"Damien? I heard you were back. Are you still awake?" Theodore knocked on Damien's door and asked in a loving voice.
Damien's heart skipped a beat when he heard Theodore's voice coming from outside his door.
He gulped to moisten his parched throat. However, he didn't reply. Instead, he held his breath as if that would make him vanish from the face of Hell.
Theodore gently knocked on the door again and said in a sad voice, "Ariel has been worried sick for you, Damien."
Theodore waited for a while to get a reply.
But when he didn't get any, he rested his forehead on the door and pleaded as Ariel's father and not as himself, "It would be a great help if I could tell her that I talked with you. She hasn't even been eating properly since your disappearance. I hope you understand how desperate I am to talk to you."
Theodore finally heard the light footsteps getting closer to the door. He waited for Damien to open the door.
