Xal's POV
For him, this moment felt like the calm before the storm.
Something ugly swarmed in his head, but it was the odd calmness he felt that ticked him off. That feeling had never ended well.
Deep down, he already knew what this conversation would reveal, but he needed to know for sure.
Xal observed that Kian had more expressive facial expressions than before and did a lot of hand gestures when he spoke, like he was making sure his words and expression matched, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
Not a kidnapper. And he's considerate and coherent, which is unlikely if he were a mental patient. If he's not a lunatic and something like a spirit illness exists, could that be what happened to Xehelya? She died from a spirit illness.
His mind offered, even if he was continuously trying to run away from the ugly truth.
Xal was never the person to believe in supernatural elements. Neither did his family. But with Xehelya, his baby sister, nothing that happened to her could be medically explained.
While his mind was connecting the dots, thinking he might have the chance to have some answers, Kian had stopped again to think if he'd missed anything else.
As if he had decided he had told Xal everything, he glanced back and said, "Yeah, that's it. Good luck finding a new job and… goodbye."
With that, Kian got up and walked away, leaving Xal with so many unanswered questions. Especially about the symptoms he had yet to ask about.
He should have stopped trying to make sense.
He should have stopped trying to connect things.
He should have accepted the bliss of ignorance.
He should have let things be.
He should have let him go.
Right then and there, he should have let Kian go.
"Wait."