Just as the door to my study closed, Melissa came down from the reading attic, flashing into me. A light breeze blew me. Blowing away the chills that crush the hairs of the neck. That shocking stabbing sensation made me take a step back.
I turned quickly when I saw a wisp of thin aura on the left side.
"Lisa—"
"—You're healed!" The screams of this Dutch noni exclaim merrily just as the essence of the abstract air next to me manifests her figure perfectly.
I grimaced a little. Her screeching made my ears hurt a little.
"I heard people talking about you being in the hospital." Melissa slapped her folding fan against my upper arm. Of course, it's the same as before, only a slight gust of wind that I feel. "I told you you should take care of yourself?!"
My lips curl into a thank you smile. "I'm glad you're worried about me."
"You bastard." Melissa's voice trembled with emotion. Its dark green irises are webbed with puddles. "Ah, I would love to hug you." Noni's expression was wrinkled in disappointment. "I wish I were still alive."
I laughed lightly. Choose not to give any comments because they are confused about how to respond. I decided to go deeper into the workspace.
After many interactions and affections that I ignored in the past life, Melissa later confessed that she had fallen in love with me since the first time she occupied this room. More precisely, when I decided to make a reading room. She thought I was considering the lamentations about how cramped the white cupboards had been for thousands of years.
She also romanticized my will to preserve the old relic that previously belonged to 'Father'. In fact, the reason I asked for the intricately carved natural teak buffet was pure because I was amazed by its timeless antiquity. She also felt excessive because I didn't do the exorcism ritual.
In the past, Melissa's every rambling amused me. Even though it's only in one direction, I stealthily steal glances to see how expressive her face is while chattering. Later, this succeeded in relieving fatigue due to repeated mission failures. Looking at it now, it seemed that Melissa had become much more chatty.
Investigate a calibration, the snow-white cupboard came from a teak tree with pigment defects. Melissa's father bought it cheaply from the gardener who thought the plant was cursed. Her daughter, 17 in less than a month, loves all things white. The wardrobe was finally successfully presented to Melissa on her birthday. It took Lord Duke almost two weeks to draw the following design with engravings that filled the object's surface.
As time passed, the buffet that I was now using to store some of those spare change of clothes had changed hands hundreds of times. His quality and attractiveness had greatly improved precisely since the disintegration of the Duke's family. In fact, 'Dad' got the cupboard from an auction at the black market. Of course, at a very high price. I brought it here because 'Father' has got another antique collection but it still feels wrong to throw it away.
In return for her kindness and feelings in her first life, I wanted to be kind. But if later her heart grows as far as it was at that time, I hope Melissa can understand that this is all I can do for her.
"Is anyone here in my absence?" My feet stopped when I faced the glass door on the left-wing of the decorative wardrobe that towered majestically behind the work desk.
"All safe." The folding fan opening in a single stroke could be heard clearly from my right.
I smirked after glancing at Melissa briefly. Her expression was filled with sadness again.
"If I don't take a walk around the hall, how do you know if you haven't shown up because of illness." Melissa fanned herself while running her eyes in all directions.
I grabbed a bottle of Cheval Blanch from the bottom partition. "Don't make that face again."
I took a step to the right. Pulls out the first drawer to pull out the wine lid opener.
"I'm going on vacation here." I glanced at Melissa briefly before turning her focus back to twisting the cork on the black bottle in her left hand.
"Liar."
The combination of fragrant licorice, lemon, lime, plum and grape that spreads gently accompanied my light laugh. The intention to take a sip of wine was delayed for a moment. After placing the bottle on the desk for a while, I fiddled with my phone.
My veins expanded when I handed out the e-ticket for the resort where I would stay for a while in Raja Ampat. I showed the phone screen to Melissa.
The noni squealed with delight ten seconds later, to which I could only respond with a slightly uncomfortable frown. I'm still not used to the screeching of this one astral creature.
"How many days?" Her eyes widened with enthusiasm.
My attention returned to the interlocutor. "Fourteen days in total, counting round trips."
Once again, Melissa excited herself. I also laughed to see that she was so sincerely happy.
"When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow."
"Good grief." She used her fan to cover her mouth. "Can I assume that you're here to say goodbye?"
I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I resumed activities that had been delayed. I can't ignore the smell of wine that tickles the tip of my nose.
My head nodded in satisfaction as the red liquid left a soft sweetness. The lemon that tastes later gives a refreshing impression.
It's not in vain that I poured money into this bottle of wine. I never drank alcohol before, at all. The health threats that always loomed succeeded in creating a principle that I have always adhered to. But since restarting life, I just thought I wanted to enjoy life not stress it out sooner. However, the past ten months have been difficult for me to accept reality. I also just found out that my alcohol tolerance is relatively high. I used half of this Cheval Blanc on my own before and it didn't affect it.
You know this, I used not to hold back… ah, no, no. Knowing that if I'm going to die with many regrets, I won't hesitate to try anything. After all, it turns out that I passed from being shot. Not because of health problems as I feared, but likewise with this second life. According to the novel, I didn't die from a severe illness either.
"Ah, it's impossible for you to say goodbye." Melissa's sarcastic chuckle made me look up from the bottle.
Sure enough. Noni was licking her lips. "You're here because you want to check the book, right."
Melissa chuckles. She fanned himself again as she turned her face away. "The only thing on your mind is the novel."
One eyebrow rose for five seconds before silencing the laughter with a single sigh. I put the wine on the table again.
"Thinking about it too much, I lost one of them." My limbs headed for the den at nine o'clock.
"Is lost?" Melissa followed after folding her fan.
I nod. Start climbing the first ladder. "Before I passed out in the car, I had put the book in my coat pocket. But when I checked the laundry where Danial washed my clothes, the guard there said no customer items were left behind."
Before leaving here, I had a chance to stop by the laundry place. I didn't necessarily believe the young girl's testimony. As far as I know, the laundry system applies shift changes for the guards. She confirmed my suspicion of a laundry SOP regarding rechecking all clothes before going into the washing machine. The woman in her early twenties assured me that throughout October 08, the officer on duty had carried out the SOP by showing CCTV footage.
"There's a surveillance camera here." She pointed at eleven o'clock with her chin. "I can cut my salary if I don't obey the rules."
I raised my hand and decided to leave. The girl's mood was already ruined because of my somewhat chaotic way of confirming. With some trepidation, I was forced to cultivate faith in another notion that the discourse might have fallen under the car seat.
"If Danial forgot to check it, the laundry staff would have had time to recheck all the clothes. And they did." My shoulders shrug. "The novel wasn't in a coat pocket."
"A moment." Melissa holds me up by raising her right hand. "You lost one of those books?"
I stopped at the sixth step. I give the nod.
"I think you're starting to be forgetful now." The woman embraced. "That thing is here."
Confusion covered my face.
"You keep two copies of the same novel here, right? How can you admit that one is missing?" Melissa glared indignantly.
Without prolonging the debate, I immediately shortened the time to climb to the reading attic by jumping one step at a time. I reached the fifteenth step in five steps and immediately felt the back of the literature on shelving nine starting from the left corner. I didn't finish one last step because I was already frantic.
My eyes widen when I touch something the size of a palm in the middle, right behind a novel with a red hardcover that has always been the benchmark.
Pick up the first item. I could see that the plain black cover which was slightly rough was indeed the property of the original literature.
I swallowed my saliva automatically when my pinky touched another book right on the right.
Not content to feel the slippery surface of the synthetic cover that is the hallmark of copy novels, I pulled the object out which ended in regret. My head felt empty as I looked at what I was holding.
I shouldn't have stopped by here. I should have immediately prepared the necessities for pleasure. I'd better get some rest to wake up in the morning. It's better if I focus on the holidays!
Tremors chilled my whole body.
"Adam...?"
"Are you sure," I raised my head. I found Melissa gasping anxiously. "No one came in here?" My last sentence was hoarse.
Ah, look how messed up I am. Without needing to confirm through the mirror, this worried expression of the noni in front of me said it all.
"Gosh, Adam." Melissa squeezed the side of her skirt tightly. "I never sleep, in case you forgot."
Shit!
I tightened my molars. My grip on the copy of the novel tightened before throwing it at three o'clock.
Melissa's scream erupted almost simultaneously as the LED TV shattered against a lounge sofa.
After apologizing for some reason, the ghost merged into the air. The roar of my breath was heard very clearly because of the silence that accompanied me.