"I love you."
Ara was in the form of the cloud and saw as the man professed his love for Dina. He would normally tower around the temple, guarding it day and night, but today he didn't know why, but he wanted to see her.
Looking at her now, he began to regret that he ever did. He felt a tight feeling in his chest when the man held her hand. He knew that the man had a passion for Dina, but he also knew that it was an unhealthy love.
Ara turned his eyes away as the feeling in his chest began to grip him even more.
Soon, Ara began to feel foolish. What was he thinking? Why was she his concern? Why was he even here? As he turned to leave for the location of the temple, his abode, he heard her soft voice.
"Um, Carl, can we have this conversation later?"
***
"I need to leave now."
Dina was livid. She walked away from Carl with speed. The last time she heard Carl say those words it didn't end well. At first, she thought that the horrific experience with him was a dream but later realised that the dream was in fact real. This scared Dina.
She didn't want to say the wrong words to trigger him again, she had to postpone her response.
Heading for the lodge, Dina made her way to her room quickly and safely locked the door after her.
Her furiously pounding heart only seemed to calm down when she secured the locked door with a chair that was left in front of her room desk, by leaning it just below the door handle for more security.
Dina heaved a sigh of relief and lay on her bed, deciding that the day was over for her. Maybe it was because she was awake till three AM but she was drowsy, her eyes shut repeatedly and slowly she fell asleep.
~~~
"She beauty beauty, boss!"
"Yes, she is. Ara, that flirt! He seems to have hit the jackpot with this one."
Dina's eyebrows furrowed in discomfort. What were the voices she was hearing?
"Aye boss, she wakey wakey."
"Yes Dudu, she's waking up but she's human, she can't see us."
Hearing this, Dina's eyes flung wide open. In front of her were two dwarfed beings. They resembled purple-skinned elves. In horror, Dina jumped up from the bed.
"ARGHHHHH!"
Dina's mouth refused to close no matter how loud she screamed. This made the elves run around the room in disarray with their hands up.
Sensing the fear in the reactions of these beings, Dina stopped screaming. Although scared, she grabbed a book from her desk and used it as a shield.
"What are you? And what are you doing here?!"
The elves stopped running around and began to breathe in and out heavily and fast. One of them with an earring looked in shock at the other with two earrings.
"Boss, she see see!"
"Shush Dudu, maybe she doesn't truly see," the other elf quickly replied.
Dina aggressively waved the book in her hand. "I can see you. What are you doing here?!"
The elf with two earrings opened his mouth in disbelief, but Dina was too scared.
"What are you? Tell me or…or I hit you with this." Dina couldn't contain her fear and shock. She waved the rolled-up book in her hand more aggressively.
Hearing this, the elf closed his mouth and slowly stepped back with both hands up.
"Don't hit us, please. We're just here to see you."
"Why do you want to see me?!" Dina's voice heightened which made the elves cower. "I don't even know you!"
"T-The fairies say that Ara brought a human into the temple. 'She's not a temple priest', they say. 'She's not an offering', they say."
As the elf spoke, the other elf wearing one earring only nodded in confirmation.
"They say he could be in love. 'He must have seduced her', they say. We're only here to see for ourselves this woman he might love."
Dina softened as she heard the elves speak, her hands settled from their raised posture. "Ara? Did Ara tell you that he loves me?"
"No no!" The elf wearing one earring screamed as he cowered lower to the floor.
"We dare not appear before that Ara." The other elf continued. "We're just lowly spirit nomads who travel across different mountains. We noticed a light from afar. A light shining from a human, and we thought maybe the rumours might be true."
Dina was confused. "A light? What light?"
"The folktale speaks of a human who shined bright because he was loved by a high mother spirit. Now, we see it's not just any tale but it's true!"
Dina was even more confused. "What do you mean?" She looked at her hands and took a glance at her body.
"Do you not see that you shine very bright, human?"
"No, I don't see any of that sort." Dina quickly held the book high again. "Are you lying to me?!"
Both elves cowered even more.
"We have no reason to lie, we speak truthfully. Please let us go, if we stay any longer, h-he…"
"He? Who is that?"
"It's that Ara! Let us go!"
The elves fell to the floor trembling.
"They say that the human that's loved by the spirit shines because of the great jealousy and possessiveness of the spirit that loves them. We've heard of the power of this Ara, he is great. A swift and sensitive spirit. We dare not get caught speaking to you, the one he loves."
"Let us go go!" The elf wearing one earring screamed.
Dina was bewildered. She wasn't holding down the elves by any leash and all she had was a notebook. She was aware that they were spirits, they could disappear without her permission, or couldn't they?
"We need you to command us to leave for us to leave, this is the law guiding spirits like us. We're under your authority. Please tell us to go."
Dina watched as the elves lay flat on the floor trembling in fear. The lighting in the room was too dim, it made Dina unable to see their features clearly but she could sense the fear in them.
Dropping her hands in surrender, she said, "You can leave."
"Ah, thank you, human." Both elves delightedly stood from their position and instantly disappeared.
***
"What made you think you could leave so easily?"
Ara watched closely as the lower-grade spirits moved in the form of the wind to quickly exit the mountain.
"Come here!" Ara's voice thundered.
Immediately his voice thundered, the elves instantly took their true form and fell to the ground.
Ara hadn't left Dina since she separated from Carl. Just as he feared, she had begun glowing since the previous night, but unlike the folktale, this meant that the human and the spirit loved each other. Her glow didn't just expose his love for her, it also exposed her love for him too.
The light in her lit up when they spent time together during the night, he had to send her to bed immediately after he noticed this. It was too sudden. He was too embarrassed.
Was he now loving another human? He once vowed never to interact with humans when he became a mountain spirit. It's a law of the spirits not to share such passions with a human. Although he barely got away with it when he was a mere spirit, he knew that it would be harder now that he was a high mountain spirit.
Now that he has been granted more power, the glow in Dina naturally shined greatly unlike the time of Lara, his love. Dina glowed so much that she even attracted such undignified spirits. Ara was stunned, but he needed to deal with these small fries.
"Oh, great Ara, you've finally caught us. We didn't move fast enough."
"Mai and Dudu, I saw when you entered her room."
"Oh! You are even more terrible than we ever thought, Ara. When we believed we could escape you, we were already caught in your trap."
Ara looked condescendingly at them. "Lower-grade spirits like you are meant to find relevance in life, but you've failed to find purpose and have chosen to move around mountains and territories aimlessly."
The elves began hitting their heads on the ground aggressively.
"Tell me why I should save you worthless beings." It was as if Ara was moved by a different and greater force. "You were so audacious enough to even go and check out my woman?"
Although Ara's voice was calm, the elves could feel the great anger from it that pierced them aggressively.
Mai rose his bloody head from the ground. "Oh Ara, it would be much better if we end our lives ourselves than for you to deal with us. We wouldn't have met the human if we knew that the folktale was true."
Although they were spirits, Ara could dissipate them if he wanted to since he was a chief spirit. "I won't kill you, but I'll punish you."
Hearing this, the elves trembled even more.
"You are nomadic spirits; you elevate your spirits by movement. I'll give you the worst fate by confining you to a place forever."
Dark energy surrounded Ara as his anger heightened. "I'll give you a fate worse than death because your eyes have seen that woman who is mine."