anaya. His lips brushed so softly, slowly against hers. He moved to her ear lobe with just the right glimmer of passion, then worked his way down her neck to her collar bone as his breath swivelled against the skin just beneath her ear before coming right back up for the lips he knew would be waiting.

All at once, there was nothing in Anaya's world but Dembe's kissing, touching, and exploring every hairsbreadth of her body with his mouth, his tongue, and his hands. He picked her up and moved to the bed that stared at them in the face from the adjoining room. Then it happened.

Presently as they slept there, each at the other side of the bed probably beating themselves up for what had happened or not, Dembe got up, dressed up, kissed Anaya on the lips and walked out without saying a single word. She could swear she felt butterflies in her stomach when he made that gesture.

Why didn't he just walk away as if nothing happened? She thought before forcing herself to stop thinking about what happened. After all, it meant nothing. She was in Abikiali for a quest and once that was accomplished, she was going back to Tékala. She didn't have to open herself up for such fantasies — that would be at a cost she wasn't ready to pay.

She scanned the clock on the bedside table and realized it was just a quarter past twelve midnight and that she could read another chapter of the book before retiring to her bed. She picked up the book which now lay on the floor beside the bed. She chuckled at the thought of how it might have gotten down there and flipped through the creased, brown pages to where she left off.

"The door in the bathroom led us to someplace different — a place Kukua promised had answers to my questions." The page read.

***

Dembe was back in his own apartment. He slept on the couch, his head resting on the arm panel and his phone, clasped to his ears.

"Yes, it is her. I don't know how that is possible but it looks like we failed." Then there was silence for a while.

"Oddly, She didn't seem to remember or recognise me nor did she seem awoken."

"There was this book. A replica of the one from before with her though."

"Yes...yes...I will find out more. We might be closer than we think." He ended the call as his face lit up with a Cheshire grin — the kind that was so wide it was more of a death threat than a heartwarming smile. 

~•~
What do you think Dembe is up to? 🤔

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Chapter proofread and edited by JellyJam_s

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