Something was strange when Matteo woke up this morning. His father's house was so quiet without a sound, he looked at every corner of the room. "Father, father, are you still sleeping?"
Silence, no response at all. Matteo continued walking until he arrived in front of his father's room. "The door is unlocked." When the door opened, he did not find his father in bed. "Where is father? Did he go out?" Matteo tried to guess, "Ah, no way. I didn't even hear the sound of his vehicle if he did leave."
Matteo turned around and headed for the kitchen. The glowing fireplace intrigued him and he immediately went to it. "I didn't know that father's house was so cold, while I was warming my body to keep warm."
A black shadow darted behind him, but Matteo did not notice it. Suddenly a figure with a hat appeared, the shadow got closer and closer, Matteo felt a cold aura around him, his hair stood up, sharpened his sense of hearing and was alert. As the shadow passed by, Matteo quickly turned his body around. "Father."
Barack was startled by his son's voice, "Matteo?" His eyes widened to see Matteo sitting in front of the fireplace. Between glances, Barack tried to deal with the shock. "Are you awake, Matteo?" He smiled even though his lips felt numb.
Matteo nodded and looked at his father questioningly, but the gaze seemed to avoid him, making him feel strange about his father's behavior tonight.
"It's one o'clock at night, why aren't you sleeping?" Barack questioned again.
"I was hungry, so I looked for you. I was going to cook instant noodles, but I didn't find you and I ended up sitting here because it was so cold." Matteo explained.
Actually, Barack was worried that his son knew something, but hearing his words, Barack was instantly relieved. It meant he was still safe. "Okay, but we're not cooking. I'll order some food outside."
"But it's still night dad!" Matteo tried to remind him.
"No problem!"
Matteo thought the strangeness would only last for the night, but it did not. When morning came, Matteo did not see his father in his room, not even in every room.
When his father came home, they would usually talk to each other and always focus on the family. Matteo just stood in front of the dining table staring at a bottle of fizzy milk drink and two boxes of food left over from his father's order last night.
"This is completely different from what I expected." Matteo complained.
"I came here to help my father with his work and hope that one day he will make me the chief official in his place. I hope I can find a way to get this opportunity even without your help." Matteo was so determined.
Looking at the cold dishes made Matteo lose his appetite. "It is a pity that mom is not here, so there is no one to take care of dad. Should I tell her about this?"
Thinking twice, Matteo withdrew his words. "Never mind, mom must not see this. I don't want to add to her sadness and burden anymore."
The wall clock read two o'clock in the afternoon, Barack had not yet returned home. Matteo glanced at a room that was always closed when he watched television programs. "I'm curious about that room, why are there two doors? What's going on in there?"
Curiosity got the better of him, forcing him to get up and sneak into the room. Matteo slowly undid the tape attached to the door, then pushed it open. "This time, I will see what is in the room."
The moment his hand touched the handle, the door opened by itself. Matteo entered and was surprised to see what was inside. "This is such a secret place, why did I just find out that you have a room like this?"
Inside the room, he found ancient books, magical artifacts, and shabby-looking furniture scattered about. This room made his hair stand up, it had a very mysterious aura.
Matteo had mixed feelings, not knowing what to do. He found a strange notebook and put it away. "I think you wrote something here. I will investigate further."
As he continued his steps, the sudden sound of his cell phone rang out, making Matteo undo his intentions. "Mom?" His eyes stared at the phone screen as his mother called.
"I have to go out right now."
Matteo answered his mother's call, they had a long conversation in the living room.
While in the courtyard, a car pulled up. Matteo immediately turned off the call and looked outside. "Is that dad?"
A girl fell asleep after hours of trying to rebel against the ropes that bound her hands. Her mouth was no longer able to scream and cuss after being duct-taped shut.
Even her head drooped against the car window. Barack's pickup truck had now stopped under an old banyan tree whose tendrils dangled to the ground. The tree was right in front of his house.
Matteo watched his father's movements, then saw the girl through the window. As he approached the car, Barack suddenly shook the dashboard, causing the girl to jump in surprise. "Good, this is what I was expecting." he said with a lopsided smile.
"Dad, you just came?" Barack did not realize that his actions had been noticed by his own son. Matteo hurried to open the car door, and saw the girl's eyebrows knit together. Seeing his son's reaction, Barack stood up and screeched. "Matteo, what are you doing?"
While continuing to perform the action, Matteo looked at him quizzically and asked back. "I should be the one asking, what are you doing to this woman?"
"Matteo, I am your father. So listen to what I say and stay out of my business, okay?" Matteo did not answer, he was still trying to save the girl from what was making her sick.
"Hey you, hurry up and get away from my son, or I will shoot you now."
The girl wanted to scream, but the duct tape on her mouth prevented her from speaking.
"Dad, what are you doing? What is going on?" Matteo now gave her protection.
The girl did not move, only looked at Matteo between fear and confusion. This made Barack even more upset, so he got angry, and yelled at him again. "Don't even think about encouraging her to run away, Matteo."
"Why?" Matteo was even more curious. "There is something you do not know."
Earlier, Barack sat in the meditation room after reading the novel his son had given him, his eyes tightly closed as he entered a state of deep concentration.
He felt the energy of nature flowing through his body, helping him find peace within himself. As he neared the end of his meditation, he felt a strange vibration around him.
The demon demon that was his ally appeared, giving a description of Olivia the novelist who had something to do with the werewolves.
When Barack opened his eyes, he immediately searched for Olivia, a girl who had recently become famous as a successful mystery novel writer.
Upon learning of her whereabouts, Barack noticed that there was something different about Olivia. Her piercing eyes and wavy hair gave her an inherent sense of elegance and power.
Barack deliberately kidnapped the girl after they had a brief chat. He had even seen Olivia use her ability to manipulate energy and use power to treat others.
Barack distracted his mind and decided to lock the girl up without caring about his son. "Matteo, if you want to see me calm and fine, then you don't need to interfere with this!"
Matteo did not reply, but his eyes glanced at the key tucked into Barack's front pocket. If he could get his hands on the key, he would immediately rescue the girl from Barack's captivity.
His hunch was sharp. Matteo even now harbored a lingering suspicion of his father. He was curious about the mystery of Barack's frequent disappearances and sudden reappearances. Determined, Matteo would explore his suspicions until he discovered that his hunch was correct.
"Rest in your room, don't mind that girl because she is not human."
***
In the Omorfos realm Elder Samuel's warning alarm sounded. All the group gathered and behaved vigilantly. "What's going on?"
Alpha Adam and his sister frowned. "It looks like Elder Samuel needs our help, I believe Olivia and Leon are in danger."
"Time for action! Brother tell the main Elder of Omorfos that we should attack to save Olivia!" Selena Ashley was so excited, she had truly taken Olivia as her sister. Although her real hope lay with Leon, she would still wait until one day Leon realized and changed his mind to have feelings for Selena. Ah, at this time of urgency I'm still thinking about that. What a fool! She muttered.
"No Selena, we won't take any careless steps for that. Our opponent is very heavy, we'll just wait when Olivia really needs help. You know the danger of us appearing among them?"