Chapter 2 - The Shrine

Before the day has started, I was already inside the classroom in my newly washed uniform, and I feel ready for their lesson of the day.

Mairin just came so late at night, been with her friends for a long time while I was waiting outside and cold. Her mother didn't even scold her when she got back from the club or any place I never knew where. How lucky of Mairin that she could do and buy anything she wants. And she could sing and became an idol.

I always dreamed of being on the stage, so I became not just Mairin's assistant, but every student that was fond of the singer was asking me for more autographs and letters to send. Yes, it is annoying and exhausting, but what else can I do now? I got debts to pay. 

I felt this classroom as my salvation now. When I'm here, my mind can function and can feel relaxed. And Mairin is not here to put a lot of errands to me.

"Hey, Ukiyo," a guy approached me during our recess. I lifted my face from dazing and looked up to him. Brown, short hair is pulled back to reveal a full, friendly face. Gray eyes that set well in its sockets and soft skin that compliments his cheekbones and leaves a compelling air of his adventurous side. 

"Hello, Liam," I shied away from by keeping my notes inside my bag. I can't blame Lian for being friendly, but what I worried about are the people who like him and never wanted anyone to get close to someone like me. 

"Do you have free time after class?" he asked with his dashing smile. And this is Liam, alright. A friendly among students. He stands tall, charming, and the slim frame of his body that made him look like a young model. 

"What about it?" I asked in a low voice.

"We would like to let you join us, in the arcade," At that moment, his words are astonishing, inviting me out of nowhere, and we're not even close to friends. That's surprising.

"Arcade?" I stared at him in awe, "why are you inviting me?"

"What are you talking about, Ukiyo? Our classmates are going, too. Why not join us?"

The invitation sounds tempting, but I don't need to join them. It will only cause me some trouble again. Like what happened before, when some guy came to ask me about flowers, and I tried to ask Mairin her favorite and was glad to help the guy about it.

But it turns out that it was Mairin's forbidden one. She was allergic to poppies and roses. Everyone who loved and admired Mairin the most was starting to hate me, and even some other students tried to invite me someplace to eat or play, and it will be fun, they said. But they only do it by splashing water from the buckets, pushing me along the hallway, giving me impossible errands, and giving them money in order not to hurt me and that everyone could see to humiliate me.

It lasted for weeks before they got over with and stopped bothering me. It was only then Mairin came to school, and I became one of her assistants.

"Oh," I avoided his gaze, trying to figure out how to excuse myself from going with them, then I thought it was a good idea. My face lit up, "really?" and pretends that I'm not excited not to go, "Lian, I'm sorry, but I can't go with you, guys,"

"Why not?" He looks disheartened at my answer.

I scratched my head while looking down, "Sorry, but maybe another time, I'm getting busy with my report next week," there is half-truth about what I said and a little lie about not going today.

"Report? Next week? But it's just for today, Ukiyo?"

"Yeah," I nodded, then I looked up to him. He will be going to insist again if I'm not going to give another excuse. His face said it all. "And it's not just that, Liam, I am going to a shrine after school,"

"To the shrine? What shrine?"

"Well, there is a shrine called the Dark Shrine," and I made it up. I was hoping he would believe it and go along with his friends.

"Hmmm..." he was thinking, then fell his gaze on me, "really? Is there a shrine called Dark Shrine? What kind of shrine is that?" while rubbing his chin.

I need to think fast. "Well, yeah, and it's far from the city."

Liam's lips parted to offer a comment, only to snap shut as some of their classmates came to him. "Liam, come on, we're going to the canteen," as they grabbed -in a friendly way- him by the shoulder. They didn't even bother to say hi to Ukiyo.

"Bye, Ukiyo," Liam waved at me and went with his friends.

I released a big exhalation of pent-up breath after they were gone out of the classroom, holding a hand over my chest. That was close. If Liam's friends didn't interfere, Liam might sense that I was lying and trying not to go with them.

The bell rings.

The afternoon sun bathed the buildings in its warm light and a time when everyone is going home after class. I slouched towards the open gate, not-so-glum, hands holding on the shoulder straps of my backpack. 

Several students walked past me. Each one of them chatting and laughing in groups, talking about the picnic they had, their sleepover, the dating with the guys they experienced, and how fun it was. Never in my life, I had any school friends to talk to, to share something like problems and secrets. The feeling of being empty and no sense of belonging.

I walked along the pavement at a sedate pace. The cold afternoon breeze has a way of moving my hair, of tousling it into buoyant curls. My mind focused on the set schedules and the school reports and the coming of the exam. The exam. The same day of Mairin's rehearsals. And of course, Mairin is exempted from such exams and could take a special one on any day she wants. That's how the school cared for her and how much her family donated for the school.

The wind blows, rustling the trees, scattering the falling leaves, swaying the grasses on the sidewalks, and I didn't even notice a piece of paper smack to my face.

I pulled it away from me. And I stopped the moment I read the paper before I could crumple it and throw it away. Stretching my eyes wide as I skim read the poster with my heart skip a beat, mouth wide open.

"Are you going to the shrine?" A hand touched my shoulder, which made me spin around to face the voice. 

It's Liam. 

I face him with a shaky smile, "Yeah, Liam, I am going now... to the shrine, of course."

"What are you going to ride to go there?" he asked.

"Huh? A taxi?" I hesitated a bit since I don't know how to get there.

"Well, I could help you with that,"

"Ah, no, your... I mean, our classmates are waiting for you," I said. 

It's not too long that we waited for a taxi, and Liam flagged it down to take me to the shrine.

"Be careful, Ukiyo," he waved. 

Before I could bid him, too, he turned around and went back to join his friends. "Thanks," I whisper it to myself as the yellow cab drives off.

I gulped in a shaky movement as I looked up at the snarling black dragons guarding the entrance, and the archways are bright black in a row. A sacred site dedicated to a dark deity or a black dragon is the symbol of enlightenment and a new beginning.

I stared and read back at the poster I am holding in awe, wondering how could be real and made me come here out of curiosity of giving such an advertisement that they are hiring for a helper offering a large income. The details are not wrong, too. - about the address, the date, and the year are today. And looking at the designs and templates, it was digital.  

It took me almost twenty minutes to ride a taxi, and cause me a few dollars, looking around for the exact location of the shrine. It will not matter if the shrine will give me the task and the promised wage for only a week. But, what I was curious about was the shrine itself. I know in myself that I made it up to excuse Liam, it turns out it's real. Well, who would think that there is a Dark Shrine here? Who would come here and what for?

I passed by those wooden plates, where shrine visitors write their wishes, and a lot of pieces of paper tied around the tree's branches. Reaching the temple, the high pillars in the alley should have thronged with visitors by this time of day, but it stood as empty and deserted.

The trees stood and were bereft of noise that every murmur and rustles of leaves have stopped, and no birds. The stone path was quiet and derelict. I walked towards the mess of a small temple I was supposed to ask, and I knocked at the double-door. 

The sound chimed for what it seemed forever. The dappled sun shone through the trees, and pillars creating mysterious shadows. She knew it was getting late, and she had to leave.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I tried to call out and knock again. Twice. I got fatigued by the long wait for a monk or priest to open the door. So I pushed the large one door and welcomed myself inside.

The stillness of the air seemed to suck, my shoe landing on the first step. The wind was just as cold, coming straight to me, and there was a scent. The fragrance of incense was heavy, and in the distance, I could hear the sound of chimes. It was this kind of silence that falls right before you get knifed in the back. In the half-light of the afternoon, the shrine was eerie.

"You've finally arrived,"

I froze from where she stood.

A voice asks the question smoothly, "Why don't you turn around and let me see your face?" the baritone of his voice was deep, yet, vibrating with power and command, "Ukiyo,"

I spin around as I hear my name called.

My heart leaped into my throat to see an unfamiliar person right in front of me. My mouth and eyes were frozen open, hands over my chest.

"Who are you?" I asked, almost stuttered as I fought a rising panic in me.