Caleb: Whole Hearted

He waited.
Waited.
Waited.
Moonlight glowed softly through the iron bars that imprisoned him. He had been given every comfort that he could ever imagine; books to read, a bed of lavish silk, food every hour, it was a life fit for a king. But, the iron bars across his windows, and the various locks on his door were an ever present reminder of his true status. A prisoner. Those who came to wait upon him assured him constantly that he was not a prisoner. “It’s precaution,” they would tell him.
Precaution from what?
Caleb looked down at his hands. White bandages were wrapped tightly around the skin right up to his forearms. Was it because of what was hidden underneath?
There was a soft knock at the door. Caleb rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand why they always knocked. They were the ones who possessed the keys to unlock the door. He heard jingling of keys and the click of the lock as the door opened. A young woman, who called herself Liona, entered the room, she was followed by a teenage boy, almost the same age as Caleb. The boy’s hair was darker than a raven’s feather’s, a complete contrast to Caleb’s white-blonde locks. The other boy looked at Caleb and froze. Caleb’s heart sped up. His grey eyes held the other boy’s green stare. Liona spoke up, her voice gentle, “Caleb, this is Palak (Guardian). He is the other half of you…”
Caleb watched as Palak swallowed nervously, moving closer, holding out a shaky hand. He grinned nervously. “Hey, nice to meet you.” His tone was warm. It reminded Caleb of lying on the beach, the sun shining warmly on his face as a cool ocean breeze blew softly. He stared at Palak’s hand. He began to reach out his own bandaged hand. No. He drew his hand back, turning away, looking out the window once more. He didn’t deserve to have the other half of his soul. Not with the ugly sins that covered his own half soul. Loneliness. That’s what he deserved.


Palak: Guardian

He watched as Caleb turned away from him. He dropped his own hand, glancing at Liona for guidance, but she was gone. He sighed softly. High school certainly hadn’t taught him how to deal with the other half of his soul. Palak glanced around the room. It looked pretty expensive, but his brow furrowed at the bars on the windows, and the untouched food lying on the table.
His green eyes looked upon Caleb’s turned back. He could see the bones of Caleb’s spine protruding from the fabric of his shirt.
“You know, you should eat something.”
No response.
Strike one. He sighed again, moving over to the table, picking up an apple.
“You know, this apple looks really delicious,”
“Then why don’t you eat it?”
Strike two. He sighed a third time, getting a little frustrated.
“Will you look at me?”
No response.
Strike three.
“Dammit, Caleb.” He dropped the able on the table and moved forward, grabbing Caleb’s shoulder, forcing him to turn around. His lips parted when he saw that the boy before him was crying. “H-hey, it’s okay!” Palak knelt down, grabbing a box of tissues from the bedside table, offering them to the nearly sobbing boy in front of him. There was silence as Palak allowed Caleb to calm down. “You know,” Palak began as he adjusted to a sitting position on the Persian rug, “I didn’t know what to expect coming in here,” he watched as Caleb looked at him, his expression unreadable. Palak continued. “I was living a normal life at school. I wasn’t popular, but I had a lot of friends, good grades, you know, stuff that everyone wants to have, I guess. I didn’t have any parents, but I was still pretty happy. But, then I started having these dreams…” he averted his gaze to the barred window, watching as a cloud passed over the glowing moon. “I was holding a hand. It was black. Sort of like it had been burned. I couldn’t see the person’s face, but holding their hand…I felt complete. I guess you could say it was like finding that one puzzle piece that you need to finish your one-thousand piece puzzle,” he chuckled softly. Caleb merely stared, a few stray tears falling down cheeks. Palak looked at him, an overwhelming urge to hold the frail boy in front of him washed over his senses, but he swallowed it back. “Then that woman, Liona, appeared on my doorstep, spouting some nonsense about the Zodiac and the stars and the end of the world. To be honest, I thought she was just some crazy medium wanting money. But…she knew about my dreams. She knew that I’d always felt that something wasn’t right…something was missing. And she told me about you…” He paused, looking up at Caleb. “May I see your hands?”

Caleb

He froze.
His bandaged hands trembled. He wanted to run from this strange boy who was supposed to be the possessor of the other half of his soul. But, instead, he held out his hands. Palak took them gently. Caleb swallowed hard, gasping softly as Palak began to unwrap the bandages. He looked away as the bandages fell away, revealing black, charred skin, his fingers gnarled and claw like with sharp nails. Silence filled the room for a moment, broken only by the sounds of their breathing. Suddenly, to Caleb’s surprise, Palak leaned down and kissed both of his hands.
Whole…is this what it feels like to feel whole?




Palak

He didn’t know what made him do it. It was like his body was operating on autopilot. Every move, every word was not his own. It was his soul. The part of his soul that was desperate to be reunited with its other half.
“Caleb, I’m not going to leave you. I won’t ever stray from your side. Never. Forever, forever, I will be your guardian.” His grip increased on Caleb’s charred hands. A power unlike anything he had ever felt coursed through his veins, filling the room with a white light.

Gemini

The river of life and death collided together in a cataclysmic force that shattered the bars across the windows. But, neither Palak nor Caleb moved. They simply looked at one another, holding each other’s hands tightly. The two souls that had been separated for a thousand years, finally became whole once more.

Author's note: This is part of a chapter for a Zodiac series that I'm writing.

© Story belongs to me.