Chapter 8: A Sister

I love him. I know I shouldn’t. But I do. And there’s nothing I can do about it. He wanted to tell the others about me, but I asked him to keep me a secret. Especially from Ahlirah. I don’t know her, but learning that her soulmate found some mountain woman that he shares all his secrets with might not go over well. So, once a month or so, he comes out and fills me in on the latest. He offers me his clothes and convinces Prahsehss to make him new ones.

They’re warm. I only wear them when he appears, as my naked appearance seems to make him uncomfortable. But the cold is where I thrive. The peak of the mountain is the best spot for me to watch everyone. It’s where I can sit on the clouds and hover above the chaos of the world. I know everything about this world just from this one spot. I’ve gotten to know everyone without ever having to leave.

And yet I wish there was someone else who cared to visit me aside from Drahn. Another female who wants to hang out with me but also understands when I need my space. Someone to save me from myself and this growing feeling of loneliness every time Drah leaves. A sister. Whatever that is. I’m sure she’d be lovely. She’d appreciate the cold but shine like the warmth of the sun. She’d be perfect. Too bad she only exists in my mind.

Sometimes I can hear her voice in my ear, and I respond out loud when Drahn’s not around. I don’t know how he’d feel about me talking to imaginary people. He’d probably push the issue of my solitude or stop visiting altogether. Both outcomes drain me just thinking about them.

“He loves you, even if not in the way you love him," she says in my mind.

“Doubtful,” I mumble aloud.

“What’s doubtful?”

Drahn walks into the cave I call home, and thoughts of my sister fade into the background as I wave away his concerns and slip into the clothes he gave me. I love him. How do I stop this unbearable feeling? And how do I get this other voice out of my head? I really must be going mad.