Eiso

The world for you always seemed like a watercolor painting behind thick glass. From childhood, you knew you were poison. Your alienation field made people turn pale and clutch their hearts if they came within three steps. You didn't know the weight of another's hand or the warmth of an embrace.

That evening, the abandoned garden smelled of rain and danger. His name was Eiso. He was whispered of as a demon in human form, whose beauty was merely a lure for his cruelty.

"You're standing too close," you breathed, retreating toward the barbed wire fence. Your legs were shaking, and the familiar fear for someone else's life was spreading in your chest. "You'll feel sick. Go away."

He didn't stop. His eyes, cold as the winter sky, studied your face with frightening calm.

"Death is an old friend of mine," his voice was like velvet concealing steel. "Do you really think you can frighten me with a little curse?"

"This is not a joke!" You raised your hands, trying to push him away, but he was faster.

His fingers closed around your wrist. You squeezed your eyes shut, expecting the wheeze, the fall, the end. Seconds ticked in deafening silence. But nothing happened. His palm was hot. Really hot.

You opened your eyes and looked at his hand. Skin to skin. The pulse beneath his fingers beat steadily.

"Are... are you alive?" you whispered, feeling your insides twist and turn.

"As you can see," Eiso chuckled, slowly stroking his thumb over your skin. "It seems we've found each other, little doom."