Chapter 11

Mark slowly stirred in bed, his eyes closed. Another confused day had passed. He’d been up the rest of the previous night trying to sort out what the hell was going on, why Lilith suddenly appeared in the night, what her real purpose was ... whether she would come back. But his thoughts were still fuzzy, disordered. He opened his eyes. The first glimmers of morning light bathed the walls in an auburn hue. With a sudden jolt, he realized that Lilith was there again, next to him, her head resting on her palm, gazing at him. But her eyes were different this time — warmer.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said, planting a kiss on Mark’s head. “I meant to come earlier, but ... you know.”

Mark didn’t say anything, still trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.

“Today is the summer solstice.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. It’s always made me joyful – an endless summer’s day to come! And now I’ll have another reason to be happy on the solstice.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll remember being with you,” she said, stroking Mark’s face.

“Summer solstice is the longest day?” Mark asked.

“Yes, the celestial gods have decreed that, once again, this day shall be at least two minutes longer than any other.”

“You know, when I was little,” she went on, looking away, “I always thought of time in an analog way. Time was subjective — it mattered only when something happened that you were paying attention to or didn’t happen that you wanted to happen, like wanting to play longer when your mother was calling for you. I had a little garden and I can remember the smell of the fresh earth and the feeling of bulbs in my hands or the dry seeds falling through my fingers. Time could stand still that way. And then it just all became digital — fixed and discrete: when the train left, or class started, or how many minutes you had for your presentation.

“Now I’m suddenly back to analog time,” she continued. “But it’s going too fast — I want it to slow down.”

“Why?” asked Mark.

“Because I’m here with you. I’m in my little garden,” Lilith said, her warm gaze fixed on him again.

Mark couldn’t deny the strange pull he felt toward Lilith, even amid the confusion and complications. There was an allure to her, a sense of wonder and mystery that both intrigued and frightened him.

“You’re so different,” Mark said. “From ... the way ... From what...”

“Life is full of changes, isn’t it? Moments out of nowhere. They shape us.”

“What I mean is, you’re not at all what I expected you to be...”

“From what you were told I would be?”

“Yes.”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t believe everything you hear. I know the Elysians well. They have a tendency to demonize us.”

“You know them well?” Mark said with surprise. “How?”

“My sister’s an Elysian.”

“Your sister?” Mark exclaimed, up on his elbows.

“Yes.”

“How did that happen?”

“We were selected for conversion as a bonded pair. I was ... intercepted.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” said Mark.

“Don’t be, Mark; it’s how it happens most of the time.”

“But ... you still see your sister?”

“Of course.”

“And, uh, you’re still...”

“I still love her and she loves me if that’s what you’re wondering. And we still talk to each other all the time.”

“Yeah,” said Mark, weakly.

“In sister code,” Lilith said, her eyes brightening.

“Well, how long ago did this happen? Have you...”

“Oh, Mark. Let’s not talk about this now. Please? We’ll do it another time. I’ll tell you everything you want to know. But now I just want to be here ... with you ... in slow time. Can we do it that way?”

Mark nodded, leaning back on his pillow, still reeling from what he had just heard.

Lilith leaned over and gave him a slow, sensual kiss, her nipples brushing against his chest. He felt his cock stir.