"Hey, I'm just trying to help," Lucas rebutted with his hands up high in a pose. "Just take this book. This will answer your question…probably."
Auden accepted the book and opened it without reading the title. She kept her sharp look at Lucas, but the glowing golden ink from the parchment paper caught her attention.
Middel.
A town built by the sole importance of letting a soul live another life, a life with peace before being reincarnated again. It was a place for souls to find purpose in life, a place to make peace with their pasts, and a chance to prosper in another.
In a place far away from any world stood a little town called Middel. A place anointed by gods to bear jurisdiction between the land of the living and dead. For millions of years, souls had passed Middel before the reincarnation or unfathomable demise.
Souls were freed off of their memories to ensure the cleanliness of thoughts and purpose. Those cleanse souls who remained as white as snow will pass for reincarnation. However, those who are tainted from the deepest fiber of their being will continually live in Middel until they are completely forgotten by everyone.
After reading the first part, Auden blinked a couple more times. So, Middel is just not the town of the dead; instead, it gives souls, good or bad, another chance to go back to the world of reality?
From the library window, she could see the darkening sky, a sign that the night was nigh. She held the book in one hand and headed over to the counter. There was an old woman whom she became accustomed to. "Good evening Mrs. Willis."
After learning about the library, she became a regular. The books here fascinated her, especially the one that teaches about Middel and its history. There was this initiative, buried deep in her heart to seek more or Middel.
"Good evening to you too, dear. Checking out a book again, I see." She smiled at the woman and handed the old red leather book. It was the same book Lucas gave her, guess she would be taking it even if she was not fond of him.
"Brief History of Middel: Tales of Untold Love," Mrs. Willis read from the old book. "This is a wonderful book you got here, Aud. I read it a hundred times when I was your age," she smiled while reminiscing her younger years.
"That's amazing. I'll surely enjoy reading this too. I should thank Lucas for the suggestion then."
"So, you've met Lucas. I'm sorry if he's such a pain in the ass. It's been forever since I started training him." Mrs. Willis looks very apologetic. She almost stifled a laugh at the unapologetic insult.
"I'm not a pain in the gluteus maximus," Lucas said as he suddenly sprung up out of nowhere.
Old Mrs. Willis sighed and gave her a look saying, 'know what I mean?'. Auden stopped herself from laughing, but a few escaped. After a few more moments, she got the book with her name stamped on it and bid Mrs. Willis and Lucas goodbye.
On her way home, she can't help but think about the book she read. All souls have no guarantee if they are going back to the land of the living. Will she ever be back?
She slowly paved the narrow street, a shortcut she just found that leads exactly where her house is. The road was dark, and no other people could be seen walking around. Luckily, the moonlight managed to illuminate the dark path.
Auden held the book closer to her heart as a strong gush of wind blew. Shadows lurking around were her only view. She shouldn't have taken the shortcut, but her dead tired body demands her bed as soon as possible.
In a corner came a long slender shadow that sent goosebumps to her system. Followed by the rustling of dried leaves and groans that resembles an animal. Auden screamed internally and walked as fast as she could.
"Boo!" That was her last straw. She ran as fast as she could, almost tripping from a pile of twigs and papers. She couldn't care anymore; Auden ran towards the nearing light until she heard a boisterous laugh from somewhere. Still shivering in fear, she managed to look back and see who's laughing.
"Lucas?" she called out, baffled and surprised.
"You should've seen your face, Aud," Lucas replied while tearing up in laughter.
Putting two and two together, Aud threw the hardbound book she was holding towards his direction. Lucas expertly snatched it from the air and continued laughing.
"That wasn't funny."
"Well, it's not if you haven't seen your face," Lucas teased. "You even screamed like a mouse," he added.
To Auden's much annoyance, she picked her bag up and hit Lucas with it. That almost gave her a heart attack.
"Hey, hey, stop."
"No. You deserve this." Auden continued hitting Lucas until he took her bag away from her reach.
"Okay enough. Stop now."
Auden stepped back and crossed her arms in retaliation. She's really pissed off by now. She felt her tears forming as her heart beats rapidly from fear a while ago.
"I'm sorry. I was just messing with you."
A couple more seconds passed before Auden snatched her things from Lucas and walked away.
"Don't ever follow me."
It was visible how annoyed she felt. Her hair was coiled into a mountainous disaster, clothes were pulled in opposite directions, and her shoes were dusted with sand. Her distressed appearance complemented her emotions.
Suddenly, the air grew colder and the night became darker. Auden started walking briskly, not minding the building goosebumps on every inch of her skin. If this was another joke from Lucas, she would really lose her mind.
There was a disturbing clamor of bells from afar. The next thing she heard was a shriek. A thick smoke slowly fogged her sight before a piercing light blinded her.
Scared as she already was, she managed to walk closer to one place she found visible enough against the fog. She stood under a nearby tree. This time, the fog successfully enveloped everything.
"Lucas," she called out, in hopes that Lucas was not far away. "If this is one of your tricks, I'd gladly snap your neck!"
"Lucas!" But her dire attempt received no response.
A dark form billowed near from where she stood. She focused her attention on it and squinted her eyes to see what's happening.
"Help me, please."
Auden couldn't speak. her eyes widened in fear at the sight. "I...,"
"Help me. They're here. Help."
The loud cries of a man filled her ears. Her body shivered from fear. Tears streamed down her face as a man she completely recognized reached out to her in cold blood.
Light darted towards their location. Auden screamed as fire danced, swallowing the man's flesh.
"Damien! No!"
She fell unconscious on the cold moist soil.
...
"Will she remember something from tonight?"
"She won't," Noah replied, void of any emotion. He stood up from sitting on Auden's bed where her body lies unconscious.
It wasn't very long when they came to the rescue. Fortunately, his brother Lucas, was around the area when the attack happened.
His eyes moved around her bruises. The fire caught a part of her, but the herbs would do their magic. By tomorrow, there would be no traces of what took place. Noah felt his heart clenched at the poor sight.
"It was Damien Grisvald."
What Lucas said caught his attention. The place was barren of light. The floors and walls were frozen due to the cold night. "He was a new soul."
"He was."
Damien's memories played right before Noah's eyes. He was the one who kept Damien's memories.
It was not a common incidence that uncleansed souls attack. This was the first after a century of peaceful living. And tonight, they just lost a soul. He clenched his eyes tight as his jaw locks.
It's been centuries, but their mistake still hunts them, hurting innocent people. If he just stopped loving, nothing like this would've happened.
"Stop what you're thinking. It's not your fault, Noah."
He smiled bitterly at his brother.
They quickly put everything in their proper places. Auden must wake up without remembering anything from last night. He couldn't let her remember such a gruesome event.
"Tonight was a dream
A forgotten dream
Of things untold
Never to unfold.
You'll wake tomorrow
Without a clue
A sight, a sound, neither marks on your shoe.
Remember none."
......
She went directly to bed that night with much annoyance from what Lucas did. She was really scared. She would rather not see that man again. They were not even close. How dare he play a prank on her?
Fortunately, she woke up from a beautiful dream. It was about the book she was reading. It played right before her closed eyes. It was like a movie with award-winning actors. It was beyond beautiful. It felt real.