Chapter 8
When Anya woke up she was surprised to find she had company. It took her a moment to remember what had happened the night before. Sherdan was fast asleep beside her and she didn't want to wake him. She grinned as she thought of what people might say if they saw the two of them in that moment. It looked like they had done more than sleep beside each other.
Her body still hurt in a lot of different places but she was also thankful. The worst two and a half days of her life so far were over. She was a little angry at Sherdan but God wanted her here until she had seen the prophecy.
The first few days she had been in Sherdan's house were a little blurry. She remembered the doctor and how nice he was, and seeing Sherdan at meal times, but the rest was a sleepy haze. There was no way of knowing how long she was going to be here but she felt calm and peaceful. She'd had a few nightmares in the last few days but they were soon stopped by praying. At the moment she felt strangely safe.
She didn't like being alone so much, however, and very quietly settled back down beside Sherdan. While she waited she studied his peaceful features. It had been a pleasant change to talk to him rather than argue.
Anya prayed for him. He had told her about the drug he'd made and that he planned to follow his science experiment wherever it led. She knew he disapproved of her faith, but liked how tranquil being with her felt. At this particular moment in time, while he slept, he appeared the more peaceful of the two of them.
About half an hour after Anya had awoken, Sherdan finally stirred. He opened his eyes to see her lying beside him. She smiled.
“Good morning,” she said. He didn't move back or get up but stared at her until she blushed and looked away.
“I'm sorry. I guess I fell asleep.”
“It's okay. I did, too. I think it's the first time I've shared my bed with someone since I was five.”
“I'm honoured to be the first.” Sherdan grinned.
Anya blushed again.
“I've got to go. Do you want breakfast?”
She looked away. She was starving but couldn't give in at the last minute. Sherdan got up and went to the door.
“When are you going to visit me next?”
“I can come back at lunch, if you'd like?” Anya nodded. “Very well.”
He left her and she sighed. All his barriers had come back up this morning. For a little while, he had let her beneath his cool calculated exterior and told her about himself. Sherdan was a very intelligent man and extremely logical. He connected two different things very quickly and had a great deal of intuition. It was a shame he had such loose morals.
Anya wandered slowly around the room. Her toes were the only part of her still bandaged, and every other wound was healing well. She thought it was pretty impressive, considering how little she had eaten, although she had rested plenty to try and make up for it.
For the rest of the morning she prayed. She missed her family and friends and was sure they'd have missed her over the Christmas period.
When it was time for lunch she curled up on the bed again. She didn't want Sherdan to see how much better she was just yet. He brought her a tray of food, as usual. She sighed and opened her mouth to tell him she wouldn't eat but as he put the tray on the bed beside her she noticed there were also two books. She gasped.
“I thought both of these would make you happy.”
“What made you change your mind?” she asked.
“You are right. You're going to be here a while. As long as I want you here ,in fact. I figured there wouldn't ever be anyone else you can tell.”
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome. Now I have a lot of preparations to make; this evening is a big evening. I will leave you to your reading.”
Anya grabbed both books as she beamed. She tucked the Bible under her pillow and flicked open the second. There, in Sherdan's handwriting, was the prophecy. She glanced over it, checking it was authentic, and then tucked into the plate of food.
He had brought her leftovers from the Christmas dinner the day before. Turkey had never tasted so good.
She then sat back and let her food digest for a bit. It had been so long since her last meal that her stomach hurt. She sighed; her mission for God was almost complete.
Sherdan's Prophecy Page 8
