Chance woke up when he couldn't breathe and sensed something heavy buried on his face. It moved away as he gasped for air. After being fully awake, he looked at the little furry monster on top of his chest, staring at him. "Hey, Wish. Were you trying to wake me up?" he asked and it meowed in response. What a smart cat.
He sat up and hugged him tightly. He put him down and went to the bathroom to wash up. He doesn't really have to go to the university today because of the research but he received a message from the professor that he left something in his office.
It's already afternoon so Wish must be hungry. Chance grabbed the tupperware of the fish he steamed last night. He didn't have the time to go out and buy cat food so he just took the fish that was in the fridge. Chance glared at him, "I just eat instant foods yet I have to cook for you? You should be grateful that I was the one who picked you up." he said. He just meowed as usual and rubbed its head on his leg.
Chance glanced over his messy desk with lots of crumpled paper and printed information that he typed last night. Although he didn't get any information on how the king died yet, he still managed to research Charles and his family while he was still a prince. He tried to write up many scenarios of how he could have died but that's only assumptions. Still, he is hoping that the small info that he gathered can still help him.
He was sipping his coffee while watching Wish eat his food when he heard his phone beeped. He grabbed it and saw the professor's name on the screen.
[Professor: You're coming here, right? That's good, I have something to show you.]
He finished the last sip of his coffee and began typing his reply.
[What is it?]
[Professor: I think this can be a help to your king's death research. Better if you come now because I have classes to go to later.]
[I'm on my way, sir.]
Chance threw his phone onto the bed and quickly showered and dressed up. The little monster has caused him such a delay. "Behave, Wish." he said before he locked the door.
After parking at the university, Chance ran like a flash because it's almost time for the professor to go to his class. 'Something to tell me? Is it really something related to my research?' he thought. The students greeted him like always but he was in a hurry so he just smiled slightly and rushed to professor Adam's room.
Right when he got to his door, he opened it without knocking and saw professor Adam leaning on his desk while holding a cigarette between his fingers. He turned to Chance's direction and he immediately put out the cigarette, "There you are, Chance. Come in and sit." he said.
Chance sat down and waited as the professor wiped his glasses. He opened his drawer and took out something, "Here's your book." he said. He gasped and just realized now, that it was missing. He grabbed it and checked the pages.
"That book is kind of weird. Where did you buy that?" he asked. Chance smiled instead of answering and looked at the book.
It was a book he had found on the day he was asked to research about king Charles. It was a thick exquisite book, the cover was hard, and decorated with fancy gold embellishments at the sides of the cover. One look at it and it is obvious that it is old.
But the weird thing about it is that, "The pages are blank."
Chance turned to professor Adam, "Oh, uhm. Yes, it only has something short written on it. The rest of the pages are blank." he said.
Professor Adam nodded, "That's exactly why I called you here. Look at the book cover, There's a butterfly symbol but no title. Open the book and see what the cover page says," he said and pointed at the book that Chance was holding.
TRAPPED
IN
HISTORY
"Trapped in History," he read out loud to the professor. "I saw this when I got it. Is there something wrong with it?" he asked.
Professor Adam sat back down in his chair and his brows furrowed in curiosity. "That's a blank book, but it has a title? That's not even a novel, who would be weird enough to publish a book with only two pages of contents?" he said in confusion.
"Furthermore, a book titled as Trapped in History, was coincidentally picked up by a historian." he laughed.
Chance sighed and glanced at the clock. "I know that it's weird, but how is it helpful for my research? Is that all you have to tell me?" he didn't mean to sound rude, but he should be using his time in researching.
The professor immediately shook his head, "No." Professor Adam opened the book from Chance's hands, he went to the first page and put his finger on the text. Chance looked at where he was pointing at and saw the quote that he fancied when he picked up the book.
"A woman can love a man, but can she love another woman?
A man can love a woman, but can he love another man?
A person can love anyone, if he or she thinks it's the one,
But their feelings do not matter, only opinions of society can."
- C. H.
Chance smiled after he finished reading it. "I really like this quote, it shows the problem about how same sex relationship is not easily accepted. It's true and a bit sad." he muttered.
Professor Adam pointed at the initials at the end, "Do you know whose initials are this?" he asked.
Chance stared at it and his eyes slightly widened upon realizing something, "That's my initials! Chance Howard!"
The professor smacked his head, "No, you idiot! It's regarding your assigned topic!"
"Oh, right. I forgot that the king is also a Howard. So are you saying this is written by King Charles Howard?" Chance said.
He shook his head again, "Seriously, do you not use FateBook? This quote is famous among homosexuals. They share it all the time." he said and sighed.
"Of course, I have FateBook. But I'm not really updated to the news, I usually just use its messenger." he answered.
"Well, that quote is by Clayton Howard. Does that ring any bell to you?"
"Clayton Howard..." Chance repeated the name. Then he suddenly remembered what he researched last night. "He is King Charles's brother? The one who led the kingdom of Antares when the king died?" he stated and professor Adam nodded.
"He guided the kingdom when the king was gone. Does he count as a king then?" Chance added.
"No. He did the responsibilities of a king, but he refused to be called one." Professor Adam said. Chance scratched the side of his neck and crossed his arms, "What could be the reason? Who would not want to be called King?" he muttered just as the professor flipped the page.
"Another one is this," he pointed at the short three lines from the next page. "It looks a bit like a prophecy."
A wish has been made.
Their fates have intertwined.
And a chance will soon come.
He read the lines written in the second page and he felt something weird, his chest tightened as if it was being squeezed tightly. "Is this also by Clayton Howard?" he asked. The professor's brows furrowed and he slowly shook his head, "Not that I know of."
"I've never seen this in this book when I opened it before." he told professor Adam while he stared at it. The professor paused and turned to Chance with a look of disbelief. "I was confused when you said there were only two pages that are not blank, when in fact, there was only one." he added.
He stared at Chance for a while then laughed, "Then you must be mistaken. You probably just accidentally flipped to another page, not noticing it."
Chance was sure that there was nothing on the second page, he can't be mistaken about it, knowing that his professor will not believe it, he didn't continue their discussion. "Professor, I will just remind you, you are late."
Professor Adam's mouth slightly opened and he looked at the clock, "I'm five minutes late! I might get to class after 10 minutes. Ugh, the students must be rejoicing!" he exclaimed as he reached for his coat and briefcase. "Call me if you need any help, Howard." he said and tapped him on the shoulder. He waved goodbye and left the room, leaving Chance in the office staring at the book.
~~~~~~~~~~
He pushed the heavy glass doors and went inside the café. As he walked inside he couldn't help but to inhale the coldness of the room's air conditioner. The cold air mixed with the scent of coffees are the best.
He took a seat at his usual spot, the small round table with two armchairs just beside the see-through walls so he could watch the people walking by while sipping his drink. He put his bag on the other chair so no one will join him.
"Your usual espresso?" the waitress asked Chance. He shook his head, "I've been having too much coffee, just a hot chocolate drink today." he said. The waitress smiled and went to the counter.
He looked outside and watched the people while waiting for his order. There was an old man on a wheelchair trying to ask for money from those who were passing by. Poor children who are happy playing with friends. A child who is crying while looking for his parents. A rich family with coldness in their eyes, obviously grown apart. 'Different people with different lives, Some of them are ashamed of their stories and kept it hidden,' he thought. "While some of them want it to be told."
"What are you muttering about?" someone said as he felt somebody sat across him. He looked at the person and was surprised, "Ruther!" he called.
"What are you doing here?" Chance asked.
"This is a café, what do you think I'm doing here?" he said sarcastically. "How 'bout you?"
"Same response as you gave me." Chance said in return. Ruther felt quite annoyed by his answer, "Now your online version is back. What happened to the shy, cry baby, yesterday?"
"I'm seriously not in the mood." Chance said. "So you drink hot choco when you're upset?" Ruther asked. Chance sighed, 'He must be thinking that I'm such a baby' he thought and nodded at him as a response. "You also like sweets then?"
"I'm not really fond of sweets, but hot chocolate helps calm me down and it uplifts my mood." he said.
"Oh." Ruther muttered as he took a bite of his red velvet cake. "You really don't look like a sweets-person." Chance stated as he watched Ruther eat.
"I'm not sweet but I like sweets." Ruther said. They both went silent and they laughed slightly.
"Wow, you two could laugh?" A woman said as she put down a hot chocolate drink on the table.
"Excuse me?" Chance asked in confusion.
"I saw you two together with your friends here before I left yesterday. And before you two met, you were already regulars here. I could see your faces every time you two are here." she said. She faced Ruther, "A grumpy face even though he isn't angry." Ruther scowled and continued eating his cake. Then she turned to me, "An innocent face with curious eyes mixed with sorrow."
"You probably think I don't care about my customers, huh?" she added, putting a hand on her waist.
Chance smiled awkwardly, "I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked.
Ruther smirked and looked at the woman with mockery, "You care about the customers, but too bad the customers don't give shit 'bout the owner." The woman smacked his head and he glared at her.
"The owner? Then you are—
"Yes, yes. I'm Milla, the owner of this cafe." she said and gave him a handshake. "Nice to meet you, uhm?"
"Chance." he continued. "Nice to meet you, Chance. You know, I've just noticed it now. Looking up close, we look similar. You might even be mistaken as my younger brother!" she said, amused by his face.
'Younger?' he thought. "Sorry to ask, but how old are you?"
"She's 3—" Milla slapped Ruther's mouth, "I'm only 22!" she yelled. "I'm not that old!"
'She's just one year older than me.' "You look beautiful." Chance said, a bit embarrassed to talk to her. Milla had already noticed his introversion, so she just smiled and patted him on the head.
"Sorry to interrupt you, go ahead and drink before it gets cold. We're short of staff, I also need to work. Bye, Chance, hope to chat with you again." she said and turned to Ruther, "I hope you get diabetes."
"Shut up, old hag." She flicked his forehead before walking away.
Ruther rubbed his forehead and Chance laughed. He reached for his drink and sipped on the chocolate as he looked outside again.
He stopped drinking and froze as he saw a familiar face beside the old man in the wheelchair. "That's him." he whispered as he stared at the man. Ruther heard his whisper and glanced at him. "Who?" he asked, confused.
Chance didn't hear Ruther, because he was focused on the man. He felt his chest tightened again and he could even hear the beating of his heart. Ruther, worried about Chance, stood up and grabbed his shoulders, making Chance turn to him. "Look at me, what's wrong with you?"
Tears formed in Chance's eyes, "It's him. I saw him again!" he said. Ruther took a deep breath and shook Chance lightly, "I know, I heard you. But who are you talking about? Tell me so I can understand."
"The man yesterday! The one I told you three about, whenever I see him I just...I don't know, I feel like I could burst out any moment." he said.
"Calm down, first. Where is he?" Ruther asked. Chance wiped his tears, "Beside the old man across the street." he answered.
"I don't see anyone beside the old man. Just some random children near him." Ruther said and faced Chance with a furrowed brow. "That can't be." Chance said, he immediately looked outside but Ruther was right. There was no one there.
He's gone. He's gone again, Chance thought. He smiled, concealing the inexplicable sadness he felt, "I...I might have mistaken it." he said. He held Ruther's arms on his shoulders and gently removed it, "I'm sorry. I'm fine now, thanks for your concern."
Ruther dazed out, then realized what he had done, "Who's concerned?!" he exclaimed, flustered. His face reddened out of embarrassment. He sat back down and continued eating his dessert.
"I guess you're not that bully, grumpy person, like I thought." Chance chuckled.
"Shut it, I've just eaten too much sweets, that's why."
'I wonder where that man went.' Chance muttered. He glanced back at the wall and saw a floating light. His mouth opened slightly and he covered it with his hand to prevent himself from screaming, "Holy sh—" 'What the heck is that??!'
Shocked at the creature he saw he turned to Ruther and was about to tell it to him but he hesitated. He looked outside but there was no more light.
He sighed loudly and leaned back at the chair, stressed. He rubbed his eyes, 'Am I seeing things? I knew I drank too much coffee these days.' he thought. The stress from work must have made him hallucinate things.
But then, maybe the man he saw was just from his imagination.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance jumped on his bed, dropped dead after he put the canned food into Wish's bowl. It's already 5 o'clock, all he did was to go to the M University, stayed for a while in Milla's café and stopped over to buy canned food for the black cat. It was a tiring day for him, there was also a traffic jam on his way home, so now his back hurts and his legs are sore.
Wish came out under the bed and greeted Chance with a meow. It jumped on his back by surprise making Chance grunt in pain. The cat stomped its front two feet on simultaneously like giving a massage. "Oh, that's good, Wish." but not until he felt a sharp thing on his back. "Okay, Wish, that's enough." he cried.
Wish meowed and lay down on his back. Chance didn't complain anymore as he was too tired to move. Before he could close his eyes, he noticed something, "Wasn't that book inside my bag?" he said, looking at the old book that was on the table beside his bed.
But before he knew it, he was already asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, crap! I've slept for four hours!" Chance exclaimed. 'Ugh, I was supposed to look into the meaning of that book.' he sighed. "I guess I have to stay up 'til morning again."
"I tried waking you up, but you were in a deep sleep."
Chance let out a sigh again, "You should've tried harde—wait." his eyes widened. "The heck? No one knows my door lock pass."
But he swore he heard a little kid's voice. 'Is it a ghost? A child who died young?'
"I'm not a child! In fact, I am your friend."
Chance stared into the unknown and blinked. Despite his blank, dumbfounded face, tears formed in his eyes, quite offended by the ghost. What a cruel thing to say to an introvert who only has three online friends.
Wish appeared in front of Chance and meowed, "Master Chance, I, Wish, am the one talking to you."
Chance stared at his cat and blinked again. 'Crap, Has my assignment made me crazy?'
"Don't ignore me!"
Chance shook his head and took a deep breath, 'I better sleep again. The fatigue is making me hallucinate.'
He was covering himself with a blanket to continue his sleep but his eyes glanced over the book at the table. He reached for it but at the moment he touched it, it glowed. The book opened and was emitting a strange light until it stopped glowing.
The book stopped glowing but right in front of him, was light. "Like a lit up cotton ball." he muttered subconsciously.
It was exactly like the one he saw outside the café. A talking cat, and now a light from a book. "What a strange dream."
"It is strange, indeed, but I'm afraid that this is not a dream." the ball of light said.
It may be because of the fatigue, but Chance's brain seemed unable to process what was happening to him in a middle of the night. He massaged his temples due to the headache he felt for the unbelievable things that his mind cannot take. "Then are you a spirit?"
The light did not answer but instead, he felt Wish put its paw on his thigh. "You have made a wish." it said.
Chance got even more confused. "I make a wish every day, so which one?" he said.
"Your wish to find a way to know the king's story." Wish responded.
Chance spaced out as he heard the response. "You mean, there's really a way?" he asked, the tone of his voice went up, clearly liking what he just heard.
Even though he knows that it's impossible, at least there's a little possibility. He held back himself from snorting, I guess since it's a very weird dream, he should at least go with the flow.
Wish nodded and licked his paw, "Your wish has been heard and now you have this book."
"What am I going to do with this? It's an empty book."
"For now, it is."
Chance went silent. 'For now? What does that mean?' he looked at the light in front of him. He thought that he was probably dreaming about this because of the desperation about the king's death topic.
But then maybe the dream he is having now, can point out a clue that he hasn't notice yet.
"Chance, I will help you, but with this help I am about to give you, you are also helping me in return for something which you don't know."
Chance looked at both of them in confusion and has something he wants to ask but the light did not let him, "There will come a time where you will know what I mean, but keep in mind that if you let me help you, then that is a big help for me, too."
Chance couldn't follow what the creature was saying at all. This dream felt surreal, but to see such unbelievable talking beings are not very much realistic at all. "But first, tell me. Who are you?"
The light circled around him and Wish went to sit on his lap. His surroundings are slowly fading away, 'Am I about to wake up?'
There was nothing left but white, as if he was in heaven with a black creature and a spirit. He was stunned when the spirit took the form of a person, but it was still glowing, without face and gender. Just a light with the form of a human. It bent down to level with him because Chance was sitting on the floor.
"Help me fill the pages of the book, with an untold story."
The spirit stood up, Wish left his lap and went towards the light in front of him. The cat looked at him with his glowing purple eyes. "I am Wish."
"And I am Fate."