"Fire ate a whole apartment building this morning."
The television banged from the living room,echoing through the silent halls of the shrine. I walked like a lifeless corpse with dark circles under my eyes. My eyes are puffed out from crying, and grief still held my heart. It's been days since we started looking for my grandfather's grave. And yet, not a single clue is found. I sat on the couch as I watched the report. News about the fire accident went flying all over this morning.
A footage of the ruins of the accident was suddenly displayed on screen. I watched silently.
The building was in ruin. Only few strong pillars were left standing with burns tattooing there surface. The rest were turned into ashes, broken and burnt pieces. There stood a man, introduced by the reporter as the landlord of the apartment. His back is turned from the camera. He watched the state of the source of his living, now devastated and in shambles.
My eyes squinted at the screen. The camera was focused on the whole lot of the building, and I find the angle familiar. It has the same angle as our previous apartment. The landlord turned around as a reporter attempts to have an interview with him. My eyes widened and recognition followed. It was my previous landlord. Realization struck me like lightning. The burning building was our previous apartment, where I was forced to leave when my grandfather died. I mentally cursed.
"According to the police investigation, the incident was intentionally cause, since none of the electrical wirings were involved and there are no negligence of its usage. The unknown culprit is yet to be found." The reporter said.
It was intentional? Who the hell would burn an old apartment building? The camera turned into another angle. As I stared at the picture, a glint of light flashed in the camera. I narrowed my eyes only to recognize, that it was the giant mirror about the size of my height that my deceased grandfather hanged on the wall. Should I get it? After all, it was a pretty mirror.
The door banged open, and footsteps echoed. I grabbed the remote and turned the television off. Michaelis cocked his head on the living room. He looked at me and sighed.
"How was it?" I asked.
"I couldn't find it. I traced his records and he was indeed buried in this town's cemetery. However, since we found out that the grave was missing, I tried the other cemetery near the place and I found none. There is also not a trace that he was buried to this town's cemetery. And there was no doctor," he said, sitting across to me.
"What do you mean?"
I frowned.
"It was like your grandfather just vanished after claiming that he was dead."
My eyes widened. That can't be true. However, even if I argue with Michaelis about it, I could not prove it to him. I didn't attend his funeral. I may sound like a bad granddaughter, since I'm the only family my grandfather had. But it was not on purpose. The day when he was going to be buried, my landlord barged into the apartment, asking me for the payment. I wasn't able to pay, and as a result I was forcibly thrown out of the place. I tried begging him to give me a day or two to pack and consider that my grandfather had passed away recently, but he turned a deaf ear. And I have no choice but to move out.
"How about the doctor? He was there Michaelis. We talked." I insisted.
"I know. I believe you. But when I've searched for his profile, medical records and everything about him, there was none. It's like he never existed. It doesn't make sense," he said.
"Are you saying I'm insane?" I exclaimed.
"No, I'm just saying that it doesn't fit right. Something is off, Nina. And it's terribly off. I can feel it."
He faintly muttered the last part but I heard it nonetheless. I sighed heavily and stood up. I went and grabbed my coat, as I marched my way towards the door.
"Nina, where are you going?" He asked as he follows behind me.
"To my apartment. It was all over the news this morning," I said and grabbed the door open.
At the porch, there sat Aka and Ao. They both turned, tilting their heads at the side in confusion. Their masks hang effortlessly on their heads.
"Lady Nina, Master Michaelis, what's the matter?" They chorused.
"Aka and Ao, I want you to watch over the shrine today. We'll be back before the moon greets the sky," I said.
"Is that okay?"
They both nodded without asking me any questions, although I didn't missed the part where their eyes shot right up at Michaelis when I asked them. I smiled and patted them both on the head.
We descended the shrine and reached the town in a fast pace. I was actually walking in haste. I have no time to waste. I walked past the crowd and turned into a street. Michaelis followed as he walked, carefully weaving himself through the crowd. I could see the look of anxiety on his face. He must have felt nervous if he could hurt someone again. And I will be forced to use the binding spell against him—it was a traumaric experience for him.
When we reached the place, Michaelis' jaw dropped.
"This is your apartment?" He asked.
"A run-down building? Wait it's an overstatement. I mean, it's a ruin."
"It was ruined just today. Burnt and devastated." I said as I walk around.
"So why are we here? Everything is destroyed. We can't find a clue in this state," he said.
"I know that. But I just want to try. I need all the help I could get."
I rummaged through the place, slowly searching for some proper remains or things that I left from this house. Michaelis did the same, dropping his head low to search.
Now, where could have I seen the mirror? I stumbled on a few broken cements as I tried to avoid a devastated pillar, lying across the way. The smell of burnt cloth and plastics lingered in the air. I swear I could hear Michaelis cursing as he keeps on sneezing. I could hear him muttered complains after complains as he threw away some broken cement which was a part of the only wall about one meter high that stood lonesome at the side.
Why was the building set aflame? What could have been the motives? As I walked around, a light glinted under the rocks. I narrowed my eyes and moved a bit closer towards it. My eyes widened when I realized what it was. It's the old chest that my grandfather used to hide from me. And what surprised me is that, beside the pile of rocks, the mirror I saw a while ago lay motionless; diagonally standing.
"Michaelis!" I called out.
In an instant, he was there beside me.
"You called?"
"Help me get this thing off. There's a chest under it." I pointed out.
"And be careful with the mirror. I need it."
He nodded and moved towards the pile of debris. His hand grabbed the huge part of a broken debris and pulled it away effortlessly. My jaw dropped at the sight. I didn't knew he was that strong. He threw some few rocks away and the chest revealed itself. I went and grabbed the chest, blowing away the dust on its surface. Recognition ignited inside me. I am not mistaken. This is my grandfather's belonging. My hand reached for the lock on its mouth. I tried opening it but I was surprise to see how tough it was. I pushed even more, the eagerness to see what is inside stirred my blood. But soon as I tried a little harder, my hand slipped on the wrong direction, causing me to wince.
"Are you okay?" Michaelis asked.
The tip of my finger stings. I looked down and saw blood coating on the chest like a curved line. I examined my fingers and found that the tip of my index finger is bleeding.
"Just a cut," I mumbled.
My brows furrowed when Michaelis' hand pulled my wrist. I watched as he drag my hand to closer. His head drop and I instantly stiffened when I felt his lips covered the tip of my finger. His warm tongue twirled around my finger. Heat rose onto my cheeks, and my hearts somersaulted.
"W-what are you doing?!" I exclaimed and quickly pulled away.
"I'm disinfecting it," he casually said.
He looks confused. Well, he doesn't have to be because it should be me.
"Now, give it back." He said and reached out.
I shook my head and backed away. Unfortunately, a protruding deformed bar hit my ankle and I lost my footing.
"Nina!"
Michaelis reached and I screamed and pulled him with me due to panic. I hid my face on his chest as I anticipate for the hard fall but nothing came. I felt Michaelis released a breath of relief, so I opened my eyes only to meet his that looked at me worriedly. I realized that we were floating just an inch or two from the ground.
"You okay?" He breathed out.
I nodded my head.
"Good. Now, don't move." He said.
He slowly stood up with the help of his power—magically making himself stood up easily without having to use his hands. When he was done, I was abruptly jerked upward causing me to land in Michaelis' arms with a yelp.
He grinned mischievously at my face.
"Yeah. Great. Thank you, oh so powerful one," I said as sarcasm lace my every words.
"Just always remember, no matter what happens to you, I'll always be there to catch you."
He laughed and let go of me. He went and grabbed the chest that I had dropped and hugged it beside him. I sighed and went on the mirror, carefully lacing my feet on the shambled floor. Dust covered it's silver frame and glass. I wiped it away with my hand. Awe filled my system. My own reflection stared back at me.
I reached out my finger on the mirror. The cold and hard surface fit my finger.
I turned my head towards Michaelis.
"Would you mind bringing this home?" I asked.
"You don't need a—"
Michaelis sentence was cut-off and his eyes widened. My brows furrowed. What's wrong with him? I was about to call him back when suddenly I felt something tugging at my hands. I looked back at the mirror and found that I was being sucked. No. I was sinking. My hand is sinking, and it's stuck. I can't get it off. My eyes automatically shot right back at Michaelis, screaming his name.
"Nina!" He screamed as he reached out for my other hand.
Fear engulfed my heart and the next thing I knew, I was pulled into the depths, completely disappering from the surface.