Georgia padded up the stairs slowly, taking each step as an opportunity to look around again and again. She was careful not to step on the broken pieces of glass and ceramic. Something was clearly wrong with her lover. He wouldn’t be sleeping at this hour of the day. He never really put her at the center of his life as he should, but it was still nice having him around. His chest was comfortable, and his scent was pleasant. She could already smell it from upstairs. Georgia slipped into his bedroom through the small gap in the door.

  There he was, sleeping like an angel, wrapped in the bed sheets and hugging a pillow. His wavy locks of hair were scattered across his face, tangled with the growth of his facial hair. Georgia could smell whiskey and a woman’s perfume clinging to him. There had been times when he smelled better, but she could still catch the faint trace of his own skin. She jumped onto the bed and rubbed against his back, her nose brushing against him. It was then she noticed the bruises on his arms.

  He wasn’t waking up despite Georgia’s playful rubs. She moved closer to his face, gently licking his eyes and cheeks. Her soft kisses finally roused him. He smiled as soon as he opened his eyes. Georgia loved the deep dimples in his cheeks. He looked like an angel when he smiled. Finally, she had his attention.

  "I wish I could take you to Ars Pheria," he murmured to the purring cat. "I will miss you, Georgia."

  He found his phone among the scattered clothes on the floor. Two missed calls from his assistant and driver, and four text messages , all reminders for his appointments next week. He called his assistant first.

  “Alessandro, the jewelry is ready. We can bring it over whenever you wish. Also, if you’d like to know about the accident yesterday, it’s all cleared up.”

  “What accident!?” Alessandro asked. The traffic accident was the least of his nightmares from yesterday. Then, he remembered.

  “Oh, that one. Thanks for the help, I don’t know what got into me, the guy was begging for a lesson.”

  “Yes, he was a maniac, but don’t worry, it was just me. It won’t be reported.”

  “Thanks, Thomas. So, did they find any good jewelry?” Alessandro changed the subject back to business. He was relieved that Thomas didn’t press about what had happened yesterday. He knew that if Thomas hadn’t covered for him, this incident would have been immediately reported to Ars Pheria. Violence against an Earthian was neither acceptable nor normal for an Ars Pherian.

  “There are many Georgians and Victorians. I believe you’ll like them. There’s also one special set.”

  “Okay, can you bring them tonight?” Alessandro said. “I want to see.”

  He tried to compose himself. It was almost evening. He called the maids to clean up the mess downstairs. He stayed in the shower for an hour, though he knew he couldn’t wash off the stain from the night he’d had at the nightclub. As the water ran over him, he wondered: Who hates me more, Luna or Ava?

  The thought that Ava might hate him gave a punch on his stomach. His breath caught, and a cold rush drained the color from his hands. It was almost Saturday morning in California. He thought of Ava sleeping, imagining the feel of her silky hair beneath his fingers.

  The cleaning was finished by the time Alessandro walked downstairs. Georgia refused to follow him, her meows sharp and insistent as she demanded her food upstairs. Alessandro sighed and brought it to her.

  “There you go, my furry queen. Your meows are my orders.”

  He spotted the tea and sandwich on the kitchen counter. It dawned on him that he hadn’t eaten much in the past couple of days. Without hesitation, he wolfed down the mozzarella sandwich just as the doorbell rang. He was hoping the jewelry would help lift his mood.

  Alessandro’s assistant, Thomas, was an Ars Pherian who had been traveling between Earth and Ars Pheria for over five years. His angelic blue eyes and blonde curls gave him an innocent look, as if he had just stepped out of one of the murals in a cathedral.

  But his skills, hidden behind that celestial fa?ade, were anything but innocent. He was an expert in all the necessary arrangements for Ars Pherians on Earth. From forging government documents and creating fake identities to setting up bank accounts and hacking software, Thomas and his team could do anything to ensure a secure environment for their people on Earth.

  He arranged an antique jewelry selection with the most emotional fumes for Alessandro. The pieces were exquisite. Alessandro selected a 1930s Art Deco emerald-cut diamond tennis bracelet for his mother and pink sapphire earrings for his sister, which would perfectly complement her violet eyes. For himself, he chose an emerald and diamond men’s ring. He completely forgot about Carla.

  “Thomas, where is the special piece you mentioned?” asked Alessandro. “I don’t see anything exceptional here.”

  Thomas retrieved a blue velvet-covered jewelry box and opened the lid. As soon as the box was exposed, both Ars Pherians were flooded with an explosion of colorful fumes.

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  “Is this sufficiently exceptional?” Thomas asked, his voice tinged with a knowing smile. “I’m not sure it’s worth the risks, though. It’s a celebrity piece of jewelry. People will want to know who owns it.”

  He paused, letting the moment linger.

  “This is a set of imperial jewelry smuggled out of Russia. Sapphires and diamonds.”   There were two rings, a necklace, and a bracelet in the set. Alessandro touched each piece carefully. The emotional fumes emanating from the seventeenth-century antiques were nothing short of miraculous.

  “Extraordinary!” Alessandro exclaimed. “Where did you find this?”

  “Surprisingly, they found me,” Thomas replied. “There are vendors who specialize in estate jewelry. Sometimes they acquire pieces directly from the owner, and other times they find rare treasures at auctions. A family in Switzerland reached out to a vendor I’ve been working with for a while. They’re a Russian family who left Russia in the 1930s. They smuggled these pieces out before they left. The vendor mentioned a special set, and I jumped on it.”

  “How did they let you possess such a rarity?” Alessandro asked, his voice laced with suspicion. “Something isn’t right, Thomas. Are you sure?”

  Before he could finish his sentence, a heavy bang echoed through the door.

  “Police! Search warrant! Open the door!” came the loud, commanding voice from the other side.

  Thomas hurried Alessandro into the study. He yanked down a hidden light fixture on the wall, and with a low, grinding sound, the heavy bookcase behind the desk detached itself from the wall. Thomas pushed the bookcase open like a secret door, and Alessandro stepped into the concealed room beyond. Meanwhile, the police outside hammered the door, their voices booming.

  “Open the door! Search warrant!”

  Thomas rushed to the door and opened it, letting the police in.

  “What’s the meaning of this, officer? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Are you Alessandro De Rosa?”

  “No, I’m Thomas De Rosa.”

  “We’re here to search the premises for stolen jewelry. Please cooperate and allow us to conduct our search,” the officer said, his eyes scanning the room. When he spotted the jewelry boxes on the coffee table, his expression shifted.

  “Looks like we don’t need to search any further.”

  “These aren’t stolen,” Thomas said quickly. “My bank can verify the custodial account for the possession of these jewelry. I can prove it.”

  “You need to come with us to the police station, Signore De Rosa,” said the officer.

  “Do you know Alessandro De Rosa?”

  “Yes, he’s my cousin.”

  “Do you know his whereabouts?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “But this is his house, correct?”

  “Yes, I have the keys.”

  From where he was hiding, Alessandro could hear the police ransacking the house. This wasn’t the first time Ars Pherians had clashed with Earth authorities. They’d managed to extricate themselves from financial fraud investigations and even criminal prosecutions before. For Thomas, this would be just another day, he'd likely have the Police Chief apologizing for the inconvenience. But Alessandro knew he might end up spending the night at the station.

  Alessandro knew he’d better stay out of sight tonight, at least until Thomas had handled the situation. After the police had left, with Thomas still grumbling about the misunderstanding and calling the family lawyer, he retreated upstairs to the terrace. There, he sat in the chair until the late hours, his gaze fixed on his hands, which seemed to leak dark fumes more each day. He wasn’t sure if the progression of his sickness was accelerating faster than it should. Soon, he might not be able to hide it any longer. He thought about the delirium stage he'd heard about in patients, maybe he was already in that stage, consumed by obsessive thoughts. Especially about Ava.

  He realized, with a strange clarity, that he was enjoying the pain of missing her, of longing for her. What nonsense! His rational mind screamed in protest, but what power logic could have against the growing fear of death, a fear that fueled his desires a little more each day?

  He cradled Georgia in his lap, the purring cat a small comfort against the chaos of his thoughts. As he listened to a song he would have never listen before, he wondered, what was he becoming?

  It was almost morning when Thomas called. He had cleared everything up and returned the jewelry to the vendor. "We won’t be doing business with him again," Thomas said. "But he swears he didn’t report any complaints to the police. There’s something off about this. I think we’ve got someone else on our tail. I’ll try to find out who."  Alessandro didn’t go back to sleep. He waited for the first light of morning and then went for a walk through the city, before the streets filled with tourists. He made his way down the Spanish Steps toward the Trevi Fountain, tossing a coin into the water. He continued on to the river, stopping at the spot where he had stood with Ava just a week ago. It felt like an entire year had passed since that day.

  He sat on the riverbank, watching the city wake up with the new day. Soon, he would no longer be here. Soon, he would be nowhere at all. Why wait for the inevitable? The end could be as near as the waters of the river, flowing just out of reach. He could simply step into the darkness before it claimed him. He imagined sinking into the river’s depths, letting the water carry him to the sea. The vast, silent darkness of the deep sea would comfort him. There, he would dissolve into the Earth.

  The alarm of his phone’s voice massage interrupted his deep thoughts. He listened to Ava’s soft and steady voice saying, “I can walk into your darkness, I am not afraid.” He replayed the message, again and again, until he couldn’t tell if it was real or just his imagination.

  A bird landed on the river. A young woman laughed with her friends. A coffee shop opened its shutters. A green bicycle glided down the street. A breeze brushed gently against Alessandro.

  He learned this at school when he was just a kid. The "emotions teacher" showed them the most important emotion of all. "Remember this well," she said. "Where there is hope, there are all other emotions." Alessandro felt hope for the first time.

  I, the loyal Ghull of the Asaha, can see the flows of the present.

  I can see the flows through the future.

  Can the flows of the present change the future?

  Did the flows from the past changed the present?

  The river always runs, and the water always finds its way.