>>Hazel
I sat in my seat completely still after hearing his words.
“She was killed?” My mouth was slightly open in disbelief and I said my words carefully. Then in anxiousness, I bit the side of my lower lip, “How?” I raised my hand and pointed my index finger towards Valek slowly, “Did you-?”
“No,” He denied the accusation immediately, “Why would I kill the mother of my child?”
A wave of relief washed over me and I suddenly felt relaxed, “Then who?”
“I don’t know.” He answered.
“What?” I asked in as
>>HazelNothing in particular was out of order.Everything was like how it usually is.Time was passing by like normal, yet, I was stuck.My mind was stuck in a particular time. That time, when Valek told me he had indeed burned his mother alive.Was I shocked at that?Yes,I was. It was something that left me in a trance. It was beyond shocking.It was something I couldn’t understand. For me, or a person like me, who had lost her mother tragically and wanted her back in my life every single day, what Valek had done to his mother was something I couldn’t understand. 
>>HazelValek turned the lights on and then looked at us from where he stood.“Stay here.” He told us, “I’ll go look.”“Daddy don’t!” Emilio tried to stop him, “It will get you too!”Valek looked back at us, “What will get me?” He looked at the door, “This is concerning, the guards are on duty. No stranger should be in the house.”“It’s not a person.” I said, not realizing how stupid I sound.“Mmm!” Emilio nodded as he sat in my lap, “It’s the big monster!&rdq
>>HazelI woke up unsure of where I was and lazily opened my eyes. I couldn’t really understand who the handsome man was in front of me and why there was a kid attached to his chest.What kind of a weird shit dream was this?!I wondered and narrowed my eyes only to realize a moment later that it was Valek and the kid on his chest wasn’t merged in but just lying on top of him.Oh shitEmilio was the kid on his chest.I guess some time during the night he had made his way there and at the moment he was spread out on his father’s chest. Valek had his hand intertwined under his he
>>Hazel“Mommy?” Emilio’s soft groan made me come back to my senses and I immediately wiped away my tears. He turned around and looked at me with half open eyes, not sure if what he was seeing was right or not, “Mommy?” He turned and came closer to me, “Are you hurt?” He hugged me, snuggled next to my chest and then looked up, “Does it hurt?”His childish innocence was sort of comforting, it felt like a safe zone.I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly, “I’m fine.” For some reason I felt like he would be like Emilio, “Mommy’s not hurt.”“Really?” His big eyes peeked at me and I could sense the
>>HazelToday seems particularly odd.In a weird manner, it seems things have been a bit off right from the start.Right from the moment I opened my eyes things have been going in a strange direction.I ended up telling Valek my reason for coming here.I made a promise to Emilio which indirectly means I’ll stay with him forever. That means I’ve accepted that I’ll be staying with them for a long long time.How did this happen?It just went so smoothly I didn’t even realize it.I blankly stared out the car window.&
>>HazelEmilio and I walked towards the playgrounds.“Emilio?” I still had him in my arms.He looked up at me, “Yes?”“You seemed a little scared when you saw those teachers. Did they do anything to you before?” I asked and he shook his head very innocently while he had my shirt very strongly in his grip.For the next few moments he didn’t say anything, then he hung his head, “When the other kids made fun of me they saw but ignored me and left.”A soft sad pout appeared on his face while something boiled in my head.
>>ValekI stood up from the couch with a confused mind.“She got into a fist fight?” I asked Emilio and he nodded, “With who?”“The teachers.” He answered.“The ones at the entrance?” I asked him and he nodded again. I looked at the headmaster who looked like he was getting a panic attack, “Where?” I looked back at my son and asked.“At the playground.” I pointed at the direction he came from even though the place was a bit far from here.“I think I should see what’s happening.” The headmaster said and s
>>HazelValek wrapped his free arm around me and I hesitantly looked at him.He was mad.Like mad mad. I could see his vein popping and how hard he was clenching his jaw.“Stop-” His voice was so heavy and sharp it could pierce, “-Assuming things on your own.” I felt like something bad was going to happen. Anyone could tell he was angry just by looking, “Hazel and I got married years ago. We had our reasons for separating but now that we’re together again, I will not tolerate anyone trying to harass my wife.” He brought me closer to him, “Because you will face the consequences.” There was so much anger in his tone even though he didn’t raise his voice.Hi
>>Roshni (4 years later) “You know.” I licked the ice cream from my ice cream cone as Emilio and I sat on the beach side at night, “I can tell you’ve been meaning to ask something for quite some time now.” He looked at me guiltily, “How long…?” He looked like a criminal who had got caught. “Honestly, for months at this point.” “Shit..” He looked defeated as buried his head in his free hand while the ice cream was melting in his other. “Finish that before it melts onto your hand,” I said and he raised his head to look at the starry sky. He sighed, “It’s nice,” He stared at something distant, “Isn’t it?” The soft sand was comfortable to sit on, the sound of ocean waves was extremely calming and the soft wind that followed just blew one's worries away. “Mmm,” I replied to affirm. Emilio quietly ate his ice cream as he kept looking at the clear black sky and I could tell there was something on his mind but I waited for him to say it first and ate my dessert quietly. The silence b
>>Roshni I knew I had to give him an answer. I couldn’t stall it anymore. Not for him, not for me. I knew it wasn’t possible. I knew the words of rejection won’t ever come out of my mouth since I’m madly in love with him too. The feelings that were exploding like a volcano in my heart would say only one thing now. Just looking at him and just thinking about him makes me happy. And perhaps, I should think about what makes me happy. I’m fretting over the world I lived in for centuries but never got to experience these feelings there. But here, it’s different. My life here has been short but I’ve loved every single day. I wish to stay here more than anything, I wish to stay with this person in front of me. “Fine,” I gripped his finger tightly as my own heart pounded violently in my chest, “I’ll stay with you.” I felt so shy it was hard to look at him, “I surrender.” I smiled, “To you.” “Really?” He couldn’t believe it at first. He was even bewildered and stared at me with his eyes
>>Roshni I ran back home. As soon as Lio was done singing, I dashed towards the exit, took the bus, and ran into the mansion, straight to my room Why? Because I was overwhelmed. I ran away because I felt like my feelings would explode. My heart felt so full I had no idea what to do. I crashed on my bed as the sound of my heart pounding drummed in my ears. God! What is this? I’m supposed to be a demon! My heart shouldn’t be trembling like this! I placed my hand on my chest. I guess I’m getting like this because he’s being straightforward now. Before he was avoiding the subject and didn’t respond that well but now, it’s like he’s taken the sword and is charging full speed ahead on the battlefield. My face was hot, my cheeks flushed, and my thoughts a mess. I want him. I want him so much but what about my life in the demon realm? Do I just abandon it? Do I just forsake centuries of life there? I picked the pillow from the bed and hugged it tightly but still the tightness in
>>Roshni A few days have passed and Lio didn’t come to visit me. We went to college separately too and to be honest. I had all the time to think for myself. The half of me that was here is already madly in love with him and now that we’ve combined into a whole again, those feelings are affecting me too. I wasn’t expecting I’d fall for this guy and so much that just the thought of him gets me all excited. Now that I think about it, he’s done everything to make me fall for him over the years. He’s fulfilled my wish of living as a human and experiencing all that I’ve ever wanted. He’s been the sweetest most caring person in my life. I rolled on my bed in my room and a soft flush appeared on my cheeks. I know I love him, I was only able to tackle his words that day because my two halves had combined and everything hadn’t merged completely but now, after a few days, everything is in order yet this human heart of mine is in agony. The agony of love. I thought the feeling would neutr
>>Roshni “You don’t love me,” I told him. “Oh!” He smiled, “But I do,” He seemed quite confident. “No, you don’t,” I shook my head at him “I most definitely do,” He stood his ground, “I always have.” “No,” I shook my head as I felt a little annoyed, “If you did, you would have loved me as Roshni too.” “What makes you think I don’t?” His immediate reply left me baffled. !!! “I- , What?” I shook my head, “You’ve never responded to anything I ever did!” I was feeling furious, “You never made a move.” “It’s because you don’t understand,” His voice got a little serious “I do,” I glared at him, “Your love, your confession of love, it's all fake.” My words made his expression turn grim yet he answered me in a normal voice. “No, you don’t,” He moved to close the space between us and I began to move back. He looked at me with so much longing in his eyes it made me feel things, weird things, “I’ve held myself back for years.” I stopped at the edge of the summoning circle and he close
>>Emilio (4 years old)“I want you.” I said, “Can’t you come with me?”“Hmmm~” The demon wasn’t sure what to say to me, “You want me?” It looked at me quite fondly, “Why?”“I like you,” I said but my confession alarmed it.“You like me?” It looked at me as if I had said the most unusual thing in the world, “You,” It pointed at me, “A human,” Then it pointed at myself, “Like me?” It looked like it didn’t believe me.I nodded at the question, “Yes.”
>>RoshniI didn’t notice it at first, but there were some weird markings there written in different places around the circle and the star. It was a language that felt awfully familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it because I had never really seen it before.So why did it feel so familiar? I had no idea.I quietly made my way into the middle of the blood-red drawing and stood there in the center. My emotions and my thoughts were all mixed up.The sight on the scene was too hard to see but with Lio insisting on so much I just decided to through with it.I had an impending sense of danger around me. It made me feel like if I went th
>>Emilio“Thanks,” I took the box from Aries who came to visit me late at night.“Well,” He shook my hand, “I’m leaving for home now.” He smiled at me and I gave him one back in return, “Are you done with everything?”I nodded, “Yea, everything’s in place,” I looked at the box, “This is the last thing.”“Well,” He stepped back from the porch, “Good luck.” He smiled, “Hope no one dies.”I snickered, “Me too.” I waved at him, “I doubt we’ll be meeting anytime soon.”“Considering how we both live on two different sides of the country.” He shook his head, “No,” He then took a few other steps back, “And clean yourself up before you go to her.” He smirked.I snickered, “The bath’s already running.” I need to get the blood off of me.
>>RoshniEmilio has traveled a lot, to many places but each time he said he was going to look for something and it wasn’t for the sake of leisure.There’s always been something mysterious about him. It’s like he’s searching for something. I have seen it in his eyes, his passion and obsession towards a goal I’m unaware of.There have been times he brought back some weird things with him when he came back from overseas trips but most of the time, it was just weird ritual books. It was a weird hobby of his to read all that stuff but since it was just a reading hobby, no one said anything about it.It was a cloudy day, the atmosphere was dark and I stood outside the cafe looking