Aya and I sat down on a bench near the alley, the street lit up by the street lamps. Aya gently opened the bag she was carrying and pulled out the antiseptics and bandages. Her movements were calm and precise, almost too careful for someone who had just killed a man.

“Show me your hand.” She said softly.

I hesitated for a moment, then gave her my bleeding hand. She began to clean the wound while I kept staring at her. My heart was still beating quickly.

“Who…are you?” I finally asked her.

She smiled faintly without looking at me as she was bandaging my hand and said “I am a demon.”

My body started trembling and breaking into a sweat. “A..a demon?” I asked her, not being able to process what I’ve just heard.

“Yes, don’t be scared, please. You started freaking out when you found out.” She told me, softly caressing my face to calm me down.

For some reason it worked and I slowly stopped trembling, she calmed me down. “So demons really exist, huh?”

Aya looked me in the eyes and I could see hers, which were a beautiful glowing turquoise color, lightened up by the street lamp. She started laughing and looked at me warmly “See? It's better to not be scared by the unknown.”

I felt completely lost in her eyes. “How did you know I was there and why did you save me?” I asked her.

Aya paused for a second and told me “I felt something I’ve never felt before. Like a warm wind that was coming far away on my right side. When I came to check the source, I found you almost dying so I saved you…by killing that man.”

My body shook as I remembered the mutilated body of the man lying on the ground. “And that red lightning…what was that?”

“That’s how demons travel long distances.” she explained calmly. “We travel via lightning. At least my sister and I do. We move at seventy-five kilometers per second. At that speed we can enter directly into someone’s body and take control of it…but it doesn’t apply to you, it seems.”

I looked amazed at her and wanted to ask about the cross tattoo that appeared on my finger, but she already started to explain it before I could ask.

She added “On your finger appeared a holy sign. It protected you from me taking control of you after I entered your body via the lightning bolt. I was trying to save you from that man by controlling you and giving you power. But your body rejected me. I tried to move, but I couldn’t, so I had to leave your body to save you.”

“And why did you try to take control of me and not fight that man directly in your body?” I asked her, waiting for her answer.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Because I was scared. I didn’t know what you were, as that new feeling drew me straight to you. I didn’t want to show up; I thought you might be dangerous. But after you fainted, I realized you were no danger at all.”

I looked at her with relief and smiled “But you did show up and saved me, right? You did what you told me. You faced your fear and you were no longer scared by the unknown.” I said.

She finished wrapping my hand, then buried her face in my shoulder. I hugged her gently, holding her close, feeling her tremble against me. It was my turn now…my turn to calm her, to give back the comfort she had given me. She whispered softly “Yes…I did it. I faced my fear…’ And I could feel the weight of her relief, blending with mine, as if we were sharing the moment together.