Lose Those Chains

The Sweetest Torture One Could Bear

"Who knew so many animals could be created?" Adam patted the horse's snout as he fed it a carrot. "You like that, don't you?"

"But wait! There's more!" Luci waved his fingers around in the air like a magician. "Take a look at this little guy!"

He reached out his hands to Adam, revealing within his palms a small yellow bird with webbed feet.

"He's so adorable!" Adam stroked the top of the bird's head. It let out a loud quack in return.

"Isn't he? And just look at his widdle feet!" Luci cooed before handing it over to Adam. "Okay, so what's his name? I've been waiting to know!"

Luci grinned up at Adam, practically bouncing on his heels as he awaited his answer.

"Hmm." Adam tapped his chin in deep thought. "Hmmm..."

"Hey, Adam! Duck!" a voice shouted in the distance.

"What?" Adam turned to see Lilith running towards him, her eyes wide and blonde hair flowing in the wind behind her.

"I said, duck!"

Before he could even process what she meant, an object struck him right across the face and startled the bird into flying out of his hands and onto Luci's shoulder.

"Oof." Luci sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Adam blinked and picked up the object from the ground, turning it over in his hands. It was spherical and smooth. "It didn't even feel like anything."

Lilith finally reached them and took the object from his hands. "Sera gave this to me and said we could use it to throw around. The rule of the game is to not let it hit the ground. I wanted to show it to you, but when I saw you had that bird in your hands and weren't going to look up in time-"

"Duck!" Adam pointed at the bird resting on Luci's shoulder.

Lilith tilted her head and frowned. "Yes? I told you to duck, which didn't seem to help at all."

Adam laughed. "No, what I meant is that that bird should be called a duck."

Luci let out an audible gasp, his red eyes gleaming even brighter than usual. "I love it, I love it, I love it!"

"Thank you." Adam beamed down at him before turning to Lilith. "Is that what you wanted to come ask me? If you wanted me to come play with the sphere?"

"Yes, this game does require two people after all." Lilith spun the sphere on top of her index finger, a suggestive twinkle in her eye. But Adam didn't seem to take notice of it at all, instead turning back to Luci.

"Okay, I'm almost done with naming the animals. What's the next one?"

"Well, I can help." Lilith took a step forward, placing herself squarely in between her husband and Luci. "That way, you can finish faster and we can go play."

"Nah, it's okay. I got it. Besides, you need to finish your chores." Adam started to walk away with Luci beside him. But Lilith grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around to face her. Her slender arms were crossed over her chest, and even Adam could tell there was a strained smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I did finish my chores. That's why I went to Sera because I didn't know what else to do."

Adam sighed, not sure why his wife was so insistent about this. "Okay, I'm sure there's something else you can do. Naming the animals is what I'm supposed to do."

Luci's eyes shifted back and forth between the couple, slowly starting to back away from them. "Uh... I think I heard Michael calling my name. Have fun, you two!"