"Eh, you're a what?" she shot a pair of raised eyebrows toward me as if I'd just claimed to be from another planet.
The impertinence was such that denying it didn't seem to occur to him. "I am Ren Ezekiel, Prince of Whistlewood," he intoned, confident.
Looking into his eyes, I wanted to believe him. "Please, Mr. Ren," I said. "Tell me the truth. We can't afford your lies right now."
He looked increasingly frustrated. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm telling the truth. I can't joke about my identity. I am the prince of Whistlewood Kingdom and the– elder son of William Ezekiel, the king and head of Willow Wind Mansion!" There was pride in his voice but it wasn't clear if it was misplaced arrogance or genuine conviction.
"What Whistlewood? Willow what Mansion?" I responded in a daze. "I don't understand. There's no place like that around here. What is this Whistlewood? WHO ARE YOU REALLY?"
"It's actually Willow Wind Mansion," he corrected, barely containing his irritation. "And I never repeat myself. This is where I belong. Now, what kind of place have I wandered into?"
I felt mystified as I listened to him insist. Everything about him seemed out of place, set off by his totally alien language from the reality I knew. It was as though he belonged to a different world, one where he spoke a language I couldn't understand.
"YOU—" I started, but the end of my sentence was cut off by an abrupt ring in the corner of the room. The sharp, irritating sound tore me out of the moment, leaving me with a sense of frustration and disappointment. I couldn't deny it, this wasn't a matter I wanted to deal with right now.
I got up and went into another room to pick up the phone. I was correct, it was—
"Uncle—" I started, but before I could speak the full sentence, he had already interrupted me.
"Do you have a job yet?" he asked, just as cold as before.
"I just started a part-time job—" I was interrupted once again.
"As expected from you. Do you honestly think you can pay us back with a part-time job?" He said it in a tone of disdain.
"I am trying hard to–" I tried to explain, but he would not let me.
"'Pay us off as soon as possible' Is that what you are going to say? Cut the act now. Enough bullshit. Did I not ask for YOUR new address?" His words were bitter, almost like a threat.
"I'm sorry, I will–" I attempted, but once more, he prevented me from saying anything.
"Listen, Iris, don't think for one second that you can leave without paying me back. It will be my life's mission to torture you if you ever try to escape. Address. Send me your address now," he ordered, leaving no room for argument in his tone.
"I—I'll send it right away." For the first time ever, I managed to finish one whole sentence. My voice shook with fear.
He hung up, and I breathed out loudly as if someone had been pointing a knife at me the entire time. It felt like I could never relax when talking to him. Just talking to him had seemed so intense that it felt like I'd never be able to relax again in this lifetime.
I sighed and returned to my room to face the guy who was claiming to be a prince from some kingdom named Whistlewood. Was this all some fantasy drama?
"Woah," I gasped, my voice a combination of incredulity and shock. "What are you doing?"
"Oh my god, oh, you scared me!" He really jumped a little to my voice. "Umm, it was a total mess in your room. So, I just couldn't help…"
"Hah," scoffing, I said, "Well, I'm not a prince like you, and I have work to do, so... wait, a prince does this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with that?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Well, I mean… aren't a prince supposed to be a spoiled brat who lazes in bed all day with everyone running around him waiting on him hand and foot? But you..." I halted, watching how he'd handle this one. He seemed neither angry nor defensive.
"I have been looked upon as a spoiled brat by some, and to others, just a prince. But no one ever considers me as a person," he said with a hint of sorrow in his voice. "But you're really quite fearless when you can say a prince is rotten to his face."
"Hey, I was…never mind. Looks like we're all some kind of spoiled brat to some people. Forget it. Let's just try to make sense of all this. You're a prince of Whistlewood, and I'm… just a regular person from Earth," I said, looking at him.
"I'm a prince from Whistlewood, which is also on Earth. Don't treat me like I'm from another planet," he replied.
I sighed deeply. "Hold on a minute. Let me send a text first; otherwise, I might end up as dead meat."
"Is someone trying to kill you too?" he enquired, worry lines creasing his forehead and mouth.
"Perhaps even worse than that… If he wishes he can… Anyway, it has been already done," I said in a huff. "But come on, let's keep it real here, you know that princes don't exist anymore, at least not here. How can you claim to be a prince? Is it just that everyone treats you like one and you are too delulu to introduce yourself like that?"
"Why don't you believe me? I am a prince, a real one!" He said chortling loudly. "By the way, what is that thing?" He pointed at my phone.
My facial expression must have shown my confusion because I looked at him, bewildered. "It's a… mobile phone."
He was entirely lost and could only stare blankly at the screen as he tilted his head to one side. "How does it function? I mean, I was under the impression that you were communicating with that box thing there—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you saying you don't know what this is?" I said, holding up my phone.
"Why would I ask if I already know?" he retorted, his eyes narrowing, once again perplexed with female logic.
"Wait… well, did you, by any chance, time travel?" I asked, trying to keep my tone calm despite my growing frustration.
He scoffed and said, "Of course, I didn't! Time travel isn't even real, hahaha."
I looked blankly at him for a moment then asked, "Are you… sure?"
After a short pause, he asked, "It is… 2024 isn't it"?
"Well, er, ah, yes it is," I stuttered and sighed more deeply than I needed to, adding to my bewilderment.
He scoffed, "Of course, I didn't! Time travel isn't even real. But... if it were, this might explain a lot." He paused, frowning. "This place is so different from where I come from. But I'm really a prince, I swear!"
"This is so frustrating," I blurted out. "Well, if you did not time travel, and you are really a prince, then how is this possible, how does that even make any sense?" I asked, stunned about the way he easily questioned the impossible. But I realized that it really did not make any sense. "Anyway, where are you planning to stay tonight?" I asked, trying to shift the conversation back to something practical.
Ren looked at me and gave me a look that was answering my question in a clearly baffled manner. "I thought I was staying here," he replied in a way that suggested this was the most sane thing he had ever said in his life.
I stood frozen looking at him as if I should either burst into laughter or be scared out of my wits. It started happening with more and more frequency, "What? No! You can't just—"
He interrupted me, and although there was a kind of aggression in his tone, it was coloured with a rather forlorn quality. "I have no one else to turn to, Iris, you protected me from those men, now it seems to me you are my only protection; if you kick me out, I do not know what will become of me. "
He made me feel emotionally charged, his words did. I closed my mouth and clamped down on the lip in question, but the internal battle between the shallows of the heart and the gut was fierce: on one hand – he was a stranger with danger obviously pursuing him in a very aggressive manner; on the other hand – this stranger could also need help desperately. I had seen him trembling the first time he landed and something in his eyes reminded me that I have no reason to doubt him despite telling me things that seemed far-fetched.
"Okay," I sighed, leaning back in my chair and running a hand through my hair. "Well, but you are sleeping on the couch tonight and tomorrow we need to talk and find out what is actually happening. "
Ren sighed in relief and gave a nod to what I said. "Thank you, Iris. I am not going to be a burden, I promise. "
I proceeded to lay cloth and a blanket on the couch where I made him lay, and alongside that a strange feeling within me was observed. I was in this whole thing up to my neck and for some reason I had this deep feeling that things were only going to get worse – or better depending on what you believe.
The night was quiet, I hardly slept because many thoughts were going through my mind over what Ren was telling me was possible. When the first sunlight entered my room through the curtains, I finally drifted off.
I woke up after some hours, the sun was already up and was flooding my room with warm light. Last night sights appeared to me as a dream that could come through if one suffers from sleepless nights. I sat for a few minutes in bed debating with myself whether or not to get up only to find Ren hopefully waiting for me with another round of awkwardness of eating together.
I got ready to look for him only to find that the couch in the living room was not occupied. The blanket I had given Ren was crumpled and tossed to the side, the pillow was lying all over the floor. My pulse quickened. I tried yelling his name out loud but there was no response from him.