"So tell me, are there any others that have been sent down other than you? What is their purpose?"
"There is one; the Grim Reaper." Zebin cross his legs while his left hand shakes up the drink that I just bought him. A lump forms in my throat when I heard the words 'Grim Reaper'. For all I know, they come to take the soul of the dead. Why would the gods send someone like him down to earth? Is this to take the soul of Tazanna? My eyes land back on the creature that is sitting in front of my office table. Fortunately, other people can see him; that is a relief for I will not be defined as a crazy person if only I can see him. "Although I do not quite know where that scum is, nor what he looks like. He must have disguised himself as a human as well."
"You.. have a true form?"
"I'm a dinosaur; he is a rat."
"That's ridiculous."
Zebin roll up his eyes. "Could have reacted better than that.. How is Tazanna these days? Are there any weird events?" I unlock the tablet and slide it across the table. Zebin takes it by one hand. "How does this work? You humans really have the weirdest things, you know? I can never understand—"
"You don't know how to use a tablet? Didn't you look at it —read the article even— when you arrived?"
"Well it was already displayed on that magic mirror, you know?" I am not so sure if this angel is smart or just pretending to be one. "But I did see something; her father is involved in a big scandal. Is there anything else? You know what I have come here for, and you're here for the same thing. Have you been watching over her closely?" I sit back down on the chair with a loud sigh. "Ooh, that one is deep! Is it bad?"
"She'd seen a man following her. Although she had tried to reason with me, and that it could have been only an animal, I have a feeling that it is that person."
"Hasn't she found anything yet?" I shake my head. "She's not as determined as she was then, I guess."
"Don't talk about her like that. She's confused. I would be too if this ever happens to me. Let's try to be in her shoes, okay? Tazanna is the most hardworking woman I've ever known. It must be a lot for her to take this all in, you know?" Zebin nods his head, placing the now empty cup over the table as he marches toward my desk. He puts down the tablet as the screen displays the face of Polly West; I look up to his eyes.
"There is a lot more that you need to know about this woman. This will not be the last time that her name will surface on the internet. This woman is one of the reasons why the past has changed, and why some things are suddenly coming out of the box. This is the start of your mission, Felix."
"What are you talking about?" A knock came on the door, as Zebin slid his hands inside the pocket of his jeans. My secretary entered the room, stating that Tazanna is outside of my office. My eyes turned to Zebin; he has gestured me to let Tazanna in. The second she steps in, her face beams and took me in her warm embrace. I glanced at the clock— eleven-forty in the evening. I had failed to realize that it was already this late, this must be why she has come here. I was the one that insisted to pick her up from work, but I had forgotten about that completely. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way to here."
She pulls herself away and says, "Don't worry about it! I just got too worried because you weren't coming. I thought you got into an accident or something." Her eyes has caught Zebin, who is sitting right across from the room, as she blushes and stands six centimeters away from me. "I did not know there was someone else in here. Did I interrupt you guys?"
"Oh, him? His name is Zebin, a friend from my elementary." That is obviously a lie, but I could not come up with a better excuse. Tazanna catches on fast, and I truly hope that she buys it just this one time. If she were to know that Zebin isn't human, she might freak out.
"I never heard about him though." I have my fingers crossed on my back, praying that she will choose to believe me just this once. "But it is nice to meet you, Zebin. My name is Tazanna, Felix's fiancé."
"Pleasure is mine, miss. I have just come to catch up with Felix, it had been a long time since we had last seen each other. I thought of paying him a visit at work while I am in the town."
Tazanna smiles. "That is really sweet of you. I apologize for not being familiar of you; Felix had never talked about you to me." Zebin chuckles, his voice is deep and rough.
"I totally get why he chose not to. We shared the same embarrassment— wetting our pants. As a man, it became a nightmare that he'd never wanted for his fiancé to know."
"What the hell.." I can already hear Tazanna's soft giggles beside me. The moment Zebin disappears in the room, it was filled with her loud laughter as if there are about ten people in here. "That's not true! It never happened!" She pats me on the back softly, also rubbing her hand up and down to comfort me.
"I know, I know. You never wanted it for me to hear, I know." Tazanna swirls my hair around her index finger as a playful smile curl up on her pink lips. "But Zebin gives off a different aura, although I cannot quite explain it. Are you sure he's a friend from your elementary days?" This is why I say she catches on real quick! How sharp can this girl ever be? Was my lie not believable enough? I clear my throat and turn myself around, to pick up my things and get all ready to leave the office.
"Of course. There's no way I'd lie to you, babe. Have you eaten?" I tried to change the topic. If I say any more, I might need to cover it up with yet another lie and another after that. The guilty feeling formed a lump in my throat as my fingers dug their way through my hair. I opened the door for my fiancé. "If not, where do you wanna eat?"
"Hm, what about a Japanese restaurant?"
I smile. "Sounds good. Anything happened at work today? You seem to be in a good mood, tell me everything." The car lights up as I push the button; Tazanna quickly hops inside. She is really jumpy, something must have really happened at her job. Perhaps it is about her upcoming project, where she has to work alongside of Vic Franco. That man, really, I am worried about Tazanna having to be with him every single day. I have heard from her employees' conversations that Vic is interested in my fiancé. Very, at that. I can only wish that she will be okay until the project is done.
"Vic is a lot different than what he seems; I was surprised. He is serious with this project, and I can feel that everything will work out smoothly. If this keeps up, we might finish this earlier than planned; I like that." So that's why she could not contain the excitement within her. Tazanna has also been smiling for the whole ride to the restaurant. For her, nothing beats this news— it rarely ever happens and Tazanna is in cloud nine when it does— I can bet on my life she'd take every single plate on the sushi train. Is the money in my wallet going to be enough?
"I'm glad to see you're okay." I mumble as she stuffs herself up with every sushi that she sees. As she swallows, she grabs another with her chopsticks, dips it in the sauce and wasabi, and shove it inside of her mouth. I can feel myself smiling, my eyes cannot look away— I have waited for four years for this, and I would not want to waste even one second of it.
"Why would I not be?" She rested the plate on the side and wiped her lips with a napkin. I watched her take a sip of her iced cold water and moaned loudly in satisfaction. "This is so good! I cannot remember when was the last time I had sushi! But why wouldn't I be okay?"
"Oh," I turn my eyes away. "You know, about the issue of your father, going all around the internet. I was afraid that you'd still be affected by it."
"I am, but I trust you."
"Huh?"
"I trust whatever you decide to do, Felix. I just know that you wouldn't want me to get hurt more than this. So you do what you need to do about this, I am not a bit scared."
"I love you." She laughs, pushing one roll of sushi inside my mouth. "I love you!"
"I know. I know. Now don't wet your pants."
"I told you that never happened!"