the mysterious girl

A week passed after the incident where the debate arose, and no one raised their voices when they were gathered together. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the incident, but who would have thought that Aresh was still thinking about the puzzle pieces? The young man felt he had to find the answer to the dream. He felt worried about the girl in his dream. Because it was apparent the crying was sad.

Aresh chose to spend the weekend with his friends. They gathered at one of the hangouts that were quite soothing to the soul. Yes, even though they live at the city's edge and are still considered villages, there are several gathering places that are cool and interesting.

Aresh was sipping the coffee that was still emitting smoke. Cleo looked closely at his friend, feeling something was wrong with Aresh because, since then, the young man seemed to be more silent.

"Resh!" called Cleo. Aresh just glanced at her and mumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Cleo, leaving Aresh and the other two friends confused. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Instantly, Aresh understood where Cleo was going with this. He immediately leaned his back on the chair he was sitting in. He looked at Cleo and his two friends with a pleading gaze.

"I feel so tired!"

"If you're tired, it's better to rest, Resh!" said Damon.

"Yeah, are you sick, Resh?" asked Eros.

The young man shook his head weakly, leaving the trio confused.

"I'm tired of all this," he replied quickly. "You guys, aren't you tired of having your abilities ingrained in you?" 

"Haha, so that's the problem, Resh?" asked Damon. "You feel tired because you think it's a burden! Try to relax! It's not like you have a heavy burden!"

"Yeah, well, if you think about it too much, that's what it's like, Resh!" said Eros. "You'll feel like everything is a burden, but it's not!"

"Resh, how long do you want to think everything is a burden? You have to be able to take everything in your stride!" chimed in Cleo.

The three of them wondered why Aresh was so unaccepting of what she had been destined to do. Aresh always tried to refuse and even threw everything away. But she couldn't. Considering everything a burden, it often made him feel that there was no desire to open his eyes and carry out activities as usual.

"You guys don't understand!" Aresh snarled, not liking her friends' answers. What they said was true, just like what Mom and Dad said. Aresh was just too stubborn and reluctant to realize any of it.

"Don't understand what? Have you forgotten that we are the same, Resh?" Damon asked with emphasis. He didn't like Aresh's stubbornness.

"Resh, you should be grateful! Make peace with yourself! Don't always feel like it's a burden!" said Cleo, picking up her coffee cup and sipping quietly.

"But it all comes back to you, Resh! We're just enlightening you! If you're stubborn and don't care about anything, that's your business! I'm sure Mom and Dad have told you this many times. But you're too stubborn, Resh!" said, Eros. After a while, he also felt annoyed with Aresh's behavior, which was getting more and more outrageous.

"That's it! That's it!" continued Cleo, stopping the argument. "Maybe, Aresh still really can't accept everything."

"Then, what is it this time, Resh? What are you thinking about? What's going on?" asked Cleo, trying to extract information about what had happened to her friend.

"I had a nightmare again!"

"Isn't that normal, Resh?" asked Damon. Aresh nodded weakly. "So, what's the problem? Usually, it's always solved, isn't it?"

"But, this dream is different!" she replied quickly.

"Different?" squeaked the three of them together. Aresh nodded quickly.

"Different?" asked Eros with a probing look.

"This time, it's a girl," Aresh replied, looking at his friends intently. "Crying in the corner of the room. With sorrowful cries."

"Who? Do you know?" asked Cleo and was answered with a shake of the head by Aresh.

"This is hard. Usually, you get something not far from our neighborhood, right?" said Eros as they all nodded.

Silence. No more sounds came out of their mouths. The four of them were busy with their thoughts until they were surprised by the arrival of two beautiful girls who joined them.

"Brother!" screeched one of the girls, making them all turn their heads because they recognized that melodious voice.

"Did you invite him here, Cleo?" asked Damon disapprovingly, as he and the girl must have had a heart-to-heart every time they met.

"No," Cleo replied quickly. "I don't know how she came here either."

"Who was the girl with Asteria?" asked Eros curiously.

Asteria is a beautiful, fair-skinned girl with a seductive smile. She stepped forward to her brother, who was with his friends. Hearing Eros' question made Aresh stare intently at the girl with Asteria.

Aresh felt a vibration that I didn't know what it was, but it was solid. His gaze was so fixed on the sweet face next to Asteria.

"Hi, brother," greeted Asteria with a beautiful smile.

"What are you doing here, Aster?"

"What's wrong, brother? Can't I be here?"

"It's not that, Asteria. But what are you doing-"

"Come on, brother! Are you the only one who can hang out with them? Including that obscure friend of yours," Asteria pointed with her chin.

"Hey, what are you saying, you little brat!" scolded Damon, not accepting Aster's words.

"Hey, already, you guys, you always fight every time you meet!" snapped Eros, who was annoyed to see Aster and Damon arguing every time they gathered.

"Yes, you're right, Eros. They fight every time they meet! Or maybe they're soul mates," Aresh joked, making both of them widen their eyes. They didn't expect Aresh to talk like that.

"Oh, I don't want to!" screeched Aster quickly. I was nodded by Damon, who agreed with Aster's words this time.

"Aster, if you're just here to cause trouble, you better leave!" Cleo shooed her away. She didn't want their time to be interrupted because of her sister.

"Aster, maybe your brother is right. Let's go our separate ways," said the girl in a soft voice. 

Aresh looked at her closely, again feeling an overwhelming pull. He was confused by the pull but was sure something was wrong. The girl was cute with jet-black hair.

"Alright, let's go say goodbye to these guys with nothing to do, Cal!" said Aster, quickly taking Calista's hand.

They walked away from the four boys they had been bugging. Cleo felt something strange as her eyes locked with Aresh's. The look in Aresh's eyes was completely different.

"Resh, what's wrong?" asked Cleo curiously. Eros and Damon, who didn't notice, immediately turned their heads when they heard Cleo's question.

"Is there something about that girl?" asked Eros, curious because he also seemed to feel a sad pull.

"I don't know, but I feel a great pull when I see her," Aresh replied and was nodded to by Eros.

"I feel it," Eros replied quickly. "Like there's sadness?"

"Why can you feel it, but I can't?" protested Damon, making them a glare. That was Damon's response whenever he didn't feel anything, but if he did feel something, it was always arrogant.

Unlike Aresh, he always felt it. And, of course, one of the three friends, whenever there was something, would also feel it. But strangely, only one of them.

"Does it have something to do with your dream, Resh?" guessed Cleo, making them think hard again.

Just as Aresh thought that Cleo realized it first, maybe there was a connection, but Aresh still wasn't sure. She still had to find the missing piece of the puzzle.

"I'm not sure!" she said quickly. "There might be a connection, but for some reason, I'm not sure yet! You know very well that my dreams have been few and far between. I... need to find out more pieces of the puzzle."

"Yes, you must look for other pieces of the puzzle, Resh. This is all to make sure that what we feel is true," Eros continued, making them all nod quickly.

In another place, precisely at the end of the table, Asteria and Calista were chatting. Both were involved in exciting conversations and occasionally laughed together without them realizing it since Aresh's gaze was entirely fixed on the two of them. How could Aresh stare so intently at the two of them? Because their seats were not far from him so Aresh could freely stare at both of them.

I'm sure there's something wrong with that girl. But I don't know why I haven't been able to find out more. It feels tough to dive into her. Aresh's mind is still staring at the two of them intently.

"Aster, are those all your brother's friends?" asked Calista in the middle of their conversation.

"Yes, they are! They've been friends for a long time. They need each other. Sometimes, I'm also confused because my brother is so attached to them. But I'm also happy that he's made such good friends. Although, it's a bit weird," Asteria said softly, making Calista wonder.

"Weird?" squeaked Calista. "How weird do you mean, Aster?"

"Their demeanor! Sometimes staring at someone so intently like they're looking for something inside," Aster replied after taking a sip of the cold drink in front of him.

"Like what one of your brother's friends is doing?" said Calista, causing Aster to look at Cleo's table of friends.

Aster could see that Aresh was looking at them intently.

"Yes, that's true, but why does Aresh keep staring at us," Asteria said. She immediately turned her gaze to Calista. "Is he looking at you?"

Calista didn't move. She stared at Aster with a puzzled look but felt she understood what Aster was worried about.

"Don't do anything, Calista!"

Calista looked around her, searching for where the voice was coming from. She heard the words very clearly. Painful images were often present in her dreams, but she did not know what was happening.

"If you do anything, you will die, Calista!"

"No!"

"What nonsense is this! Go away!"

"Haha. I will never leave your life, Calista! I am the shadow of your life!"

"You will be mine, Calista!"

"No! Leave me alone, demon!"