Since there had been a couple of dead bodies spotted in the forest, the town entrance was more of a tall gate than an entrance. Moreover, a huge seven-day magic festival was coming up, and the town wanted to ensure that its guests survived the event intact. I really wanted to go to the festival, and the last day was even on my sixteenth birthday. However, convincing my mom to let me go would be difficult. Occasionally, the magic had gotten out of control and people got hurt, but it wasn't common, even so, my mother feared that it would happen again, but I wanted to see the fire walk in the air like a person or a glowing foam bursting from someone's hand. It wasn't like watching a magician. It was real and exciting.
Though I would never convince anyone if I did not fulfill this task, and to do that I would have to physically move instead of living in my head. So I bent down and unlocked the gate, and not wanting to figure out the lock, I decided to "forget" to lock it again, I mean someone else will eventually do it. When I looked around, the town looked more Q-shaped than I remembered, with the line of the Q being the bridge leading to the dollhouse mansion up on the hill and the circle being the buildings. Even the church, which occupied most of the town, seemed to be half of a circle; it even seemed to curve like it was belonging to a circle. It was definitely designed with that aim in mind, there is no way this happened by chance.
"A PENDANT IS THE BEST WAY TO REVOLT AGAINST EVIL! STOP EVIL FROM INVADING YOUR FAMILY!" Screamed a salesman, shocking me out of my thoughts.
It surprised me to see the town much more rowdy than normal, I mean, I get it is festival time and people want to get ready, but selling pendants and other unusual items before the festival has even begun is strange. The strangeness of it does not make it any less irritating; I mean twelve different "evil-preventing" shops stopped me on my way to the market, and every time I turned them down they said, "I see you don't care for your family, I wouldn't let such an idiot marry my daughter." Like I really wanted to marry THEIR daughter.
When I finally managed to reach the market, which was completely see-through, so see-through you could see the shelves that barely held items up, the man at the counter who looked extremely bored, and at the front, there was a bar table. On one of the chairs sat a girl who stood out from the rest. You couldn't help but notice how out of place she was. The girl looked like a glass doll. She had bright red, she wore a dress adorned with frills, and she smiled kindly, even as her eyes looked so empty. Suddenly, my body began walking on its own and walking toward the girl, sitting next to her. I didn't know how it happened. I wasn't sure what to say, and I didn't want to speak. Despite that, I felt she needed comfort and someone to sit beside her, as strange as it sounds. I saw her glance at me a few times, perhaps confused, but she never said anything, she just stared. I felt a bit uneasy about it. I smiled at her shortly after one of her many glances, but she looked kind of disgusted. I mean, rude, but whatever.
"Who are you and what do you want?" She finally asked after staring at me for another couple of minutes.
"My name is Hiro, you seemed to be lonely so I sat down," I said, glancing up as I had been lying on my arms up till now. "How do you do?" I asked.
"I am not lonely! I...I am sorry," She stopped and fixed her smile, "I am doing well, how about you?"
"Uh, I'm okay, I suppose."
She then noticed someone, stood up, fixed her dress, and then she followed that customer out of the store. Eventually, she looked back and smiled, waved goodbye to me, and then headed out of sight.
For the next fifteen minutes, I sat at the bar table in anticipation of her return. Although our conversation was brief, I kinda wanted to get to know her better. Although unsurprisingly, she did not return, so I got up and bought the paper before leaving. But instead of returning home, I wandered around town helping people set up for the festival. Ultimately, I earned a little bit of money and a few items. However, in my opinion, they were useless items people didn't want, except for the holy water, which will probably come in handy sometime. Even so, holy water cannot cast light into the darkness that stared back at me in the woods, which was my only way home. Considering that, I decided to stay put. Fortunately, I was able to purchase a hotel room in Walter Wednesday's hotel with the money I earned from volunteering.
The hotel was truly spectacular. They had a library that was larger than my entire house. The beds were so comfortable, I had to resist the urge to jump on them. Plus, there wasn't a bug in sight. My favorite part, however, was the view from the window. That view made me feel like I was on top of the world. It was so cool!
I sat staring out the window for a few minutes before retiring to bed. However, I failed to sleep. Instead, I read all the books I could until the sun rose and my eyes began to water. In the end, I passed out, which caused an astrophysics book to fall from my grip and hit me in the face. I awoke quickly after this, but the cold air seemed to grab me, and wouldn't let go. However, since it was so cold, I got up pretty quickly. Then, I got ready, picked up the paper, and immediately ran back home and started banging on the door. When my mother finally answered the door, she quickly grabbed me and started crying.
"Where were you?" She wept, "I thought you had died."
"MOM! I can't breathe," I said, smacking her arm.
As soon as she let go, she pulled me into my house, which for some reason was exceptionally clean. For example, the garbage build-up was completely cleaned up.
"Where were you?" She asked again.
"I was at a hotel, why?" I asked.
"I was scared to death that you'd be the next victim, that's why!" She yelled.
She began to cry again.
"I'm sorry..."
Suddenly, her head began bobbing, and she had bags under her eyes. Additionally, she began swaying, a problem she quickly fixed by holding onto the counter.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" I asked in a worried tone.
"No, I couldn't sleep, I was too worried," She sighed, "Ended up cleaning instead."
"You can rest now that I'm home, right?"
"I suppose, but you're grounded for breaking my trust," She took a deep breath and then asked, "Did you at least get the paper?"
"I did, but why would you ground me? It was late. Did you expect me to walk home in the middle of the night? Ugh! Whatever!"
I rolled my eyes.
"First of all, let's assume you were moving extremely slowly, say two miles per hour. The town is about five miles away from here. Therefore, two divided by five is two and a half. So, you'd need two hours and thirty minutes to get to town. In addition, you left at 8 a.m., so you should have been there about 10:30 at the earliest. The store is also like a mile into town, which would take about thirty minutes without distractions, but let's say there was, so I'll give you an extra thirty, so an hour in town plus the two hours and thirty minutes getting there it would've been about 11:30a.m, and I may be crazy, but that's not the middle of the night."
"I- Fine, I wanted to help around the town because of the festival. I'm sorry for getting home late and lying."
"I told you not to get involved with that festival! Did you get hurt?" She said, letting go of the counter and running over to me.
"No, I'm fine I even got a few items, "I said, pulling out the holy water.
"That's fantastic, but you could've been hurt. No more helping those crazy people, I mean Mrs.Suzy came over the other day, and her son had been blown up by some reckless magic user. She then turned him into a vase with her magic, to remember him by. Let's just say I'll never talk to her again."
"Aren't you a magic user, mom?"
"I am, but my magic is a curse that affects no one except myself. Their magic affects everyone except themselves, it's despicable."
"Mom, don't you think you're being a little cruel to them?"
"No, I wouldn't care for them if your life wasn't at risk, nor do I care for safe magic users, but I can't stand people who use their magic for fun or reckless actions. If you have magic, that's awesome, I do too, but use it respectfully and responsibly. That's why I don't believe my actions or words to be cruel."
"I see... I'll be leaving now," I sighed and walked to my room.
The lemon-colored wallpaper, the box of books under my bed, even the cracks in the floorboards made me smile, but my favorite part was the window above my bed because thanks to that window I could escape to the festival. Since it is the only route that leads directly to town, I don't have to make unnecessary routes, especially ones where I might get yelled at.
Then I grabbed my sheet and tied it to a pole. I pulled out an old backpack from my closet. Though to be honest, I hadn't used this bag in a while. Therefore, when I stuffed seven days' worth of clothes into it, the bag ripped. Suddenly, something fell out of it. I looked at it, and then read my name, which was written on the front of what appeared to be an envelope. There was a burnt spot on the bottom left corner, and you could see paper sticking out. Even though I haven't used it much, I don't remember ever having an unopened envelope in it. Nevertheless, since it is addressed to me, it is okay for me to read it, right?
When I picked up the envelope, I placed my finger in the crease at the top of the flap. Next, I used my finger to remove the envelope's seal, revealing the folded-up paper inside. After pulling the paper out of the envelope, I threw the envelope in the trash and sat on my bed. There was an ancient symbol on the paper. It looked like one you'd find in ancient literature. These kinds of strange symbols are usually used by those who use seal magic or cursed magic. But why would you put one on a letter to a fifteen-year-old who is completely normal? One might use it as an added measure of protection to ensure that only the recipient can read the letter or paper. But that made me want to read this letter even more, so I pulled it open and began reading in an almost impatient manner.
"Dear Hiro, I apologize that this letter may be confusing to you. It just appeared out of nowhere, but if you allow me to explain, it will make a lot more sense. I think you must be fifteen now, or my letter didn't work as I programmed it, not relevant, but it has been nine years and eight days since we last met, so you probably won't remember me, but I am Blair, and I apologize for making you wait, and disappearing unexpectedly..." I stopped reading and rolled up the paper into a ball and threw it away.
What the heck! She had no right to contact me after just leaving! Why now? What does she want? I picked up the paper and unwrapped it, and continued, "Again, I apologize, but I did what I had to, so to be honest, I'd do it again, but that's not why I'm contacting you. I have something you desire, and if you want to get it, you'll have to look for me. In case you're confused, I found the thing which disappeared before I did. Come find me, Hiro.
-Love Blair, the girl you waited for all those years.
P.S. I miss you... :)"
I desire what she has? The only thing I desire is...WAIT, SHE FOUND THEM! How did she…?
"Hey Hiro, what's that in your hands?" A familiar voice began out of nowhere.
I turned around and saw mom standing by the doorway. I looked down and hid the paper behind my back. "It's nothing."
When I looked at her again, mom was giving me her intimidating "mom look". Her immediate reaction was to grab the paper and rip it out of my hands. She then stared at the piece of paper confused, "It's blank?" She sighed, "I am sorry." She then returned the paper to my hands.
"How is the paper blank? I remember there being words! I read them and- I completely forgot there was a seal. It was probably blank due to that..."I thought out loud.
"What did you say?" She asked, but after a couple of minutes of just staring with no reply, she continued, "Well, I'd rather not push, but I apologize for being so harsh earlier. Even if they were magic users, I should not punish you for wanting to help, so I'll give you another chance to earn my trust. Will you pass this letter on to the people on the hill?" She asked handing me a paper.
This was an excellent chance for me to visit the library and see old records and newspapers from my hometown. Considering the town and people here look like they were ripped out of the late 1800s and early 1900s, the village library is extremely useful when trying to locate someone, mainly because the people here want to disappear, and what better way to disappear than to be aware of all that happens around you to avoid being caught.
"Alright mom, and I'm sorry I ignored your instructions and caused you stress. That was on me," I replied as I took the letter from her hands.
Taking a step aside, she smiled back and allowed me to pass her.
"Well then, get on with it," She said, shooing me away with her hands.
As I walked towards the front door, I occasionally glanced back at my mom who was just standing in the hallway looking at me. Was she worried? Well, I guess I understand, it wasn't exactly daylight and bodies kept appearing in the woods. However, it's not like I'd be a target, the corpses were always adults and I'm not the type of person that would be targeted. It just doesn't happen to people like me, so whatever it is, I'll ask her later.
"Bye, mom," I yelled back at her while I opened the door and left, "I'll be back soon."
Slowly but surely, I began to walk towards town. My hands shoved into my pockets, which crumpled up the two pieces of paper I was holding. Though, as I ventured further into the woods, I had this ominous feeling, and I could not see why because it was pitch black. It was nearly impossible to make out the tiny pebbles or the spikes of wood poking from the orchard, or the surrounding shrubbery. I spent the majority of my adventure looking over my shoulder with my hand in front of me. Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the mud and I could see one or two people rushing after something, but I wasn't crazy enough to investigate. Afterward, I ran ten times faster, to the point where I was tripping over roots sticking out of the ground. However, no matter how quickly I ran, I could feel their menacing presence creeping over me, like an animal stalking its prey. Nonetheless, the faster I got, the louder my heartbeat became, which prevented their steps from being heard. Suddenly, I heard a high-pitched scream coming from their direction, and I felt the color drain from my face. Was someone just killed? Was I gonna be next? As soon as I thought of this, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight and my mouth dried up. Why me? Why must I die? I don't want to die yet!
Suddenly, a blast of smoke appeared which stopped me in my tracks, and a blank-faced girl emerged in front of me. Then she grabbed my hand and started dragging me from the woods.
"Who are you?" I whispered, "Are you a ninja, or something?
The girl started giggling, then she shrugged her shoulders and continued to drag me. We eventually made it to the town gate, and then the girl disappeared into thin air. However, behind the gate, another figure appeared. As I approached the figure, I could see a boy whose face was identical to the glass doll girl.
"Pretty cool!" The boy laughed, "My power I mean, didn't think a girl would spontaneously appear from smoke did you?"
"Uh, I suppose not?" I responded confused.
"Must I elucidate my powers to you?" He asked, sounding slightly annoyed, "Are you a neophyte to magic or something? If not, why do you sound so confused?"
I stared at him, unsure of what to say.
"Didn't expect you'd be a taciturn man, can't judge a book by its cover I suppose, you looked like you'd have a stentorian voice, but I must've been wrong," He sighed smiling.
"I guess your powers are cool," I responded.
"You guess? You must be somnolent, that's why you can't see how awesome conjuring people from thin air is."
"Well, I suppose I'm a tad tired, but I doubt my tiredness affects my ability to see awesomeness."
"Well, who cares? I wouldn't want the approval of a vapid and dull person like yourself anyways!" He shouted storming off.
After a few minutes, the boy turned around and yelled in a sarcastic tone, "Oh yeah, I find standing there very enjoyable as well, especially in the middle of the night. I just love looking like a creepy nobody, particularly when a bunch of people are getting murdered. I guess that must be mutual since you aren't coming."
"How was I supposed to know I was to come with you?" I yelled back.
"Oh yeah you're right, I just saved your life to show you the gate. It's common sense!" He took a deep breath, seemingly to calm himself down, "You know your vociferous whining is gonna wake everyone up, so just stop talking and let's go."
I glared at him but followed him regardless. After walking around in circles for a while, mainly due to him getting lost, we reached the bridge leading to the mansion.
"Welcome to my house'',He smiled, "Pónganse cómodos. Mi casa es su casa."
"You speak Spanish?"
"Yes, I was raised with several different languages. I can speak fluent Latin, Japanese, English, Spanish, French, as well as several mystical languages. I know I'm pretty impressive. No need to obsess over me." He laughed annoyingly.
"I wasn't planning on it, you're kind of annoying. You keep prattling. I hate people who prattle. It's a waste of time, sorry, I guess."
"Well, you listen here you LIL PIECE OF-"
"YOU MADE IT, HIRO!!!" Yelled a familiar voice.
"Huh?" I sighed, looking up to see the girl from earlier, followed by a younger-looking girl with snow-white hair similar to mine running on the bridge towards us.
"Sorry if he's being a pain. To be frank, he didn't even wanna get you in the first place. He wanted to bet on how long it would take for you to die like everyone else." The girl muttered.
"Snitch," He smiled at her.
"Weirdo," She laughed, rolling her eyes.
"I just saved this annoying dude from the grasps of a serial killer, and as thanks, you call me weird. How disrespectful. You should respect your elders."
"We're twins!"
"I'm older!"
"By five minutes, big deal!"
"We have guests here, so please stop fighting," Interrupted the younger girl. The girl then looked at me and smiled, "Hello, I'm Olive, and you're Hiro, correct?"
"Hi, Olive, and who are you two?" I asked.
"I didn't introduce myself earlier? Oh well, I'm Alina, and that's Liam," She said, pointing at the boy.
"Now that we've introduced ourselves, we ought to go inside, the night air is getting chilly," Olive groaned, tapping her feet.
After Alina agreed, we began walking toward the mansion. The bridge was entirely made of stone. I liked it because it looked old-fashioned. Also, the arches below the bridge were lit with purple lights. Though I haven't even begun to explain how long this thing was, I think it was at least two miles long. However, for some reason, walking over a bridge at night is quite enjoyable. I probably wouldn't do it every day, but maybe with a special someone.
Olive's faint hums, despite her young age, were also quite delightful. Her hums seemed to echo the water below. Unfortunately, she kept getting interrupted by Liam's whining. As someone who lives here, he complained a lot more than I would have expected. Every time he whined, Alina shook him gently and turned around to smile at me, and Olive would begin humming again. This happened about twelve times before the bridge finished, plus once we reached the end Olive stopped humming.
A beautiful wooden staircase awaited us at the end. Spindles made of wood were wrapped around each other and then forced to meet at the handrail. It looked like a staircase ripped out of a fairy tale, and to add to its beauty, you could hear the faint sounds of a waterfall in the background.
Though, once I had started walking up the stairs, something clicked in my mind. Someone had just died, and I had almost died. Now I'm walking to the house with a group of kids I just met, like an idiot. Like yay, they saved me, but I've saved things before, so I don't necessarily trust them. Considering I don't know them, there is no basis for trust. I've read books in which the main villain saves the heroes' life to get close to them. Then in the midst of that trust, they betray them and kill them, or those close to the said hero. Plus, how did they know I needed help? They could have caused the incident, then swooped in like a hero to solve the problem they started in the first place. Can I really trust them? After thinking about it a bit more, what made me not consider this when we first met? Was I too scared to think logically or was I confused? I suppose both answers are logical. UGH! On a separate note, should I follow up on that girl tomorrow to make sure that someone actually did die, or should I contact the police? However, they haven't really done anything about this case yet, so maybe it's a good idea to investigate it myself? What should I do? Do I go with them or check on the girl now, or do I go with them and check on the girl tomorrow, or go back to that hotel and give them the note tomorrow, then check on the girl on my way back.
However, before I could decide on what I'd do, I realized that we had already arrived at their house. Therefore, I feel like it would be inappropriate if I left when we're already here. I mean, imagine inviting someone over, and the moment you get there, they leave. So I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers, and hope they aren't weirdos or some kind of new found serial killer. I'll just check on the girl tomorrow on my way home from the library.
As I emerged from my thoughts, I discovered before me a mansion that had been decorated with a cottage-style aesthetic. I could barely tell that the house was brick because the entire exterior was covered in roses of every shade and color. They also had another smaller bridge leading to the door, but instead of a backyard, they had a pond surrounding the pillars holding up their house. In addition, I saw one of the most picturesque waterfalls I had ever seen, slipping through the stones and cascading down the mountain. As a matter of fact, I was absolutely awestruck, and kind of felt like drinking tea and reading in their bay window, which was on the second floor.
"Wow!" I muttered on accident.
"It's cooler on the inside," Alina smiled.
When we entered the room, I immediately agreed with Alina's earlier statement. The front room was large and white with potted plants and nature art everywhere. There was also a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. Additionally, it had what appeared to be a glass door, but I wasn't close enough to tell what exactly was inside. The left side of the room featured a large fireplace surrounded by three white chairs, two love seats, and a recliner. In front of the three chairs, there was a table with a vase of pale pink roses. Between the love seat and the recliner was a basket of pillows. In the other corner of the room sat the glass door I mentioned earlier, which was behind the stairs. The whole thing seemed like a hassle, but you live and you learn, I suppose. Immediately adjacent to the glass door was a massive bookshelf that was completely stuffed with books. A huge fur carpet was placed in front of the door and bookshelf as well. Right next to the bookshelf stood a spacious light blue door that covered the rest of the wall.
Out of nowhere, I started to feel a tapping on my shoulder. "Hiro, do you want a tour or something? Olive and Liam tried talking to you, but I think you didn't hear them since your eyes look like those of a kid in a candy store." Alina giggled softly, "But if you like it that much as I said, I will give you a brief tour before I answer your questions."
"I wish I could agree to that, but my curiosity might actually suffocate me if you guys don't explain now," I responded, laughing.
"For an impecunious man, I must say you get straight to the point. That's a helpful trait. Unless you're an indolent individual who doesn't want to exert himself and that's why you're refusing the tour, and in that case, just leave because your help isn't needed," Liam chimed in.
"Was that a compliment?" I joked pretending to cry, "Not the most flattering, but we're getting somewhere. I'm so proud of you, Liam."
"Screw off!" Liam yelled, "That's the last time I say anything considerate to you!"
Olive started laughing while she skipped past me and up the stairs.
"Shall we go to the dining room?" Alina asked, walking towards the huge door.
We started following her, but Liam ran in front of her to open the door. In the end, Liam was unable to, so Alina moved him aside and opened the door herself with what seemed to be ease. Liam seemed annoyed by this but walked in after Alina anyways. Another breathtakingly beautiful room greeted us inside. There was a table, made of wooden planks and painted white, standing in the center of the room. The table was in between a bench on the right and left, and two chairs in the front and back, all of which had vintage style floral patterned cushions.
At the far end of the table sat a man. He appeared to be in his late forties. In addition, he had a scar beneath his right eye. To the looks of it, he was reading some kind of paper while drinking something that looked like a toddy. He paid us no mind, he didn't even look up to see who had entered the room. However, both Alina and Liam corrected their postures and started removing wrinkles from their clothes. Then both of them proceeded to separate sides of the table and sat on the benches farthest from the man.
Alina mumbled, "Father," but the man did not look up.
So Alina repeated, "Father."
Rather than look up, the man clenched the paper tighter.
Alina repeatedly repeated "Father." but to no avail.
Though he did let out an annoyed groan once.
"Sir!" I said, slamming my hands on the table, "Not to be rude, but we both know you heard her!"
Immediately after I finished speaking, Alina's eyes grew two times their normal size and her mouth dropped. On the other hand, I could see Liam struggle against the urge to smile.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" The father finally spoke.
"That's what I've been trying to say, father, this is-"Alina started before getting interrupted.
"I don't remember asking for your insight, Olive!" He shouted.
"It's Alina, father..."
"I don't remember asking for your name! NOW LEAVE! Women shouldn't get involved in a man's affair, they will become confused. The only thing you should be concerned about is finding a boyfriend and getting married. NOW LEAVE!"
"Yes, father..."
Then, she grabbed her dress and bit her lip so hard that it began bleeding, but she did not stop smiling as she left the room.
"Father, this is Hiro. We found him earlier in the woods, Ali- I mean my sister wished for his life to be saved, he is of no importance." Liam explained.
"I see," He took a sip of his drink, "Have him thrown in the dungeon then, I do not like his attitude.
"He's not worth a dungeon cell, and he's not worth the time. Just throw him out tomorrow. He can stay in my room till then, father." Liam muttered, fiddling with the ring on his left middle finger.
"Yes... well, I'm tired, so get whatever you need here, then leave," The man said as he picked up his drink and paper before leaving.
Liam looked down as the father left, pressing his palm over his face, moving them until the bottom of his palm touched his eye, then he sat up and started to talk, "You may sit if you want Hiro, there is a lot of information we need to discuss."
"I see," I replied, heading to the bench across from him and sitting down.
As I sat down, Liam put his elbows on the table, wrapped his fingers together with the opposite hand, and raised his hands to his chin, and rested his head on the intertwined fingers.
"Where do I begin?" he whispered, "First, I feel you may be confused about how we knew you were in danger. Am I correct?"
"Yes."
"It was Olive. Her powers make her a human tracker. As long as she sees you or the person she's touching has memories of you, she can find you. Alina got curious about you, so she had Olive find you so she could talk with you more. Luckily for you, since she saw you were in the woods, she wanted to make sure you were alright, and well, you know the rest from there."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Alina's idea, not mine. I don't know why she wanted to bring you here. Ask her."
"Do you know anything about the murders?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"No, I just moved in recently. Why would I know anything about that? Those murders if I heard correctly have been happening way before I got here."
He rolled his eyes.
"Could've moved here because of the murder, like one of those mystery or horror storybooks, where a family moves in to solve the recent murders."
"This isn't a storybook. This is real-life Hiro, stuff like that doesn't happen!"
"I mean, it kinda is, but whatever," I laughed.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing..."
"Is that all you wanna know?" Liam said, getting up from the chair.
"I have one more question."
"What?"
"You probably won't, but do you know someone named Blair Hina?"
"HOW DO YOU... no, I've never heard of her. Now I'm heading to bed, ask Alina if you have more questions."
As Liam left, he looked as if he had seen a ghost. Was he hiding something from me? What was with his face just now? What do you know, Liam?
As I got up and walked towards the door, a magic seal on the floor caught my eye, and a paper flew through it.