A fleeting calm settled over him, followed by a rush. Everything Adonis had experienced before was suddenly forgotten. It was as if his whole life was reset, wiped clean; Adonis was reborn. His eyes fluttered and rolled back into his head. As he reveled in this moment a tight sensation gripped him. He felt his whole body stiffen; he held his breath.

“This is it.” the words dripped from him so faintly he wasn’t sure if he had spoken at all. There was a gruff howl, he shut his eyes so tightly his eyebrows ached. He fell back and landed hard on the ground like a plank of wood.

A second calm settled over him like cool silk sheets on a warm day. All tension left his body; the rush of sensation eased out of him. A minute passed, and he lay in the grass with his eyes closed. A tickling fear of what he would see kept his eyelids from opening. Adonis cleared his throat before he called out.

“Are you there?” he asked.

No response. He opened his eyes.