Chapter 3

Days passed since the little girl left me alone with a riddle. And even in my sleep, I still tried to figure it out, but in no luck. And also, I'm debating whether to trust her or not. After, what I've been through, I can't trust someone easily.

For days that I've been locked here, though I understand that it's for my sake. I always hear them talking about something that I shouldn't know. From there, my fear becomes curiosity to unfold the truth they are hiding from me.

"I'm bored," Helix says while laying on my bed.

My siblings came here a few days ago, and like me, they still haven't settled down here. Oh well! Not that I can't blame them after all, our life here is different from the life where we live as normal humans. Another thing is, we don't have room for ourselves.

I share my room with our eldest, Allysson while Henry, my third sibling shares the room with our youngest, Helix. But whenever they are bored, my brothers are always come here to spend the time. And I already told them the whole story of what happened.

"Can we just say that we already know their secrets?" Helix says in a passive tone.

"No, we won't," Allysson replied in an authoritative tone.

"Allysson's right. We should wait for them to tell us everything. But from what I see they won't tell anything," Henry said while reading a book.

I let them talk to themselves and look at the clock on the wall. I trace the clock's hand with my finger as it moves, "2:30,” then I realize, the right angle that the little girl was talking about was about time. 

She wants to meet me at 3 o'clock in the forest.

Now that I know the answer to her riddle, all I have to do is go there. Though I'm wavering whether to trust her or not, I guess it will be based on what she will do. After all, she is all I have, to know what I want that's why I gamble on her.

But the real problem here is, how can I go there?

"Anne! There's no one downstairs, it's your chance," Allysson's says while dragging me out of the room

I don't know what the hell is happening but there's no time for me to think about it. I grab the chance of breaking away from this house and immediately go out. Now, I'm outside, I just realized that everything was green.

There's a pond at the back of the house, and there's a small bridge I need to cross before I could get away from Harold's house territory. Maybe at least a 1-meter walk before you could go to neighbor's house and the rest was grassland and trees. 

It's not hard to find my way to the forest since all I have to do is follow where the most trees are.

"I thought wouldn't come, I've waited here for days," my heart jumped when I heard the voice beside me.

"Don't scare me like that," I complained to her.

"But you're funny," she said while laughing

"Tch! Remember this, I don't trust you enough," I added. And she gives me the look of 'then-why-you-trust-me-now'

"I'm curious," I answer but she just laughs at me while saying I'm funny. 

What's funny about me? If this is not a child, I already smack her. She's pissing me off, "But hey! can you just say meet me at 3:00 rather than giving me a riddle”

"But it's fun that way, isn't it?" she said while grinning.

The little girl starts to walk a little faster so I followed her pace, but still keep my guard up, in case we encounter something that may bring horror to me. The girl leads the way while I'm walking behind her.

Don't know why but she has this same presence I felt to a woman who's always beside Harold; I think that's her wife, my grandma. 

We didn't talk as we walk through the forest. After a while of walking, the little girl started to talk.

No one knows what future says

Don't let your feelings ahead of you

You had other ways

Now, your life will be in queue

After saying that poem, she disappears from my sight again. She left me again with something I don't understand. Wait, did she leave me so that I would be kidnapped again? Shit! I shouldn't trust her.

What am I supposed to do now? I don't know whether we have already reached our destination or she just leave me behind and will play some funny tricks on me.

"Is this the answer I want to know? A forest full of trees," I said sarcastically

I was about to walk back when suddenly, I heard the gun click right at my head. I was frozen to where I stood and hoping that the trigger won't pull.

"Put your hands on the air!" a man said in a threatening voice, “Turn slowly" he added.

One wrong move, my head will become ground meat. I followed his instructions, after turning around to face him, he uttered my name.

"Anne?" he said while putting away the gun.

I just looked at him, confused as to why he knows my name? I don't remember meeting him anywhere. Don't tell me he's a red fox?

"The little girl bought you here, ain't it?" he said while looking around.

"Yeah,” after I answer his question, he instructs me to follow him into his house. Scared and confused is what I feel right now but there are the only ones who can give me what I want, so I don't have a choice but to follow him

When we came in, into his house, he immediately pulls down all the curtains making sure that no sunlight will sneak in. He gestures me to sit on one of his couches which I followed, he then sit in front of me after serving me a cup of tea.

"I know why you here, but question me one by one," he said after sipping his tea.

I have so many questions on my head, but there's one thing that's always been on my mind ever since I've met him, "Who's Dale and what world are we in?"

My heart is shaking like it would come out anytime and my hands are trembling. I'm scared and nervous at the same time. I want to go home and I don't want to hear anything, yet I also want to know even if it's just fragments of truth.

"Sigh! Your world is not the world you truly belong to. You are like Dale," he paused, then he breathes heavily like the name of Dale was a thorn to his throat, "a palen," he continues.

A what? Is that some sort of word to describe someone or perhaps a type of animal in this place? I never heard of it.

"Palen? what is that?" I asked while holding firmly to the cup.

"To this world, it is a person who has a special power, that's what palen is," he explain calmly

My hands stop to tremble after he explained everything I need to know about palen. But my mind is still in chaos, I feel like I was struck by lightning, and then ask me to walk properly. 

I don't know whether I'm happy about it or not.

After a moment of silence, he sips his tea while thinking about him, "Is he your son?" I asked.

His eyes tell me that he was shocked by my question, "how?" he asked but instead of answering him, I look at him.

"So, you already have," he chuckled, "Yeah, he is my son, but I haven't seen him nor touched him again after he left at the age of five. And I understand it because we take the oath to protect you. So, it was his job to look out for you," he added.

So that's the reason why, for all Dale's actions ever since. But why do I need to be protected, and from whom? I was about to question him when he said something.

"It's time for you to wake up," and then he snapped his finger.

"Anne!!" 

I woke up when Allysson tapped my shoulder. I look around me to see where I am. I'm still in my room, and it is still 2:30 on the clock. Did I astral project? 

"They want us downstairs," they said in unison, bringing shiver to my whole body. 

I don’t know how to describe this atmosphere that we have right now. After coming down, my parents and Harold are sitting in the living room like we are having a business meeting.

“Sit down,” my dad says in an authoritative tone.

We sit on the couch like we already know our place. After we settle down, my father clear his throat and begin to speak in a calm and deep voice, “Under the circumstances that we have right now. Your mom and I decided to live here for a while”

No one speaks after hearing those sentences but after a minute, Allysson begins to demand an explanation from my parents. But the other party doesn’t want to, that’s why our calm conversation becomes a hot mess argument.

“Don’t you think it’s time for us to know what we need to know,” Allysson said in a raging tone.

“There’s nothing you need to know,” my father rebut

“Then what about Harold being our grandfather? Is it nothing?” after Henry drops the bomb, everyone becomes quiet. It’s deafening silence but their minds become a war of sentences.

Sigh! I don’t like this kind of situation but we need to be firm with our parents. Because if we don’t voice our opinion, they will never know what we want.

“We gave you time and it’s been years. We need both of you when our life was on the slumps but you aren’t there--” Allysson said between her sobs.

“How can we ask something from both of you when you don’t even want to talk about it,” Helix said finishing the sentences of Allysson.

My siblings and I left the living room but before we left, I gave them my piece, “Don’t you think you are being greedy? Asking us to understand both of you when you don’t even bother to understand us”

After leaving the scene, we go straight to our room and spend the time there doing nothing. No one bothers to open the argument that we have earlier.

Oh well! I don't blame them. After all, even I was fed up with my parents. We grew up in a close-knit family but… not that close enough to say all we want. Like when we ask something and they don't feel to answer it, it's either they change the topic or ignore our question.

That's why we decided to wait for them to tell us, but I guess, that day will never come.

“What a day!” I said after I took a deep sigh.

After the argument that we have last night. It was also the start of my astral project or should I say dream? Visiting Dale’s father, Mr. Satellitum is very helpful for me especially I'm seeking answers to my questions. And he didn't disappoint me because taught me everything he knows about being a Palen.

There are 3 kinds of Palen, a Renco, Laci, and Cules and I am a Renco. But I still don’t know how can you distinguish between the three. Because that’s all he says to me.

“You need to go home,” Mr. Satellitum said after I finish my sandwich

I was about to say something when suddenly, we heard the bells ringing. He immediately get-up and rampage his drawer and get his gun.

Wha-- wha-- what's happening? What are those bell sounds mean for Mr. Satellitum to be this agitated? My god! My heart almost jumped out of surprise when he hurriedly knocked over the table.

My whole body starts to tremble when he start loading his gun. What the hell is happening right now? I tried to ask him, but he didn't answer. He peeked at his window and then came at me.

"Who are them?" I asked again after giving me the letter that he get on the drawer where he get his gun

"Someone, who shouldn't know that you are here," he said then point the gun at me.

"Whoa! What the hell is this? Put the gun away from me. And why they shouldn’t know I’m here?" I said in shaking tone.

"Give that letter to Dale," he said in an authoritative tone.

"No, I won't. Why can you just give it to him? And please think about it. I know that this is a dream or whatever it is, but I will never know if you can still kill me. And if I die, I can't do your favor," I said while crying and begging.

What's his problem? He's asking for a favor then this is what I get? I'm scared right now, I could take a piss on my pants right now but I'm trying to hold out.

"Tell Dale, I'm sorry," he said then a tear fell on his cheeks.

"NO!!"