Not knowing how long this pause lasted, in which everything inside him was strained to the limit. The man opposite him maintained the same position. Serak did not say a word when he saw her young husband. He did not take a step forward, did not look him straight in the eye. But he did not leave either. And in this silence, where nothing obvious was happening, so much more was hidden than if he had called him by name. The silence was not empty. After a couple of seconds, Omega realized that the man was waiting for him.
Omega felt a growing anxiety in his chest, which was stuck under the skin. He took the first step without words, then another, approaching Serak, as he once approached people on whom his fate depended. Only then there were screams, chains, pushes behind him. Now there was silence and it was much more frightening because he felt a thin hope.
Serak, having received what he wanted, turned and walked forward. Without saying where they were going, and without even casting a glance. He moved confidently, not even checking to see if Omega was following him. The path led them between the trees, which were closing in ever thicker overhead, in the shadows of which even the sound of their steps was muffled, and the air became viscous. The birds fell silent, and only rare gleams of light broke through the foliage. As if the forest itself did not want to be a witness to this awkward event.
When the forest suddenly parted, a clearing opened up before them: round in shape and incredibly smooth, as if artificially carved. It was strewn with flowers, so thin and light that they seemed transparent. Their petals trembled from the slightest movement of air, as if they themselves sensed the presence of uninvited guests.
Serak stopped in the very center of the clearing, bent down and plucked one of the flowers with restraint. He raised the flower to eye level, slowly ran his finger along the stem, without squeezing or breaking it, then turned his head slightly to the side and spoke, looking at the point opposite Omega.
"Anarellis," he said. His voice was even, with a slight tiredness. "This plant blooms only once in its life. Its petals are transparent not because of weakness, but because there is no moisture inside them. They do not tolerate touching, do not even hold dew. If you blow on it, it will naturally die. If you look at it for too long, it will fade."
He fell silent and threw the wilted flower to the other flowers, completely disrupting the balance of the clearing.
Omega did not answer. He knew this flower.
Once, as a child, in someone else's yard, among stone slabs and barren soil, he saw something similar. Then no one forbade him to approach the flowers. He touched the flower and nothing happened. The petals remained whole, and the transparency evaporated and saturated the flower with a bright yellow hue. He was so scared that he did not dare tell anyone present about it. It was one of the few vivid memories.
He came closer. The ground under his feet was soft and springy under the omega's light body. The anarellis grew low, almost touching the ground. He bent down, chose the one that stretched closest to the others. White, with thin veins that in bright light, perhaps, would glow silver.
He slowly wrapped his fingers around it, carefully, like in childhood. An almost naive conviction flashed in his eyes that everything would be like then. He did not feel a tremor, only a tickling feeling under his ribs. He brought the flower to his nose, inhaled the barely perceptible aroma and then unconsciously brought it to his lips. He gently kissed the petal.
The flower withered before Omega could even touch it with his lips.
At first the petals faded, then began to shrink toward the center, as if someone was pulling them inward. The stem darkened, bending in the opposite direction, as if he was lowering his head in shame. A moment later, only a dry shadow of what had been alive a few seconds ago remained in his hand.
Omega did not move. He looked at his palm, not believing it. And only later, turning his head slightly, he realized that he was alone.
Serak was gone.
Omega straightened up abruptly, looked around, noticed a shadow slipping into the depths of the forest. He threw the dead flower on the ground and followed the shadow. He felt himself shrinking inside. It felt as if he had just taken an exam, the meaning of which he did not understand, and failed it.
Omega caught up with Alpha. They walked back along the same path. Only now there was no feeling of walking. There was no ease in breathing, no interest in the surroundings. Everything around looked the same, but felt different. Omega felt the heaviness in his legs, each step was an effort.
Serak did not turn around once. He did not issue a single command, did not slow down, and certainly did not wait. He probably did not even feel the Omega next to him. Omega followed because he could not stay, but in every movement there was an unspoken wariness. He kept wondering if this was a test, an accident, or something more. He did not know what to expect next, but what scared him most was that part of him… hoped that all this made sense.
When they reached the edge of the courtyard, Serak slowed his pace, but did not turn around. He walked past the guards who left them alone and, without exchanging a word with them, disappeared into one of the side passages. As if everything that was happening did not matter. Omega remained standing at the threshold.
He did not know where to go and awkwardly looked at the guards.
One of the guards, without looking at him, nodded towards the same stairs that led to his chambers. And Omega obediently walked there, not asking himself any more questions.
He returned to the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and did not move for a long time. He simply sat, his hands folded in his lap, and looked at one point - at the floor, where the sunny rectangle was slowly crawling away.
He did not know what was dangerous about it, did not know what exactly Serak wanted to see, and even more so did not know whether the flower was an accident.