Izel slowly opened her eyes, as if the simple act of waking up cost her more than usual. The light coming through the window was dim, soft, almost indifferent, and for a few seconds she didn't understand where she was. Her mind was still trapped in that last moment… in that instant where everything broke.
She blinked several times, trying to focus on the ceiling.That ceiling…She knew it.
She slowly turned her head to one side. Then to the other.
Clothes scattered on the floor.The desk with messy papers.The walls, with small marks only she recognized.
Her room.
She was home.
The idea took time to settle. It wasn't immediate relief. It wasn't peace. It was… confusion.
She brought a hand to her face, rubbing her eyes heavily, trying to clear the fog still clouding her mind. Her body felt strange, heavy, as if it didn't fully belong to her. Even so, she made the effort to sit up, barely supporting herself on the mattress.
But she didn't go any further.
An arm wrapped around her body gently… and pulled her back.
Izel tensed instantly.
The movement was so sudden that her breathing stopped for a second.
She turned.
And saw him.
Iztli.
He was there, lying beside her, deeply asleep, as if nothing in the world could disturb him. His linen shirt was slightly open, revealing part of his collarbone, the beginning of his chest, his pale skin contrasting with the fabric. His breathing was calm, steady… far too normal for everything that had happened.
Izel's heart raced without warning.
Too fast.Too strong.
She didn't understand anything.
What was he… doing in her bed?
And then…
the memories returned.
Not slowly.Not gently.
But all at once.
The interview.Zeus.The words.The pressure.The fear… returning.Mictlantecuhtli.The void.
Everything.
In a single instant.
Her stomach twisted violently. She felt the strength drain from her body, as if something hollowed her out from within. She slipped out of Iztli's arm clumsily, leaning over the edge of the bed.
The nausea came immediately.
But nothing came out.
Only air.Pain.Spasms.
And fear.
A different kind of fear.
More aware.
She felt a hand on her back.
—"Easy… easy… let it out…" Iztli murmured, his voice still heavy with sleep, gently patting her.
But it didn't calm her.
It made it worse.
Because it wasn't her body reacting…
it was her mind.
It was understanding that everything had been real.
She tried to pull away. She moved clumsily, losing her balance at the edge of the bed. For a second she thought she would fall, but before hitting the ground, a firm arm caught her.
—"It's over now…" he said, fully awake. "It's over."
And without giving her a choice…
he hugged her.
Tight.
Without hesitation.
Izel reacted immediately.
She pushed him.Grabbed his clothes.Tried to break free.
She even scratched him.
But he didn't let go.
Not an inch.Not a second.
—
And little by little…
her strength faded.
—
As if her own body decided to give up.
—
And then…
she started crying.
—
—"I… almost died…" she murmured against his chest, her voice broken. "Why…? Why did this happen…?"
Her words came out in fragments, drowned in sobs.
—"I just wanted… to start over…"
She clung to him.
Not by choice.
But by need.
As if letting go meant falling back into that void.
Iztli didn't answer.
He said nothing.
He didn't try to explain.
He just held her.
Firm.
Present.
The warmth of his body…his steady breathing…the silence that demanded nothing…
—
Slowly…
—
calmed her.
—
Until the tears stopped.
Several minutes passed.
Maybe more.
Time became irrelevant.
Izel pulled away slightly, wiping her face clumsily.
—"Hey…" she murmured, her voice still weak. "What are you doing in my bed?"
She looked at him.
Still confused.
—"Since when have you been here?"
Iztli sighed, as if he had been expecting the question.
—"Well…" he began, "I felt bad for not protecting you."
He looked away for a moment.
—"So I transformed into my original form and stayed under your bed."
He paused.
—"But… you passed out."
—"How long?" she asked, frowning.
—"A day."
—
Silence fell abruptly.
—
—"A… day?" Izel repeated, almost whispering.
—"Yeah. And… I didn't want to leave you alone."
He scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable.
—"At some point… I relaxed."
He gestured toward the bed.
—"And well…"
—
Izel looked at him.
Then at the bed.
Then back at him.
—
And she turned red.
—
Five seconds later…
—
—"OUT!"
—"I GET IT!"
—"GET OUT!"
—
She was kicking him out of her room.
She slammed the door shut.
Leaning her back against it, she let out a long sigh.
—
She needed space.
—
A lot of space.
It didn't take long before someone knocked on the door.
—"Can I come in?"
—"Yes…"
Her grandmother entered calmly.
She sat beside her.
She didn't say anything.
Izel didn't either.
—
The silence stretched.
—
But it wasn't uncomfortable.
—
It was necessary.
—
—"Grandma…" she finally murmured. "I think this is too much for me."
Her grandmother looked at her with tenderness.
—"My child… if you want to leave it… then leave it."
She gently caressed her cheek.
—"Don't worry about anything. If something needs to be paid… we'll handle it."
Izel closed her eyes.
She wanted to accept that.
She really did.
—
But she remembered.
—
And shook her head.
—"I can't…"
Her voice trembled.
—"But… I'm scared."
Her grandmother smiled softly.
—"It's normal to be afraid."
She paused.
—"I was too when I raised you."
—"Really?"
—"Of course. I didn't know if I was doing it right… and even now, sometimes I'm still afraid."
—
Izel looked at her.
Surprised.
—
—"Then… how did it go away?"
Her grandmother shook her head.
—"It never went away."
—
—"Fear doesn't disappear."
—
—"You just decide what matters more."
—
She took her hand.
—"I was more afraid of losing you… than of making mistakes."
Izel remained silent.
—
It wasn't a comforting answer.
—
But it was real.
—
And that…
gave her something.
—
Even if she didn't know what.
The phone vibrated again between the blankets, breaking the thread of her thoughts.
Izel took a few seconds to react. She looked around, as if she still wasn't fully grounded in reality, until she finally reached out and found the phone among the wrinkled sheets.
Mike.
The name appeared on the screen like something…
distant.
Foreign.
Normal.
Too normal.
"Are you free tomorrow? Want to grab a drink?"
Izel stared at the message longer than necessary. Her thumb hovered over the screen, uncertain. It wasn't a complicated question. Before… she would have answered without thinking.
But now…
Now everything felt different.
She glanced at her grandmother.
Then looked down.
Then back at the screen.
—
She needed air.
—
She needed to step out of that world.
Even if only for a few hours.
—
"Yes… I'm free."
She sent the message.
And for the first time that day…
she felt something close to relief.
Small.
Fragile.
But real.