Aligned by Rashelle Workman Page B

whatever , if I’ve gone crazy, then I’ll blissfully stay in crazy-town.
    “Hi.” I attempt a wave, but splash water in my eyes.
    A smile lifts the corners of her mouth, sending it to her cheeks, her eyes, and over to me. Its warmth scorches through my chest, burning away my loneliness.
    “Are you finished in the water?”
    “Yes, I’d like to get out, but—” I’m about to explain I’m naked when I hear Fluffy. “Don’t move,” I holler, trying to run in the water toward shore. No way am I going to lose her to some overgrown elephant-bear. 
    “What’s wrong?”
    Fluffy is close now, his mouth wide open, flashing all one hundred of his razor sharp teeth. The edge of the pool is too far away. He’ll reach her first. So I yell, “No, Fluffy! No! She’s mine!” (I know, this sounds very selfish, even chauvinistic, but I’m under pressure.)
    “Fluffy,” she asks and turns around.
    At this point I don’t care that I’m naked. Nothing will matter if she gets hurt, or killed. I burst out of the water waving my arms. “Fluffy, stop!”
    The ele -bear has already stopped though. Fluffy is sitting on his haunches, whining like a little puppy, as though he wants her to pet him. Scratch behind his long, floppy ears.
    “Is this Fluffy,” she asks, rubbing his tummy. “He’s very sweet.”
    I try to pet him and he growls. “Yeah, and loveable,” I grumble.
     
    ***
    I’ve put on a pair of trousers, and brought the girl back to my cave. She’s meandering around the room while I start a fire. It isn’t for warmth, but protection. I glance over at her every once in a while, when she makes a noise. She’s picked up my makeshift broom, one of my shirts, and some herbs set out to dry.
    I still can’t believe she’s here.
    Finished stoking the fire, I watch as she picks up a purple Linastar feather and runs it along her cheek. “You are even more beautiful in person,” I say, my voice catching as I realize I shouldn’t have said that. Technically, this is the first time I’ve met her. She might not appreciate I’ve been dreaming about her for five hundred and twenty-three days.
    She places the feather in a basket already full of them, turns to me , and smiles. “As are you.” 
    I feel my face get warm; my heart starts to beat like a herd of thundering horses. “Who are you?” I want to touch her, to feel for myself that she’s real, to stroke her hair, and . . . kiss her.
    A spark of excitement flashes in her eyes. She moves forward, so we’re toe to toe. “I am Aetha, Mother of light. I hold sway over all that is day.” She takes one of my hands in hers and presses my palm against her chest. Then she places her other hand over my heart. “You are Ith, Father of all things which delight the night.”
    I’m not sure what to be more surprised about—the fact that we’re touching or that she seems to know my name and says I’m a father. “Delight the night? What . . .”
    “Ith, together, we will save this planet and hold dominion over it for as long as we are needed.”
    “I still don’t understand. Are you human?” The answer is obvious, even though I don’t want it to be. Our forms are similar, but I detect differences. Her movements are gentler.
    “I am an eternal. My essence comes from the planet Stiel as does yours.”
    “Wait, I’m from there, too? Is Stiel another word for Earth?”
    “No, it’s in an entirely different solar system.” She shifts closer to the fire. “Should we sit?”
    “Sure.” I take out a hand-woven mat and place it on the ground.
    She shakes her head. “Why don’t we sit on chairs?” As she says the words, she moves her hands in the motion of a wave. Instantly, two high-backed, plush, velvet chairs appear.
    I stagger. “What the—”
    She winks and then the most beautiful noise imaginable escapes her throat. Laughter. It’s soft, like the tinkling of tiny bells, and a choir of angels. “Ith, there is much you need to remember.” Grabbing my