The Secret Island
Chapter 85: Waking Up

By telling Celine his stories, Martin mentally stepped back into those nightmares. The more detailed he had told her, the more vivid those images in his head. Celine knew that although the event that he told her happened only once, he had been ruminating about it countless times.

Still, she respected Martin for still forcing the words out of himself to tell her. He wanted her to understand him and stay by his side, and that was exactly what she planned to do.

"Martin..." She said his name softly.

"Come here... come closer to me..." She smiled at him and spread her arms. She controlled her voice to be calm and steady. She tried anyway.

He was afraid. He was afraid of his memories. And the only thing she could do was to be here, to be here for him. At least he was aware that he wasn't alone and she would never hurt him. "There is no need to fear me... just come closer to me."

Martin's tall figure now looked weak and frail. He looked up at her briefly and looked down once more. He was like a kid that got lost in the dark and was too horrified to say or move. The fear was all too clear on his face. He was heaving out of nervousness and kept staring at the floor.

Celine didn't give up. No, she will never give up.

"Walk closer and hug me...please...." She decided to say something less authoritative. And it worked. Martin looked up and looked into her eyes, longer this time.

"It's raining outside. And it's freezing here. Please, Martin, hold me. Please." She smiled and asked him again. And it worked this time. Martin walked closer. And every second from there, she could see the hope on his face. He walked closer into her arms.

One more...

A bit more... just a bit more...

And he was within her reach when she pulled him into her arms.

Celine sighed.

His body was shaking, and she couldn't ever imagine seeing a man so vulnerable. On the one hand, she was glad he trusted her enough to tell her and was willing to be so vulnerable in her arms, but on the one hand, she felt ill-equipped to give any valuable advice. She didn't know what to say to make him feel better. So, she just hugged him and stayed silent. Our bodies were so close she could hear his heartbeat. She could feel that he was calming down. Celine sighed with relief.

"Everything had passed...." She patted his back to calm him.

"Things happened, and everything happened in the past."

Martin was quiet. He didn't make any effort to reply. But at least now, his breathing pattern was normal and getting slower as time passed.

Celine didn't know if it took minutes or hours, but Celine could feel that the body in her arms was no longer shaking. He was breathing in a normal rhythm and hugged her back.

"If you can't forget those memories...." Celine tightened her hug and said what she thought made sense to her.

"If you can't forget those memories, then let's fill in more happy memories so they eclipse those nightmares."

Celine couldn't remember how many times she told him words of encouragement. But Celine also didn't intuitively know the extent of his problems. She never faces a problem as severe as he had. Her friends and her family loved her, and they were good fun. She lived a life of comfort. And although she faced a handful of sufferings in her life, those experiences couldn't measure up to what Martin had faced. Not even half.

Maybe because of that, Celine didn't know how much encouragement was enough and how much more love he needed to heal him and make him see the light at the end of the dark path he was lost in. Celine knew she didn't have any power to erase his past, and he could never forget what had happened. That was all she could do.

Being here for him was all she could do. And then she hoped she could be the light in his world.

He was silent for a long time until...

"...I feel...something. And I don't know how to explain it. I am really lost for words...." He said it with a hoarse voice after his cry.

"Maybe...it feels like...waking up from a nightmare.,,,"

Celine looked at his face. She could still see traces of tears on his face. His eyes were soft and brighter. He stared at her for a long time. Words were still difficult for him. But Celine could see that the dark clouds above his head were shifted. But Celine felt that she had done her best, and he understood that he knew what she tried to tell him. And she had always tried to prove her words right.

Everything that Martin was, everything that he went through, everything that was him-everything that was him was what she loved.

Her hope appeared to be materialized into reality...

His gaze was more spirited as she looked into them.

He whispered...

"I woke up and found that everything had passed... the reality I'm facing is not that bad. In reality, there are no vicious demons hunting me down in my every waking breath."

She was deciphering each word he was saying when his hand moved to caress her cheek.

Celine closed her eyes. His fingers were still shaking.

His touch was gentle...

"...I start to think that all those nightmares are disappearing...."

Celine closed her eyes and opened them again to meet his eyes. And she could see what she had been watching to see. Finally, she could see his gaze changing... The smile reappeared on his face.

His fingers were caressing her cheek softly, and now she could see...

"When the reality I'm living at is this wonderful, I really have to wake up from those nightmares."

Celine could finally see a gaze of a man who was content with life.