Page 91 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
Waves the temperature of bathwater lap gently at my bare feet as my eyes scan a dulcet, twilight horizon. The kiss of a warm breeze on my skin coupled with the sound and feel of the waves is a balm to my soul. I can’t quite recall what it is that’s caused this immense weight on my chest, but it’s there all the same, gradually dissipating thanks to the sea and this island.
How did I get here?
“You chose this place.”
My gaze reluctantly leaves the dying whisper of the sunset to turn towards the voice beside me. Deep and smooth. Soothing like the scene in front of me. If not melancholy.
At first glance, his eyes appear entirely black—entirely absent of sclera—a stark contrast to his pale skin. But as I hold his gaze, tiny pinpricks of light glow, swirling like an expanding universe. The longer I stare, the more this weight on my chest—an overwhelming guilt and sadness—is liberated.
When his gaze shifts towards the water, the weight of it returns.
It’s then that I notice his enormous, velvety, matte black wings. So dark they seem to absorb the light. Substantial enough in weight and size to carry his large form.
Something about him seems both strange and familiar.
“Do I know you?”
His eyes briefly shift back to mine.
“In one way or another, yes, everyone knows me. You may call me Somnus.”
My mind turns over his words, and I realize I have no context to make sense of them, but this weight on my chest seems to demand my full attention and is becoming increasingly unbearable.
So much so that now I can scarcely breathe.
My desperation to be freed only fortifies it.
After several moments, my throat actually closes.
I can’t breathe.
My hand claws at my sternum. Some distant instinct seems to awaken in the back of my mind—mental training of some kind that will enable me to make it through the panic. Or prevent it entirely. But it remains just out of reach.
“Your SEAL training won’t help you here.”
Flashes of foggy, distant memories flicker through my mind: blood, mutilated bodies, corpses, unfathomable violence, friends and brothers whose faces I know in my soul but for some reason my mind doesn’t recognize, even though these memories tell me I’ve cradled them in my arms as they breathe their last breath.
That weight intensifies to the point I’m certain ribs will crack and too-long seconds pass. My vision begins to sway as my diaphragm spasms.
Somnus fills my vision as he squats down beside me, imploring me with dark, sparkling eyes.
“You just have to…”
He lays his hand on my chest as he finishes his sentence.
“Let. Go.”
Something inside me snaps and breaks free. My vision turns white, and my lungs finally manage to draw breath. The sudden intake of oxygen provides a burning relief, and the world rushes back in.
My vision clears, but instead of a twilight sky, I’m staring up at a thick, glittering blanket of stars.
Somnus is gone, though the beach remains.
When I finally catch my breath, I force myself to sit up. Feeling a little more awake, and a little more lost.
“Sal…”
Grief blooms through my chest like poison in water at the sound of my mother’s voice. My eyes slip shut—images of her hanging by a belt in her closet sear through my mind. Tears fall, and I can’t bring myself to look at her because I’m terrified of what I’ll find.
