Free Ether by Dana Michelle Belle

sharply I
wonder how I look to him. What had Ephraim said, that I sparkled with life?
                He touches
my arm gently. With his warmth, the mist thins and I can see grassy plains, and
faded out blue lakes, dimly in the distance. Beyond the washed out world, I can
see small villages and beyond them, cities. The houses, the landscape, everything
is pristinely perfect but strangely muted. My sight stretches on and on, until
I see sparks of brightness that are hard to look at for too long. Out of the
corner of my eye I glimpse a portly lady, but when I look towards her I see a
swirl of light instead and have an impression of humid August heat. An old man
disappears into the sound of ocean waves and bird call. And there are others,
hundreds of others who fade into impressions and feelings.
                My head
begins to ache with the vastness, the endlessness of what I see. Tenderly,
Ephraim turns me toward him until it is only his eyes I am looking into. “This
is my world. It’s flawless and endless and unchanging. This is the between
world, the ethereal plane.”
                I am
looking up into his eyes, but I also feel the morning sun and hear leaves
shifting in the breeze. “You’re a spirit? Isn’t that like a ghost?”  I ask,
awed.
                “I’m an
Ethereal. I’m energy, part of the vital essence of the world, Becks. I’ve never
been truly alive, so I can’t be dead. I’ve never tasted food, or felt the grass
under my feet or touched a human hand. I’d never experienced anything; at least
I never had until I met you.”
                “I’ve never
even heard of Ethereals before. Immortals, angels, ghosts, the undead, faeries,
maybe but-”
                He shrugs,
“our nature is difficult for humans to perceive. But I wanted you to
understand.”
                “There are
more of you here though? And I’m guessing friendly, helpful and all heroic
isn’t the norm,” I ask even though I already kind of know the answer. 
                His smile
fades and a shadow crosses over his eyes, “No, it’s not. Most Ethereals have
little interest in humanity and those that do, the Numina, have a more
predatory interest.”
    The
mood between us has cooled and grown tense. I regret bringing up something so unpleasant;
it feels like I have shattered the peace between us. I try to make amends,
giving him my best flirty smile. “So how come you’re so different?”
    He
rewards me with a warm, full smile as he leans close to me. “Well I’ve got
something in this world that’s really precious to me. Something that draws me
in,” As he speaks he moves closer to me. I hold my breath, unable to take my
eyes off of his lips as he speaks. And just as he draws so near that I expect
to feel his warm, perfect skin against mine, he cocks his head to the side,
“time to wake up, Becks.”
                Before I
have time to protest I’m blinking sunlight out of my eyes. Justin is leaning
over me, shaking me, “Becka, come on, we’re going to be late. Wake up.”
                I sit up
groggily and see a mixture of relief and annoyance in Justin’s face, “I was
just about to call 911 Becka! I’ve been trying to wake you up for about ten
minutes!” he says giving me one more little shake for good measure. “Scared the
life out of me, again.”
                “How did
you even-” I begin, until I see the hide-a-key dangling from his hand. “Break
in much?” I growl. I wasn’t ready to be snatched away from Ephraim and his
unearthly world. “What are you even doing here anyway?” I snap.
                “I told
Matt to pick me up here from now on. I need a little more exercise in the
morning to get me going,” he says, tossing me the jeans I’ve thrown over the
back of my chair. “So how come you’re still in bed? Did you take something?”
                I