The Creature of the Woods (BxB)

Chapter 11: The Morning

"Halika na, pumikit limutin ang problema"

Come here, close your eyes, forget the problems.

"Darating din, ang umaga..."

The morning, will come.

"magpahinga, sa panaginip ay liligaya."

Take a rest, we will be glad in our dreams.

"Dumating din, haharapin natin."

The morning came, we will face it.

The most relaxing guitar plucking gently woke me up from my slumber. I looked around the place, and thought, "This is not my room."

"It is not. You are in my cottage." A figure came closer, exposing a pair of rich and bare muscled arms, thin and abs-filled torso, and long legs obvious behind those cotton brown pants. On his hands are two cups of hot and swirling coffee, I could tell by the smell. "Is your memory okay? Hansel?" He came to sit on the chair in front of me and handed me the coffee. The smell of coffee touches my soul and calms my mind. Together with the old song that literary means, we're facing the morning together... It's perfect.

I looked around to see where the music came from. Araki seems to notice my observation so he pointed a device beside the bed. It's a cassette recorder. Wow, those things were from 50 years ago. But maybe it's a 2000 edition because there's a CD component on it, and the recorder is currently playing a CD. The creature handed me a CD case, probably of the current CD on play.

"Bamboo Manalac. I can tell" I said. "Gosh, his voice is really relaxing."

"I like it. The meaning is so beautiful." He said. We held silence for a while, listening to the rest of the song. After the song ended, he clicked the recorder to repeat the song. I laughed. He just looked at me and smiled while blushing. But I can't tell if he's really blushing because of those gray skin. His red veins, however, extended for a good millimeter throughout his face. I looked in wonder. It's so mystical and cute. "I heard it once from the world above. But I didn't know how to change into human so I just snuck in a house and stole it." He looked at me, ashamed. He stared at his hands as if they're that interesting.

"Hey, hey." I pushed the cot away from my legs and sat on the bed to face him. "It's okay. You don't know what to do. You're still a kind per... creature. Right?"

"It think?" He breathed. "I made sure that I left underground red flowers for the house." He smiled shyly.

"See? You just loved the song so much. Well, it was bad to steal but, you left something valuable, right?" I assured him. I don't want him to feel sorry of the song that he feels so good about. He cherishes it, together with the small things in his cottage. "Oh, and Bamboo Manalac is not the original composer of the song. But he gave the best rendition, in my opinion. You want me to let you listen to some of his songs?"

He nodded with a glinting smile. "I would love to."

"Hey lovebirds." A deep and irritated voice called our attention. And again, I don't have to look up to know it was my favorite cousin, Police Officer Geddie Karait, sitting on the window sill with a U-45 caliber at hand. "I don't wish to interrupt your sweet time, but, you." He faced me. "Is your memory okay?"

"Perfect."

He just nodded and went to look back at the dark and empty neighborhood. Oh yeah, although my phone clock says its 6:46 in the morning, the sky is still dark. I wondered about this for the first time, but I didn't have the time to ask. Gosh, there were a lot of questions I didn't ask.

"Why is it still dark outside?" I asked to no one in particular.

"There's no sun in the world below, Hansel. It does not reach them." Geddie says.

I walked towards Geddie's position and looked at the direction he's looking at. It's totally dark outside that I thought he was just looking at nothingness, but observing the faint light of the dark city, I could see a small hut surrounded by glowing Blue Midnight flowers. "You seem to know a lot about this world."

"Dad's journal." He simply said.

"And the creature that brought you the Midnight flower?"

"He thought I was my dad. He even thought you were Uncle Harry." He laughed, hugging his gun closer. "It wasn't for me."

I looked at Geddie intensely with thousands of questions running in my head. I cannot tell what his expression says. He looked irritated. He looked sad. He looked annoyed. But why? And by what? "Geddie, would you prefer the flowers to be yo---"

"Of course not, idiot." He cut. His brows furrowed further. "I don't like these creatures. They killed my dad. As long as my dad's death is a mystery, I'm not trusting these shits. Including your lover boy there. He's the most suspicious."

"What do you mean, Geddie? I thought we're over this?" I whispered-yelled, beginning to get irritated to my cousin again. It was a beautiful morning, and lord, he just had to ruin it.

"Oh, no we're not over anything, Hansel. There are just too many questions to ask but you're just here, being the 'smartest' detective you are..." he gestured quote with his fingers. "...falling in-love with stupidity. You know why? Because of an accident. An accident Hansel. Accidentally giving you a love potion." He then glared daggers at the creature. Araki just stayed in his seat, looking at us cautiously. He probably saw how dangerous Geddie could be.

"Geddie, believe it or not, it was only an accident. He explained it to me. If he meant it, he wouldn't have thought of neutralizing it with another spell. Geddie, he did it to save me that day. I was dying. My ribs were piercing through my lungs. I had a gun shot in my stomach for god's sake! All I got to pay is my gratitude. Geddie, at least try to be rational and hide your gun down."

"No."

"What?" I breathed in disbelief.

"They took our ginger powders. I'm not trusting them. I must have the right to protect us." He said stubbornly, hugging his gun further. He continued looking at the window.

"Then leave. I don't need you here!"

"I'm not leaving without you." He coldly said. He's not leaving, I know Geddie's resolve. I raised my hands in defeat. The stubborn cousin really destroyed my day. I went to walk towards Araki and tried to forget my conversation with Geddie.

I smiled awkwardly at him, being ashamed of the grateful houseguest that is my cousin. I sat on the cots facing him. "I'm going to find a way to neutralize the spell. I promise I will. Give me a year or so to journey around our world to find it. They say there's something like that in the world below France, give me a year I will..."

I held his hand. Despite his calm voice, I could see his uneasiness. "Let's leave it. I think I just have to enjoy the spell."

"No. That's unfair." He said in his usually neutral voice. "Because..."

"Because you don't love me?" My eyebrows are beginning to furrow, remembering that this event is just an accident. Probably annoying for him. "Am I annoying you?"

"No!" He said, being unwary for the first time. "I think you are precious." The veins on his face extended a millimeter again, and his gray skin turns slightly lighter gray. "The first time we met, I think you are amazing. When you kissed my cheek, I... I." He looked at the red rose that still sits on his tea table. "You should have ran away or shouted that I'm a demon. Instead, you smiled at me and kissed my cheek. You might be under a spell, but I heard from others that a person under spell still cries as soon as they see us. But you didn't, and I think, it's wonderful."

I focused on his face the entire time. Constantly changing color, red veins expanding and retracting, black eyes wobbling left to right: It's just so cute. So out of character from usually reserved and mature aura. And most of all, I think he indirectly told me he like me back. I stood up from the cots, approached his chair, and then scooped his chin. I smiled before him as I put my lips nearer and nearer to his. When my lips hit his, a contented feeling came over me, saying 'finally, I kissed those lips I've been wanting to kiss'