"Kiama."
I frown, looking over my shoulder to see who's calling me. But to my astonishment, I don't see anyone. In fact, I can't seem to see anything.
"Hello?" I ask still, trying to figure what's going on right now.
"That will be her name," the voice says again, sounding far away but near at the same time. "And the world will know that she is my daughter."
Upon the words being spoken, I automatically freeze. The last three syllables seem to echo around me, a warm swirl in a dark abyss.
My daughter...
Who's speaking right now? What is happening? Where am I?
"Hello?" I try again, this time forcing myself to move. Only, that is quite impossible in this moment. Because for some reason, I don't seem to have control over my limbs.
Is this a nightmare? Should I try to pinch myself awake?
"Hey, Kiki?" I hear again, but I think I can make out this voice. "Kiama?"
Slowly, my eyes pry open. I'm met with the slightly worried glance of my best friend. He's close to me again, leaving over me as I lay in what I'm assuming is my bed.
I blink a few times, disoriented and trying to make sense of my surroundings. The dark abyss and the mysterious voice fade away, replaced by the familiar sight of our dorm room. Jaeun's face comes into focus, his expression a mix of concern and relief.
"Kiki, you okay?" he asks, his voice laced with genuine worry.
I take a deep breath and sit up, my heart still racing from the strange dream or vision I just experienced. "Yeah, I think so," I reply shakily. "I just had the weirdest dream."
Jaeun's brows furrow, and he sits down beside me, his concern deepening. "What happened in the dream?"
I'm about to tell him what I can remember, how real and strange it felt. But for some reason, I'm acutely aware of his position next to me again, making me hesitate for a moment.
Suddenly, the last couple of hours come flooding through my brain. How Jaeun and I bickered playfully for the rest of the late afternoon, and how it was interrupted by my mom's third call of the day.
She calls me more on my birthday than any other day, I swear.
Then I remember that Jaeun suggested we watch a movie on his laptop for a while, since he didn't feel like getting ready for a party he was heading to. And that's when I must have fallen asleep or something.
"Uhm," I say eventually, trying not to blush stupidly in front of my best friend. "Oh nothing...just a glitter unicorn chasing me up a hill."
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Jaeun scoffs with an airy laugh before shoving me back into my blankets.
I let out a laugh as well, strangely relieved by the space between us now. That feeling is even weirder than the dream just now.
"It's better than my mother's obsession with the cardboard JJ, don't you think?" I retort, sitting upright again.
"Ha, you called me JJ," Jaeun says enthusiastically, pointing at me with vigour. "I finally exit the embarrassing nicknames realm."
"Oh, you wish, Jaybay" I reply, a small grin on my face.
"Whatever, you still called me JJ" he says, sticking out his tongue. It's only now that I notice that he's seemingly dressed for his event or whatever - black t-shirt and dark jeans. Both pieces of clothing hug his features tightly, accentuating his lean legs and built torso. It also exposes the tattoo sleeve he spent the last year or so filling in.
Again, an attempt to look cool, I guess. Although, there's no way to be 100% sure with Jaeun. I mean, last month, he got a lip piercing on a dare, so who knows what his reasons are for anything anymore. It's just one of the silly quirks that make him my one-of-a-kind best friend.
"Seems like you're ready to head out?" I ask, absentmindedly looking for my phone under my pillow. It is then that I feel the cool feel of the necklace against my chest. I reach up to it with my other hand, playing with the blue stone between my thumb and index finger.
"Yeah," he says, stretching up a bit. As he does, his shirt reaches up as well, exposing his very defined V-line. Which makes me look away immediately, because I respect my best friend. And I've been feeling weird about him from the moment he gave me this dang necklace.
What the crap, Kiama?
And Jaeun, ever the vigilant one, notices this. He glances at me and chuckles before asking, "What's got you all flustered, Kiki?"
I quickly avert my gaze to the roof , pretending to not have noticed anything. My cheeks feel kind of warm. "Nothing, nothing," I reply hastily, crossing my arms and forgetting all about my phone. "Just, you know, lost in thought. And stuff"
He grins, that mischievous look on his face again. "Sure," he says, looking unconvinced. Luckily for me though, he drops the subject. "Anyway, you sure you don't want to come with? It is still your birthday, after all."
I just shake my head, stray pink strands standing everywhere. See, whereas Jaeun is a social animal and thrives in crowds and things like parties, I prefer to not do all that. To socialize takes an extreme toll on my social battery, and that's why I only have like three friends.
Well, five if you include my brother and my mom. But even I know that's lame.
"You sure?" Jaeun pouts, clearly upset that he once again failed to lure me over to his world. You'd think he'd stop after the first few years, but his persistence is ever-going.
"Yes," I huff in fake exasperation, to which we both end up smiling. "It's not the first time that you've ditched me, traitor." The corners of his eyes crease a bit as he laughs again, gathering up his keys, phone and his wallet.
"Maybe for your next birthday, I'll throw you a massive surprise party," he says playfully, making his way to the door of our dorm room.
"You wouldn't dare," I glare at him from my bed, uncrossing my arms. "I will personally murder you."
"I'd like to see you try, Kiki," he says, winking at me. That sends a small flip in my stomach, a flip I personally want to destroy. "See you later, alligator."
And with that, he is out of the dorm. His signature bunny grin on his face as well.
"In a while, crocodile," I call back, but the door is closed before I can finish my sentence. Just as quick, I'm left alone in the room.
In my mind, I'm pondering the strange dream I had. And the equally strange feelings that have been bubbling up inside me these past few hours.
I glance at the necklace once more, tracing the delicate pendant with my fingertips. The blue stone seems to shimmer in response, almost as if it holds some kind of secret.
"What does this mean?" I ask aloud, laying back on my bed and staring aimlessly at the ceiling.
"I don't know," someone says, making me jolt upright with lighting speed, "but I am indeed thankful your buddy's gone. I was beginning to think he was never going to leave."
I jump from my current position, swirling around in the direction of the voice. My gaze is met with the sight of a guy in a black suit, and my eyes go wide.
My heart races as I take in the stranger in my dorm room. He's tall - taller than me, at least - and long locks of raven hair tinged with silver slivers cascade down the side of his face. "Who are you?" I demand, bracing myself for combat. I don't know a lot, but martial arts movies have taught me enough." How did you get in here?" I instinctively reach for my phone, but it's still buried under my damn pillows.
"Ugh, I never like this part of the whole deal," he sighs, combing his hand through his hair in what I'm assuming is annoyance. I tense up even more. "Always so hysterical, and freaking inquisitive."
The stranger's features are striking, strong jaw and soft nose. If it wasn't for this particular circumstance, I would have pecked him as quite the good-looking guy. That, and the fact that his piercing blue eyes appear to be locked onto mine, revealing an eery gaze that makes me even more on edge.
What is happening to me right now?
"You know, if you keep your mouth open any longer, some flies might think that it's a new resting ground or something," the mysterious stranger says again, taking a step closer to me. I didn't even realize that my mouth was open in the first place.
The way he says it is so calm, so normal, like he's supposed to be here and I'm supposed to laugh at his joke or something.
"W-who are you?" I mean to scream, but it comes out more like a terrified shriek. If there's one thing I refuse to forget is the stanger-danher classes my mother forced me to attend when I was like, ten or something.
Suddenly - finally - all my frozen joints are unstuck from their position and I take this opportunity to dash to the opposite side of the room. It happens to be Jaeun's half, and I end up grabbing the first thing I can find. Don't ever let anyone ever tell you that your best friend's random mechanical ruler can't be used in self defense one day.
The stranger looks at me quizzically, hands resting in the pockets of his blazer. Noir locks cover his forehead and the more I glance over at him, the more afraid I get. Mainly because the more he stands there, the more mystic he seems to get. There's this glow about him that seems otherworldly. Like...magic?
No, don't be silly Kiama. That's just your paranoia jumping to very stupid conclusions.
I hold the ruler out like a weapon, trying my best to look intimidating and scary-like. I really hope that that smudge of chocolate that was on my face earlier is completely wiped off - even I didn't know it was there until Jaeun pointed it out before watching a movie.
Nobody takes someone with a chocolate mouth seriously.
"Who are you!" I yell again, more out of panic than anything. Seriously, how did this dude get here? What is his intentions? Is it too late to call for Jaeun?
Maybe he'll come save me? Either way, my mom did always say to make a noise in situations like these.
"Could you stop yelling and dashing around for like one second, please," he speaks again, this time louder than before, probably to match my volume. "You're really staring to give me a headache."
Somehow, by some weird force, this is enough to make me lower my makeshift weapon, but it does nothing to stop my racing heart.
"W-who-"
"Who am I? Yes, I'm aware of your question," he interrupts, "but unless you calm down a bit, there's no way I can give you a proper answer."
This makes me squint slightly, and I force myself to take a few calming breaths. I tighten my grip on the ruler, contemplating whether or not to make a break for my phone. My eyes inadvertently dash around the room, looking for possible escape.
There's the door, of course - but who's to say that he won't cut off my path to getting there quickly. I am certainly not the world's fastest runner. Leave that to Jaeun, and my other friend, Micheal Chen.
Then there's the balcony. You know, back when Jaeun and I first got assigned this room, I immediately loved it because of the balcony. Just think about it, all the spectacular sunsets and sunrises one can watch from there - it's amazing, truly.
But at this very moment in time, it does nothing but remind me that I'm currently three stories above ground and if I even think of attempting a James Bond stunt by jumping down the railings or sliding off the side of the building, I'll most definitely be writing the final exams in the hospital.
Not very Responsible Student of me, hey.
"You have two seconds to answer, or I'll-" I start, still mentally weighing my options.
"Or what?" the stranger chuckles, taking yet another step closer to me. With every step he takes, there's this majestic aura that follows him, and I honestly don't know if I'm imagining it all or not. "I could literally mute you voice if you decided to scream, and make myself disappear if someone did indeed show up."
Wow, not creepy at all. "I'll ask only one more time...who are you and how did you get here?" I say again, feeling my heart continue to hammer very loudly in my chest. I think I might just have a freaking heart attack or something.
"Who am I?" he chuckles, more to himself than anything. "I'm...mhmm, who could I be?"
This earns a frown from me, and I once more contemplate jumping from the balcony as a last resort. I mean, broken legs is better than being kidnapped or whatever, right?
"Cal," he says suddenly, bringing me back to the present. Only, now I wish that I kept my eyes on him the whole time, because he is right in front of me. An arm's length away from my person. "Call me Cal Monroe. That should work for now."
I gasp, dropping the ruler out of shock. Stupid move, I know, but you try remaining sane when a blue eyed stranger moves forward with such quick speed.
"What do mean...work for now?" I ask, cursing my inner curiosity for winning the battle.
"Let's just say that I have too many names to keep count of," he says, shrugging. "Which gives me an opportunity to create a new one."
And now I'm even more confused. "And if you're wondering how I got here," he continues, still looking me dead in the eye, "you should thank that beautiful thing around your neck."
At the mention of the necklace, I look down. Where the small gem that once shown a brilliant blue once was, there is now nothing but a dark dot. A colour as dark as it was in my dream just now.
"What in the world..." I mutter, super perplexed. My frown deepens, and I suddenly don't even remember what day it is anymore. "How did this..."
"Happen?" the stranger - Cal? - finishes for me, making me look up again. When I do, he has on a cocky grin, as if he was the master to all success in the world. For some reason, this irks me.
Enough to make me momentarily forget about this whole situation and glare at him. Not that he reacts in the slightest; I could just as well have not reacted at all.
"Well, it's very clear that you have never seen a genie before, darling," he says again, still looking smug.
"A what?" I ask, feeling my jaw go slack once more.
Cal sighs, as if this is just common knowledge and I shouldn't be shocked as all hell right now. "Ugh, I'll tell you in a minute," he says, rolling his eyes. "You have anything to eat? I haven't had a snack in two decades."
***