Mate

Sighing, she pushed her hand to her jeans and was about to pull out her left-over coins when the shirt that the man was wearing began to tear off. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung ajar as his body started to swell, getting bigger and bigger, hairs growing all over him, turning into a coat of white fur. Limbs bent awkwardly until it stood in all fours, furry tail spurted out from his coccyx.

Rachel was frozen in her place as she witnessed the man turn into a dog-like beast, a humungous beast resembling a wolf.

‘Werewolf? her mind wracked over the fantasy movies she had watched with her mother, especially those mythical creatures.

‘Was I dreaming? Do my eyes were playing tricks on me?’

Couldn’t believe what she just saw, a scream ought to rip from her throat, but she chokes in it and let out a pitchy squeak instead. She tried to cover her mouth with her hand, but it came too late and had the growling wolf already facing her, baring its fangs.

As if the world stopped spinning, the wolf leaped through the air and aimed to attack. Her feet were nailed to the ground and couldn’t move, her mouth dried with fear, and seems to be her heart ceased to pump inside her chest.

‘This is it. I’m going to die being eaten by a wolfman, She panicked internally.

She closes her eyes tight and has her arms shield on her face as she braces for the attack. However, it never came. She waited, counting in her mind up to ten before she opened her eyes, but the pair of sapphire blue pair of eyes met her gaze.

And soon, it was followed by the most beautiful voice she had ever heard.

“Mate.”

Her heart hammered the millionth times per minute against her chest when Rachel slammed the front door of her apartment, locking it immediately once she got inside. Rivulets of sweat rolling down at the column of her neck, all over her body. While her mind races back to the horrifying scene she had just witnessed, her eyes are wide with fear in her eyes. Was it a hoax, or was it real?

In an instant, she hurriedly shut the windows and curtains, and then dashed to her room, barely pausing to allow her nerves to calm down. Diving under the safe haven of her blanket, deeming the flimsy sheets would protect her in case that the monster would come and get her.

‘Was that really a wolfman? Maybe I am just hungry, tired, and all. That could only be a product of my imagination.’

Rachel pondered in her thought. Ever since back in her country, whenever she had free time, which is not a lot, she tends to watch movies like wolves and vampires. Her heart hasn’t calmed down yet. Her ears strained to her surroundings, listening if she had

been followed or not.

She stayed under her blanket for almost half an hour. Bullets of sweat beads have begun to accumulate on her body, making her skin slick. The fabric of her clothes was beginning to cling to her body in uncomfortable ways.

It is all too quiet. She could even begin to smell her own breath and started to get suffocated with it. Deeming that the wolfman is gone, Rachel finally pulled the sheets away from her, inhaling deeply and attempting to calm her racing nerves. Gingerly, she stepped down from her bed and tiptoed towards the living room. Whipping her head from side to side, looking out for any silhouetted images that might jump out and scare the living daylights out of her.

Nothing seems to be strange. The only thing Rachel could hear were the faint droplets of water coming from the dripping faucet in her bathroom.

Sighing out of relief, she had finally calmed down.

‘Well, I may have been hallucinating, she thought, biting her lower lips and plopped herself on the cushioned bench placed at the corner of her living room. Though, as much as she wanted it to think that way, the voice that rang inside her head when she bolted out running remained. It was the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. It was the manly, deep rich baritone voice that shook her to the core. If only it wasn’t only a figment of her imagination, a man turning into a white wolf, she could probably think that he was handsome.

‘Was I having a nightmare while walking?’

As the realization dawns on her, she snorts and

laughs at her own expense. She was in a state of hunger at the time. She took several wrong turns and became disoriented before she was able to locate the exact alley leading back to her apartment. Her thoughts were cluttered with all of the misfortune that had occurred in her life up to that point. It wouldn't be surprising if her brain decided to play a joke on her and trick her eyes.

That was most likely a homeless person. Grime must have done a poor job of concealing his body for her to believe that the man had transformed into a monster. Recovering from her laughter, Rachel chastised herself like a madwoman, pressing her palms flat on her knees and push herself to get up as she went to turn on the light switch. She was so scared to her wits that she even forgot to turn the lights on.

She takes a few steps back and looks around her small apartment. She had only recently relocated, and there were still a slew of tasks to complete before she could relax and enjoy herself in her new abode. The wooden pattern vinyl floor, the peeled-off cream-painted wall, and a whole community of cobwebs hanging from the ceiling all required some serious mopping. The previous tenant of this apartment only left behind a set of white centennial sofas with white cloth covers, a small coffee table in the center, and a couple of elongated vases.

Aside from those things, her small apartment was devoid of any other household appliances. She will undoubtedly require employment in order to turn this small space into a home in this foreign land. Although today's attempt was unsuccessful, she will not give up and will try again tomorrow.

A loud grumble echoed in her ears, bursting her out of her trance-like state of mind. She almost had a mini heart attack thinking that the wolfman was indeed real and had followed her, but instantly calmed down when she realized that it came from her. A grumble of protest from her stomach echoed again, a harsh reminder that she hadn’t eaten anything since this afternoon.

That must be the reason why she sees things that she isn’t supposed to see.

Internally rolling her almond eyes, she paved her way to the kitchen. Frowning at the sight of a single instant cup noodle left sitting atop of the counter table that she had brought two days ago.

“This will make do for the night,” Rachel uttered to herself as she grabbed the cup, tearing the upper aluminum lid cover, putting it on the side of the sink, and mixed the seasonings. She took a pot from the moth-eaten cupboard and washed it before filling it halfway with tap water and putting it on the stove, waiting for it to boil.

Good thing some of the items left in the kitchen were still able to use, well, except for the refrigerator. Her nose automatically cringes at the memory of its foul smell, burning in her head the time when she opened it.

While waiting for her water to boil, her mind races back to her mother. She wonders if this is also the life she would have if she were here. Struggling they might be, but it doesn’t matter as long as they are together. She didn’t have savings left. It was all spent on her medical upkeep and maintenance. However, it was not a decision that was regretted. She did it in order to prolong her mother's life.

Rachel resigned a long sigh and pulled out her phone from her pocket. Scrolling through her social media account, searching for any news regarding the country’s status, she left.

When she logged into her account, the frown on her face became even more prominent. The number of casualties has increased, and the country's economy has been thrown into disarray. Murders and oppression can be found on the news’ front page. The president left the country, leaving behind the bereaved faces of parentless children, injured people, and the thousands of lives lost in a matter of a few short days.

She was one of the fortunate who had boarded the plane. But lost her mother along the way.

A single tear rolled on her cheek unnoticed. The place she had known for almost half of her life has fallen into chaos. The place where most of her memories and dreams were created.

The whistling noise coming from the pot took her out of her reverie. Rachel immediately wiped the tear-off from her face, sniffing to clear the clogged on her nose before she put down her phone and took the potholder, pouring the water through the cup noodles. She waited for another five minutes, drumming the chopsticks on the lid with her thoughts wandering again with all the possibilities that would happen now that she was on her own.

All the jobs that she had applied for this day were fruitless, except for the manager from a coffee shop that interviewed her. He stated that they are in desperate need of additional employees who are capable of both cashiering and serving customers. However, upon reviewing her credentials, they appeared to be hesitant to accept her, despite the fact that she had received a referral from the military. They seemed to be hesitant to employ her especially knowing where she had come from.

She instantly dismisses the thought that they would hire her. She was well aware of the disapproving looks that the manager was giving her. It implies that she did not meet the requirements for the preliminary qualifications—just in his standards and Rachel believes in her capabilities. Despite the fact that her salary is not particularly high, it saddens her not to get the job. The money she will earn from it is sufficient to cover all of her daily expenses, assuming she is able to save enough. It would be a good starting point in her small home renovation project.

Using the slimmer end of the chopsticks, Rachel lifts up the aluminum lid of the cup. The seasonings aroma wafted into the air and into her nostrils, making her stomach grumble in hunger again. The scent of the seasonings wafted through the air and into her nostrils, causing her stomach to grumble with hunger once more. She didn't even bother to wait for the noodles to become soggy before picking them up and returning to the living room with her mobile phone, which she had left on the table earlier.