A salty wind blew from his left, whistling through the houses lining that one side of the beach. By late afternoon, that wind would breathe cool air, carrying with it the stench of the mudflats. The waves had already calmed down, giving this serene feeling aligned to the horizon. From where he was sitting, on the balcony of his two-story house, he could see everything that was happening in the white sand. There was a group of men drinking under the shade of the umbrella. Next to those men was a family sitting on the soft sand with no mats under them. Aside from those people close to his house, other humans scattered along the beach, going on with their life while seagulls cried in the air just above.It wasn’t out of the ordinary that many people flocked to the beach, admiring the solemnity and beauty. The month of December brought a lot of visitors to different places. He was now used to it, seeing people ever since Yric died, and that sorrowful day happened four years ago. He adjust
AS THE DAY was ending, the sea became reddish orange with small waves touching quietly the white shore. The sunset coming from the long horizon reflected off the water making everything stained red. The wind blew up from the east to the small town standing along the beach, slipping through the cracks of lush trees on the mountain. Branches creaked while the nesting bird cry as if someone was singing.It was indeed a peaceful late afternoon for anyone but not to Xurden. He was sitting on the second-floor balcony looking vaguely at the scenery in front of him. The color of the sun mirrored on his dark black eyes. In his right hand was a cup of hot coffee. Steam danced to the cool moving air. He took a sip hoping that the cold building up on his chest would elevate. But it didn’t have even a small effect.He felt heavy on his shoulders which made him more uncomfortable. Racking pain drilled into his head which he endured without moving his free hand. He wondered why he was in that state w
"I knew how to have some fun. Why do you always think that I only knew how to stay in my room?""Because that's who you are. If we did listen to your excuses, you wouldn't be here."“You’re talking as if you have no idea that I can easily get tired," he said lazily finishing the last piece of cheesecake in his hand. He even licked his finger to remove the cheese left on it."Yeah, yeah. Fine. I’ll stop," Noah gave up talking to him, raising his left hand to stop the words he had not said yet. "What's Vivian taking so long?"As if on cue, Vivian appeared in front of the family mart, running away from where was the comfort room. Her cerulean dress and long black hair swayed to the wind in her every step. She was holding her wide hat so that it wouldn’t fly away on its own.Yric had been friends with them since their freshman year in college. They're still friends after three years which Yric didn't believe would happen. Yric was a loner who didn't like talking to anybody. He’s way too d
THE MAN looked at Yric straightly, he was holding the edge of the bus for support. His hands were shaking because of fear. He hesitated for a moment but still choose to speak. Bruises were visible on his skin. Dark rings circled his both weary brown almond eyes."I need your help," the man said in a shaky voice before looking away from him. He turned his head from left to right searching for someone.Out of curiosity, Yric glanced in the direction where the man was looking. But he didn't see anything weird. People were just waiting for the road to be cleared. He returned his attention to the man after a second. In a low voice, he said, "How can I help you? If I can, how can I be sure that you wouldn't harm me?" "I'll do whatever you want. Just let me live," the man responded instead of answering his questions.His forehead furrowed, miming a hint of confusion. "I don't know to help you though," he said matter-of-factly. "I am not sure who you are." He eyed the man more closely to stud
THE RIDE got a little bumpy going up to the town because the truck was pretty old. It jumped every time it ran on an uneven road. Yric with his friends held tightly to the side of the truck as they all sat on its back not to get hurt. His hands had gone numb.The street would be quiet if not only for the rumbling sound of the truck. There wasn't a single soul walking outside. Xurden's face still clung to his head from the moment they left the bridge. He couldn't stop thinking about the man as he looked far away. He didn't have a single idea who Xurden was. But he knew Xurden wasn't a normal human being. He shivered at the thought that Xurden was staring at him from afar.As the truck was near the center of the town, Noah started to notice the calmness engulfing the town. He even moved his head from left the right to observe the surroundings. The houses looked liked abandoned with only a few lights on. Questions aroused on Yric but he couldn't ask the old man driving the truck who wa
YRIC had a peaceful sleep which rarely happens to him. His mind was blank and not clouded by nightmares. At first, he just closed his eyes to give it a rest. But ended up in a deep slumber.It didn’t last though because something unexpected happened while his eyes were closed. The glass door going to the balcony opened up on its own. The cold wind blew hard slipping through the doorway, making the off-white curtain covering the glasses sway. He shivered to the cold waking him up. As he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the presence of a man wearing a dark suit. He was creped out with Xurden standing on the side of the sofa looking down at him intently.Without knowing what Xurden was doing there in their room, Yric immediately sat up and crawled to the sofa. He didn't have the chance to run when Xurden wrung his sweater raising him. His feet were a couple of inches high from the floor. Xurden's grip was forceful hurting Yric's neck."Put me down," Yric begged in a shaky voice. He tri
THE QUIETNESS in the room was deafening. No single noise could be heard. But Xurden wasn't bothered even a little. He was just sitting on a chair at the back of a table looking far away outside the opened door of the balcony. The light coming from the lampshade was dim. Yric's image was still clinging inside his head. The longer he thought of the guy, his forehead furrowed. He kept on wondering who Yric was because he felt different toward him. His train of thought was only cut off when the door of the room opened up. Sebastian walked inside holding a cup in his right hand. Xurden didn't look at his assistant as Sebastian step closer to where he was."Why do you need to be so hard on that guy, Boss?" Sebastian asked him carefully putting down the cup on the table. The cup clung a little to the small plate ringing in his ear. "Maybe his ability is just sleeping. You know it can happen. People like him can resist spells and curses. It might be the reason why your hypnotization didn't wo
THE SPICES sipped on his tongue as he eat the noodles. He went to the restaurant together with his two friends for their late dinner. They were the only customers during that time. The sound of their slurping could be heard clearly from the whole restaurant since it was quiet. It was accompanied by clanging utensils. Noah even gasped for air while fanning his mouth with his right hand. He couldn't handle the spiciness even though he chose the lowest level. Vivian on the other hand was eating carefully the regular noodles not to spill the soup on her shirt. She still made little noises no matter how hard she controlled it. Yric had no problem with his fiery noodles, he kept on biting the thin noodles and slurped the soup once every second. He didn't bother wiping the sweat on his forehead. After a moment, Vivian said something that made him stop eating the noodles."Did someone go to our room earlier?" Vivian asked while wiping the side of her lips with the white tissue paper. Putting