When Ayden takes me back to the hotel, I say goodbye and give him a quick kiss in front of the door to Nadja’s and my room. Luckily, he’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt because the kiss surprised him and I’m sure he wasn’t able to control his Light for a moment. The thought makes me chuckle and he squeezes my hand shortly before letting go and telling me that he’s looking forward to seeing me again tonight at the beach. 

“Oh, look who’s here! Tell me everything!” Nadja shouts as soon as she hears the door close behind me. I sigh, wondering where I should start. “Everyone was so happy because apparently Ayden’s Light is one of the brightest and now it got even brighter with you here!”

“I can feel that Light, too. It’s somehow inside of me,” I confess to my best friend, realising that I haven’t told her about that yet. However, she just nods as if she already expected that. So, I continue with something she’s probably more interested in, “He asked me to be his girlfriend.” Nadja stares at me, a mixture of shock, excitement and happiness in her eyes. Before I can tell her that I said yes, she already hugs me.

“I want to get one of those tattoos as well! We need to find out if it’s true or not. Just imagine lighting up like the others whenever you touch him!” Nadja exclaims.

“Did they explain the whole thing to you?” I ask slightly worried about what she would feel like in case she doesn’t light up.

“Yes, I’d have to wait until some special day to see if I light up unless I find my ‘perfect match’ before that. But for you, getting a tattoo would mean easier control over your Light because it gets a chance to get out!”

“And I’d fulfil my purpose, whatever that is…” I add warily. That’s a thought that came to me when I first realised that I have this Light as well. What is my purpose?

“You don’t need a purpose if you already have some magical light inside of you! Just be happy that for some unexplainable reason, you can have brightly shining tattoos,” Nadja mentions. She’s right but my brain doesn’t accept that. Why do those people shine brightly when they touch their partners? What does the Light do? Why did I get chosen to have this Light as well? What is it that I’m supposed to do with this Light inside of me?

A memory of something that Ayden said comes to the front of my mind, “You fill this world with my Light.” Maybe that’s all there is to say. Maybe all we do is give this world a bit of light. I smile and feel the Light inside of me rush around for a moment. I don’t know if that’s because of the memory of Ayden or because the Light wants to agree with my assumption.

“Let’s go shopping,” I say to Nadja, changing the topic a bit too quickly in her opinion.

“Are you sure? We can also have a calm day at the beach like you wanted to,” she suggests with a worried look but I shake my head.

Without really thinking about it, I walk to the bathroom door and say, “I’m sure! Just let me have a quick shower. We had too much fun last night to think about showering.”

Nadja, as my best friend, is surprised at first at what I’m implying but then she laughs and as I close the door to the bathroom, she suggests, “You could have had a shower together!”

***

After my shower, we walk to a small mall that’s not too far away from the hotel. Nadja’s already searching through the clothing stores for more beach clothes. When I see her carrying a bag full of new swimwear, I give her a questioning look. She just shrugs, “I need more stuff if we’re staying here.” I’m not sure if she can see the worry in my eyes but she quickly adds, “It’s up to you. I’m not staying without you.”

Walking past other shops, I try to shove the thoughts about staying here away. Yes, I just agreed to be in a relationship with Ayden but does that mean I agreed to stay here? Long-distance relationships can work quite well, right? Well, maybe not with people who need you to make their tattoos shine… Is he expecting me to stay?

Nadja finds a little cafe for us to sit down for a bit and, without me saying anything or even looking at her, she orders for the both of us. She knows there’s no way I’d be able to place an order while I’m zoned out like this. What if Ayden’s wrong and whatever I’m feeling when he gets close are just the usual “butterflies” people have when they’re in love? I can’t stay here if I’m not one of them, can I? What about my life back at home?

Suddenly, the Light inside of me starts alarming me of something and I look around. Nadja notices that something snapped me out of my thoughts and smiles before she suddenly looks surprised. “No way, that can’t be real!” she exclaims. While I try to figure out what she means, I feel the Light trying to push me away from the table to something behind me. Turning around, I see Ayden coming closer with a bright smile on his face. His friends behind him wave at us. I guess it must be quite interesting for Nadja to see how quickly I can feel Ayden’s presence.