Chapter 2. Proving It Herself

"Of course, a normal-sized mosquito, Max. It's just that the bite made me allergic to it so it got this wide," Shada pointed at her neck. Her eyes pleaded with Max to believe her.

Max turned his face away. Busying himself with some papers in front of him. "Since when are you allergic to mosquito bites?" Max pursued, making Shada even more nervous.

"I don't have any allergies, Max. But, this time..." Shada found no answer when Max's blue eyes shifted to Shada's light brown eyes, searching for reassurance there.

"I believe you." Max cut in, then turned back to his document. Now his hands were nimbly signing the papers.

"Wh-what?" Shada glared in disbelief at what she had just heard. It's that simple?

"Certain mosquitoes sometimes cause allergic reactions in people who don't have allergies." Max said briefly followed by Shada's nod.

Shada breathed a sigh of relief. But she was also getting upset with what happened last night. She had to forget it immediately, especially in front of her fiancé now. She then placed herself in front of Max.

Max gave Shada a glance. Then he loosened his collar, which looked sultry and strangled him a few minutes ago. He had to get a grip on this situation.

"So... hmm, Max—" Shada deliberately hung her sentence, wanting to get Max's attention first, "—when is our wedding date?"

Max looked at Shada and then flinched. He seemed to think for a moment.

"In a few weeks we'll have a family gathering, so you should get ready."

♡♡♡

After Shada visited Max, she took a walk around the office to relieve her fatigue. It felt like it would be better if she was working right now and busying herself with the rampant tasks and several tall piles of paperwork. Her mind was a mess today.

"Shada!" a woman's voice interrupted his present daydream. She turned around to find the source of the voice.

"Hi, Ruth!" Shada waved happily when she realized it was Ruth, the female senior who often helped her.

Ruth half ran up to Shada. "Did you just meet Max? On your day off?" She winced in disbelief.

She thought it was funny, and it was a rare moment because it was every day that Shada got to see Max. And even on her days off, Shada would spend most of her time sleeping at home. Hugging her own loneliness.

"Hmm, yeah..." Shada scratched the back of her neck. "I've been having trouble sleeping lately. I just thought that if I met Max today, then it would cure my nightmares." Shada's pitying rant was followed by Ruth's empathetic pat on the beautiful woman's shoulder.

It was sad to think about her life now. Always lonely until she felt she was hallucinating the dream that was currently rattling her mind. No, it was real.

But that didn't feel possible either. She felt very guilty for Max earlier.

"Ruth. Have you ever had a dream that was... hmm so real?" she asked cautiously. She suddenly shuddered at the memory of her dream last night. But also happy.

"A very real dream?" repeated Ruth slowly, not understanding. She seemed to be thinking hard.

"Hmm, so... you know that dream that's really real, where if you touch the glass then you feel the cold for real." Shada tried to explain to Ruth, even though she wasn't quite sure herself.

"Are you sure it was a dream? It's not a fantasy?" said Ruth, almost chuckling because she thought it was so ridiculous.

"I'm serious, Ruth. Please." This time, Shada put her palms together in a pleading gesture as she looked up at her friend. She was very serious about asking Ruth, whom she considered her best friend and sister, for help.

"Okay. I'll be serious then," she took a deep breath and continued, "first of all, I know that none of your dreams are real. And secondly, I rarely have dreams every night."

Shada watched Ruth closely. She thought a bit, then decided to be more specific.

"Ruth, I'm having a dream. It felt really real. And you know, these red marks are real," he said, showing her the right side of his neck.

Ruth squealed in shock. "How can that be, Shada? How is that possible!"

A second later, Shada began to explain the chronology. She explained while feeling shocked and almost crying. Meanwhile, Ruth seemed to understand and she nodded her head several times.

"Then, try not sleeping tonight, Shada." Ruth said suddenly. Her shiny black eyes reassured Shada.

Shada stared at Ruth for a moment.  A beautiful face with pale pure white skin, especially with her dark black eyes. All of that was nicely trimmed with her short dark burgundy hair. What a contrast. Ruth is chic, trendy and unique. She also looks easy going. Like an open book, but with unexpected chapters.

That afternoon Shada decided to go back home. On the way back to her place, she kept remembering Ruth's advice.

[Don't sleep tonight. And try to open the windows and glass doors that connect to the balcony. That way you can easily access whoever was in your dream last night.]

She repeated Ruth's words in her mind.

Shada reached the room. She sat for a moment and reached for her cell phone. She typed a message on it and sent it to Max. She told her fiancé that she had arrived home safely.

Shada waited for a few minutes, but her phone didn't budge at all. She bent her face in annoyance, Max as usual did not reply to her chat immediately. Especially after what happened earlier. She felt like crying.

Afterwards, Shada busied herself with bathing, making cereal and pop corn and then continued watching movies on her bed. Until it didn't feel like the night was fast approaching her.

Cold air invaded her body. He looked at the open door. The view in front of him immediately displayed a minimalist balcony as well as large towering trees. Her body got goosebumps again. Not long now, she thought.

The night was getting late, but there was absolutely no sign of anything there.

"Damn it! Maybe I've gone crazy." She muttered to herself as she got up to close the door.

Before closing it, he was captivated by the landscape before him now. So, she began to slowly walk along her minimalist balcony. He piled both hands on the balcony wall divider.

The flowing night air gently brushed his face. As far as the eye could see, he was presented with the atmosphere of a small, dim forest beside his house. She could also see the path of the highway, which from her balcony seemed smaller than its actual size.

Shada realized it might be morning soon, so she planned to go to her room and lock the door. Just as she was about to move her feet inside, something disturbed her. There was a scraping sound of twigs or even leaves on the other side. The sound was coming from a large tree that towered over her, exceeding the height of her own balcony. Her body shuddered again.

With what courage she had left, Shada turned her head. She was so choked up that she staggered backwards. Her face immediately paled. Her throat suddenly went dry, especially now that her voice became hoarse.

"W-who are you?!"