Days passed, then weeks.
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Sarah’s thoughts continued to wander to the day of her first meeting with the mysterious man. That evening was no different, Sarah, lost in her thoughts, could not fall asleep. Sighing, she sat up, reaching for the medallion that was lying on a small cabinet next to her bed. Her fingers slowly slid from the medallion. Nothing had changed in it since that day, its delicate glow, its warm light reminded her of that moment.
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At some point she heard someone rustling coming from the yard. A sound reminiscent of someone running their hands over one of the windows. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, without thinking, she threw the medallion around her neck and carefully got out of bed. The cool, old boards that together formed the floor creaked gently under the weight of her feet. Her hand rested on the door handle, but before she opened it, she looked at her mother who was sleeping on an old, worn-out mattress. Sarah sighed at the same moment opening the door with a squeak. Sarah took a step outside and when her bare feet touched the cool ground a shiver ran through her whole body. A wild garden stretched out before the girls, full of herbs, tall grasses and weeds, wet from the gentle night rain. This garden, despite its wildness, had something magical and surprisingly soothing about it. And then she saw him, standing a few meters away from her, among the long grasses, reflecting the silver light of the moon.
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His figure was tall, and his hair and tunic were moving in the wind. He still had his eyes wrapped in light linen bandages that seemed to give off light.
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The man stretched his hand towards her
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“Sarah.” His voice was calm and quiet, but despite this he heard it without problems, as if the wind itself was whispering his words to her.
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At that moment her whole body froze, at that moment she wanted to turn to him, to escape back to the familiar warmth of the house. However, her legs would not obey, something stronger than fear held her in place.
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Curiosity.
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She slowly took a step towards him and with each subsequent one she felt as if the barrier between reality and dreams began to disappear. She saw a small smile painted on the stranger’s face, sad, yet beautiful in its fragility, which even to her was barely noticeable. Sarah stopped right in front of him.
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“Who are you?” she whispered, her voice trembling more than her hands.
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“Icar.” he answered, in the same calm voice she remembered from their conversation at her stall.
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At that moment, Sarah felt the medallion resting on her chest sting slightly as if it was reacting to the man’s presence. She felt a strange warmth that had never been felt before being born in her heart. As if their meeting that day had not been accidental.
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“Why are you here? Why did you find me?” she asked, looking at his face. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes from under the bandages, she had the impression that he was looking at her like she was the light in his world. He was silent for a moment before he gently moved her red hair from her face.
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“I found you because tomorrow is the day when the god of Veridona will choose his partner.” he finally replied, his voice soft, but hiding something mysterious and powerful at the same time.
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Sarah’s breath caught in her throat.
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“A partner… For the god of Veridona himself…” She repeated finally, uncertainty audible in her voice.
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Icar nodded. The moonlight danced on his hair and face. Giving the impression that his figure was enveloped in light and shadow.
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“I’m not asking you to give an answer now.” His voice was still calm and full of understanding, making Sarah have a strange feeling as if they had known each other for years.
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“But I want you to know that you are important. Even though you don’t understand it yourself.”
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Sarah took a step closer. So close that she could smell the delicate scent of old forests, wind, and something intangible, something she couldn’t describe in words. Icar lowered his voice to a mere whisper, barely louder than the sound of the wind.
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“If you decide to come… look for me. Even if you don’t see me… I will find you.”
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For a second, their worlds touched and Sarah felt as if the entire universe had ceased to exist, leaving only the two of them, intertwined by an invisible thread.
And then…
Icar turned around, and began to walk away.
His figure dissolved into the shadows, as if he were part of the night itself.
Sarah stood there for a long time, in silence.
The medallion on her chest was shining with a bright, warm light.
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Sarah closed the door behind her and leaned her back against it.
Her breathing was shallow, trembling. She felt her heart beating violently, as if it wanted to break out of her chest and follow the one whose name she had barely learned.
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Icar.
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She said the name in her mind, and it had a weight and lightness to it at the same time.
It was like the first gust of wind before a storm. Like a whisper that changes the course of life.
She slowly placed her hand on her chest, in the same place where the medallion rested. The warmth radiating from it seemed even stronger now, as if it responded on her quivering soul.
She pressed him to her heart even harder and sat on the edge of the bed.
In silence she could hear her own breathing.
Thoughts tangled in her like spiderweb threads.
Who was he really? Why her?
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She looked out the window. The moon stood high, cool and bright, wrapped in soft clouds. She searched among the stars for an answer, but the night was silent.
Her hands were shaking. She had the impression that something inside her was breaking, some thin shell that she had built for years. A shell of caution, shyness, resignation.
Now, for the first time in a long time, she felt…
Hope.
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“This is madness.” she whispered to herself. Her voice was quiet, like the creak of a floor.
“But it’s impossible. This is just a dream… just a moment…”
But the medallion in her hands pulsated quietly, as if it contradicted her words.
Sarah closed her eyes. She saw his face, not entirely clear, hidden behind the bandages, but close. She felt his voice inside her, like an echo of an old song she had never heard before, and yet had known forever.
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She shivered. Not from fear. From the knowledge that if she went there tomorrow, to the temple…
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Her life would change irreversibly.
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“Am I ready for this…?” she asked the silence.
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No one answered.
Only the wind brushed the curtain in the window, as if the world itself was whispering
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“Take a step. Trust.”
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Sarah lay down on the bed, not turning off the light.
She lay for a long time, staring at the medallion, until a reluctant, restless sleep finally took hold of her.
And in the dream… She saw him.
Icar, with the same smile he had during their conversation together.
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