Intertwined Love and Deception

Chapter 4

The typhoon seemed to be in rage as it poured heavy rain and blew strong wind. I knew it was already past nine in the evening, but the announcement of the cancellation of the classes in elementary school excited me that I couldn't sleep. I continued to play in our room, ignoring my grandmama's call. 

"Sai," my grandmother called again. This time she did not look at me.

 I turned around. I knew it was beyond my playtime already. I should be sleeping at this hour. She always reminded me of the importance of having eight hours of sleep. I just blinked and looked at her. She was still sitting in her old rattan rocking chair while looking at our old photo album. I could not understand her but she would do that every single night before going to sleep. She would look at the pictures as if that would return her daughter, my beautiful, poor mother, her only child, died of giving birth to me.

"I'm not sleepy yet," I said, pouting at her.

She placed the album on the side table, got up from the rocking chair, and then approached me. She picked me up and carried me to the bed.

"Would you like to hear a bedtime story?" She asked me as she tucked me to bed.

I nodded. Bedtime stories were never about princesses or fairies. I gripped my blanket tightly as she started with her introduction. "There was this old story in my town about werewolves," She started.

 My grandmother, a retired kindergarten teacher, was a good storyteller, so imagine how good she was in engaging me to her stories. She would describe rather than inform me of the story, making me feel as if I was the main character.

My eyes widened as she started her story about werewolves.

"Everyone thinks that werewolves come out only on a full moon. Often, in the middle of their search for food, they would enter houses. They could smell the fragrance of human blood, especially active children.

"One night, in the middle of heavy rain, while the boy's parents were asleep, he got up to play. It did not matter to him if it was a bit dark. He just wanted to play with his toys. And then..."

I gulped. I hated it when she would hang the story.

"While he was playing, he felt as if someone had passed behind him. He looked behind him but he could not see anyone. When he turned around, he was surprised to see the shadow of the beast. Slowly, it walked closer to him.

The boy was barely breathing. As it came closer, his eyes widened when he saw the big, black werewolf up close. Its black eyes were glaring and it seemed very hungry. It prepared to attack him. Before he could scream, the werewolf jumped on him."

I never heard what happened to the boy, I already cried out in fear.

When the door creaked open and I felt someone go inside the bathroom, I remember grandmama's story years ago. My eyes widened in fear as I gazed at the shadow that got bigger. 

My imagination went wild when I saw it sniff my clothes, and walk towards me. As soon as it pounced the shower curtain, I could not stop myself,  I screamed at the top of my lungs. I heard the curtain rod falling and making a loud sound as it fell to the floor.

When I could not scream anymore, I shut my eyes and waited for the creature to rip my body. It was so close that I could hear it breathing.

"Grandmama!" I cried.

 Then an unexpected thing happened The beast licked my face. I heard footsteps running towards the room.

"Sayonara, are you okay?" A worried voice asked me.

I shook my head vehemently. My eyes were still closed and I could hardly recognize the voice. I was just crying in fear. The beast continued to sniff and lick me.

"Stopped it, Max!" Paul said. The beast seemed to listen. I heard it walking away. He picked up the curtain rod on the floor and return it to its place.

 I felt like fainting a while ago, but I could feel my heart beating normally again. Knowing Paul was just right there behind the curtain, I felt safe.

I opened my eyes and I sighed in relief but seeing his shadow heading out the door, I started to panic again.

"Paul?" I called him. My voice was still trembling in fear.

He stopped walking. "I'll be right here." He said. He sounded exhausted already.

"Please, don't leave."

"Do you want me to help you finish taking a bath?" He asked.

I knew it was a joke and I could imagine him smirking. His question made me aware that I was naked, a good thing my body was immersed in the water with bubbles. As if I care if he saw me naked. I would rather be seen naked than be found with a ripped body.

As soon as I was done, I dressed up quickly and almost run towards him. I came to a halt because of the excitement I was feeling. I had never felt this before about anyone, not even with Jeremy. I sighed and walked carefully towards the door.

I found him leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. He looked at me intently as if I had forgotten to dress or something. I could not even ask him because I was too embarrassed already for everything that had happened today. I made a quick look at myself, just to make sure. Good thing I was fully dressed.

"Finish your dinner then go to bed, Sayonara. You had a long day." He said then turned away. I followed him but made sure of our distance. He seemed to dislike getting close to him.

I went straight to the table but Paul, on the other hand, went in an opposite direction. He seated on the red egg lounge chair in the living room and held the tablet in his hand. I shrugged and ignored him.

At first, I tried to focus on my dinner but I could not help shifting my attention to Paul. The light from the tablet radiated his face. I could see his angelic face, more like a god than ordinary beauty. I felt full already by just looking at him.

As soon as I finished eating and washing the dishes, I got my backpack to check on my things. I went to the living room, lie down on the furry carpet, pulled my laptop out of the bag, and turned it on. Again, I made sure that I was far from him. It was then I noticed his companion. The labrador retriever got up and barked at me.

Startled, I suddenly recalled the incident in the bathroom. I blushed and then burst out laughing as I remember my embarrassing scream and distress. Paul seemed to be amused by my realization and shook his head.

"I wonder how you survived the woods, Sayonara. You easily get frightened." He said as he glanced at me. He stroked the lab's head. "Why did you even go here?"

"Didn't Jeremy tell you?" I asked. Surprised.

He was quiet for a while. I wish I knew what he was thinking. He placed his tablet aside and looked at me.

I swallowed. It was better when he was not looking at me. I felt lost whenever he did that.

"Fine." I could not help rolling my eyes as I start,  "Ms. Xana-"

He interrupted me. "Ms. Xana?"

"My manager," I answered, then continued, "Well, she entered my name in the story writing contest, some sort of love story, human-falling-for-mythical creatures stuff, which wasn't even my job, but Jeremy, your cutie cousin said you'd help me,"

"So, it was Jeremy's idea,"

I nodded. I squinted my eyes and frown. "But I didn't expect you'd do this to me." I pouted.

Pretending to be surprised, he asked, "What did I do to you?"

I gave him a sullen look. "Leave!" I imitated his tone.

He chuckled. It was like a piece of music. How can someone be so sexy while laughing? I wish to stare at him, but I stopped myself and focus my eyes on the screen of my laptop.

"You'll surely ace your entry, Sai."

Surprised by how he called me, I looked at him. He seemed to know what was going on with my mind, he started to explain.

"Your name, Sayonara. It's like saying goodbye to you all the time."

"Charming, right?"

He was quiet for a while. "

"Why?" He asked. He was suddenly interested.

I sighed. I have mastered explaining the reason already. I have been explaining it for almost two decades, but tonight I was not in the mood to tell him the story in detail.

"My mom gave that name to me before she died," I concluded. I lacked the energy to tell him the whole story.

I saw him twitch his lips. Was my one-sentence story affected him? His eyes were suddenly gloomy.

"Sayonara." He said in a miserable tone. He was not exactly calling my name, but he was simply saying the word. It sounded like goodbye. But then after a while, he smiled at me.

"Sai, you seemed to have a wild imagination. Just write your experience a while ago." He said trying to hide a smile. "You almost gave Max a heart attack." The dog whined and then barked at me.

I could not help laughing. "I really thought I was being attacked."

He laughed briefly, then asked me. "How can I help?" He asked.

"An interview," I said, then rolled on the carpet. I've been hoping to do this a while ago "Please... maybe some tips?" I said begging like a child.

"Fine."

I got up and took my notebook and pen. In this situation, I did not want to waste my laptop's battery.

"Do mythical creatures exist?" I asked.

"Is it important to know whether they exist or not?" He answered with a question.

 "Of course. I don't want to be afraid anymore." I said. "I was always haunted by my grandmama's stories. If they exist, I don't want to see any of them."

He was quiet for a while. My words seemed to weigh heavily on his mind.

"If you do not want to be afraid anymore, then there's no point in writing the story, Sai."

I raised my eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You have to believe they exist so you can write about them and make your readers believe. At some point, you have to convince them they live among us."

I sighed. "You're right," I said in a resigned tone.

"But what if they're real? Will you be afraid of them?" His eyes squinting on me.

I was quiet for a while. I shrugged. I really did not know what to say.

"Hmn... If they're real, will I fall in love with a monster?" I was asking myself, but imagining a colossal, speckled, black, and aggressive with monstrous saw-tooth teeth made me shiver. "I don't think so. I'd rather not experience my first kiss, I'll be a virgin forever,"

He smirked, amused again with me.

"I found you a book. You might want to read that." He pointed to the book on the side table, which was something I missed when I sat here. I was very much sure it was not there when I came here to join him.

"Oh, it's your book." I took it and lay down the furry carpet. I browsed the book excitedly. Jeremy was right. It was well-written and detailed. I could not believe reading his book here when I had it at home. I remember what Paul told me. I have to believe to make others believe. I looked up to ask him something but he was gone. Even Max was not there. I was suddenly frightened because if they both got up, I would surely notice them. I looked around and found myself alone.

I swallowed hard and focused my attention on the book I was holding. When I turned the page, I was horrified.

GHOSTS!