Chapter 51: Geien

She appeared before me like a vision, her wet hair and clothing dripping all over the floor of our room.

"Helemoira?" I nearly sobbed.

She turned and faced me, a smile plastered across her face.

"Geien!" She shouted and ran to me, jumping into my arms. I caught her and held her to me like the treasure she was.

We stayed like that for a while, our arms wrapped around one another as I held her and swayed us gently.

She had been gone for days. Where? I did not know, but that wasn't important now. She was back and she was safe.

Finally, I released her and held her at arm's length. I looked her over a few times, checking everything from her eyes to the tips of her toes.

"How do you feel?" I asked as I checked her eyes once more. There was something there, something that I didn't like.

"Different," she answered as she bit gently at her lip. "What happened, how long was I gone?"