Zarin observed Heaven sitting in the garden and watching her surroundings. She sat for a long while and seemed to be deeply lost in thoughts. At first he thought she was waiting for someone, but now he realized she was just resting outside.
He didn't like the way things ended between them last time, so he went to her to make things right. When he neared, she turned to him.
"May I sit?" He asked, motioning toward the empty place beside her.
"Yes."
He sat down, and she went back to stare at the garden. "It is beautiful." She said almost sadly.
"It is." He agreed.
She sighed. Again, she sounded sad. "Yet it is nothing like the one back home."
Zarin looked around and strangely he agreed with her. Nothing in this entire place was like home. It lacked warmth. It felt empty.
"When we were younger, you know I hated being a princess. I blamed my parents and hated them sometimes." She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Have you hated your parents sometimes?" She asked him.
Zarin smiled. "Yes." He did many times think he was born into the wrong family, especially when he started to grow up. He began to hate his father, whom he used to be close to.
When he was a child, he was just like his father. Calm, responsible and sensible, and Heaven used to be the rebellious one. Then suddenly they changed roles. That was when he distanced himself from his father.
"I felt like they never understood because they were adults. That is why I would come to you or Gina to talk instead." She continued.
That he could agree with as well. Maybe that is why he had distanced himself from his father the most. He would talk to his mother, his sister, his uncle Rasmus or Lucian, but his father would be the last option. Not only because of the age, but because his father was a full-demon. He would never understand his struggles.
Well, maybe also because his father was very honest with him. Something he used to like about him when he was a child, and now he missed it. His eyes stung for some odd reason. What was wrong with him?
"I remember complaining to Lydia once. I told her I hated my father. She laughed and told me that he was doing something right if I didn't love him all the time."
That sentiment struck a chord within him.
"I was a child and didn't understand what she meant until later. But even at that time, despite saying that I hated my parents, if I was separated from them I would be devastated." She said.
Just like he was at this moment. His thoughts surprised him. He was supposed to be happy now that he was finally free.
He stood up. "I need to go. There are things I need to take care of."
Heaven looked up at him with a frown and then nodded. "Alright."
Unable to look her in the eyes, he teleported to his room. With a sigh, he sat down on his bed. His heart felt heavy again. Everytime he managed to shut down his feelings, Heaven or her parents had to stir his emotions again. He was tired of feeling this way, so he tried to shut out those feelings, but this time he didn't have enough strength to do so. He kept dwelling on the things he wanted to forget so badly.
The rest of the day went by slowly. He went to complete his mission for the day. Since he came to this place, he had manipulated and deceived so many people into doing horrible things, that he wasn't surprised by his own actions anymore.
But it always made him feel disgusted with himself afterwards. He would either go home and bathe. Scrub himself hard as if it would erase his sins, but he would only end up tearing his skin.
Or he would comfort himself with his wealth and have many glamorous women attend to all his needs. He would drink, party until he couldn't remember or feel anything, and then he would go home.
He would go to his empty house where no one would be waiting for him. Where no one would ask him where he had been or with whom. Where no one would nag him to not stay outside late.
Now he had no one to even ask him how he was. Or just simply know by looking at him. He was only greeted by an empty house.
He would have never thought that he would miss the things he hated the most about his parents.
In his intoxicated state, he found himself outside his parents' home. It started to rain heavily, which he was thankful for. This way his father wouldn't be able to sense his presence. He kept a distance and watched from afar.
Through the window he could see the back of his father sitting in his study and writing something.
His father had been haunting him since the day he left. Every time he did something bad, one good thing his father taught him would come to mind and it would weigh on his heart. Now after committing so many sins he expected to stop recalling the good things he was taught, but it didn't happen. That was when he realized just how much time and effort his father put into raising him.
And now, it was all wasted.
Zarin had always thought that his father was unfair. That his father favored Gina and didn't treat them both the same way. Now he realized in order to treat them fairly he had to treat them differently because they had different wants and needs.
But realizing all of this now was useless.
This wasn't his home anymore, and these weren't his parents. They didn't deserve a child like him. He was grateful they had Gina.
He went to the window to his parents' room. There he saw his mother. She was folding clothes and as if sensing his presence; she turned to the window. Zarin's hearts skipped a beat. She couldn't have sensed him. She didn't have those abilities, and he was too far away.
With a frown, she walked toward the window and looked outside. Zarin peeked from behind a large tree. His mother looked around for a while and then, looking disappointed, she went back to fold the clothes.
Zarin watched her in silence. His heart slowly growing larger inside his chest until it felt like he was being suffocated.
"Zarin." His father was suddenly standing in the rain.
Zarin froze. Not making any movement while hiding behind the trees in the woods that was near his parents' home.
How was his father able to sense him? The rain was pouring down fiercely and the storm was forcefully whipping the branches on the trees back and forth.
His father shouldn't be able to hear or smell him.
"I know you are there." He said, his voice getting muffled by the sound of the storm and heavy raindrops.
"Son, I missed you." His father's eyes searched the woods. "Come home now." He pleaded.
Zarin shook his head, now tears streaming down his face. I can't, he thought to himself.
His father waited patiently and then started to speak to him in Persian. His father would only use his mother tongue when he was being very affectionate.
He was calling to him, asking him to come back home using endearing terms.
"I love you, son." He said in Persian.
Zarin put a hand on his mouth, muffling his cries. He shut his eyes and sobbed into his hand silently. His tears fell with the raindrops to the ground.
His father heard his cries, and his head moved to follow the sound. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Zarin teleported away in fear.
When he was alone, he cried out loudly to the sky and then fell to his knees. The rain poured over him but didn't wash away his pain. He sat there, somewhere in the woods, letting himself get soaked. He would be fine soon. He had to.
Why did he go to see his parents? He cursed himself for being stupid.
After a while he got up. He would go find a way to get rid of this pain. Drinking didn't help, but an angry ancient demon would do.
He had wanted to upset him, anyway. He might as well enjoy some beating while annoying him.
Zarin went to Zamiel's home. For some reason it seemed to rain more outside his house. Unsteadily, he walked up to his front door. It was late, but he didn't care. He knocked loudly.
Wait. Why was he knocking?
He should just barge inside. He took a few steps back and was about to run at the locked door when it opened by itself and he flew inside, falling flat on his stomach. He came face to face with a pair of black shoes.
Groaning, he pushed himself up to see who it was. Zamiel was looming over him, staring down at him with eyes gleaming in the dark.
The storm outside seemed to pick up and was followed by a loud thunder that caused the windows in the house to shake.
Zamiel stood still, blending with darkness of his surroundings. His eyes narrowed, "you seem to have a death wish." He said.