Authors: Anna Collins
As Sarah opened her eyes the next morning, she couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing the previous night was. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought of running to a man like Kurt in the middle of an isolated place. She finally realized that everything happened for a reason. There was a reason for her to attend the wedding, a reason for her to leave the ceremony in the middle of the night. Otherwise, how would she have met Kurt?
She smiled at the thought of it and turned out, only to find the other side of the bed empty. She looked puzzled as she didn’t want Kurt to go. She didn’t want it to be one of her mistakes, one of the many one night stands. She knew that the way she had felt was Kurt was something different, and wanted to experience the same for the rest of her life. She quickly dressed up and wore some of her usual clothes as she wanted to make sure if Kurt was still there or not.
As she wore her pajamas, she could hear a disturbing sound coming from the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Kurt cooking something in the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” she asked him after giving some relief to her beating her.
“I am making some breakfast for you. Well, at least trying to…” he said while tossing an omelet in the pan.
Sarah was delighted to have Kurt by her side. For a moment, she thought that she had lost him, and that moment devastated her to the core.
“Why are you so worried?” he asked her as he saw the change in her expressions.
“I thought that you were gone. I thought that I have lost you,” she hugged him and felt the warmth of his body. She wanted to melt while hugging his chiseled chest, and breathing his mesmerizing musk.
“Are you mad? Why would I go? I told you before that I am not one of those guys who would live for a one night stand. I am in this for the long run. I want to be with you, Sarah. I want to know you even more. I want to be a part of your life,” he said and kissed her forehead. Leaving Sarah in the morning was probably the last thing that Kurt could think of.
The moment Kurt opened his eyes that morning; there were some thousand things that he could think of. He knew that he had never stayed at a single place for too long, never really loved another being, and had never halted his life like that. His life has always been moving at a fast pace, but it was the first time in his whole life when he wanted to press the pause button. That morning, when he looked at Sarah breathing, barely naked by his side, he knew that it was exactly what he had wanted. He had craved for that single moment his whole life and wanted to make his ever-changing life stationary. As Sarah’s body glittered with the rays of the sun falling on her skin, Kurt wanted to capture that moment forever. He had never met a woman as beautiful as Sarah, both from inside out and wanted to spend his whole life, letting her know how beautiful she was.
“I am so glad that you stayed, Kurt. For a moment when I woke up this morning, I thought that I made a mistake. It’s not true. You are not a mistake. You are everything that I want.”
Sarah said and meant each and every word of it. They kissed POSEIDONately and had their breakfast together while sitting on the front porch. While sipping some orange juice, Sarah looked at Kurt whose eyes were fixed on the opposite house.
“What are you thinking?” she asked him in order to break his train of thoughts.
“I am thinking that I should build my own life and what better place to build it with you. I want to give us a chance, Sarah. I know it sounds weird, but the moment I laid my eyes on you, I felt this amazing connection – like I have known you before. I want to know who you are, be a part of your life, Sarah,” he said, clearing his intentions and making Sarah blush at the thought of it.
“I know exactly what you are trying to say. I want to know you too!” Sarah agreed to his notion.
“I don’t want to ruin what we have, Sarah. We will take it slow; we will get to know each other every day. You see that house right there,” Kurt said, pointing towards the opposite side. Sarah knew that Kurt had in mind, as the house was for sale.
“I am going to buy that house. For the first time in my life, I want to settle!”Kurt said, looking at the “for sale” board posted in front of that house.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Do you have enough funds? I don’t want to change you or make you do something you are not comfortable in!” Sarah wanted Kurt to stay but also didn’t want him to compromise with his life.
“I have ample of funds to buy this place. I am not doing this for you – I am doing this for myself. I can work from anywhere, I can stay anywhere. Then why not stay nearby you. This is the best place to stay. I love the serenity of this place. I am going to buy that house!” he said again, with his eyes fixed on the entrance of that place. He could imagine his whole life there.
For a moment, Sarah couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t be any happier. She placed her glass back on the center table and kissed Kurt. They couldn’t wait to start their life together. Sarah knew that missing the wedding reception was probably the best decision of her life. She was glad she took the wrong turn while coming home the other night.
In the next few days, Kurt spoke to various people and in less than a week, he had moved into the next house. They were officially neighbors but Kurt spent most of his time at Sarah’s place as there were a lot of things that had to be done before they could together move into the new home.
Life looked beautiful and there was nothing which would go wrong. Sarah was immensely happy at having found Kurt and she was eternally grateful. It was a Sunday evening and Sarah had thought of making some plans for the next week with Kurt. They wanted to go on a short trip somewhere and Sarah wondered which place would be ideal.
As they were discussing the details, her phone buzzed and she saw that it was a call from her boss. As Sarah spoke with her boss, Kurt kept fondling her breasts and kissed her repeatedly.
Sarah disconnected the call and looked at Kurt with sadness filled eyes.
“What happened babe?” Kurt asked.
“Jeremy has asked me to go to Florida tomorrow itself. Babe, I really wanted to go with you. Why does he need to leave tomorrow itself? How are we going to plan our vacation now?” she asked, looking extremely sad.
Kurt kissed her on the lips and said, “Darling, we have all the time we need. Go to Florida tomorrow and we will have a weekend gateway. Trust me, it will be the best weekend you have ever had and you will scream my name so loud that it will echo in your own ears.”
Sarah looked at Kurt and realized that he was flawless, perfect and she could spend the rest of her life simply staring at this man and her love for him was endless.
“Did I ever tell you that you are the best thing to have happened to me and you are way too perfect?” Sarah asked.
“You’ve told me too many times, but it never hurts to hear again” he smiled.
“I love you, darling. I can’t imagine living without you.”
“Then, don’t because I am not going anywhere.”
Sarah decided to pack her stuff and Kurt planned to have the house completely ready before Sarah came back so they could move in right after their weekend gateway.
“I am going to miss you so much Kurt. Ever since I have met you, we have never spent a day apart. I will miss you so much.”
“Babe, don’t worry. Come soon and I swear, I will make up for all the times we will be apart.”
Sarah kissed him again and then set out to pack her stuff and get the pending tasks done before leaving. The next morning she woke up early and got ready to leave. She had an early morning flight and knowing that she had always hated getting up early, she knew she had to rush.
Even after getting all her stuff packed, he knew she was running late. “Honey, don’t worry, you will reach on time. Stop panicking, Sarah. You will be there. Take care of yourself. Call me when you check in at your hotel. Come soon and I will have our new house ready.”
She looked at Kurt and knew that she had been lucky to find him. She kissed him and something stirred inside her. She didn’t want to leave him, not now, not ever. “Can I not skip my flight? I don’t want to go.”
“Honey, it is not a goodbye. You are coming back and the next time we will go together. Now, get going before you get late.”
She locked her apartment and Kurt moved to his new home, thinking of the different ways he could jazz the space.
Sarah couldn’t quite believe her luck. There was a part of her that had never wanted to go to Florida. She had planned every detail of what she would do with Kurt and having her plans shattered felt terribly bad.
When she was halfway through to the airport, she had received a call from her boss. Her boss had called in to tell that the trip had been called off as he had another urgent meeting to attend. She could take a few days off and this meant that she had all the time to steal a vacation with Kurt.
She had excitedly asked the driver to take her back to her home. She thought of calling Kurt on the way, but decided to surprise him. Wouldn’t that be a better option, she wondered!
She came back home and immediately headed to Kurt’s new place. Little did she know that her whole life was about to be turned upside down and all her dreams was going to be shattered in a myriad of pieces.
As she was about to unlock the door, she couldn’t believe her own eyes as she stood there outside the window, staring ahead. Right in front of her own eyes, she saw Kurt and in the next instant, he changed into a bird.
There was no rule of science that could define what she saw. She rubbed her eyes and she was sure that this was one of those dreams wherein you wake up and laugh at how far-fetched your imagination can be.
There was no feasible way a man could turn into a bird, she was definitely dreaming. She pinched her hands and closed her eyes shut tightly. When she opened it, she saw the bird roaming around freely in that open expanse in the apartment.
Was it really possible for Kurt to change into a bird? If yes, wasn’t he someone extraordinary? Why did he keep the information to himself? She felt like she had been betrayed and there was nothing she could do to keep her heart from breaking. Her bad luck in men had continued. She didn’t quite know the things to believe and the ones to doubt! The world looked like a tainted glass and she could feel her legs slipping. She was about to fall but would the ground be strong enough to hold her?
She moved to the door and pushed it open. She looked at the flying bird and there were tears in her eyes. She stared at the huge bird. The bird was red in color and had a bright tuft. She had seen him change into a bird as his body had contracted and his arms had taken the shape of a wing.
It wasn’t the usual bird you would see and the size was so enormous that it could shock anyone. She stared at the bird even when she was shivering with fear. This was a beast she had fallen in love with. Could she possibly fall out of love with him or worse still could she continue loving this beast?
“Who are you?” she screamed in the open air.
The huge bird turned around and slowly stopped on the ground. It sat on the floor and spread its huge wings and slowly closed it. Even in that enormously gigantic structure, Sarah could see the same hazel eyes which Kurt had. It was just the eyes which were the same and the rest of the structure was nothing like a human.
Sarah could see the change in expression as Kurt realized that he had been caught and his identity was revealed. Kurt knew that there was no turning back. He had to unveil his secret and the look on Sarah’s face wasn’t just of horror and fear. It was the look of someone who had been betrayed, someone whose heart had been broken; someone whose faith had been broken! Kurt realized the gravity of the situation and what a mess he had made.
He knew he had to transition. He took two steps backward and gave in a loud cry. Sarah ran and hid behind the pillar and Kurt was hurt to see her so scared. He had expected Sarah, of all people to understand him. This isn’t something he chose to be with. This was who he was.
He realized he should have trusted Sarah and told her about the whole shifter thing. His wings started retracting and it took the shape of his arms. He then shed off the tuft and it took the shape of his hair. His feathers on the chest were then replaced and his body structure changed as he transitioned back to his human form.
Sarah stood there- crying endlessly; staring at the one man she had fallen in love with and bruised her heart.
“Babe, I can explain” Kurt stuttered.
“What are you going to explain? Will you explain that you have been lying to me all the time? Will you explain what I saw isn’t normal, isn’t human? Will you explain why you have been betraying me? Will you explain why you have kept me in the dark? Will you explain why did you break my heart or were you just using me for my body?” Sarah said all of this in one breath and cried inconsolably.
It broke Kurt’s heart to know that he was the reason for all this pain. “I am sorry babe. You need to know that I didn’t do this purposely. This isn't a choice I grew up with. This is what I was born with. I will tell you everything. I love you, is that not enough darling?”
“No, you don’t love me. You are not a human, you are a beast. I don’t even know what to tell or what to talk to you. Your presence scares me. I can’t trust you. I am scared of you Kurt. I can’t be with you. I am afraid that I will die, you will hurt me.”
“Sarah, how can I ever hurt you? We have been making love. You have seen me, you know me, darling. How could you say that you are scared of me?”
“You are a beast Kurt. I don’t know who you are. I can't be with you anymore. I don’t love you. You are a beast. I can’t be in love with a monster,” she said and ran away to her home.
Kurt couldn’t even move. There was nothing left in him to try and keep her. The words echoed in his ears as he sat down and contemplated how his life was tossed away in such a small moment.
Was it so hard to understand his condition? Didn’t Sarah love him enough to trust him to hear his side of the story? Kurt could see his life flashback in front of his eyes. He could remember the time he first relaxed that he wasn’t one of the regular guys. He was different, the bad kind of different.