WHO WAS THAT MAN?

She shut the door close, gasping for air. A dinosaur was just going after her. Leaning on the door, she catches up her breath and tried to relax.

“Did you get it?” Alvah leaned over to her, leveling on her face. 

She held her hand holding a bone she caught from the Jurassic era. Alvah smiled the moment she sees the piece of bone she gathered from a dead Othnielia.

“Those ones are really hard to track.”

“I know right.” She scurries towards her craft room. 

Charlie instantly stood up and followed her. She’s been training as her apprentice for two weeks now. And all she could say is that apart from all the adventures, she’s exhausted by the end of the day with all the things that Alvah just seems to randomly ask her to do. 

She’s grabbing a piece of bone from the Jurassic era today, the other day, she needed to work her ay out of the deadliest jungle she’s ever been to. All these things do not make sense to her. 

She learned that part of the things that Alvah can do is to create a portal into different places she needed to go to. It includes anything from the past. But she hasn’t been to any door that could possibly lead to the future. 

She hesitates to ask that question. Of course, she had asked once, but it pissed Alvah off. For whatever reason, she has no clue. So, since that conversation, she’s been walking on eggshells when it comes to talking about the future or anything related to it. 

“What do you need that bone for?”

Alvah goes to her craft table and placed the bone on a boiling potion she’s been working on for a week now. 

“This is the missing formula. Othnielia’s bone.”

“Missing formula for what?”

“For a potion I have created for you.”

“Really? What kind of potion is it?”

She stares at the rim of the small cauldron where the potion is heated up. Alvah is more than just a Jinni, she also learned that she’s a half witch which is against the rules of Jinni’s. Someone should only be either a Jinni or a Witch, but never both. How she managed to become one without being punished for it is beyond her. 

The cauldron is lifted from the brewer and was transferred to a small bottle. It exudes an excessive neon green color. She suddenly felt nauseous just by looking at it. 

“Come on, you have to drink it while it’s fresh.”

“Wait, you mean now?”

“No Tomorrow. Yes of course now.”

“What’s in this anyway?” she inquired while hesitating to accept the bottle that contained the potion.

“Let me see, a lizard’s skin, the dinosaur’s bone, I think there’s something or someone’s gizzards in it and...”

“What?”

“Come on, just drink it. You’re such a…” Alvah pushes the bottle of potion straight into her lips that she had no choice but to drink it bottoms up. 

She pinched her nose just to be able to survive the horrific smell. As soon is it drained down her throat, she wanted to puke but Alvah pinched her lips together to make sure she doesn’t.

“Don’t you dare.”

“I feel like I’m going to be sick.” She forces herself to not throw up. She’s suddenly feeling all the sweat that’s coming out of her body. “What’s the potion for again?”

“It will give you more strength for all the travel. Believe me, traveling to one portal to another is not going to sit in very well for you in the long run.”

“Well, I feel fine. Except of course for the constant dizziness. But other than that, I think I’m fine.”

“You are not. Just trust me. Now, come with me.”

“Where?”

“We’re buying some baguette and some food for tonight.”

“What’s happening tonight?”

“A gathering of Jinni’s.”

“What? You mean, there are more of you?”

Alvah turned to her, looking at her like she just said the nastiest thing.

“Yes. There’s more of me.” She claps her hand twice and magically, her clothes changed to a silver romper paired with some wedge.

“Wow. You look shiny for a baguette.”

“Why? Do I look ugly in it?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

Her hair has turned ash gray and went along with the color she was wearing. 

“Wait, you don’t usually go out, do you?”

“I don’t. The sun makes my skin feel icky.”

“But you have to because of this party?”

“Yes.”

“And where will this party be held?”

“A friend’s house. Stop the chitchat now, let’s hurry.”

She catches up to Alvah as she hurries to get out of the mansion. They were treading the road towards the market nearby. They strolled towards each stall as Alvah picks up things every now and then.

“So, when exactly will I be fulfilling wishes of people? I mean that is what a Jinni is all about right?”

“Yes, and No.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jinni’s do not just fulfill wishes. We are also tasked to maintain the balance on Earth. The good and evil. Sometimes, we get to travel to the past to review things in history, figure out if someone has somehow altered the entire retrospect of time. We are guardians of time. Not just wish fulfillers.”

“Wow. Would that mean…” she realizes the gravity of her next question so she chose to zip her mouth, “would that mean that time travel is more of the things you do rather than the wishes?”

“Yes. Exactly. We fulfill the wishes only of the lost souls. The one’s who’s going through a great suffering. We don’t do three wishes. Only one. And in return, they will have to exchange an important memory. Something that really matters to them.”

“Why is that again?”

“Because lost souls have the greatest wishes. Often, they are the ones who were born in this world to fulfill a mission. And nothing worth having in this world comes easy.”

“By any chance, do they get to get those memory back?”

“No. It’s not a barter or loan. Once they give it up, it’s no longer theirs. It’s our property.”

“Hmm.. that sucks.”

“It does.”

“Well, those wishes would better be worth everything then. If it means giving a memory up.”

“They should be.” Alvah’s face suddenly lit up as they came in front of a bakery. 

It’s one of the oldest one the place has and the man who owns it is an old Italian who’s been living on the second floor of his bakery as well. The place looked vintage yet still very sturdy. 

Charlie’s brows furrowed as she notices how Alvah suddenly looked so excited. Something is up with her. She followed her instead and decided on maybe grabbing some bread for her own apartment. 

“I was wondering by the way...” she stopped on her track the moment she sees Alvah conversing with the old baker. He’s a lanky tall man that’s about six feet, towering over Alvah as she flirtatiously fixes, her hair on the side.

“Ughh, seriously, the hair moves?” she whispered to herself. She shook her head and chose to change direction instead. She went in for the pastries and noticed the red velvet in one of the cases. She pointed it out and asked for two slices to go. She imagined sharing it with Lance later that day. Their friendship has grown stronger each day. And later today, they will be talking about her renting her apartment to someone else. 

She can stay on Alvah’s mansion, since she’s been staying there almost all the time. She decided on having her apartment rented so she could earn some cash for her bills at school. 

She must graduate. 

She heard the loud chuckle from Alvah, and she felt irritated at how it sounded. She didn’t know Jinni’s could actually flirt.

Just as she stepped outside the bakery to wait for Alvah, she instinctively turned to a corner and noticed a man standing in the middle of the crowd, unbothered with all the people that’s been bumping him.

Her brows arched as she tried her best to dismiss him. 

She pretended to be checking on her take out bag. She peeked at the insides of the small bag she was bringing but the moment she looked back up, the man was now standing right in front of her. His presence startled her. 

“You can see me.”

Her eyes grew wide at the question. She could feel the sweat filling her forehead. 

“I’ll see you again Denver.” Alvah waives goodbye to the baker. 

She could feel her heart skipping oddly that Alvah stopped and looked at her suspiciously. 

“Are you okay?”

She absent-mindedly nodded.

“Yeah. Yes.”

“You look like you saw a monster.”

Maybe, she thought.

“No. I’m great. I’m just surprised how flirty you can be if you come to think of it.” She started breathing evenly. 

As she turned to look at Alvah, she could see her scarlet face, but she chose to close her mouth.

“I’m not flirting.” She walks out and leaves her behind.

“Hey, wait for me. There’s nothing wrong with flirting Mom.” She teased. 

At the back of her mind, the question persisted, who was that man?