The Secrets Behind the Mask

Chapter 5 - Suspicion

I stood in front of my room’s doorway as my hand, which was holding my phone, held the doorknob to keep it open, and my eyes searched through the room to look for something that I needed. But as soon as I saw the room, especially the bed, I could not help but feel a little drowsy, and a sudden feeling of wanting to sleep took over my being. Who would not? If my room looked like that, I would not hesitate to run towards my bed and throw myself on it.

The light coming from the afternoon sun lit my whole room as it slipped through the glass sliding door, partially covered with a white curtain, at the right side of the room, near my bed. And the sunlight filled the empty spaces with warmth and comfort despite the cold breeze outside, creating a relaxing ambiance. The interior design of the room also added to the room’s atmosphere, which can help in giving me peace of mind whenever I needed it.

There were not much furniture inside my room – only a bed, study and bedside table, standing mirror, and a two-door wooden cabinet – and the room was more spacious than a single occupant needed. It was painted with soft green which complemented the classic white color of the cabinet and standing mirror, as well as the light wooden color of the study and bedside table.

The color and design of my room were suggested by Aunt Claire. She knew it could help someone like me, who sometimes thinks a lot. According to her, a well-painted and spacious room will make it easier for me to breathe and feel freer.

My eyes focused on my bed as I welcomed its invitation, and I was about to succumb to its temptation when suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from downstairs called my name.

“Annika! Don’t forget your phone’s charger, okay? I forgot mine, and my phone’s almost out of battery.” Mika shouted from the hallway in front of the staircase. It was only at that time when I remembered that Mika and I were watching a movie in the living room, and sleeping was not an option.

I turned in the direction where the voice came from, and a defeated sigh escaped from my lips. Usually, I would sleep in the afternoon for at least three hours, but whenever Mika was there in the house, I cannot allow myself to do it. Because for sure, Mika will only bother me and will do everything to keep me awake while telling me that it was our bonding time as friends, so I cannot sleep.

My eyes looked back inside my room, and with a defeated expression, I walked past the doorway and went towards the other side of the bed, near the glass sliding door to get my phone’s charger. I was using it this morning, and I forgot to unplug it from the socket when I put my phone inside my bag before leaving the house to visit a doctor.

I unplugged the charger from the socket while trying my best not to let the feeling of wanting to lay on the bed took over me, and was about to walk out of the room when suddenly, my eyes caught something on the glass sliding door beside me.

A small space of the glass sliding door was not covered by the curtain, which gave me a clear view of my new neighbor’s house. From where I stood, I could see a woman who was talking to one of the men moving her things inside her new house. There was nothing unusual about it, but I could not help but stare at the woman.

I had not met her, not even once, and I only saw her a while ago when Mika mentioned that our new neighbor had already arrived. She has a slim body with a height that was probably the same as mine, and raven-colored hair that complemented her pale skin. From the first time I saw her, I could tell that she’s beautiful even from afar.

My whole body turned towards the glass sliding door while holding my charger and phone in my hand, giving my whole attention to the scene playing before me. I stared at the woman for a while, trying to figure out why I felt something I could not explain when our eyes met a while ago outside the house.

When Mika told me a while ago that our new neighbor had arrived, my head automatically turned at the house beside mine. I was not that intrigued about our new neighbor. I just wanted to at least see who will it be since they are going to live right beside my house. However, what I did not expect was I would also see her staring at me right at that moment.

Normally, I could just ignore it. But there was something off about the way she stared at me, and I even felt worst when she smiled at us as sincerely and gently as possible. I have met a lot of people, and I somehow learned to read them – to find what was lying deep inside them – and at that time, my gut was telling me something. I could not figure out it yet though, but I was sure that there was something about her.

It feels weird, I thought to myself as I kept my eyes on the woman for who knew how long. However, it was interrupted when my phone’s ringtone echoed throughout the room, reverting me to reality. My gaze shifted at my phone, and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I saw the caller ID flashed on the screen.

Takuma? Why would he call me at this time of the day? I asked myself. His shift at work is not even done yet. He told me before that his shift ends at 6:00 PM, but there were days that he needed to work until 10 PM. During his work hours, he rarely called or sent a message. I slid the answer button and waited until he spoke.

“Hey, Annika.” He greeted in a low voice.

“Yeah? Need something?”

“Nothing really. Just wanna make sure how you are doing after you broke your hand.” He answered with a mocking voice.

A laugh escaped from my lips as I rolled my eyes. “Wow, I appreciate it. You must be really worried that you called me during your shift.” I responded sarcastically.

“Yeah. I was worried about what the hell you might be doing again. I’m afraid that the next time I call, you would tell me that you broke your leg because you fell on the stairs. Or chopped your fingers. Something along those lines.”

My mouth gaped open in surprise, and I burst into laughter. “Hey! That’s too much. What do you think of me?” I protested. “I’m not that careless.”

“Hm, sure. Tell me that next time after your hand healed.”

“Stop that. And for your information, my hand isn’t broken.” I answered back. “I visited a doctor a while ago, and he did an x-ray. He said there are no broken bones, but I’ll still feel the pain for at least four weeks or so.” There was a long pause before Takuma responded, which made me wondered a bit.

“…Really?” He finally said. “That’s good to hear.” There was a subtle relief in his voice, and the way he said it – a little too gentle – made me confused. I was about to ask what was the matter when he continued. “I tried to file a leave today, but our department head rejected it.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Today? Are you going somewhere?”

“I already told you. I’ll go there, right?”

“What?…W-well, yeah. But you told me you’ll come here next month and not today.” I answered, emphasizing my last word.

He hummed in agreement. “I just thought that today was the right time since you’ll be needing someone to help you while your hand heal.”

There was a short pause before a chuckle came out from my lips. “Are you for real? I’m not a kid. I can take care of myself.” I protested between my laugh. “You’re overreacting.”

“Tch. Yeah sure, you can take care of yourself. You really can.” He said sarcastically.

I bit my lip to stop myself from spitting another laugh. “Stop being sarcastic. It doesn’t suit you. Anyway, is that all?” I asked as I tried to make my voice sound a little serious, but Takuma did not immediately respond again. That was the time I confirmed that he really called me for something more important and not just to ask how I was doing.

The smile on my face faded. “Spill it,” I demanded.

“I will. But not now.” Takuma answered in a serene tone, then he added, “Let’s talk about it when I get there.”

“Okay. But, is it something…too serious? Or something I should…worry about?”

“Nah. You don’t have to worry about it. I just wanted to tell you since you have a right to know about it.”

I slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll wait for you to come here and tell me yourself.” I agreed. “By the way, pleas–”

“Annika! What’s taking you too long?” My words were interrupted when I heard Mika shouted my name from downstairs. I did not close the door so I could hear her voice clearly. “Don’t tell me you’re sleeping?!”

“I’m not! I’ll go down in a sec.” I answered before turning my attention back to Takuma. “Sorry about that. Uhm, I was saying, please do not tell Aunt Claire and Kaya about what happened to my hand. Okay?”

“Okay,” Takuma responded. “Who’s that, by the way? Are you still not home?”

“Oh, I’m already back home, and it’s Mika, one of my neighbors and the one I told you before.”

“I see. It’s good that you’re not alone, and there’s someone with you today.”

“Yeah, she’s planning to stay here until late night, I guess,” I said and was about to finally leave the room before Mika could drag me back down. But for some reason, my gaze suddenly shifted at my glass sliding door, exactly at the spot where I saw my new neighbor a while ago. And to my surprise, I saw her staring at me through the glass door.

My eyes widened in surprise, and I felt a chill ran down my spine as we kept our gaze at one another. I stood there like a statue, unable to move my body even an inch. I was not sure if I was just too shocked by that coincidence that I felt chills in my body or…if there was really something else. I watched as the woman gave me a small smile, then she bowed her head as a greeting before turning back inside her house.

My eyes remained at her until I saw her finally disappear from my vision, and when I could not see her anymore, I felt myself let out the breath that I did not realize I was holding the entire time. What the hell was that? I thought to myself as my mind tried to comprehend what just happened. Why…why is she staring at me too? And for how long? As my mind tried to look for answers, I suddenly heard Takuma’s voice on my ear from my phone.

“Hey, Annika. What’s wrong?” Takuma asked voice laced with concern.

“…Uhm, n-nothing.”

“What? What happened? You suddenly stopped talking.”

“…Uh…it was just,” I paused, then I looked back at my neighbor’s house, making sure that woman was not there anymore. “We have a new neighbor, and she’s living right beside this house.”

“Okay? What about her?” Takuma confusingly asked.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t want to judge or anything, but…I feel odd about her.” I admitted. “And, I feel a little anxious? I don’t know.”

“Well…are you sure it’s not just your selective socialization kicking in?”

There was a long silence, and my eyes blinked once, then twice. “What?!”

Takuma suddenly chuckled from the other side of the line. “Don’t take it badly. I just want to make sure, okay? Because I know how you hate interacting with new people. It’s like with Mika, right?” He started. “You mentioned how you don’t wanna have something to do with her because she has a strong aura. But here you are now, spending a day and even a week with her.”

Takuma was not wrong though. The first time I met Mika, I told myself that I don’t want to interact with her. Not because I don’t like her, but because her energy and aura can make me feel drained and exhausted even we just interacted for a short while. And…I was just trying to be more careful.

After what happened to me in Tokyo, it was hard for me to trust people and be close with others. I’m afraid that if I became friends with anyone, Nishimoto will try to harm them just like how he did to Risa’s Mom, and when he almost targeted Nanami and Kaya. I don’t want it to happen again, and I won’t allow it. Not this time.

Takuma did not know about that kind of fear I was feeling, nor Kaya or Aunt Claire, because as much as possible, I was trying to live a normal life like how I used to. I was trying to show them that I was fine and I can do it. I was doing it not just for them but also for myself. I had to get used to all the things that happened to me, or else…I will be stuck here and won’t be able to move forward.

“…Maybe,” was all I could answer to Takuma as I stared at my neighbor’s house. “I hope it’s just really like that.”

“Hey,” Takuma called in a soothing tone. “I’m sorry for laughing, but please don’t think too much about it, okay? Tell me if something came up or…if you want to rant about your new neighbor. I’ll listen. You know I’ll always listen.”

A smile formed on my lips. “There you are again, being so worried about me as if I was a kid.”

Takuma chuckled. “I don’t see you as a kid. I’m just worried.”

“Fine. I hate you.” I jokingly said, which made Takuma snicker.

“I know you don’t hate me,” Takuma responded, almost a whisper. “Anyway, I have to go now. I still have to work. Take care, okay? And call me if you want to talk about something.”

“Yeah. Bye.” I said as I ended the call.

I immediately went downstairs with the phone charger in my hand and headed straight to the living room, where Mika was comfortably sitting on the couch while watching a movie and eating popcorn. I looked at her with an amused and horrified expression because we just ate two hours ago, but she’s still not full and started eating other snacks after the meal we had.

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to eat all that?” I greeted, eyeing her and the empty packs of snacks she had already eaten on the center table

“Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll do an intensive training tomorrow.” She replied while reaching for the charger in my hand. “What took you so long, by the way? You’re in your room for almost an hour, you know? If you had not responded a while ago, I would have gone into your room and dragged you down. I really thought you’re already sleeping.”

I sat down on the couch beside her and fished on the bowl of cheese-flavored popcorn that she was holding. “Someone called.” I plainly answered.

“Oh. Let me guess. It’s that Takuma guy, right?” Mika teased while grinning from ear to ear. “It must be nice to experience love at this age.”

I sharply glanced at her. “Stop making it sound like you’re too old for that. You’re only 21. And again, Takuma and I are nothing like that.”

“Whatever. Deny it all you want.” She said, then winked at me before turning her attention back to the movie. I rolled my eyes in response and did not bother to go against her statement, for sure, there will be no end to it if kept answering back at her.

I focused on the movie playing on the screen and did not notice how much time had already passed. The movie was already nearing the end as the main characters had already won against their enemy, a ghost when suddenly, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll check who it is.” Mika volunteered and was about to put the bowl of popcorn on the table, but I immediately stood up from the couch.

“I’ll do it. Finish that and clean up.” I ordered without looking at her and headed straight to the entrance door.

I opened the door and went outside. But the moment I stepped out, my feet instantly halted and stayed rooted at the spot two meters away from the gate – away from the woman standing outside. My eyes, slightly widened in surprise and shock, stared at her as if I was seeing something I should not.

The woman outside the gate was staring at me too, with a gentle and sweet smile on her face. But I knew…it was just a façade. I could feel it. I could feel the aura surrounding her, and my guts were proving me right. I remained in my spot for a moment and remembered what Takuma told me a while ago.

Am I…really feeling like this towards her because I do not like interacting with new people? Or…there’s really something more about this? I thought to myself. I gave her a glance from head to toe, and I could deny the fact that from the outside, she looked harmless. But whenever I was trying to consider the aura around her, it felt odd. If there’s really something more about this, what is it and why?

“Um, hello.” The woman greeted which brought me back to my senses. “I just came to say hi and introduce myself since we will be living together in this neighborhood starting today. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”