I slide the window closed, smiling at the blue and white bird that rests a few feet away from me, soaking up the sun on our white balcony. I always find it strange when a bird doesn't fly away after seeing a human, but I'm glad to think it's not afraid of me.

A roaring engine disrupts the peace, and I hurry towards the main door to greet the guests that should be pulling into our driveway any minute now.

"Come on." I grab Luca's hand, smiling sheepishly when he almost drops the vase of pink flowers onto the floor. "Sorry."

Luca shakes his head as we exit the dining room, walking faster when we hear a knock on the door.

We pass our freshly painted lounge, and I make a mental note to get all the furniture moved in as soon as possible. Although Luca might disagree, I picked the prettiest green couches for it.

I reach the glass door and outstretch my arm to open it. However, Nova beats me to it, swinging the door open to meet us.

Ignoring my friend's impatience, I pull her into a hug. "Nova!"

"Took you long enough," she giggles, hugging me with the same excitement. "You look good."

I run my eyes over my body, shrugging as I see my tight-fitted blue jeans and black top before moving to look at her flowy, pink dress. She also has bangs now, and they suit her face perfectly.

"You look good!"

She giggles and moves to hug Luca. I look past her and into her red, sporty car, wondering where her partner is.

After travelling all over the world, a short, brown-haired boy convinced her to settle in Mizen. It's a days flight away from me, but Nova comes to visit whenever she can.

"I thought you're bringing Seth?"

Nova bites her lip, and I already know what she's going to say.

"You can't force him to meet me, Nova. Not everyone is comfortable being around a Vessel, and that's alright." I close the door after her, leading her to the dining room I forced Luca to set up.

"I want him to meet my best friend," she whines. "Plus, you don't have an evil in you."

"We can't tell him that."

"Yeah yeah." Nova sighs. "I know."

I shake my head, feeling bad that Seth even has to put up with Nova trying to bring him over. Sure, I have a blessing inside me, so he doesn't have to worry about an evil affecting him. I've just decided not to tell the world that, because I can't even tell them how I came to know that.

Just as the curse put on me after finding Hades' Clutch, we all have a curse stopping us from telling others about Edesere or the house that changed everything for us.

We can speak of tools like Hades' Clutch and vague descriptions of what we saw, but nothing detailed comes out of our mouth, making anything we'd think of saying or writing to others sound like a legend rather than a personal experience.

A part of me wonders if that's the case with every story people are so quick to brush off; that there are people in the world who have experienced the stories they tell but can't say it.

"This is so cute, Mora." Nova pulls out one of the cream-coloured chairs, bending over the table to look at the decorations.

Luca picked out fresh, pink roses from our small garden and placed them in white vases. He also lay out our new transparent plates and napkins decorated with images of birds. It all goes well with the baby blue place mates and the matching tablecloth lining the centre of the wooden table.

"The house is really beautiful." She looks around, smiling even though the place isn't nearly done.

I smile at Nova, thinking about how this is actually all thanks to Grandad and Kwami.

When we returned from the mystical house, we met Kwami's friend in Shai. He then got me in touch with a lawyer who was eager to get me the money Grandad left behind for me. Some of it even funded Nova's training as an air hostess. Grandad also left me this house.

"Thank you." I laugh and take a seat across her.

Luca sits next to me and places a hand on my thigh. I lean forward to kiss his cheek, and he meets me half way, smiling when I complete my goal.

"How have you love birds been." Nova sits back in her chair, smirking as she looks at us.

She was a little surprised when I told her Luca was moving in with me, but I assured her it was only to help him out. Although the move has a little more to do with romance now, Luca didn't have much to live on.

"We're okay." I giggle. "Luca got a new job as a mechanic a couple months ago. Just after your last visit."

There isn't much to say about me, seeing as I spend most of my time in or close to the house. Some of the neighbours, still keeping a good distance from us down the hill, don't mind having a Vessel around, but I like to avoid the many that don't.

"You probably ruin their cars," Novs says.

"When are you leaving?"

I playfully hit Luca's arm and laugh. He and Nova can't help but insult each other, but I know they're only joking. It's their own way of getting along.

"I'm getting the hang of things, though." Luca smiles. "Still help Kwami out here and there, but I'm mostly at the shop."

This is one of the reasons we settled in Shai; it's close enough for Luca to help Kwami rescue captives from Fate's Cave, which seems to be branching out every month. It turns out the government also has a hand in trying to put an end to that place.

"Is he still confused?" Nova laughs, remembering how puzzled Kwami was to see us all.

He remembered us, but it was as if pieces of his memory were stolen from him. He can't remember Nova and Luca as Vessels, just as people he rescued once.

Sometimes he'd scratch his head, sure he was missing something but never able to figure it out. I guess that needed to happen or we'd get so many questions we can't answer.

"Always." Luca laughs, and I join in. "He's given up trying to figure things out."

"I wish we could tell him. I wish we could tell everyone, you know."

I bite my lip, a bit nervous about the news I've been waiting to tell the both of them. It feels like the right time.

"Mora?" Nova doesn't miss a thing, noticing my thoughts are running wild. "What is it?"

Knowing I've been caught, I stand up, cringing when my chair screeches against the tiles. I run to the bedroom, leaving Nova and Luca puzzled at the table.

Kneeling down on the grey carpet, I lift the white duvet that hangs a little too low from the bed. After roaming my hand on the floor, I find what I've been looking for.

I pull the manuscript out, sighing in relief when I'm able to lift it up and stand to my feet. This thing is heavy.

"Amora?" Luca calls out.

"Coming!" I run out of the room, making my way through the empty hall and back into the dining room.

Curious eyes are on me, and I stand with the manuscript behind my back.

Luca, noticing I'm hiding something, stands up. I let him walk towards me, smiling when I notice he is wearing the white shirt I picked out for him.

He shakes his head, wrapping one arm around my waist and taking my manuscript with his other hand.

He brings it to his face, and his eyebrows furrow as he reads the title.

"Vessels?"

I nod, and he turns around to hold the manuscript up to Nova.

"I'm writing a book," I blurt, catching them both by surprise. "I know we can't tell people about our personal experience, so I figured this is the next best thing. I'm able to talk about the clutch and some things about Prometheus's followers."

Honestly, my book is like many others I've read, but I made sure to let people know the journey to freedom is a hard one—something the other books I've read played down. Although I can't be specific, I mention death, curses, and sacrifice.

Nova smiles, happy I finally have the courage to do what she's been wanting me to do for months.

"I'm so proud of you, Mora." Nova smiles as Luca places a kiss on my head.

Although getting here was difficult, I'm happy to be here, surrounded by people who love me and people I love. Even though I couldn't free myself, I'm glad I freed them.

However, I haven't given up on myself just yet. Luca hasn't either. He's the one who mostly meets up with people we think may know something; often the authors of books discussing Pandora.

I know that saving myself is a long shot, but I'm willing to try. Even if I have to use every month until I'm triggered, I'll be happy knowing I was chasing my dream.