" I am scary ? Why ? " , Enilese asked , the girl didn't reply .
" What are you scared of ? Did anyone scold you there ? Okay , I will tell them not to scold you anymore . Is it okay now ? " , she said again , there was a tint of anger in her words , this time .
Still the girl didn't seem to be convinced , she stood there silently , clutching Shawn's hand .
Enilese was going to say something when Shawn spoke up coldly , " If she doesn't want to go you shouldn't force her . "
Enilese stared at him for some time before saying , " But Shawn , you can see , she is infected . And she is not old enough to survive on her own . We can't just leave her like this . I don't understand what's wrong with her . " , she looked at the girl who was looking down . Shawn also looked at the girl , then he said , " Then I will take her with me . "
Surprisingly , the girl didn't object this time . Enilese frowned at her and then asked looking at him , " Where would you take her ? "
Shawn looked straight into her eyes and said , " Somewhere ..... safe . "
--------------------------------
Some days later .
It was just an another long and hectic shift for Melvine . When she stepped out of the hospital , after finishing her duty , the tired afternoon had already started losing its glow .
Out of habit , her eyes go towards the tree , Ryan used to lean against while waiting for her . On other days , a slight sigh comes out of her lips .... but today a tint of surprise flashed through her eyes .... Ryan was standing against the tree , in the same posture as before .
For a moment , she couldn't think anything , she just stood there subconsciously . She doesn't know , how long she stood there like that . The notification sound of a text brought her back to reality . She opens the text , it was an unknown number , it said - [ Can you stop dreaming , now ? ]
She looked up at his direction again and then approached him in small steps .
She stopped beside him and said , " You ? "
He turned to her and spoke up , " Yes . Let's complete the unfinished conversation from the last time . "
------------------------------------------
In a quiet room of the Town Police Station the things were getting serious .
All the people , present in the room , were holding their breath .
A loud punch landed on the table . Following that , the deep voice of the Police Chief filled the room , " Were you guys sleeping when those creatures were attacking people in the broad daylight ? In the last two weeks , over fifteen people went missing , thirty-four people were severely attacked . And you guys couldn't stop at least one attack ! You guys could do nothing ? I don't understand what you guys are even doing . "
Nobody dared to say anything .
" Beta team captain . " , the chief called out .
An officer stood up and saluted , " Sir . "
" You and your team members are dismissed . " , the chief said nonchalantly . The captain and other Beta team members became shocked at the sudden order .
" Sir ...." , the captain tried to say something but the chief continued , " You were one of our best assets . That's why I entrusted you with this job . But .... you failed . "
" But sir , those new creatures are much more powerful than the normal creatures , we've dealt with . So....."
" So , what did you expect , you'd be facing children ? "
The officer looked down .
" Listen very carefully , in this town there is nothing called easy opponent . The moment you decided to be a police officer of this town , you lost the right to complain about how powerful the opponent is . "
" You've disappointed me . Neither could you protect the town people nor could you find out who is behind all these . "
" Sir , of course it's the dark souls ..."
" Everyone knows that . But what's the point of knowing that ? Could you catch any of the dark souls ? Could you stop any of their actions ? You couldn't . "
" Sir , give me one more chance , I won't disappoint you again . "
" I don't believe in second chance . You won't handle this project anymore . "
The captain said in a gloomy tone , " Yes sir . "
The chief indicated an officer to pass some documents to everyone . Then he said , " Everyone , study the documents very carefully . "
Everyone did as he said .
He continued after some time , " As you can see , there are details about the new creatures . That's all we could gather for now ... After studying the details , if any of you think that you are confident enough to handle them , step up . "
The Beta team captain was going to stand up but the chief said , " Except for the Beta team members . " , the captain sat down again , suppressing his anger .
For one minute nobody stood up , the chief had an indescribable expression on his face . He was going to say something when an officer stood up .
" Oh, officer Phil ! You think , you can stop them ? "
" Yes sir . " , the young man curtly replied .
" We'll see . Okay officer Phil , you can select your team members ....."
" Sorry to interrupt sir , " , the captain said , " But are you really choosing him over me ? Do you think he'd do better than me ? He is not even....."
" Not even qualified as you ? " , the chief asked . The captain didn't say anything .
" Well , your excellent qualifications couldn't bring any positive result anyway . And about who is better ... we can decide that after witnessing his performance .... Okay , officer Phil , choose your team members . "
" I don't want a team sir . " , everyone including the chief was surprised . Phil continued , " People feel insulted to work with me , and you know the reason . "
Of course the chief knew . Officer Phil used to be a gangster around six years ago . He was caught and was sentenced for five years . But the chief saw who knows what potential in him that he took all the trouble to bring him in this field . It wasn't easy at all but still the chief succeeded
Over the years , Phil has proven himself to be a competent officer time to time but the other officers didn't seem to get over his past identity yet . He is still considered as an inferior among them .
The chief said , " But you'd need support . "
" Sir , don't forget that I was once a part of the dark world . I know , very well , how the things work there . Don't worry , I'll manage . "
" Do whatever it takes , just don't disappoint me . "
" I won't . "
------------------------------
Another cafe .
Ryan took a sip of his black coffee and started , " Last time , you asked me , if we can go back to the previous state , right ? " Melvine slightly nodded .
He continued , " Today I want to ask you something . "
She looked at him .
He started , " As far as I remember , you agreed to be my partner just because I forced you . You had to do a lot of things that you didn't want to do . You accepted everything because you had no other choice . Honestly speaking , sometimes you used to look like an abused girlfriend who was burdened with the relationship . " , she was going to say something but he continued , " In simple words , you were never happy in that relationship . Now that you are finally free from all those unwanted stuffs , why do you want to go back to that unhappy life again ? "
" It was not an unhappy life ... it was just , I couldn't experience it properly .... Everything was new for me ... I had so many fears .... I had no idea how to approach that life ... For me , such a life was a farfetched dream . You gave me the chance but I didn't take it .... Later on , I realised what I had lost . "
Ryan didn't say anything . She continued , " I know , I'm not in a place to ask for anything from you . You gave me much more than I deserved ....."
" How much do you think , you deserved ? , he finally said .
" You never treated me in a wrong way . I didn't expect that . You had every chance of taking advantage of me . You knew , I couldn't do anything anyway . After all , I was just a part of the deal you made with Derek ...."
" Just a part of the deal ? You really have a tendency to demean yourself , you know that ? " , Ryan cut her off . She frowned at him .
He continued , " You always have to show others how weak you are , how helpless you are and you have no choice of your own . Don't you think , it's like intentionally inviting people to take advantage of you ? Can't you be confident with yourself for at least once ? "
She remained quiet for some time before saying , " Everyone is not same , Ryan ..... I know , all of your partners must've had very attractive personalities . I am probably the most boring one ...."
" Wait , you are going to a completely different direction . "
" I'm not . I know , you hate people like me . " Ryan frowned . She went on saying , " You hate weak people , don't you ? You hate those who can't take stands for themselves . "
( Pause )
She continued in a helpless tone , " But , what should I do ? I am not brave , I am not strong . I am weak ..... Is it my fault that I am like this ? "
" Are you done ? " , Ryan spoke up , " Now listen , I don't have any problem with weak people but I really hate it when they accept their weakness and do nothing . I hate such people who don't even try to resist the wrongs , happening to them . "
" But what if I didn't feel like resisting ? "
Ryan was going to say something but she continued , " I'm not good with feelings .... I don't know how I would've felt with others but with you I never felt resisting . "
" Are you serious ? Someone forced you against your will and you didn't feel resistance against him ? " , he asked .
" Yes , I never felt that way ..... Probably , that much force was necessary for my life . " , he didn't say anything anymore .
She continued after a moment , " What if I like your authority in my life ? What if I want to accept your words ? I don't have any sense of life neither any sense of happiness , because of you I could see , new aspects of life .... what if I want to follow you for ever ? "
Ryan continued to stare at her .
" What if I choose to be that way ? " , said she , looking at him .
" Of course , I'm nobody to judge your choices . But you should at least know the person , you are going to follow for the rest of your life ..... Shouldn't you see whether I am even worth following ? "
" I know you enough . "
Ryan smirked a little and said , " You do ? "
She frowned a little , he said , " Let's see . You Tell me , who do you think I am , or should I say , what do you think I am . "
She remained silent for a moment then stuttered , " You ...you are ... a ....d...da...dar..."
" Dark Soul . " , he straightforwardly said . She looked at him without saying anything .
He continued , " And you know very well , the dark souls are the biggest enemies of this town . Following someone like me is not a wise choice , I must say . "
She remained silent for a moment , then said , " It doesn't have to be a wise choice as long as it makes me happy . "
" I see . But , sorry to say that I don't accept your choice . "
Melvine looked at him .
He continued , " Following someone blindly is never a good decision . When you follow someone , you don't judge whether his chosen path is the right one or not . You get to know just one path .... you fail to see the other alleyways of life . And if the person is not there anymore , you become unable to even select , which path to take and which to avoid . I don't want you to face such situation in your life . So I can't fulfil your wish . "
" You are very good with words ...."
" Is it a compliment ? If it is , thanks . "
She said , " I never thought , my simple words could have this kind of interpretation . "
" Well simple words often have much more deeper meanings than we expect . "
She looked down and said , " I understand ..... Anyway thank you so much for your time ..... I'd be leaving then . "
Ryan didn't say anything .
.........
Melvine just took a few steps when Ryan spoke up , " Wait . "
She stopped but didn't turn back . She didn't want Ryan to see her tears .
Ryan continued while approaching her slowly , " Don't feel bad . One day you'd realise that following someone like me would only make things more difficult for you . "
She nodded looking down . She wiped her eyes slightly .
Ryan leaned towards her and whispered , " But if you want ..... you can walk by my side . "
She turned to him blankly .
Ryan let out his famous lazy smile and said , " Now it's your decision ..... . darling . "